AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You’re such an asshole, Jake. If you miss Jamie so much, why do you fuck Billie?
Because I’m never going to be with Jamie again, and maybe if I bury myself deep enough in Billie, I won’t see Jamie’s face while I do so.
“You really scared me out there,” she murmurs as her hand moves to my chest. “Don’t do that again.”
She sounds sweet right now. She isn’t. She’s not sweet, she’s not falling for me, she’s not a little breakable thing like her appearance portrays. The only thing that gives her that innocent look is her big, brown eyes. So huge, they’d fool anyone. In reality, she’s so rough and so wrong for me. She’s the kind of girl that could never make me happy. She’s exactly what I deserve.
“Turns out it’s a bit harder to fight big dudes in the ring than a small North Shore girl at training.”
I thought she’d smile at my words, but she shakes her head instead.
“You’re not invincible, Jake. None of us are. Please remember that.”
I grab her hand tightly because, even though she shouldn’t, it means a lot that she cares.
“I know. Don’t worry. I’ll get better, train harder. And I’ll be more careful.”
She sighs as she nods and for the first time since we’ve been here, I can sense that she’s sick of it.
“We’ll make it through,” I insist, squeezing her hand. “At least you won all your fights. You’re doing so good, Billie.”
She sits on the wooden bench opposite where I’m lying and plays with her chain again.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” I nod as I manage to finally sit up. I instinctively hold my side where I now know my rib is fractured and wince at the pain.
Motherfucker got me good.
“Are you related to Mateo Bianco?” She must notice my surprise because she quickly adds. “I mean, JakeWhite, MateoBianco. It’s pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? Means the same but it sounds like you altered your name to distance yourself from him or something. I don’t know. Maybe I’m assuming shit.”
I watch as her fingers twist around the simple silver chain around her neck. There’s no pendant on it, nothing. I hesitate for a minute or so. I don’t actually know Billie, we just ended up in a shit situation together. I also genuinely don’t think she’s a bad person. She’s tough, but deep down she’s good and if she’s asking personal questions, I’d assume it’s from a good intention. So I decide to be honest.
“Kinda,” I reply.
“No fucking way,” she cuts me off before I can explain. “Is he your uncle or something? Shit, he’s not your dad, is he?”
I shake my head no. “Chill out,” I chuckle. “He was my foster dad for a few years. He bribed shit tons of people to turn my name into the Americanized version of his. He’s a megalomaniac like that.”
I almost say it was the case for my sister as well, but I can’t get myself to talk about Ozy. My chest aches way too fucking much when I mention her name, my throat gets too tight. Billie knows her, they’ve met before, she’s smart enough to understand she’s included in everything that happened to me.
“He adopted you? That’s so fucking crazy.”
My jaw tightens painfully at the A. word. God it drives me insane when people don’t make the difference. Bianco ain’t shit to me, and I’m not fucking adopted.
“He was my legal guardian. There’s a difference,” I reply through gritted teeth.
“Gee, I’m sorry,” she chortles. “You get a bit sensitive after being knocked out, you know that?”
I can’t help the smile back. She’s so annoying, in the best way.
“Anyway, I thought you must have been related somehow. That you weren’t like me.”
“Not like you?”
“I mean you’re not some random kid who fights for him. There was the name, and now the tattoo. It was starting to add up that you knew each other.”
“The tattoo?” I ask confused.
