Page 47 of Always Love You More

I need to get off this crate.

I need to put space between us.

“What was that?” he asks. His voice is quiet, too quiet.

I stay silent.

“I swear to fucking God, Jameson.” He shakes his head, the rage barely contained. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.”

I regret the answer right as the words leave my lips. My mind isn’t working right. It’s hard to focus on anything but the pain.

“You don’t know?” He draws out the question, mocking me.

I clear my throat, the motion making it feel like my insides are on fire. “No, I do know.”

He laughs, and the sound makes me want to curl in on myself. I need to get away from him.

“Which is it?”

“He just got me off balance.” I look down at the ground. “I didn’t see it.”

Fingers grip my face, forcing me to look up. “You look at me when I’m talking to you,” my father sneers. Then he lets go roughly, pushing me back. The crate stumbles, and I throw out a hand to keep from falling.

“Get up.” His voice cracks.

I push myself up, and pain slices down my side. I cough, clutching my rib.

Fuck, that hurts.

My father’s lip curls. “Pathetic.”

The word hits me the way he knew it would.

I look past him just long enough to meet Sam’s and Johnny’s stares. Just long enough to beg them with my eyes to leave.

They both stand firm, Sam giving me a slight shake of her head.

My father’s hand is on my face again, his fingers digging into my skin. “What did I tell you boy, hmm?” When my eyes meet his, he mutters, “You need to learn to listen.”

I keep my focus on him, not letting myself move an inch.

“You were an embarrassment in there.”

I don’t move.

“How do you think it makes me look when I tell people I train you?” He takes a step closer. “How it makes me look when my son is lying on the ground, letting someone beat on him?”

I keep still.

“How many times have we gone over how to get out of a hold like the one he had you in?” When I don’t say anything, he snaps, “That was a fucking question!”

“A lot,” I answer. “We’ve gone over it a lot.”

“Then why’d you just lay there, huh? You were down for over a minute, Jameson. A whole fucking minute!” He leans closer, his body crowding mine. “Did you give up?”

“No,” I respond immediately.