Chapter 14
I’ve spent the last year learning not just my new life and background but learning skills I’ll need to get a job.
After never really bothering to go to school, I had to take some lessons to get a couple of GCSEs done.
Being taught one-to-one is so much easier than being in a school or college classroom.
My tutor is a really cool guy called Glen.
He’s not much older than me, but he’s so smart.
I felt stupid at the beginning and felt like I was being patronised.
But as I picked up and understood, I enjoyed myself.
I didn’t have to get top grade results, just enough to give me some certificates on my CV when I apply for jobs.
That’s another part of the new me, learning skills to get me a job.
I wanted to go for something with people around me, to make some friends.
I don’t have a problem with my leg anymore, and the scar isn’t too bad.
And if I’m honest with myself, I’m quite proud of it.
Of surviving something that should’ve killed me.
The physiotherapy was painful, but Claire, my physiotherapist, had me up and moving as soon as I got the all clear from the hospital.
Again, one-to-one daily training made it go much faster.
I’m now addicted to the gym and training.
I’d like to run a marathon next year, so I’m running through the hills down to the huge lake and attempting the perimeter, which is around twenty-four miles.
I’ve done it on a bicycle, but my aim is to have run it before I leave here.
I’m on edge, waiting for the day I’m told I must leave.
I’m feeling fifty/fifty about the whole thing.
I feel safe and protected here, but it can also feel like a cage locking me in.
Something is up. There are a lot of whispers from the staff here, but they shoot off in every direction if I come across them, scattering like ants escaping boiling water. It’s mid-afternoon when it all becomes clear. Cole and Pilkington come into the huge solarium at the back of the house.
“Maddox, it’s good to see you again. You’re looking great. I can hardly recognise you,” Pilkington says, and I often wonder if he even has a first name.
“Thanks, it’s a good place to be, after living in the city all my life.
I’ve got used to the quiet,” I tell him honestly.
It’s true, and I hadn’t realised just how deeply involved in the underworld I had become— one where pimps and prostitutes had become the norm.
It was nothing to see one of DeVon’s lackeys fucking one of the girls, some of them really young, especially the new ones.
It was part of the training, to get them used to being fucked by strangers.
Or having to suck one off. That was one side of the business I didn’t want to be a part of.
Mainly because of Ellis and what he’d been forced to do.
And being gay also was not acceptable; the names they would freely drop were disgusting.
“Then me telling you that it is time to move on and back to normality isn’t going to be good news,” he says drily.
“Not back home, of course, but back to civilisation. Nowhere too huge. York to be exact. I think you’ll like it there.
We have a place for you to live, not quite up to this standard, I’m sorry to say.
Something more age appropriate, a flat in a new building overlooking the river.
A job, too, where you’ll be able to put all your new skills to the test. Not very exciting, just a call centre, but it has plenty of people your age. ”
The surge of excitement that runs through me is a surprise. I hadn’t thought much about life past here. There had never been a time limit on here. It was always when they felt I was ready to go. I think they got it right.
“Cole,” Pilkington continues, “will be taking you and getting you up to date on the hows and whys of you moving to York. He’s also staying there for a while, a settling in period, if you like.
You don’t need to see him if everything is going well, but if you need him for anything, he’s on your doorstep, so to speak. ”
“You want to do what?” Cole asks, shaking his head in bewilderment.
It’s been over ten years since I died, and I’m bored.
I need some excitement in my life. I spent six years in York, and I’ve been in Bristol for five.
It’s good here, and I’ve got a great circle of friends and had more than a few lovers, including Cole.
He has done more for me than I ever thought I’d need, including introducing me to the world of BDSM and the life within in that community.
My lessons in becoming a Dom have been life-changing; the ability to centre myself and focus on the sub and his needs has taught me so much.
Which is one of the reasons I want to do MMA.
I have a strength and energy I need to expel, and this is a great way to do it. Again, it’s all about control.
“MMA. I want to compete, to be a champion. You know I’m bored with kickboxing. I want a new challenge, and it looks right up my alley. I reckon I can do it.” I finish my reps and place the weights back on the rack.
He shakes his head; he knows I’m always chasing the next thrill. I blame him, and he knows it, but he has to be reminded sometimes. “Maybe if you hadn’t sent me into hell to kill me.”
“Not that again.” He rolls his eyes. “Okay, so what next?”
“A trainer and that’s your job. Find me the best one out there.”
He grimaces at the thought, and I know it’s because this means exposure. It will need to be someone approved by Cole under Pilkington’s direction. His face makes me laugh, and I make it worse by hugging him against my hot and sweaty body.
“Get off me. I don’t want your cooties.” Then he straightens up and becomes serious. “I’ll have to run this past the boss. Not the training part, you know you can do that to your hearts content, but anything that can put your face out there has to be considered.”
I know it’s true even after the surgeries I’ve had to alter my face, including changing my eye colour.
That freaks me every time I look in the mirror.
I’d argued that one for a long time, but seeing as they picked up my bills, I had to relent.
The chin and nose were child’s play after that.
I know I’ve got complacent, but there hasn’t been even a sniff of recognition in nearly a decade.
“Fine, do what you’ve gotta do, but I’m going for this. ”
Pilkington wasn’t impressed, but he didn’t say no.
I get my trainer and as soon as he shows up, he has a huge program with him to get me to the right strength needed. This means meals, including spreadsheets of what I can and can’t eat and when.
“Put your fists up; you keep dropping them,” Dougie, my coach, shouts at me. I look over at him for half a second, which is enough time for Jimmy to land a punch and a hook.
“Fuck!” I shout out, ready to turn, but his foot is hooked around my knee, and I’m on the ground.
“See, told you so. Come on, that’s enough of that. Time to switch it up. Hit the weights and start with some deadlifts.” Dougie walks away from the octagon and towards the weight corner.
I grumble, then bump fists with Jimmy. He’s an awesome friend and a great partner, in and out of bed, strong and unforgiving, but a laugh when we’re not training. It’s not going to be long before we finish for the day.
“Fancy some fun tonight?” he says to me as he gives my arse a slap. “I think it’s your turn to fuck me; let’s go to Edge.
I smile, thinking about the last time we had a scene
“Hell, yeah. I’m up for that. I’ll come to you about eight.” I rub my stomach, not because of the kick Jimmy landed but hunger. “God, I’m starving.”
I drive back to my flat. It’s a bit bigger than the first one I had here. I’ve made great progress and have won a lot of fights, but they’re not what I want. I want big fights and that means the Continent.
And that means Cole will be back with me.
We travel to countries that were in the Eastern bloc, but with the borders open now, we can match up with some of the toughest guys I’ve fought against. Of course, I lose plenty of fights with these guys, but they make me so much better.
Every loss gives me more to work on, and just working out with some of them has taught me so much.
I’m not sure how pleased they’ll be when I get the championship.
It takes me just over two years to make it, and damn, it feels so damn good. I’ve made something of myself. I wonder what seventeen-year-old me would say if he knew.