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He sighs and sits on the bench. “I don’t even know what it is I’m feeling.”
I nod, knowing this is likely hard for him to come to terms with. I don’t think fear is something Ty has ever had to face head on. He rubs his forehead with his hand, looking frustrated.
“One of a tiger’s biggest threats is a d-hole.”
His eyes fly up to meet mine and I nod seriously.
“What the fuck is a d-hole?” he asks, his brows drawn together in confusion.
“They’re wild dogs.” I shrug. “And they’re called dholes, but d-hole just sounds better.”
Ty continues to stare up at me, apparently waiting for more information.
“D-holes prey on tigers, but their attacks are pretty rare.” I sit beside him on the bench. “If a tiger tries to run, they could kill him.”
His eyes drop to the floor, and I see the tension in his jaw.
“But if a tiger chooses to fight, he can take out a d-hole in a single swipe.”
He turns his head to look at me and I smile.
“Because a tiger’s punch is deadly,” I say, pulling a small smile from Ty. “And Josh Harn is a dickhole.”
Ty lets out a light laugh, and my smile widens.
“Hens,” he corrects me.
I wave a hand in the air. “Whatever.”
We’re both silent for a moment as Ty drops his eyes again and sighs.
“I’m scared.”
I nod. “Yeah. Makes sense.”
And I know I don’t need to say more than that. Ty came close to losing the only thing he had ever loved, and the one thing that has helped him feel in control of his life. Without it, he doesn’t know who he is. And to put himself back in that position to potentially lose it all again has to fuck with his head. I know I’ve had a hard time coming back from a rough hit before, and it wasn’t anything close to his dirty-as-fuck knockout and concussion.
“The next fight is just over a month away. How the fuck am I going to do this?” Ty asks, still looking down at the floor.
“We,” I say, and he looks up at me again. “We are going to do this.”
His eyes flick between mine, and I smile.
“We’re going to have a Rocky moment.” I nod and grab his arm as excitement takes over. “I’m going to train you up so good. We can do, like, a training montage, and find some stairs to run up–”
“No.”
I roll my eyes. “Figures, you’re no fun at all.”
He’s silent for another moment before he asks a question that I think we’re both surprised to hear.
“You’ll help me?”
I nod and bump his shoulder with mine. “Yeah, I will.”
Ty takes a deep breath in and exhales, looking up to the ceiling.
“But first.”
