The Thistles of Rose

21 • Perceptive

♚ Luca ♚

The punching bag lunges in my arms as I hold it steady. The kid's decent punches slap against the leather and small speckles of dust seep from the cracks. There's a stench of his faint sweat, synthetic foam mats and the fresh peppermint air freshener in the basement of my house which I turned into a gym years ago.

"Good. But always keep your face guarded. Duck if you have to," I instruct the kid, after assessing his fighting skills. I've just been analysing his power from how hard he hits the punching bag.

He's better than I thought. He's got skill.

Roman breaks out of his fighting stance and snaps, "it's no fucking use. I'm shit at this."

The bulging vein in his neck. The red tint on his face. The frustration surging through his blood. The anger in his brown eyes. I know that feeling too well.

I should probably tell him to watch his language but I feel that's more Rosa's territory of parenting. How the fuck do you even be a father?

I straighten out the punching bag, declaring, "I can make a champion out of you."

That's off to a good start, I guess?

"You're just saying that," he scoffs, rewrapping the fraying white wraps around his hands.

He's doubting himself. It reminds me of when I was a young teenager.

"I'm being serious," I reassure him, "your stamina is exceptional and that'll be your advantage. If we work on your power a little more and fix up a strategy, I can have you soaring to the top."

He halts and his eyes bulge out of their sockets. "You're putting me in the ring?"

Walking over to the table, I wipe my hands with the soft towel, brushing the dust away. "I believe it's a good idea. That way you get a bit of money for yourself too. Some day in the future, you'll thank me for this."

Of course, I'll provide for him. But dependency is dangerous. Hence, I want to teach him to not be reliant on other people.

He makes my Rosa happy so he's a default for this house and our future together. As I've mentioned before, he can be my second chance to prove to myself that I'm not a sociopathic monster.

Rosa loves me by choice. She loves my flaws, my fucking dark side and the merciless side of me. But with Roman, this is preparing me to see if I'm a decent man. She's taught me all I need to know and I'm putting it into practice with him until the ultimate test.

Roman's eyes are fixated on the floor as he clenches the water bottle in his grasp. He's deep in thought considering my offer until he looks up at me and nods.

"One thing: don't tell Rosa about this. She'll have a heart attack," I say.

I don't keep secrets from her but not mentioning something that will undoubtedly worry her is different. It's the lesser of two evils for her not to know yet. Besides, I won't put him in the ring straight away.

He's quick to question my judgement which irritates me. "What if she sees my bruises? You know how worried she'll get."

I don't know why he thinks he knows what's best for her. She's already got so much on her plate. She's exhausted from all her meds. She's self-harming again. This will only stress her out.

"As I said, keep your face guarded and you won't get any there," I grit my teeth, trying to hide my frustration. Inhaling a subtle breath, I soften my tone, "I'll teach you how to look out for tells before someone punches."