Alice

He takes the aspirin I brought and sips some water. His face looks a mess, his eye is swollen shut, there are stitches holding a cut on his brow together and there are black and blue marks and bruises all over the rest of his face... and some on his body. The same body I'm finding it hard to keep my eyes off. He looks incredibly ripped but not so much that its gross. How in the world does he look like this at forty. I can't let that distract me from what's going on.

"Your 'coach' and a guy named max brought you home last night, barely conscious, they said you were in a fight, we called your doctor and he took care of you but left you in my care... oh, and you asked me to lie to your wife, my mother, about it...Jack what's going on?"

He purses his lips and rests the glass of water on the nightstand near his bed.

He tries to sit up but it seems too painful. His torso is heavily bruised, no doubt from being hit there.

"Jack, these aren't normal fight injuries, this wasn't some kind of bar brawl, this looks like a full on beat down, did those two guys have something to do with it... help me out because I don't know what to do or say."

I feel tears start to come up... I was just starting to get over the thing with Brice and now this happens... I wish mom was here.

His hand rests on mine and I feel myself return to that moment. "Its okay Alice... there's a lot you don't know about me... a lot I need to tell you... for now, I'll start with explaining this."
***
"You fight in a cage?" he nods. What the hell. I stand up and take a few steps toward the door and turn around.

"I'm sorry Jack, this is all a lot to take in, this whole story... so you lost last night, that guy is your coach... why jack, Like, why would you do something like that... and mom knows nothing... Great." Fucking great.

I have no Idea how to process this.

"You can't tell her Alice... you can imagine what would happen."

Anger takes hold of me."You're fucking right I know... she'd leave your ass because have you any Idea what she went through when she lost my dad and to know that you're risking your life every night you get in there just for some stupid thrill when she's at home not knowing that she could lose another fucking husband...Jack are you the most selfish fucking person alive?"

I can see it in his eyes that my words cut deep, but I stand by them. He has no idea what we've been through.

"Alice... I'm sorry..."

His eyes say that he really is but still... what am I going to do.