Fed Up

I launched myself through the air at him. His startled face barely registered in my mind before my fist was connecting with his face, snapping his head back. As I reared back to hit him again, he tackled me, sending us both rolling across the floor as we landed blow after blow on each other. When we finally stopped rolling, he was on top of me, raining punch after punch down on every part of my body that he could reach. I brought my knee up between his legs, and he grunted as he went limp, giving me the opportunity to roll us over so that I was on top.

I sat up, straddling him to punch him a few times in his face, busting his lip and breaking his nose before aiming my next hit at his ribs. When the sound of something breaking echoed through the room, Madison screamed, and I was pulled off of him by both Joseph and Caleb. When I kicked out at Brennan, I was pulled further away from him.

“You don’t deserve her,” I snapped. “Leah deserves so much better than you, R. H. M.”

He sat up gingerly, holding his side as he looked up at me sadly. “She told you her name?”

“Of course she did,” I spat. “And if you want to know why, I guess you better go back to Eden and ask her yourself.”

He shook his head. “I can’t go back to Eden. Why don’t you see that? I know she deserves better than me.”

I tugged myself out of Joseph’s and Caleb’s hold to crouch in front of Brennan, holding his gaze with my angry one. “Listen here, you dumb motherfucker! I’m not here for you. Not really. If you are too much of a coward, I don’t give a damn! But what I won’t let you do is keep holding onto Leah. My purpose here is to bring you back to Eden and help you make a decision. One way or another.”

He gave a bark of hysterical laughter. “Oh, I’m so sure you want to help me make a decision on mine and her relationship. I’m so fucking sure that you want me to come back and beg for her forgiveness. Why don’t you just go back to Eden and erase her pain yourself?”

My hand shot out to grab his bloody shirt before I yanked him forward. “You are so broken, asshole. You have the perfect reason to heal, but you’re too fucking stupid to see that the very woman you tried so hard for is the very same woman that can erase all of your pain too. Do you have any idea what she’s going through? No?” I asked as I tilted my head. 

“Well, let me tell you. She hasn’t eaten since you left. All she does is cry in private and try to pretend like she’s okay in public. She doesn’t sleep. I have to slip Tylenol PM into her tea to even give her a chance at being able to sleep through the night. Yesterday, I heard her screaming in the shower, and do you want to know what I found when I ran into the bathroom to make sure she was okay?” I paused to study the look in his eyes, which clearly told me that he knew exactly what she had been doing. “She was hitting herself with a belt while her body dripped with water. When I tried to take the belt from her, she fought me, yelling about how she deserved it. She had failed you, and that was why you didn't love her. She blames herself for what happened between the two of you, and I can almost guarantee that whatever happened was your fault. Not hers. Please tell me how that is fair. You crushed her spirit, her mind, and her heart. I know you love her; I can see it. But can you love her enough to fight for her?”

His eyes moved over my face before he sighed. “I do love her, Armadillo, but you’re right; I don’t deserve her. I never have, and I never will. So, no, I won’t be going back to Eden. Not until she is over me. It shouldn’t take long. And then she will leave Eden.”

“Would you really kick her out of Eden?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on him.

He lowered his eyes, and I had my answer. I pushed him backward away from me, making him sprawl on the ground. “You’re a fucking coward, R. H. M.” I got to my feet before wiping his blood off my hands and onto my pants. I walked to the door before stopping to look over my shoulder at him, still on the floor. “If you refuse to come back to Eden and fix this, I will not push her away again. I will tell her the minute I get back there that I love her. I will tell her that I want to be with her, and I will ask her to leave Eden with me. I will take her away, and you will never see her again. And I promise you that within a month, she won’t even think about you. I will wipe you and her ex from her memories. I will marry her and enjoy watching her grow round with our children. I will give her everything that she could ever want while you,” I paused to laugh a little, “will always be consumed by the thought of me and her together. You will wonder day in and day out if I’m making love to her. You will wonder if she is happy with me, but let me answer that question now. Yes, she will be. She will be more than happy. She will be loved, cherished, and treated like the fucking goddess she is.”

When he started to scramble to his feet, I spun around, rushing out of the house and to my car, while he screamed for me. Every time my name was yelled, I heard him struggling to breathe more. As I started my car, he barreled out of the house with his arm still clutching his ribs. I put my car in reverse, flipped him off, and backed out of the driveway. I glanced in my rearview mirror as I turned my car around.

“Come on, Brennan. Come back to Eden. You know you want to,” I encouraged.

I slammed my hand down on my dashboard when I saw him start to walk down the stairs as he fished around in his pockets for something. I sent up a quick prayer as I picked up speed. As much as I hated that I knew that I had scared him enough to go back to Eden, I was also glad that I had too. Leah deserved to have closure. I didn’t understand why she loved the fool. It wasn’t my job to understand, but I knew she had her reasons, and I couldn’t fault her for it. My only job was to make her happy. And I would. I just had to help her find closure with Brennan before I could start to mend her broken heart, because based on how he reacted back at his brother’s home, he wasn’t going to man up for her.

I slapped my dashboard again, even more pissed off that he was not willing to do what he had to do to be worthy of her. She was the most deserving woman I had ever known. And he was going to lose her. I wasn’t going to help him seal his fate. I was going to allow him to bury himself. I smirked in the rearview mirror at myself. It was the least I could do. I wouldn’t let her grieve over him for long. I was going to be her knight in shining armor. I loved her. I would show her that I could be what she needed. I already knew that she was what I needed. I just had to convince her that I was everything she would ever need.

I let my eyes fall to the gas gauge, sending up another small prayer that I had been smart enough to fill up so close to the doctor’s house. I would be able to make it almost back to Eden before I needed fuel. After I made a mental note to thank Doc for leaving me gas money in the glove box, I let my thoughts return to Leah. I smiled softly.

“Leah. What a beautiful name,” I murmured.

I kept an eye on the rearview mirror, watching to see if I saw Brennan following me. I wasn’t sure how to feel when I didn’t. I thought I had pissed him off enough to make him head back to Eden. Maybe I had been wrong. I didn’t think I had been, but with R. H. M.’s cowardice, I couldn’t entirely be sure. I was forced to stop to fuel up about 45 minutes outside of Eden, glancing around anxiously as I continued to look for R. H. M. I was afraid that if he caught me, he would start another fight with me that would land us both in jail. And if that happened, I would be forced to break my promise to Leah and that was certainly nothing I wanted to do.

I let out a relieved breath as I got back in my car to finish the drive to Eden. When I finally arrived back at the gates, I was a little surprised to see the gates open. I knew there were sensors along the road to the final gate, but I hadn’t expected Doc to already have it open for me by the time I got to it. As soon as I put my car in park, I got out of my vehicle, leaving the keys inside like I usually did before hurrying toward Leah’s house.

I hoped that she would be awake and okay. I had been worried about her the entire time I was gone. I hated leaving her without supervision. Especially in the mental state that she was in. I had no idea if she would be okay when I got back. While I waited for her to answer the door, I paced back and forth anxiously with my hands clasped behind my back. When she finally opened the door, I relaxed when she appeared to be okay. Well, at least physically. When she gasped, I opened my arms, and she wasted no time to fly across the porch. I held her close to my chest as I hugged her tightly.

“Hey, Phoenix. How are you doing?” I asked.

She leaned back to stare at me in shock. “How am I doing?” She shrieked. “Are you okay? What happened?”

I gave her a wry smile. “If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy.”

“The other guy? You got into a fight?” She whimpered.

I gently tugged her back against my body and put my cheek on the top of her head. “I’d fight over you any day of the week,” I told her.

“Fight over me? What do you mean?” She inquired.

“ARMADILLO! YOU AND I AREN’T FINISHED!” R. H. M. yelled from behind me, making Leah tremble in my arms.

“You didn’t…”
Training The Trainer
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