Afterwards, Adam and I parted ways. I let him have the space he probably needed right now and rode back to my house to grab the things I needed for school.
Should probably be pushed to the back of my mind with all these life and death situations popping left and right but my parents paid a hefty tuition fee. I might as well make the most of it while juggling the death threats as best as I could.
Funnily enough, my pride might still get bruised if I saw a grade lower than an 80.
I guess the nerd personality didn’t just wear off when high school ended.
I had some notes to catch up on and to read over but I personally thought I was doing better than most would, considering my circumstances.
I switched my bike with the car instead when I got home and tried to pack up a school bag as quick as possible to start my day on time. I tried to cover the bruises on my face with some concealer, but it turns out that a swollen eye was very difficult to cover so I tried to work with what I could. I had a lecture in another half an hour and if I acted like the hellhounds were on my heels, I’d make it there on time with a few minutes to spare.
The day passed quickly, I mostly ignored everyone and focused on catching up with the materials I was falling back on. It felt as if my university life had been put on pause and it would only resume when I’ve dealt with the other pressing matters in my life.
My day went on as uneventful as possible, which was a relief, to say the least. When everything else in your life seemed to be exploding into flames, it was relaxing to have at least one thing remain plain and boring.
I sent a silent thanks to the man above when I got through the day with no one questioning the limp in my walk and minded their own business without questioning my swollen eye.
When the day ended, I decided to get some more ice cream to lift my mood even further.
I stopped by the convenience store to grab myself some Ben & Jerry’s. It was the same store where I met Cole’s mom.
I’ve been thinking of the different questions I could ask the woman regarding Cole to maybe find Cole's weakness. I was barely pulling through this competition. Even though I was already in the semi-finals, I needed to beat another guy and Cole before I could win this competition and if Cole was pulling through into the finals too, I clearly shouldn’t be underestimating him.
I almost died during the last competition. I’ve gone this far, I can’t fail at the last minute.
I pushed open the door to the store and made a beeline to the fridges at the back of the store where the ice creams are. I was scanning the contents of the fridge, for my favorite flavor when I heard faint joyous screams of kids. I saw the newcomers through the store's window and immediately tensed.
The old lady and the kids I saw with Cole walked in through the door.
‘I guess it was my lucky day after all,’ I mused to myself as I grabbed a tub and walked towards the old lady.
“Hi, how are you?” I greeted her with a warm smile. She looked up and mirrored my smile.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I introduced myself properly the last time we met,” I began, trying to start the conversation slowly so that she’ll feel comfortable with me.
My parents had always told me I had extra charm when it came to the elderly.
“My name’s Sandra,” I offered her my hand. She took it, still smiling at me and introducing herself as Lionett.
I turned to where the three kids were bickering. I let a small smile grace my lips, thinking about how much they reminded me of Bryant and I when we were kids.
“Such angelic creatures, aren’t they?” Lionett joked, chuckling as she shook her head when she noticed what I was looking at.
I laughed with her as we continued to watch the kids.
“They remind me of how I was with my brother. We used to give my parents such a hard time when we were their age,” I shared with a smile.
“Well your parents are lucky. At least you grew out of it after a few years, I remembered my sons being the same way until my eldest hit his early 20s.” Lionett rolled her eyes and I smiled sadly at what she said.
“Actually, my brother and I stopped wreaking havoc because he passed away a few years ago. We never got to fint out how long we would’ve carried on annoying my parents,” I told her, giving her a weak smile.
Her face fell at what I said, “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t know.”
I smiled reassuringly at her, telling her that it was alright.
“So how many children do you have?” I decided to change the subject and started digging for some information.
“Oh, they’re all my kids, dear. I adopted those three rascals a couple years back and I have two sons that are my own flesh and blood.” She answered me, motioning to the kids that were now playing tag at the back of the store.
“Lucas is the oldest between those three, he’s six. Then you have Gemma and Alex, they’re both turning four years old in a few months. Gemma’s older than Alex by a couple of months.” She introduced the kids and I listened carefully as we continued to watch them run around the store.
“They’re my everything. Adopting them wasn’t easy but I don’t regret it. My sons, bless their souls, have been working their butts off to help me. I couldn’t be more grateful for the family I’ve been blessed with.”
A lump has formed in my throat as she told me about her big family. I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Cole’s family needed that money. The money was for these kids. That’s why the two brothers joined the competition; to increase their chances in winning.
Everything suddenly seemed to fall into place. I found the missing pieces.
With that, I swallowed the lump and gave Lionett a final smile while excusing myself, telling her that it was getting late.
Lionett gave me a smile as I waved at her goodbye.
“It was nice meeting you, Sandra.” Lionett smiled. I exited the store, subtly rushing to my car and quickly drove home.
When I finally reached my house, I stored the ice cream tub in the freezer and took out my phone to called Preston.
The phone rang twice before someone picked up.
“Hello?” Pres’ groggy voice greeted me and I finally let the tears slide down my face.
“H-he did it for the kids, Pres,” I sobbed out. I’ve turned into a blubbering mess as what I’ve done hit me full force. Everything
had barely sunk in when I plopped down onto the couch and dialed Preston.
“Woah, Case.” Preston breathed out and I took a deep breath, halting my words.
“I bumped into Cole’s mother in the store,” I started slowly, swallowing a few times.
“Who’s Cole?” Preston asked, sounding puzzled.
“He’s the guy that went to your mother’s funeral and threatened to hurt everyone I love if I didn't re-enter the competition and fight him.” I explained to him, still sniffling and wiping the tears that slipped out from my eyes.
I heard silence from Preston and I took that as my cue to continue. I took a deep breath, trying to refrain from turning into a sobbing mess once again.
“His mom took in three little kids as her own and they’re struggling to support the kids. Cole and his brother entered the competition to help their mother care for the kids. I rendered his brother disabled and took him out of the competition. No wonder he was livid, I’m a monster!” I exclaimed, hitting my head.
“That poor family,” I whispered, sniffling. “What have I done?” I sobbed into my hand.
“Case, you can’t protect everyone around you.” Preston’s voice was soft and I took comfort in his words, calming down slightly.
“You can’t continue to hold yourself responsible for every single horrible thing that happens to the people you know,” Preston continued to say. I breathed out a trembling breath and a shiver ran down my spine as I tried to pull myself together.
“You’re the best person I know, Case. You’ve always tried to take care of everyone around you and you’ve always put others before yourself. But sometimes you have to remember that you’re human and there’s only so much you could do.” Preston whispered and I clung to his every word for comfort.
“Sometimes things happen for a reason and I believe there’s a bigger picture to it all. Don’t beat yourself up for these things, Case. You couldn’t have known and you did what you had to. At least try to remember your limits as a person. You’re not God, you don’t have the power to take care of everyone.” Preston continued to coax me out of my self-loathing state. By the end of his speech, I felt myself calming down and my breathing had returned to its normal rate.
I sniffled quietly when Preston finished his mini-speech and thanked him. I don’t know where I’d be without this guy having my back.
“Now that you’re somewhat okay, care to explain what happened with Adam earlier?” Preston questioned and I frowned.
“Is he okay?” I asked Preston. Preston’s ability to read people’s emotions rarely comes to him and he was often dense when it came to reading situations. If he knew something happened to
Adam, then Adam must’ve done something very off to catch his older brother’s attention.
“Well, he stormed into his room when he got back from dropping you off and he hasn’t come out of his room ever since. He yelled at me to get lost when I offered him some lunch.”
I sighed, feeling my heart go out for Adam. I can’t imagine how hard he must be taking this. He believed in Kiara’s innocence all this time and to have seen her standing beside Dom with his own eyes must've been heartbreaking.
“When we went to grab my bike at the basecamp, Dom and Levy were there. We saw Kiara with them. Hell, I don’t even think that’s her real name. I remember Levy calling her a different name. It’s probably an alias. Adam took it hard.” I explained to Preston and I heard some shuffling.
“Well at least he’s got his head out of his ass now,” Preston said I could imagine his shrug. I felt a scowl forming on my face.
“Be more considerate to your brother’s feelings, Pres! He’s heartbroken; he really believed in her innocence,” I scolded. I heard him snort when I used the word innocence to describe Kiara.
“The bitch is nowhere near innocent,” I heard Pres mutter. I chuckled lightly at what he said, unable to disagree with him on that.
“I guess I have a heartbroken little brother to tend to now.” Preston sighed as I heard a door swing open through the call.
I smiled at how he was trying to play the big brother role. He was such a dick when I first met him that I couldn’t help but be proud at how much my perspective of him has changed.
“Good luck, Pres.”
Preston thanked me before hanging up. I laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling for a long time, processing what Lionett had told me properly. I sniffled as I remembered what I did to Cole’s brother.
I covered my eyes with my arm and breathed slowly through my nose. I felt a new resolution course through me.
I took out Cole’s brother, which meant his chance of winning the prize got narrowed down. I wouldn't be able to fix Cole’s brother. I didn't know how to fix someone’s mentality and I wasn't a miracle worker. I was only human.
But what I could do was win this competition and keep my loved ones safe from Cole’s thirst for vengeance.
I couldn't make the sons Lionett was so proud of a cripple and a criminal.
With that thought, I swung my feet off the couch and stood up, ready to train as much as I could with the bruises I’m sporting. I have a competition to win this thing.