Stand Of Honor (10 page)

“What would you have done?” Zane enjoyed her forwardness.

“I hadn’t figured it out yet. All I know is that I was getting really tired of waiting for you. Probably would have had to jump you again soon.” Melanie yawned and closed her eyes. “Zane, I’m happy you’re training again. You belong in the cage. I’ve never seen anyone move as fast as you do.”

“I want my first fight to be against Tobias,” he
admitted. He felt Melanie jerk again.

“You’re not going to report him?
He fucked you over and tried to fuck me over. He doesn’t deserve to fight again. Why?”

“Because I can legally beat the shit out of him in the cage.
I’d rather pay him back with my fists instead of just letting him slink away.” Zane knew reporting him wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to put the fucker out of commission for good.

“That sounds like a good idea
.” Melanie grinned. He could see she was as bloodthirsty as he was when it came to payback.

She got up to shut her bedroom door and
then climbed back onto the bed. She put her back to him and Zane pulled her body against his, reaching his arm around her to hold her breast. His last thought before he dozed off was that he felt more optimistic about the future than he had in a long time.

Chapter 13

Melanie heard yells as she walked into the gym.
She looked towards the sounds and saw Nicholas finishing up a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s chin.
Good thing he’s wearing headgear,
she thought to herself as she watched the man hit the mat. The guys watching were calling out the guy on the floor.

She whistled at her brother, “Nice!”
She loved watching her brother fight.

When
Nick turned and flexed his biceps for her, she rolled her eyes, laughing at his showing off.

“How’s it going?”
she asked him. She hadn’t visited him in the gym in a while because she had been busy with school and her own training. Plus, she tended to avoid her father as much as possible. She still resented him for ignoring her, though being with Zane had helped her come to the conclusion that her father and she would never be able to work together. His only focus was on Nicholas. It would always just be on Nicholas. There was no room for anyone else, even her.

Nicholas walked towards her.
“Good. I’m ready for my next fight. I’m wondering who’s going to challenge me next. I’m guessing Grant or Lewis.”

Melanie knew both of them
. They were the two up and coming fighters, therefore it was time for one of them to challenge Nick.

“I should know within the week,” Nick continued.

Melanie noticed he didn’t seem concerned
; he was always ready for the next fight.

“Nick, I think I’m ready for my first fight,” Melanie announced.
She couldn’t contain her smile. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Training with Zane over the last couple of months had been productive. Her knowledge of the sport helped her training go much faster.

“I want to take on Macey, but I know I can’t challenge her yet.
I’m going to challenge Maria.” Maria was a strong fighter and she was slowly working her way up the circuit. She would be a good first match for Melanie.

Nick smiled down at her.
“That’s awesome, Melanie. So, Zane says you’re ready?”

“Yes, training has been going well
.” Melanie blushed while she was speaking, thinking of just how well it was going between her and Zane.

She looked up into Nick’s knowing eyes.
“You look happy, little sister. I’m happy for you.”

Impulsively, she gave him a hug.
He always supported her. A second later, she jerked back.

“Ugh, you’re sweaty.”
Melanie looked down and saw the wet marks on her clothes. Before she could utter a protest, Nick had scooped her up into a bear hug and made it worse. She yelled at him to put her down. He finally did, but he’d taken his sweet time about it, and she was a mess because of it. It was a good thing she was going home later.

As she was dealing with Nick putting her in a headlock, she saw the front door open.
Damn, it’s Dad
. She was able to pull out of Nick’s grip and get a punch into his stomach, catching him off-guard, and he grunted at the impact.

“Nice punch
, Mel.” Nick sounded proud of her.

She turned to her dad.
“Hey, Dad.” The stiffness in her voice was evident even to her.

“Hello
, Melanie,” was all she got in return before he turned to Nick.

“Ready to take on Grant?
He’s your next fight. The commission called and informed me on my way over here.” Her dad was beaming with his joy.

Melanie
was certain their dad enjoyed knowing that his son was the one they all wanted to fight. He was unbelievably proud. Melanie wished he could be like that with her.

“I’m ready,” Nick responded.
She could see that he didn’t like the way their dad ignored her. “Melanie will be fighting, too, the night before in the women’s matches.”

Melanie held her breath while waiting for her dad’s reaction.
She watched his smile vanish as he looked at her. “Really? What makes you think you can do it? It seemed like you were getting good at getting beaten up during training.” His disapproval was overwhelming. She felt herself trembling with both nerves and anger.

“My trainer says I’m ready and I know I can do it
.” She tried to make her voice sound firm. She hated that she wanted her father’s approval so desperately. She wanted what he and Nick had.

“That idiot Tobias says you’re ready?
God, Melanie, I thought you would finally realize what a waste of time this is and actually use your brain for once. I’m disappointed in you.” Her dad shook his head in disgust at her.

“No, Tobias didn’t tell me anything.
Zane told me I was ready.” She watched her father’s body still.

He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Zane?”

“Yes, Zane.
He’s my trainer.”

Her dad turned to Nick.
“Did you know about this?” he snapped at Nick.

“Yes,” Nick calmly replied.

“Did you think that Zane might try to use Melanie as a way to get back at me?” This time her father was looking at Nick in disgust.

“No, I know he won’t hurt Melanie.
If he wanted to get back at you, he would face you himself, not hurt my little sister out of spite.”

Melanie silently agreed with Nick.
Zane wasn’t the kind to hurt others to make someone else pay for their mistakes. Dad knew that, too. She didn’t know why he’d even made that comment.

“Melanie, think long and hard about this.
Think about how your mother would feel if she saw you now. How heartbroken she would be knowing her daughter was going to fight.” Dammit, she was sick of him putting this same guilt trip on her all the time.

“I think
Mom would be proud of me.” She lifted her chin. “She would want me to fight for what I wanted.” It was time to stand her ground with her father.

“I still don’t approve
. I won’t watch your fight. Women in this sport are a joke. They don’t belong in the cage. It’s just a more glamorized version of two women mud wrestling.” With that said, her dad walked back to his office in the back of the gym. Melanie stood there, shocked at the ugliness of her father’s words. She wanted to scream at him that he was wrong, but she stayed silent.

She thought about Zane telling her to focus on her goals
. She couldn’t make it about anyone else. The knowledge that she was one step closer to achieving her goals helped keep her from going into her father’s office and giving him hell. She wondered what he would do if she dared to actually show him the disrespect he was constantly throwing her way.

“I don’t understand why he’s so hard on you, Melanie.
I’m sorry he won’t come around, but I’m proud of you.” Nick lifted her chin. “Okay?”

Melanie just nodded. She couldn’t lie to her brother that their father’s word
s hadn’t stung.

“I’ll be there for your fight and you better kick her ass.”
Nick sounded confident in her abilities.

Melanie gave him a hug and left before she started tearing up.
She didn’t want anyone to see her cry. Not her brother and certainly not her dad.

*
  *  *

As she walked home, her thoughts drifted back to her mother
, who had been a school teacher at the inner city high school. It was so long ago, the memories had started to fade, however she still recalled the nights her mother would come home upset.

It was a rough school.
Most of the kids were street tough from homes with little to no parental supervision. Her mom had been one of the teachers that wanted to make a difference in those children’s lives. She had always been reaching out to her students, letting them know they had the potential and opportunity to follow their dreams if they just put in the effort.

She still remembered the light in her mother’s eyes when she knew she had gotten through to a student.
Melanie remembered the occasional phone calls her mother would receive from previous students, telling her thank you for the difference she’d made in their lives.

Melanie also remembered the not so good nights
when she would sneak out of her bedroom after bedtime to hear her mother crying to her father. So many students would get into terrible fights and it broke her mother’s heart when a student was severely beaten or bullied. Melanie was picturing her beautiful mother sitting on the couch with her father. Her mother would lean against him as she cried and he would stroke her hair as he listened to her.

Her father
had hated the school and wanted her mother to leave, but she’d refused. She had believed that, the longer she stayed, the more kids she could help lead to a better future. She had been working with the school superintendent to assist in making the school safer, and they had been looking for ways to prevent students from bringing weapons into the school. Her mother had helped write a grant request for a metal detector and a police officer to patrol the school for at least a couple hours a day.

Melanie
had come home from school one day to the smell of chocolate chip cookies. Her mother had returned home early and was preparing a big meal to celebrate. They had received the money to make the school safer through a federal grant. She had scooped Melanie up and given her a big hug. Melanie had adored seeing her mother happy; it had been infectious and everyone felt happy when they were around her. She’d had a warm spirit and her father, Nick, and Melanie knew they were lucky she was in their lives.

That night
had been full of laughter and love. They’d played family games and their parents let Nick and Melanie stay up far past their bedtime. That evening was Melanie’s fondest memory of her childhood. Before they had gone to bed, her mother had told Nick to pick Melanie up from school the next day and then to pick her up because she wanted to take them shopping for their upcoming spring break trip. They were planning to go hiking and needed some camping gear. Her mother then gave Nick and her big hugs before sending them to bed.

Melanie
had been looking forward to the next afternoon and had run to Nick’s car when he’d picked her up after school that day. When they arrived at their mother’s school, they went inside to get her. After they had checked in at the office, they heard students yelling in the lunchroom. They were curious, so they entered to find a large group of students standing in a big circle.

Melanie
had been too little to see over their heads, but Nick hadn’t. He ran to the group of students and shoved them out of his way in order to reach the center. Melanie had been able to see two boys fighting one another through the gap Nick had created.

She
had watched as one pulled a knife out and started to swing his arm around with the intention of stabbing the other one in the side. As his arm came around, Melanie’s mother had run between the two, screaming at them to stop. Nick had just reached the boys and lunged to knock the knife wielding boy down, but the boy’s arm had already been swinging and Melanie watched the knife go into the side of her mother’s chest.

The whole room
had gone silent when her mother dropped to the ground. They had all turned when they heard Melanie screaming as she ran to her mother’s side. Nick and Melanie held their mother as she had lay there bleeding. She vaguely remembered someone saying they were going to call 911.

As they lay there
, looking down at their mother, she had looked up at them both and smiled. She told them she loved them and that she would always be with them. They each held one of her hands and cried, telling her to hold on and to not leave them. While they were trying to talk to her and keep her with them, they had felt another presence. She remembered seeing Zane drop to his knees with tears in his eyes. She found out later that he had still been in class and had run out when he heard what had happened. Her mother had also treated Zane like a son.