X: The Hard Knocks Complete Story (25 page)

I laugh. “You’d better, or Nettie might give you that spanking she threatened you with the past couple of times she saw you.”

The corner of his mouth turns up into a grin. “She’s been threatening me with that for years, and she’s yet to make good on it.”

“She might just surprise you one day.”

He gazes down at me with what can only be described as a you-can’t-be-serious-right-now expression. “I’m pretty sure I can take her if she comes at me.”

“I don’t know,” I say in a singsong voice. “According to Carl, he can take you. If you mess with Nettie, he might just step in.”

Xavier throws his head back and laughs as he pushes open the door to the diner. “I’d like to see him try.”

The sound of his laugh catches Nettie’s attention, and her face lights up when her eyes land on Xavier. She races out from behind the counter and bear-hugs him. His impressive arms make Nettie appear so tiny as he squeezes her against his chest in a loving embrace.

It’s sweet how she treats him like a son. I’m glad that he’s had Nettie and Carl looking out for him all these years.

Nettie pulls back, but she’s still holding Xavier in front of her by gripping his arms. “You’re back already? Not that I’m complaining. You know I always love to see you. I’m surprised because I didn’t expect to see you again for a while since your vacation just ended.” Her gaze flicks over to me, and her grin widens when she notices me standing next to Xavier. “Anna, honey, it’s good to see you, too.”

I grin. “How have you been, Nettie?”

“Oh, can’t complain too much, sugar. Business has picked up a little, so Carl and I have been busy, which is great. We could use our busboy back to help out around here.” Nettie winks at Xavier.

“The way things have been going, Nettie, I might take you up on that offer.”

She tilts her head and studies his face. Xavier sighs under the weight of her stare.

He and Nettie have such a connection that she’s able to read the hesitation on his face, and she instantly knows that something is wrong.

Nettie clucks her tongue. “I know that expression. You going to tell me what’s wrong, or am I gonna have to pry it out of ya?”

“It’s work,” he admits. “I fucked up, Nettie.”

Her face softens. “Well, we all do from time to time, honey. Come on in here and let me fix you something to eat while you tell me all about it.”

“No, Nettie. We really can’t—”

“Of course you can,” she completely cuts off Xavier’s attempt to explain that Quinn’s waiting out front for us.

She jerks her head toward the cooking area on the other side of the counter so fast that her braids whip around her face. “Carl, get your butt out here.”

“Hold your damn horses, woman. I’m coming,” Carl calls from the other side of the door that leads back into what I’ve learned is the stockroom /office/break room.

The gray-headed cook swings open the heavy wooden door that separates the front of the restaurant from the back. Carl’s eyes light up as soon as he spots us. “What up, X? You back already? Did you get canned over that match going south the other night? I saw that on TV. Man, you really fu—”

“Hush, Carl. Don’t be jumping to conclusions like that. He’s done told us over and over that everything is scripted. None of them boys really fight.”

“Actually, Nettie, Carl’s right,” Xavier admits. “I got suspended for losing my shit and attacking Rex in the ring.”

Nettie’s mouth gapes open while Carl shouts, “Told ya!” behind her.

“What?” She’s shocked by the news. “I thought you was done with all that fighting bullshit when you turned legit. You know the trouble that comes with laying your hands on another man. You should know better.”

“I know. The guy has been giving me shit for months, and I let it all go, but he crossed the line when he started fucking with Anna. I wasn’t going to allow him to hurt her or take her away from me.”

It stings, hearing him admit out loud that I’m the reason he lost his head in the ring, and it’s all the more reason I need to do everything I can to get him reinstated as quickly as possible. I won’t be able to live with myself, knowing I ruined his career.

Nettie’s gaze drifts over to me for a split second before returning to Xavier. There was uneasiness in her expression that makes me wonder what she’s so worried about. “So, the two of you will be in town for a while?”

He nods. “Yeah, and that’s why I’m here. I need my bike. Anna’s cousin picked us up from the airport and is waiting out front. She’s going to follow us over to my house on Sycamore to drop off our luggage.”

Nettie’s mouth drops open. “You’re going to stay on the Block? You sure you want to go down there?”

“I don’t have any other option. Tension is fining me a hundred fifty thousand dollars. I have to pay in order to keep my ass out of jail.”

“You have to pay that man? I wouldn’t do that. That’s too much damn money.”

“I have to. Giving that asshole money to go along with the explanation Tension created about the situation is far better than sitting in some cell or serving community service. If I don’t pay him, he won’t go along with the story that me beating his ass was a stunt gone too far.”

“So, you’re going to stay in your grandmother’s house? Are you sure you can handle that? You couldn’t even handle coming to her funeral when she passed away last year. How are you going to deal with living in a place surrounded by her things and all the memories they hold?”

It’s the first bit of information that I’ve learned about the house Xavier owns. It’s obvious that something about his grandmother strikes a nerve with him, which explains why he never wants to discuss the house that’s in his name.

“Paying all this money plus getting no pay during the suspension will nearly break my bank account. I won’t have the extra money to live in a hotel. There’s no other option.”

Nettie’s lips roll down into a frown. “If staying at that house overwhelms you, come back and stay in your old bed in the stockroom.”

Xavier gives her a small smile. “Thanks, but I don’t think both of us will fit on a twin mattress in a broom closet.”

“You come to us if you need
anything
.” Nettie reaches over and takes my hand. Her smooth brown skin is warm as it connects with mine. “That goes for you, too, Anna. Things get out of control, you let me and Carl know.”

“I will. Thank you,” I tell her.

Nettie pulls back and sighs. “Be careful down there, Xavier. Things have changed a lot. Bishop’s running things around the Block now, and when word gets back to him that you’re staying down there, he’s going to come looking for you. I don’t want to hear one peep about you getting mixed up with him again.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson on messing around with those guys. I don’t plan on going back to that life anytime soon.”

She slightly narrows one eye. “Better not. You’ve pulled yourself out of that gutter, and if you mess around and get tangled up with Bishop, old Nettie here is going to whip your butt.”

“Trust me, Nettie. As soon as this suspension is lifted in three months, I’m out of there, and you can go back to checking on the house while I’m gone.”

That answer seems to satisfy her. She lifts her hand and pats his cheek. “Don’t be strangers while you two are in town. Come in and eat whenever you want—on us.”

He lays his hand on top of hers while it rests on his face. “Thank you.”

Nettie takes in a long breath. “Let me go grab your keys from the office. I’ll be right back.”

Xavier reaches down and threads his fingers through mine. It sounds like going back to his old stomping grounds is going to be rough for Xavier. I’m not exactly sure who this Bishop person is, but from the worried expression on Nettie’s face when she was warning Xavier to stay away from him, I’d say he’s bad news.

T
he rumble
of my bike’s engine echoes off the tightly knit houses in the run-down neighborhood that I once called home. Everything is just how I remembered it, except most of the tiny two-story houses now have boarded up windows. I never thought I would be back on this street—never wanted to either—but here I am, moving back into the one house I swore I would never set foot in again.

If it weren’t for my mother making me promise her to always be here at this house so that she could find me, I would not have bought the shithole my grandmother had owned. I felt obligated to buy it when the church she’d left it to put it up for sale. I never had any intention of living in the place that’s the center of most of my nightmares, but it’s where I figured Mom would find her way back to if she were an angel. Mom always came back here when she was fucked up on drugs. It was like she could find it even if she were out of her mind.

Every time I think about my mother, my mind always wonders about how things would’ve been different for me if she weren’t an addict. When I was young, I knew I wasn’t like the other kids at school. In my neighborhood, having a junkie as a parent was common, but most didn’t have to contend with a lunatic grandmother who was hell-bent on beating the demon out of them.

My bike bounces a bit when I turn into the driveway. The concrete is cracked and riddled with holes from years of neglect. If it weren’t for Nettie and Carl maintaining the place, I’m sure the rest of the place would be in bad shape, too.

I stare up at the brown house, and I zero in on the rusted wrought iron railing caging in the front porch like a prison. Quinn’s Honda parks directly behind me, and the girls get out of the car.

Quinn shields her eyes from the evening sun as she tilts her head up to examine the house. “You sure the two of you will be safe staying here? The neighborhood isn’t known to be a beacon of safety. Every shooting on the local news comes from this part of town.”

“He was raised here, Quinn. I’m sure Xavier wouldn’t bring us here if he thought we’d run into trouble.”

Anna’s sweet for saying that, but she’s aware this isn’t the safest place after the conversation we had with Nettie earlier.

I think the pep-talk is more to ease Quinn’s mind than her trying to get me to admit how horrible this place is.

Quinn turns to Anna, and her lips pull into a frown. “I don’t like the idea of you being down here. This place is the epitome of concrete jungle. The whole kill-or-be-killed mentality is very real in this neighborhood. It just doesn’t feel right, leaving you somewhere like this.”

Anna places her hand on Quinn’s forearm in an attempt to reassure her again. “Please, don’t worry. Xavier will be here with me. He’ll protect me.”

Warmth spreads through my chest as confidence rings in her voice.

I place my hand over my heart. “I’ll guard her with my life.”

“You’d better,” Quinn says. “I know where you live now.”

“This isn’t exactly home,” I reply coolly as my eyes narrow at the house in front of me.

Quinn glances over at Anna and raises her eyebrows. It’s clear that she wants to know the story about me and this house, but Anna doesn’t say a word. She just simply shakes her head.

“Okay then, maybe we should get your bags unloaded.” Quinn walks around to the back of the Honda.

After gathering Anna’s and my luggage, I head for the front door to face the demons of my past.

X
avier sets
the bags down and then fishes a set of keys from the pocket of his jeans.

My breath actually catches when he twists the knob and pushes open the front door. I don’t know what I’m about to walk into, but the tension floating in the air is so thick that I can feel it pushing down on my shoulders.

From what I can tell, Xavier is dreading going inside.

When Quinn steps up onto the porch, Xavier turns his head in her direction. “Thanks for the ride and for bringing our bags, but I think we’ve got it from here.”

Xavier turns to head inside, leaving Quinn and me alone on the front porch. The second he’s out of sight, Quinn grabs my arm and drags me back down the steps toward her car.

“What are you doing?” I question.

“I don’t like this. He’s being weird, and this house . . . it’s
scary
, Anna. The neighborhood isn’t exactly the kind of place you want to be when it gets dark. I think you need to leave him here, and you come and stay at my place. We can share my room, and if you need something to take your mind off of X, you can help me and Brock with the wedding.”

I pull back, halting Quinn in her tracks and she releases me. “I’m not leaving him, Quinn. He needs me.”

Her lips pull into a tight line as she studies my face. “Are you sure? It feels wrong to leave you here.”

“I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life,” I honestly tell her.

That earns me a small smile from her. “You love him.”

It’s not a question but a statement. I should’ve known that Quinn would be able to figure out how deeply I care for Xavier before I even had a chance to tell her. She’s excellent at reading me.

“I do,” I admit. “I love him so much that it scares me—like, it’s hard to breathe when I think about not being with him.”

“Damn, cuz. You’ve got it bad. I understand though. We Cortez women tend to do crazy, irrational things when it comes to the men we love, so I know there’s no dragging you away from this place, no matter how much I don’t want you to be here.”

I nod. “Thank you for understanding. I promise, I’ll be safe.”

She reaches out and grabs my hand, giving it a little squeeze. “I meant what I said earlier. Things get rough, you call me. I don’t want you over here, stressed or in a dangerous situation.”

I curl my fingers around hers. “I will.”

She quickly wraps her arms around me and then whispers in my ear, “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Quinn pulls back and gives me a small smile before turning on her heel and walking to her car. I wait until she’s buckled up inside and cranks the engine to life before I swallow hard and make my way back up to the front door to find out what is awaiting me on the other side.

I take a hesitant step inside and allow my eyes to adjust to the dim room. The curtains in the living room are drawn tight, and the only light entering the room comes from the open door. There’s a steep staircase leading to the second floor in front of me, and the rest of the living room is set off to the left. The furniture is dated but appears to be in pristine condition under the plastic covers. A round woven rug covers the hardwood floor that appears to run into the dining room attached to the living room. Our luggage is sitting on top of the rug in the center of the living room, and there’s no sign of Xavier anywhere.

I close the door behind me and begin to explore. On the wall are several pictures of a rather pristine lady wearing a wide-brimmed hat. She reminds me a lot of the upper-class women who attend horse races. In most of the pictures, the woman is with a dark-haired beauty with soulful brown eyes. When I look at this woman, there’s no mistaking the resemblance to Xavier, which probably means this is the mother he lost when he was only eight years old.

“You hungry?” Xavier’s voice cuts through the otherwise silent room. “We could go out and eat since we don’t have any food here yet.”

“I’m not hungry just yet.” I continue to study the pictures on the wall, and my curiosity needs confirmation to what it already knows. “Is this your mother?”

Xavier blows a rush of air out of his nose before walking over to where I’m standing. He stares at the pictures, and instead of answering my question, he moves in to take the frames off the wall. “I forgot all these were up here. I should’ve had Nettie take them down a long time ago.”

I wrap my fingers around his wrist as he reaches for the next picture. “You don’t want to leave them?”

“No,” he replies instantly. “I don’t like to be reminded of the past.”

Since I’ve known Xavier, all I’ve done is push him to talk about his past even though he’s warned me over and over again that the topic of his family was off-limits, so I’m curious to find out more about them.

I watch as Xavier pulls all the pictures off the wall, one by one, before tucking away the memories that haunt him into a storage closet not far from the front door.

Once he’s satisfied that all the pictures are gone, he turns and surveys the room. “I don’t like looking at her.”

I’m not sure who he means, but I’m trying not to get him aggravated by asking too many questions.

He lets out a long sigh, like he doesn’t know what to do with himself in this space. It’s clear that being here is a struggle for him. I’m beginning to have my doubts about talking him into facing his past. It might not be such a good idea.

Lord knows I do my best to keep from facing my past. Last I spoke with my father, he was angry, and I pissed him off even further when I told him I was staying with Xavier. As far as I know, I’m still not welcomed at home, and since the day Father showed up in Atlanta, I’ve not heard a peep from anyone in Portland.

I’d shocked them all by running away the way I did, but I couldn’t see another way out of the situation with my controlling family. I hadn’t wanted the life they had planned for me, and the only way to stop that from happening to me was by breaking free.

And, man, did I ever get freedom.

My eyes have been opened to the cruel realities that others, like Xavier, have faced. His life is, by far, worse than mine, but I respect the hell out of him for finding his own way and making something out of himself on his own terms.

I slide my arms around his waist and snuggle up against him. I’m not sure what’s going on in that head of his, but I want him to know that I’m here, and he can count on me.