Bruised

Chapter 18

The morning sun woke him up from the longest sleep he had had in ages. After a shower he decided to put on his training clothes and head to Scandal as curiosity took over him on his way over.

Would they kick him out of the club? Were they just messing with him? Maybe it was just a joke to make him train harder so new kids would see what Scandal was all about. He had absolutely no idea but between thoughts he was almost at the door of the club so he might as well just get inside.

"Before 10 a.m., I am impressed Matthew" Bossy said clapping as he walked out of his office, the only office in the club actually. "Guess Dave really piqued your curiosity" he said as they shook hands "He hasn't arrived yet, if you want to start your training I'll call you once he arrives".

As he made his way to his usual training spot he noticed a boy training there. "Hey mate" he said in quite a loud tone, which made no difference because the kid was wearing earphones. "Kiddo" Matthew said now holding his hand from hitting the punching bag finally getting his attention "Oh hello here, there are others punching bags in here, did you not notice my name on this one?"

The boy stepped away but there were no signs of embarrassment "I always saw you training here, and you are really a role to follow around, I just wanted to try your bag, yeah, I'm sorry, I shouda have asked someone first"

"You really 'shoulda', the bag has a name for some reason. You're forgiven, for this time" Matthew had a face that called for respect to say the least but then he held his hand up to greet the kid "Matthew"

"Gaz" The boy said excited "I first joined Scandal cause my dad said there was this guy, this Matt who was just killin it, I seriously adore you so much" he said and Matthew laughed "Well I'm glad I am some kind of inspiration for you, it means a lot, I gotta train now, but maybe we can practice someday"

He smiled as the boy walked away and put on his gloves, after that he really began his training. He always lost track of time when he trained so it was obvious that he didn't know for how long he had been there when Bossy whistled to call him.

Dave was standing close to the window that allowed Bossy to always control Scandal even when he needed to stay in his office, and Bossy was sat in the same chair as always.

"Go straight to the point, I've been training like crazy lately and doing everything you say with no explanation, I feel like I deserve one"

"Me and Bossy, we have been working on this contract for a while now, it's a championship that can put you on the real game Matt, we are talking millions" Dave began "We managed to get you in, it's all down to you now." Bossy interrupted him "You are one of the best I've seen. When focused, you could beat any single boxer. No one deserves it more than you."

Matthew was shocked "You got me a place in a championship?" Both men nodded enthusiastic. "You have all the information you need here. It begins at Golden Arena, it has multiple rounds, the more you win, not only do you get more money but also visibility. Win it all and you'll be fighting with the best of the best" Dave handed him a folder "Any doubts you call me"

After training for not more than half an hour he returned home more delighted than he could remember ever being.

As he saw the light of day is first thought was to call his father but he was quickly hit by reality. He could never share this with the one person he loved the most.

Monotonous. That's the best word to describe Matthew's following week. Ignored by Stella, with Nate out of town and with most of his friends on holiday left him plenty of time to train.

He would wake up every morning, make his way to Scandal, train all morning by himself then he would stop to have lunch (usually with Joe whith whom he had created a great friendship) in the nearest restaurant, after that he would return to Scandal  so he could fight for around an hour with Dave and some of the best fighters of the 'gym'.
Bossy would only stop by around 5 p.m. and they would both stay until at least past 2. Was Matthew exhausted? Definitely. Did he want to slow down? Absolutely not.

The last couple of days before the fight Matthew decided to take some well deserved rest and wake up a little later. Yet, he had to shorten his lunch break.

Bossy and Dave, the only two who knew about the fight were really confident and took Matthew's win for granteed. He on the contrary wasn't so sure and felt like he hadn't had enough training,  the only thing he certain of was that he would pull his socks up to win against all odds.

The day of the fight had finally arrived and Matt was obviously nervous. He decided to trow some punches in the morning. After a while thinking whether he should do it at home or Scandal  he picked his helmet of the ground and made his way there in his motorcycle. He rarely did that, not only because Scandal was kind of an off the record gym but also because he didn't like to leave his 'bike in that neighbourhood. When he reached the big door he greeted the body guard "I need you to keep an eye on my babygirl for me today Puck" he said pointing to where he had left her, then he went inside.

Bossy and him worked on some moves he wasn't so sure about and when he clock marked lunch time he sent Matt home to relax until the fight.

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I know I've been a terrible person, sorry for taking so long to update!
Expect a new chapter in a few days!
Thank you so much for the reads and plase feel free to leave any commentary.

Ily, Yxz