Bailey wanted me to stop fighting. A part of me wanted to stop too, but fighting gave me a freedom I wasn’t willing to throw away. So I still woke up early and drove to the Reapers’ gym. Even if I couldn’t fight for a few days to allow my eye to heal, I wanted to stay in shape.
One of the few guys to beat me in a fight remained a thorn in my ass. Entering the gym, Cooper talked on the phone and I hoped he might walk past me. I wasn’t that lucky and he stopped next to my punching bag while finishing his call.
Hanging up, Cooper shoved his phone into his back pocket and sized me up. “You and my sister work. I like that, but this fighting shit can’t continue.”
“Stay out of it,” I muttered, punching the bag.
“You need money. I get that. Farah was afraid to spend too much and always looking for ways to make more.”
“What’s your point?”
“I just want to know if you fight because you love it or because you want the money?”
“I’m not giving up fighting.”
Cooper nodded. “Do you worry about your brain at all? Teaching won’t be easy if you’re brain damaged.”
I glared at him. “Brain damaged?”
“I gave you a concussion. You’ve probably gotten a few others in the cage. What happens when you fuck up your brain so much that your dream to become a teacher isn’t something you can have anymore?”
Saying nothing, I punched the bag without any real force.
“I know how it is to have a dream like you have with teaching,” Cooper said, leaning against the wall. “Farah is the same way. It’s what she used to pull herself out of a shitty childhood. You used it too, but fighting so much will leave you fucked up, man. I’m saying this as the brother of the girl you love. I’m not shitting on you. I take care of what’s mine and Bailey’s my responsibility. Her happiness was always something iffy. She screwed losers and had no direction. I wrote her off as someone I needed to baby, but she’s not that chick anymore. She’s got goals and a guy she loves. I see her future looking real and I want to make sure she gets what she dreams. My family is tight like I bet yours wasn’t so maybe this seems like meddling. It’s not. I love my sister. She deserves to be happy and she wants you to be happy too. That means I am telling you that fighting will fuck you up. The guys who stick with it always end up losers.”
“I need the money,” I muttered.
“For school.”
“And rent.”
“Bailey wants you to move into the apartment. If you wanted that too, you’d need less money.”
“I’m not living off Bailey’s money.”
“No, didn’t think you would. I can get you a different job. Something that pays decent and gives you time to study.”
“I don’t want to work for your family.”
“Again, I figured that out,” Cooper said, smirking. “Dylan Campbell is working on my office. He has a lot of projects and needs help. Not just the physical crap either. Project manager stuff too. I talked to him and he’d be cool with trying you out. That is, if you’d be interested.”
“Is this how it’ll be? You running Bailey and my life together.”
“Yeah, Pop and Mom too. Hell, even Sawyer will boss you around. It’s how family works, Nick. You can’t just have the fun stuff like barbecues. There are responsibilities that come with family and one of them is watching each other’s backs. You want to be with Bailey and that’ll make you family. That means your life matters to me. I want you to be a teacher. I want Bailey to finish college and do whatever she wants. If it’s helping with the family business, great. If she wants something else later, I’m cool with that too. I’m happy to know she won’t need me running her whole life, just the small stuff.”
Stepping back from the bag, I grabbed my bottle of water. Cooper gave me a few minutes to think then stood up.
“Your strength in fighting comes from taking a beating and remaining upright. You win those fights, but you’ll lose the battle. If you were a punk with no skills, I’d say fight away. Enjoy the victories, but you have bigger goals and you need a healthy brain for them. Don’t think of it as me telling you what to do or the family pushing you around. Think of it as you getting what you want because you deserve it. If you were an asshole, I’d bury you rather than let you ruin my sister.”
Finishing my water, I frowned. “I’ve never done construction.”
“Dylan has a few contracts. Fix it shit. Lawn stuff. I don’t know it all, but he wants to expand and prove himself to his old man. I’m sure you know something about that and Dylan’s a good guy too. I thought you both sucked, but I’m perfect enough to admit I was wrong.”
Rolling my eyes, I grinned. “Perfect.”
“Look, I nearly lost my girl because I let my ego get in the way. You might lose Bailey for the same reason. Why give up what you want when everything is just waiting for you? You’re not proving anyone right or wrong by taking Dylan’s offer. You’re doing what you need to do to make shit right for you and Bailey.”
Cooper looked ready to leave when I spoke.