Chapter Five

“Breakfast of champions,” Maureen said. She set plates of bacon and eggs in front of Eric and Marcus. “Start the day right—your grandma always said.”

“Wow, Mrs Fox,” Marcus said as he stared at the pile of food. “That’s…a lot of food. Thank you.”

“Maureen,” Maureen insisted as she circled the table.

Eric smirked as Marcus gazed helplessly at his breakfast. The guy was usually all skinny lattes and no carbs. “It’s great, Mom,” he said and smiled as she came up behind him, kissing him on the top of the head.

“I bet you can’t wait. You used to enjoy being on all those teams as a teenager.”

“Was that before or after the braces?” Marcus waved his finger in front of his mouth and grinned.

“After,” Maureen confirmed. “It was when he started hanging out with that Williams boy. Sport suddenly looked a lot better than his math textbook.”

“Mom,” he warned.

Maureen handed him the plate of toast. “Oh shush. You know it’s true.”

Sighing, he took a slice for himself then put the plate in the center of the table. It was all true. The moment he had laid eyes on the fifteen year old Casey-Jay Williams and his figure-hugging black T-shirt, Eric had been smitten.

“Just you see you don’t let that boy go distracting this time.”

Eric bit into the buttered toast and gave a slow nod. He would not get distracted. He glanced at Marcus who gave him a firm look. Great. From the look in Marcus’s eyes, he knew he was going to watch him like a hawk for the next two weeks.

“It’ll be fine, Mom,” he said and flashed Marcus a smile. It was time to finally face his demons. He just hoped they didn’t get the better of him all over again.

“Last chance to change your mind,” Marcus said as he pulled on the rental’s handbrake and ducked slightly, eyeing the large brick building.

Eric eyed the center thoughtfully and rested his forehead against the cool glass of the rental’s window. Running away was a compelling option. The parking lot was empty, but the kids were due to show in the next half-hour. Closing his eyes, he tried to suppress the rising lump in his throat. The last thing he needed was to see his breakfast again. Maybe he should have just had the toast.

“Artie said you have three days.”

“For what?” Eric glanced over his shoulder at Marcus.

Marcus pulled the key out of the ignition. The keychain swung as Marcus rested his hands on the wheel. “To make it look like you’re doing okay. After that, he’s going to contact the press.”

An ache surged in Eric’s temple and he tried to rub it away. Why? All the press would do is dredge up as much past and crap as they could. He was back in his home town, and though Oakland was a close-knit community, someone would be more than happy to run their mouth off.

“I’m here with you all the way, okay? Your parents too. They love and support you. It doesn’t matter what the magazines say about why you’re here. It’s what you plan on doing now.” Marcus leaned forward, finding Eric’s eyes. “Eric? Okay? We’re going to beat this, and that’s what matters.”

Marcus’s warm hand on his shoulder made Eric feel a little better. But only a little. He hated how the word celebrity seemed to give people the right to pry into every corner of his life. If he even dared to complain, he was shot down with “It’s part of the job” and “You knew what you signed up for.”

“Let’s just go before I change my mind,” Eric decided, and reached for the car door handle. Anxiety tightened its grip on him as he got out of the car. Looking across at the building, he realized he suddenly felt very small and insignificant. Why he did, he wasn’t sure. He was a movie star. Okay, no George Clooney or Brad Pitt, but he was doing well and making the move from ensemble and sidekick to leading man. Hollywood was the place he was small and insignificant. Here, he was somebody—local boy done good.

The sound of a door closing helped him regain his focus and he settled his gaze on the entrance of the sports club. Holy fuck shit crap balls. He groaned inwardly as he spotted CJ making his way toward them. He could do this. It was fine. He shifted his gaze to Marcus. Maybe he’d let him hold his hand. Don’t be a baby. Face on. He needed to face his fears.

“Hey,” CJ said and looked between the two men. He raised an eyebrow as his gaze settled on Marcus. Marcus was dressed head to foot in pretty much everything Armani and had no intention of getting his hands dirty. “Are you joining us too?”

“Oh, no. Well, yes,” Marcus said and beamed at CJ. “I’m more predisposed to a supervisory role. I’m just going to keep an eye on him.”

CJ had a look. A look Eric couldn’t quite figure out. He seemed kind of worried. “Okay. Well, we should head inside and I’ll show you around.” He briefly met Eric’s eyes. “Your checks came back fine and there were no issues with the parents.”

“Thanks,” Eric said.

“But you remember what I said, right? No second chances. You screw up once and we’re done.”

“Sure—”

“That’s why I’m here,” Marcus jumped in quickly. “He’ll be fine. And we appreciate you doing this.” He smiled. He genuinely meant it.

There was no more small talk and CJ simply indicated for them to follow him. Eric hesitated, though he thought only Marcus noticed, then slowly followed CJ inside.

“How long have you had this place?” Eric asked as they stepped inside the large space. It kind of reminded him of one of those old boxing gyms he had seen in the movies. The building contained a single massive hall, which was then separated into various areas by flimsy partitions and nets.

Smiling, CJ said, “Three years. It’s been hard work, but fun.”

Eric nodded. “I bet.”

“This area is split between four main sections. The two courts on your left are marked out for tennis, basketball, soccer. Then the one at the back is more low-key recreational stuff and supervised on and off. Then this one,” he pointed to the final quarter. “The gate’s locked, unless staff are in there. So, we have ropes, bars, a climbing wall.” He paused as he caught the eye of a man on the other side of the hall and waved him over. “The storage for the outdoor equipment is at the back with my office, staff bathrooms and locker rooms. The Falls Stadium lets us over there generally a day a week. More in the school vacations.” He stopped as the man joined them. “Anything else, you can ask Mikey.”

“Hey,” Mikey said and pushed his hands in the pockets of his sweat pants.

“Mikey’s gonna supervise you for the two weeks,” CJ informed Eric.

“Any questions or you’re not sure, just ask, man.”

Mikey seemed friendly enough. Eric just needed to relax. “Thanks.”

“You guys okay if I leave you to it?” CJ checked. “I have some things to go through before the kids show.”

“We’ll be fine,” Mikey said and flashed Eric a bright smile.

Eric agreed, “Sure. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Okay. Well, whatever Mikey says, goes. He’s in charge.” CJ looked between the three men, his brow furrowing as he settled on Mikey. “And you play nice.”

Mikey laughed and screwed his mouth into a mischievous pout as CJ headed toward his office.

Don’t leave me with him.

From the smirk on Mikey’s face, Eric knew he was in for one hell of a day. He could already see the long list of jobs the man had in mind for him. All the ones Mikey himself didn’t want to do.

“So, you movie stars know how to clean a toilet?”

Eric took a deep breath. Fuck. “Yeah. We do.”

Mikey grinned. “I’ll go get you some gloves.”

He was in hell.

* * * *

“How’s the princess doing?” Jodie asked. She sipped at her coffee as she inspected the bank statement.

Seven minutes. She’d held out for seven whole minutes before asking.

“Fine, I think. I put Mikey in charge.” CJ did his best to ignore her. He didn’t particularly want to get into a deep conversation about Eric right now.

Jodie lowered the sheet of paper and met his eyes across the desk. “Seriously?” She snorted a laugh. “I’m impressed. That was actually quite mean.” She knew very well that Mikey was a prankster, and also had a tendency to go OCD on people if they weren’t doing things how he thought they should be done. “He deserves it though.”

CJ sighed and rubbed his neck. This was hopeless. He couldn’t concentrate on anything today. “Can we leave this for now?” He sat back in his chair and stared at the papers spread out across his desk.

Looking at her watch, Jodie nodded. “Rob’s expecting me at five. We’re going out with his folks for a meal tonight. Should be fun.” Her voice rose as she spoke.

“They’re good people,” CJ reminded her. He missed having their parents nearby. They had retired to the coast three years ago, just after he got this place. Maybe it was time to go visit and get away for a while.

“I know. But that woman and her voice.” She pretended to shudder at the notion of Rob’s mother. “You remember that one from Friends, right? Janice, was it?”

“Oh. My. God,” he said and accompanied it with a grating laugh.

Jodie chuckled and threw the statement onto the desk. She suddenly became serious. “The bank won’t give you anything unless you can start making money out of this place.” She sighed and looked into his eyes. “I know you don’t want to, but you have to start charging more. Currently, you’re nothing more than a cheap babysitting service, and people take advantage.”

He knew she was right. He just wished there was some other way. It may sound easy asking for a few extra dollars off people, but he knew very well there were some people who would rather save their money to spend on tobacco or drink.

“I know you’re looking into a second mortgage. Don’t. Please?” Worry creased her brow. “We’ll find another sponsor or apply again for the funding at the mayor’s office. I don’t want you in debt, or worse.”

Debt wasn’t exactly what he was looking for either. Maybe another job was the answer. He already worked shifts at the Wal-Mart Express during the week days while school was in. Maybe he could find something on the evenings as well. He blew out a breath. Just the possibility made him tired.

“You know I’d help. But with the wedding, and Rob wants to start a family—”

“I don’t want your money, Jodes.” There was no point the two of them getting deep in the shit. He patted the papers into a neat pile. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Okay?”

His sister didn’t look convinced.

“Are you working tomorrow?” He had already monopolized too much of her time. She had a real job that paid real money.

Jodie took a drink of her coffee. “Yeah,” she said and delicately wiped her mouth. “Ian wants me to look into setting up a trade-in scheme in-store and online. He’s looking for new ways of making money and finding a new market.”

“Aren’t we all?”

The town center of Oakland Falls was in desperate need of rejuvenation. The high street was tired and run down and a lot of independent businesses had disappeared in the last year. Boarded up stores, graffiti and a rise in small crime had left the town anything but a desirable prospect. They were just missing the tumbleweeds. Maybe he could make a business out of that? An episode of Family Guy came to mind and made CJ smile.

Jodie rocked back in her chair to look through the open office door. “I’ll start looking into funding over the weekend.” She pursed her lips as she seemed to find something interesting outside. “But I think you’re probably right.”

CJ quirked an eyebrow. Him being right was not something Jodie ever admitted. She was the older, the smarter and the more sensible of the two siblings. Or at least that was what she always claimed.

“About what?”

“Hollywood boy.” Dropping her chair back onto all four legs, she stood and walked up to the door. Pulling it open a little farther, she propped herself against the frame. “I can hardly believe it’s really him.” She looked over her shoulder when CJ came to join her. “He looks…” She frowned as she searched for the right words. “Worn down. Weary.”

On the far side of the hall, Eric was standing, keeping his distance from a group of boys. Mikey was organizing them into teams as he bounced a soccer ball from hand to hand. Uncomfortable didn’t do justice to the look on Eric’s face and the tension in his body. The way he folded his arms tightly to his chest screamed Help me!

Jodie ran a hand through the front of her hair and swept her short bangs to one side. She didn’t take her eyes off Eric and thoughtfully chewed at her thumbnail.

“Do you think he’s enjoying himself? Like deep, deep, incredibly deep down?” she asked.

Not a chance in hell. CJ laughed. He watched the group head across the hall and outside. Eric lurked at the back with a pile of cones in his hands. Eric looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had his head was down and he shied away from making eye contact as he walked through the hall. Though he didn’t mean to, CJ had the sudden urge to wrap his arms around the man and tell him everything would be okay.

“Don’t you dare.”

He looked at his sister and confusion settled on his face. “What?”

Jodie tilted her head slightly and looked from him to Eric and back again. “You still have feelings for him, don’t you?”

“No,” CJ protested, a little too quickly.

“You do.” She watched as Eric disappeared outside. “How can you possibly still care for that guy? After everything he did.”

Clearing his throat, CJ headed back to his desk. He didn’t want to talk about it.

“Seven years without so much as a phone call. He left you for dead.”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic. He did no such thing. You know that.”

Jodie shut the door and leaned against it. She looked angry and color heated her face. “We, your family, sat for a whole month by your bed, hoping and praying you’d wake up. And where was he?” She sat down and rested her hands in her lap. “I can’t forgive him for that.”

“Well, I can—I have.” He gave her a firm look. He didn’t need reminding that Eric, the love of his life, had up and left him while he’d slept and healed. It was cruel to bring it up all over again.

Shaking her head, Jodie inspected the floor. “How?”

CJ gave a sad smile. “Because it hurts too much not to.”

Jodie lifted her head and looked at him. Her eyes were glassy and full of emotion. CJ knew how hard it had been for her and his parents to sit at his bedside every day, waiting for him to open his eyes. He’d been a mess. There was no other real way to describe it. The right side of his body had been badly burned, his leg, stomach and chest subjected to the worst. In some small way, he had been thankful he hadn’t been conscious when the fire broke out. His head had bounced off the Ford’s passenger side window with an almighty thud as the car had flipped and rolled. He could almost imagine the heat, the smell of gas and metal and the feel of his skin burning away.

Clearing his throat, CJ rubbed at the twinge in his forehead and brushed his fingers over the small scar. “Can we just drop it, yeah?” He didn’t want to hear the accusations and blame. The wreck had been no one’s fault. Eric had been in no state to help himself that night, never mind CJ.

“Okay,” Jodie said and collected her oversized handbag from beside the desk. “Just, don’t do anything silly, okay?”

CJ narrowed his eyes. “About money or Eric?”

She hitched her bag up onto her shoulder. “Both,” she said. “You’re soft in the head if you think anything good will come from him being here.”

CJ went to protest, but was quickly silenced.

“Just, don’t go making me have to say I told you so, okay?” She headed for the door. “Because you know how much I hate being right,” she added with a grin, lifting the mood in the room before she left.

With a sigh, CJ stared up at the ceiling. Silly wasn’t exactly his style. Completely head first and idiotic was more like it. Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine how things might have been different if they had never been out on the road that night. Would he and Eric still be together? Or would something else have ripped them apart? Not that it mattered. Some things were just never meant to be, he figured.