❝IF LOVING ME IN PUBLIC AIN'T SAFE, YOU CAN TAKE MY LOVE AND HIDE IT.❞
𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐉 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒, fighter name 'Sweet Pea', an upcoming professional boxer recognized for his talent in the ring , and charisma in the world. With rough beginnings, Ba...
"Rise and shine son!" Vern shouted as he entered my hotel room. He kicked the door closed behind him as as both his hands were occupied with cups of coffee. He waited while I wiped my eyes and rose from the sheets.
"Hmm." he mumbled pushing the cup in my face. "We've got a early flight so hurry up." I mumbled an incoherent response as I placed my feet on the floor.
I sipped the coffee for a couple minutes before entering the bathroom. After I handled my business and began to brush my teeth when Vern barged in.
"Wassup?" I mumbled, mouth full of toothpaste.
"Why you taking so damn long?" he snapped. "We gone miss the whole damn plane."
I spit out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth. "I'm tired. Stayed up all night." I explained, while collecting all my hygiene products.
"And why would you do that?" he sassed while walking towards the beds. He grabbed my duffel bag and began shoving everything in sight, inside of it.
I sighed. The answer to Vern's question would definitely make him mad. "I was at the club." I mumbled. He jerked his head and raised his eyebrows, indicating he didn't hear me. "I went to the club." I said a little louder.
He paused and stood to his full height. By the way his face was scrunched up, I could tell he was trying to contain his words.
"Before you say anything! I knew you wouldn't have agreed, but I only had two drinks. That won't set my training back any."
"What-"
I cut him off. "No one recognized me, and there were no paparazzi." I sighed. "I just needed to get out my feelings."
Vern shook his head, continuing to throw the small amount of my items into a bag. "You're an adult. I'm not going to tell you what to do." he shrugged.
"I appreciate it."
It was silence for a while before he spoke again. "But if you do that shit again I while punch you myself."
I snickered. "Yea, ight."
"Don't play with me son. Who you think taught you everything you know?"
"Not you, old knee knocking self." I joked and it was Vern's turn to kiss his teeth.
"I still got it, don't fuck with me." Vern bucked.
"Sure." I laughed. We worked simultaneously to collect everything out my room. Ten minutes later, I trailed behind Vern as we exited the hotel. My mom and dad stood in the middle of the lobby waiting for us.
"Morning." I spoke to both of them.
"Hey, Maj." my mom greeted as my dad grabbed the bags and begin to place them in the car. "Did you eat already?"
"No ma'am. I'll probably get something at the airport."
My dad scoffed. "Expensive ass food. It's a whole buffet down the hall."
"Stop being cheap, Marvin." my mom smacked his arm. "We have to hurry to the airport so he doesn't have time to eat anyways."
"Ain't shit cheap about me, Yolanda. You see that ring on your finger."
"And I'll give it back right now, don't play." my mom said making my dad smack his lips. I laughed out loud, making me dad side eye me so I walked away.
"Everything ready?" I asked Vern who was standing by the hotel entrance. A few feet behind him were men on my security team, dressed in all black.
He nodded, not looking up from his phone. "Yea, but we are going to switch cars. Security will take the Escalade we drove last night, and we're going in the XL so all our bags and your equipment will fit."
"Sounds good." I nodded, letting him put all his attention on my phone.
Vern worked as my stand-in Personal Assistant, Personal Trainer, Publicist, and Manager all in one. As I was a rookie athlete, I was still building my profile and didn't want to put my very fragile career in someone I didn't trust hands.
So until I found my team, Vern volunteered.
━━
"See, look. Rewind it like ten seconds." Vern instructed. I sent the video of last nights's fight back a couple seconds before watching it.
He paused the video before pointing. "When you throw a punch, your body only turns so fast. And you keep trying to throw punches faster than your body moves, which exerts extra power." he explained and I nodded in understanding. We continued going over my technique, round by round.
"You don't always have to throw one knockout punch after another. Combo light and hard punches and use head movement to fake out. Remember that the harder you go, the harder they counter. Calm down and throw the hard punches when you know they'll land." He went to say more, but commotion outside the car stopped him.
"Did you guys hear that?" my mom looked up from her book. She patted my dad's leg twice, but he was asleep against the headrest.
"Yes." I mumbled, trying to look outside the window, but it was too many cars on the highway to tell what happened exactly. "Maybe a car accident?"
"Everything good?" Vern asked the driver. When he didn't respond, but continued to fumble with his phone, and speak quickly into his ear, the panic began to set in.
"One second, Mr. Banks." the driver spoke while pulling over in the side of the highway. Before I, or anyone, could ask any questions, he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out the car.
"The fuck?"
My dad woke up with a groan. Stretching his legs, le looked around the stationary car questionably. "What's going on?"
We ignored him.
"Just give him a moment." my mother spoke. "Maybe he went to make sure everything is alright." I shrugged at her reasoning. My mind ran a mile a minute as I waited for the driver to return.
In the distance and getting closer, the sound of sirens rung. And in minutes, police cruisers and ambulances pulled into the emergency shoulder.
When the driver returned everyone eyes snapped to his as he opened the door. "We have a problem." When nobody commented he continued. "Our other car, the Escalade, rear ended a 18 wheeler and flipped multiple times. The ambulance pulled out all the occupants, but they've all been pronounced dead."
