Axel: A Bad Boy Romance (18 page)

Chapter Thirty

Elmsworth College, it sounded stately and elegant and a little beyond Marie’s means. But she shook that thought away. No more putting herself down. It was just a name for Pete’s sake. She couldn’t let herself get dissuaded just from a name. So she checked it out online and it looked perfect. It was a local college where she could get a good hotel management degree. Marie liked running the Hawks’ mansion, but the history stuff wasn’t her favorite part. She liked when tours came in and she could show other people around; she liked the party and hosting. She could see herself running a small inn one day, if she were lucky.

So with Cate in tow, Marie went to check out the college in person. Axel was there, too, of course.  He had called and asked what she had been planning for the day and then invited himself along. She was glad he was there. Marie was turning over quite a few new leaves, but she still felt shy and nervous most of the time. Having Axel there would help give her more confidence and make her feel safe.

The school was about forty minutes away from Harksburg and Marie felt a twinge of sadness once they passed the town limits. This would be the first time she would leave Harksburg since declaring it home. She felt safe and enjoyed the little town and she was sad to see it recede in her rearview mirror.

But any sadness or hesitation was washed away once they actually arrived at Elmsworth College. It was situated on a low hill with a lovely view of the mountainous country around it. It had been a woman’s college once and it still held that antique charm. The exterior of the buildings were brick and the walks were lined with stately and large oaks. The paths were made of cobblestone and lined with peonies and daffodils.

“It’s so pretty!” Cate exclaimed as she leaned over to smell a flower.

“It looks like something out of a chick flick,” Axel said as he glanced at a bulletin board covered in flyers advertising empty rooms and guitar lessons.

“Is there something so wrong with that?” Marie asked. “You can’t expect the entire world to look like a boxing gym.”

“Now that is a world I want to live in. Nothing but gyms as far as the eye can see,” Axel said as he pulled Marie close and planted a kiss on her lips.

She gave him a crooked smiled and pushed him away. She could tell he was just teasing because he was pleased. This was a good idea. This could be a good thing.

They walked inside one of the buildings, which Marie was surprised and pleased to see was very modern. All of the classrooms were “smart” classrooms with computers and projectors. She flipped through one of the course books and saw listings for entrepreneurship, accounting, sales, taxes, record keeping, and vendor selection. It all looked intense, but they were things she wanted to learn more about.

“Cate starts school next fall,” Marie said to Axel. “Then I won’t have to worry about daycare and I’ll have some free time during the day.”

“Sounds perfect,” Axel said. “You should apply now.” He reached for a pamphlet that listed the materials she would need.

But that was the problem: she would be starting a real life here and a real life was one Austin could track. Could he find her this way? Marie looked over to Cate who was gleefully running around a fountain, getting the occasional splash of water on her. She was trapped. She needed to get a good job so she could always provide for Cate. But, even more than that, she deserved a real life – a life where she wasn’t looking over her shoulder or hiding. But what if that new life put her and Cate in danger? She didn’t want anything to happen to her daughter, but she also knew she couldn’t spend her life doing nothing.

“I can see you changing your mind,” Axel chided gently.

“I know. But I have to think of Cate.”

“Cate wants you to do this. You know she wouldn’t want you to put your life on hold for her.”

“It’s about her safety. He could find me through this.”

“He might, but he might not and I will be here for you, no matter what. If Austin comes here, I will deal with him for you.”

Marie put the pamphlet back and turned away angrily. They had been having the same discussion for weeks now. Axel didn't understand. It was all too easy for him to be tough and brave, but it was different for Marie. She didn’t have to worry about just herself, but Cate, as well. She couldn’t put her daughter in danger.

She was halfway out the door when Axel grabbed her wrist and stopped her. His touch was loose and she could have escaped at any moment, but instead she sighed and looked at him. He pulled her into a hug and she leaned against his strong chest and breathed in the scent of him. He was so solid and real; she still couldn't quite get enough of him.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do. It is your decision; I just want you to know that you aren’t alone in this.”

Marie nodded into his chest and watched Cate play. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she admitted. “I never know what the right thing to do is.”

“You seem to be doing an okay job so far. You landed me, didn’t you?”

Marie giggled and pushed him away. “That’s quite the ego you got there, Connelly,” she said.

“Hey, I earned this ego.”

She shook her head and watched as he ran out in front of her and then swooped Cate up into his arms and lifted her about his head. She squealed in delight and spread her arms as they played airplane and he carried around the fountain one last time.

“You should go to this school, Mommy,” Cate said breathlessly as Axel set her down on the pavements. “I like it here.”

“Thank you, sweetie, I’m going to think about it,” Marie said. They began a long slow walk back to the car. She could do this. She knew that now. She could go to this school and get great grades and then go out and have a career. No more asking anyone for money. No more being dependent on the whims of some man.

So why did she feel this uncomfortable drop in her stomach? It felt like she was standing at the edge of a cliff and peering down. This could be so dangerous. And was it just her imagination, or were people staring at her? It seemed every person she passed had a cellphone out and pointed her way. The kid with the skateboard lounging on a bench, an old woman standing for the bus. They went from passive to dangerous with the smallest of gestures.

She still couldn’t quite believe he hadn’t found her yet. So, maybe that meant she was safe. Maybe the cliff she was standing on wasn’t that high. Maybe there was no danger. What if she put her life on hold forever only to discover Austin had forgotten about her almost immediately?

The not knowing was getting to her. She had no answers for where Austin was or what he was thinking. She had no idea what he was planning, only guesses. In her mind these ideas spun out to dangerous ends where everyone she met was a plant from Austin and they were all watching her and reporting her movements back. It was a dangerous road to tread down – go too far and she would be too scared to even leave the house.

She wouldn’t know what the line was until she crossed it. That was the problem. Any one thing could lead Austin to her. So she was stuck doing nothing. But she didn’t like doing nothing. She had a job and a new boyfriend and she wanted more. She wanted a degree and a career and everything life had to offer. It would happen eventually; she couldn’t hide from Austin forever. She would have to take one step and then another and hope for best each time. It was nerve wracking, but it was the only way forward.

Chapter Thirty-One

He knocked Rafael out in two rounds. The other man sat up from the mat with his eyes crossed and Axel helped him up. He was feeling great. He was at his physical and mental peak. He wished the fight was that day. He was ready for it. He was ready to meet Castellano in the ring and take him out. It would be his greatest fight to date.

Axel had spent all day in training and he could have gone another couple of hours. Not that he wasn’t tired and sore, he was, but it was the good kind of tired and sore. His body had gone through a punishing hell and come out stronger on the other side. He was ready for more. He was ready to push himself even further and get even stronger.

He could spend the entire night at the gym and Marie would understand. She would smile knowingly and with a light kiss tell him to go knock 'em dead. She got it. She understood how important this was to him. She wasn’t threatened by it. She was perfect in almost every way.

From here he would head to nationals. It would be nothing but huge arenas and well-publicized fights. He could hire additional trainers, not that he was planning on getting rid of Hayden, but something about Hayden’s reaction to Marie wasn’t sitting right with Axel. It was like he refused to change his mind on Marie. They had the long-standing rule about dating and Axel had broken it, sure, but look how much better he was. Hayden refused to recognize it. He still stuck to his guns that this relationship was a bad idea.

Almost every conversation between the two men began with Hayden demanding to know if Axel had broken it off with Marie. Every time Axel responded with
no
and Hayden would sigh dramatically and shake his head. Then the lecture would begin. It was like Hayden was refusing to see the truth that was right in front of him: being with Marie was only making Axel stronger, not weaker.

After Axel’s massage was complete and he was freshly showered, he headed out. He was spending the night with Marie. She was going to make him dinner and then they would put Cate to bed and then have the entire night with each other.

“Axel, a word?” Hayden asked.

Axel whipped around and saw his trainer standing in the doorway to the office. He walked back inside and Axel followed. He owed Hayden that much. They had come up together; they had done everything together. But Axel was beginning to think that he had outgrown his old trainer.

Axel sat down in the couch in the office and Hayden leaned against his desk and stared down.

“You still with Marie?” Hayden asked. His voice was low, but he stared at Axel when he asked the question. His eyes were boring into Axel’s and he had an intense look on his face Axel couldn’t recall ever seeing before.

“Yes, and I hope you notice I’m fighting better than ever. I know you’re unhappy about it, but I think we need to change the rule about dating during training. All training programs need to grow and change as the athlete grows. This is just a small change. Everything else can stay the same, but this one thing needs to change.”

“Let’s talk about Olivia,” Hayden said.

“What’s there to talk about? I was green when I dated Olivia. I was a wet behind the ears twenty-one-year-old. I had no idea what I was doing-”

“You met her a month before a regional championship, your biggest fight to date,” Hayden interrupted. “You fell head over heels. I remember you coming to me and telling me all about her. She was beautiful and smart and charming. Blonde hair and blue eyes and nothing but curves for you to hold onto. You were smitten with her. You promised me things would be the same. Then you start missing practices because you were hung over. You were out late last night with Olivia. Olivia wanted to check out the local club and you were too sick to come to training. She was just using you to get into the best bars and clubs around town. Then the night before the championship, the night before, she gets into a fight with you, complains you’re not paying enough attention to her. She breaks it off with you and you’re devastated. You were slated to win that fight and you got knocked out in the first round. It was embarrassing and it took two years for your career to recover. Two years and that was just a regional championship. This is the Northeastern Belt that’s up for grabs. You fuck this up and your career could be over.”

Axel let him speak. He wanted to interrupt a dozen times, but he could tell the other man had been practicing his speech and Axel decided it would be better to let him let it all out. Memories of Olivia came flooding back to him. God she had been gorgeous and a real firecracker in the sack. And Hayden was right: she had Axel wrapped around her little finger. She said jump and he asked how high. He was desperate to please her. Looking back, he was embarrassed at his younger self. He had no idea what he was getting himself into with Olivia. Now he would see a girl like that coming and he would avoid her like the plague. He stared at the wall behind Hayden’s head and listened until, finally, it was his turn to speak.

“I don’t deny that Olivia was a huge mistake. I can see that now. But Marie is not Olivia. She’s better than that. She would never ask me to compromise my career. It’s not fair to blame Marie for what Olivia did. And I would remind you that I haven't missed a single practice. I haven’t been out partying or coming in hung over. I’ve told you, it’s different this time. I’m different. I’m more mature now and I think you would trust me on this.”

“You really choosing this girl over me? I’ve been with you since you were fifteen years old, Axel. This isn’t your career; it’s
our
career. What happens to you happens to me, too. I’ve given up everything for you-”

“What have you given up?” Axel demanded as he stood. “Because from my vantage point it looks like I gave you a job and a purpose. You had nothing before you started training me. You have a job because of me; you help run this gym because I own it. I’m hearing a lot about sacrifice on your end and nothing about the things my success has brought you.”

“So that’s how it’s gonna be? Now suddenly I’m just a leech hanging off you? I’m the one who got up at five in the morning so I could have everything ready when you woke at six. I’m the one who’s there right beside you when you’re training. You don’t drink, neither do I. You don’t see any women, neither do I. I thought we were in this together. Now I see otherwise.”

“Come on, Hayden,” Axel said throwing up his arms. Why did it feel like he was arguing with a disappointed girlfriend right now? “I’m not choosing you over Marie. You are putting yourself between me and her and I don’t want you there.”

Hayden took a step back as if he had been slapped.

“You’re my trainer, but from now on, I think that can only exist in here, in the gym. Outside of this place, you can’t tell me what to do. I know what I’m doing. I know my body better than anyone else. I’m telling you she’s good for me and you’re ignoring me. How am I supposed to work with that? You won’t look at the evidence. I’m better now, not weaker.”

“And what about whatever she’s running from? What if that guy comes looking the day before a fight and you get the shit kicked out of you with no time to recover? What then?”

“What if I get hit by a bus? What if a meteor hits the earth and all life is extinguished? You can't think like that, man. Anything could happen at any time, but we still have to live our lives.”

They were both standing. Hayden seemed almost out of breath. He was leaning against the desk and shaking his head. There was a dangerous looking sneer on his face. But Axel was done with him. Maybe it was time to get a new trainer.

“This, by the way, isn’t helping my mental game,” Axel said through clenched teeth. “Fighting with my trainer is not the best way to prepare for my biggest fight. So I’m gonna go,” Axel said. “And this is the last time we have this conversation.”

Hayden shook his head but said nothing as Axel made his way to the door, walked up the stairs and left the gym.