2:1

Chapter 59 - he made my brother die

"He used to fight with this gym. Reck was his trainer and he knew your brother." Toni explained and watched as both sisters faces remained placid.

"What does he have to do with it though? That's where I'm confused." Juliet sighed, still feeling lost at what was going on here.

Glimpsing over at Aaron, Toni let out a long sigh. He wished he didn't have to be the one to do this and was trying to judge Aaron's reaction to it as well. He knew these girls much better than Toni did so he needed some confirmation that he was going about this the right way.

"Did either of you know your brother was in a relationship?" Toni asked and the uncertainty was evident in his voice.

Both Sophie and Juliet just shook their heads. They had been too young to really care or take any notice of their brothers relationships. They had been clueless.

"Well your brother was in a relationship with Kieran. He was gay and not everyone was so accepting of that. It's fucked up, I know."

"What?" Sophie breathed as her heart began to pound against her chest. She hadn't been aware of it, even to this day. Not even her own parents had cared to mention it and she knew exactly why. That fact just broke her even more inside.

"It wasn't accepted by your parents, it wasn't accepted by the fighting world and that kickstarted something in your brother. As soon as other fighters started to find out, they began labeling him as weak." Toni continued, glimpsing over at the photo of Andrew as he spoke. "He wasn't, we knew he wasn't, they all knew he wasn't... but they had something against him. They were idiotic and cruel."

Toni remembered is all like it was yesterday. It was a storm that had hit the gym and something that had changed it forever.

In the fighting world during that time, people were unaccepting and heartless to something that shouldn't have been made into the big deal it was. Andrew had suddenly been treated differently and the gym had been frowned upon. Everything he had worked so hard for had been ripped from him as though he was incapable, all because he fell in love.

"Your brother reacted by acting out. He suddenly felt like he had something to prove."

"And that's where the drugs came in?" Sophie asked and her voice broke, causing Aaron to urge her into his side.

"Yeah, he mixed with the wrong people and got into the drugs that they said would help him win. He was capable without them but everyone got into his head."

Sinking back into his chair, it was obvious how badly the memories were now getting to Toni. He looked broken as he recalled the incidents that had happened to his best fighter and how he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

"He started to take on fights that he had no chance of winning. He was doing it because he wanted to prove he could beat them but these men were all well over his weight class. We never would have put him in for the fight before or after we found out about him, it didn't make a difference."

Andrew had suddenly felt the need to prove everyone wrong; to show them that he was still the same and just as powerful. He had started demanding fights with men that Toni never would have allowed him into before.

In the past he would have accepted that, with the knowledge it was how the fighting world worked. You fort within your weight classes for the sake of safety. However, as soon as Andrew started to feel threatened by the comments that were being made, he took Toni's refusal the wrong way. He took it personally and assumed that his own trainer saw his as weak too.

"Then to top it off..." Toni continued as he looked out the doors to the cage, where a particular person stood training another one of their fighters. "...Reck decided he wasn't going to be Kieran's trainer anymore. He pulled out and told him to go elsewhere... obviously your brother wasn't happy."

"Reck didn't want to train Kieran because of who he loved?" Juliet asked, trying to gain some clarification on something that made her feel sick.

She didn't understand how someone could be so cruel.

"It was giving Reck a bad name." Toni sighed, knowing that even though that man had been a good friend of his for years, he didn't always agree with some of his ways and even felt exhausted by them. "He was selfish."

"Selfish is an understatement." Sophie bit and there was a sudden chill to her voice as she added this all up in her head. "He pushed Andrew too far. He took everything away from him. He joined the crowd of idiots and made Andrew feel worthless when he should have felt nothing but love and happiness."

Toni didn't have anything left to say at this point because he knew that Sophie was right. Of course Reck wasn't the only person to push Andrew over the edge but he was a contributor to the crowds when he shouldn't have been.

Andrew trusted him. They were apart of the same gym. That meant they were a family. Reck had betrayed him.

"He made Andrew turn to drugs. He made Andrew think he wasn't capable without them. He made my brother die! He made me lose him!" Sophie yelled and instantly pulled away from Aaron and began charging for the doors.

Aaron immediately tried to reach out for her but she was gone in a matter of seconds and heading for the cage where Rick currently was.

He turned his head the moment he noticed the blonde charging for him and watched as she didn't hold back from walking straight into their training.

"It's all your fault! It's all your fault that my brother is gone!" She screamed and there was so much pain in her voice.

Reck just stood there for a moment not saying a word but when he briefly glimpsed up over at Toni, he realised that he had been the one to tell her everything.

"You pushed him over the edge! You made him feel bad for loving someone! You wanted my brother to be cold hearted and empty. You succeeded and now you're trying to do the same thing to Aaron. You will kill him too." Sophie continued to yell as she scrunched her hands and began pounding against his chest over and over.

Anger spread across Reck's face as she laid her hands on him and he immediately reached out to bring her to a stop. He took hold of Sophie's wrists as she still persisted to force them out of his hold. Aaron caught sight of what was happening and immediately charged over, lacing his arms around her waist and pulling her away.

"Soph, stop."

"He doesn't care! He doesn't care what he did! He was just thinking of himself."

"I know, I know, baby." Aaron breathed, instantly pulling Sophie into him and holding her tightly to his chest.

Her body was rising and falling so violently as the anger and pain took over her. She was completely broken and nothing could soothe how she was feeling right now.

As Aaron leaned down to press his lips to the top of her head, she then pulled away before glimpsing over at her sister who was currently stood beside Toni.

Noticing her red eyes and the tears falling from them, Sophie immediately began making her way over to Juliet and pulled her into her arms. The moment she was embraced into a hug, the tears fell more violently and Juliet suddenly lacked any control over them.

Toni and Aaron watched the two sisters causing their hearts to break at the scene in front of them. Nothing they said or did in this moment would ease how they were feeling. Nothing could fix the heartache burning in their chest.

They had lost their brother ten years ago however, it was only now they were finding out the real reason why.

💔