Chapter ~ 1 ~ Family Meeting.

Ethan ~ POV

     Heavy bangs and thumps echoed around the gym as Rebecca kicked out her partner's legs, sending them falling to the padded floor. The man landed on his side with a heavy groan before he rolled onto his back. Rebecca had knocked out his legs when he tried throwing a high kick. Others around them cheered at the easy win; it was easy to tell who the winner was from the start. The way Rebecca didn't even put her hands up in her favorite guard told everyone who watched closely. For the entire fight, she seemed… bored and distant. Kept her arms up to her shoulders and not her chin like normal. She barely bounced on her feet; not pressing to attack and waiting to counter. When the match was over me and Rebecca locked eyes. She shot me a cold, angry glare before turning away. One of her not so subtle ways of telling me she was pissed at me.

     After word got around about me fighting off a crazy ex-cop, things… changed. I honestly couldn't tell you if it was for the better or for the worse. Grandpa and Grandma were pissed as hell after everything settled. And there were… mixed reactions throughout the town. Everyone at school started calling me The Beast like Rebecca does or used to. And every adult in my life's been watching me like a hawk. Coach Tanaka being one of them, and right now, I'm stuck with being what everyone calls the dummy. I stand around and take punches and kicks from beginners still learning the basics. Mostly just babysitting new club members. It almost felt like I was in time out.  

     It was painfully dull; they didn't know how to adjust their punches or kicks. A lot of small things that most people miss when they start out, but it was the fact they kept repeating the same mistakes. Even after I point out the mistakes over and over again. Taking full power strikes when I couldn't correctly guard was annoying too. I'd feel it even through the thick padded safety gear. Though most of the pad's been compacted to a notebook's thickness. If I did defend right, I might accidentally hurt them, and that's the last thing I want now. Pro fighters have broken bones hitting against a good guard. I'll have a lot of bruises when this is over, but it's better than them getting the bruises. I gritted my teeth as I felt one of my arms being twisted back locking my elbow. However, that pain from a shin kick to my stomach quickly overshadowed it. I know what a lot of people are going to say. 'Why don't you get better safety gear?' Honestly, I'm wondering that too. This was the better option for padding; most of the other stuff is old reclaimed safety gear from other teams. Like a senior catcher's vest, the pad the player wears when they crouch behind the batter. 

     Coach Tanaka's done his best to try and update the gear. But the foam padding for the sparring wasn't cheap. Not to mention as a precaution he also pays for the seniors of the club to attend first aid seminars if they want too. Believe me he's tried everything in his power to improve the gear we have. Heck He's even had to buy some gear himself for us. 

     Anyways, as you guessed, this was Mr Tanaka's punishment for me. Training dummy work for a month. There's also Grandpa's and Grandma's strict curfew. No staying out past ten pm at the latest. And they even put a tracker on my phone, which I was honestly surprised by. Guess they started getting used to modern tech. Honestly, I get why; I mean, I got into a fight with a crazy knife wielding ex-cop. When the club meeting ended, I sat in the back on the ground as Mr Tanaka wrapped up everything. As he spoke I pulled the safety gear off and tossed it to the side. My body ached like hell as I slipped on my socks and shoes. Everyone smiled and made small talk with me as they passed. Most just tell me thanks for helping with their technique. Though Rebecca left without saying anything, it's been like that for a month. I tried talking to her, but she's been giving me the cold shoulder. I wasn't sure why, to be honest. Maybe she was pissed, like grandpa and grandma, that I put myself in danger? 

     Walking outside, I saw Rebecca climb into her dad's car. They drove off before I could try and talk with her. As I stood there I couldn't help but feel deflated; I started heading home. The air was cold as hell, my breath coming out like a puff of smoke from a dragon as I zoomed by on my bike. I saw most of the empty road as I rode through town. Old street lamps and stop lights lighting the way. There was a calming feeling to being the only person out on the road. The street lamps were shining down the main street. All the store signs were off now leaving only the street lamps. I stopped at an intersection waiting for the lights to change and noticed something that didn't seem right. There was a big bag sitting on the sidewalk. It looked like a duffle bag with a sleeve for a shirt or something sticking out of the zipper. After pulling over to the side, I turned off my bike; leaned it against a building and climbed off. Just as I was about to step over and grab the bag, I heard something. 

     A loud, heavy clang and thump came from an alleyway. I saw two dark figures slamming one another into the brick walls. 

"Hey!" I grabbed my phone and started calling nine one, one. 

     Suddenly, a low dull sound echoed out from the alley way. It sounded like metal hitting against something soft. I looked over just as I saw one of the dark figures falling to the side. Without thinking, I rushed in, dropping my phone; did I even manage to reach someone? The standing person raised their arm over their head. I could see the outline of something, maybe a pipe, ready to beat the downed person. I slammed into the standing one, pinning them to the wall, and quickly wrapped my arms around the attacker that held the pipe. The dark figure punched me in the side, my ribs felt like they were on fire. I could hear the sound of the pip hitting the ground behind me as I kept his raised arm pinned up in the air. Even though he couldn't give a full punch, It hurt twice as much as usual. My arms kept a tight grip around the attacker as we struggled and he tried tripping me. With my weak legs, it wasn't hard to make me stumble. I pulled him down with me, slamming us both to the ground. The attacker hit a dumpster while I landed on concrete. I quickly scrambled to try and wrestle him into place. My body burned with pain; I couldn't hold the person down. He pushed me off with a good kick slamming me into a trash can. There I laid on my side with the trash can behind me knocked over. The figure wearing a mask stood up, grabbing the bar he had dropped earlier. They raised it overhead, ready to bring it down. 

     As I looked up at him I raised my arms knocking I'd have a broken bone after he was done. But in that short second, I could help but notice through a black ski mask. The man's eyes, the way they seemed wild and crazy, yet fixated, like someone that hunted for something all their life, and just now found it. 

     Suddenly, bright flashes of red and blue lights drew everyone's attention to the ally's opening. The man quickly booked it down the alley and around a corner with his friend following close behind him. I heard the bar hitting the ground as the attacker ran away. I watched the corner of the alley way as I began to question something. Why didn't the other step in? Why didn't they tag team me?

     The sound of heavy footsteps echoed off the alley walls. Looking over I could see Ben rushing down the alley after the guys as one of the other deputies stopped and looked over the man who was attacked. He laid there unmoving the entire time during the fight. 

     After a few minutes, two ambulances arrived. The paramedics carried the unconscious man away. I sat on the rear bumper of one ambulance watching. The guy was rolled into the ambulance on a gurney. The double doors were slammed closed by one paramedic before they drove off to the hospital. The small crowd that gathered around opened up, allowing the ambulance to pass.

     Out of the corner of my eye I saw Johnson on the phone. 

"Yes Mr Edward's… he's alright I've got him right here… No... he… he didn't... don't worry, he's not going anywhere." Hearing Grandpa's name sent a chill down my back. 

     I looked down to the ground, defeated. Grandpa's going to bust a gasket when he sees me… hopefully, he'll understand. I mean I was trying to help someone that was being mugged.

     As the flashing red and blue lights of the ambulance faded into the distance, I noticed a set of familiar bright headlights rushing up. The headlights came from grandpa's truck. I know because grandpa has a custom setup where four headlights shine out in front of it, almost blinding anyone. The truck came to a screeching halt a few feet away from the small crowd that gathered around. Grandpa stepped out and rushed up, ducking under the police tape and weaving through two officers who tried to stop him. He was like one of those animals that everyone tries to catch but just end up tripping and falling onto their faces. 

"Ethan, are you OK?" Grandpa rushed up, almost ramming into the ambulance and me. 

"I'm fine, grandpa…" He looked me over, seeming to notice the bruises and the bandages the paramedics applied. 

"Who…" He started, but I stopped him from jumping to random thoughts. 

"Coach Tanaka had me be the dummy today." Grandpa seemed to understand that and calmed down a little. 

"It's OK, Mr. Edwards; Ethan called nine one one as soon as he arrived. And stopped an attack before we could arrive." That seemed to calm down Grandpa a little. 

     After telling the paramedics I was ok to go home. I walked past the crowd of onlookers to grandpa's truck. I climbed in, slowly, my legs felt like they would give out any moment. And when I felt the soft cushion of the passenger's seat they did. My body's more sore than ever before. Sitting in the passenger seat, I watched from the side mirror as Grandpa loaded my E bike into the back. My body radiated pain as I sat there. 

     The drive home was quiet; Grandpa would keep glancing at me occasionally. Making sure I was still breathing. The rough road didn't help with keeping the pain away. Every bump made the aches flare up at the ditches or potholes. When I got home, I grabbed some frozen water bottles from the freezer in the garage and held them against my bruises. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief feeling the cold take away the pain even for a brief moment. It felt nice letting the cold slowly sink into my muscles and down into my bones.

     I looked over and watched as grandpa pulled my bike from the truck's bed and placed it on the wall mount.  He then plugged it in before we both went inside.

     I stumbled into the living room and fell onto the couch. Grandma and Grandpa talked in the kitchen, but I was too tired to try and listen to them. Their whispering is just background noise to me when I'm like this. My eyes slowly closed as I tried to relax and let my muscles relax. The rest of the night went by quietly; mostly just sat in the living room resting and ate dinner. Grandma's town's famous parmesan-crusted chicken with spaghetti. But during dinner, I could tell there was something in the air. Normally they're always talking about something that happened in their day. Like grandpa talking about one of the antique shop owners coming to him asking him about something they recently bought. Last month Mrs Vien came into the museum asking for help identifying an old knife she bought at an estate sale. But not tonight, maybe they're worried about me. Grandma and Grandpa kept glancing at each other as if silently encouraging one another. Did they want to talk to me about rushing head-first into danger again? Maybe they were worried. Since this was the second time I came close to being beaten or… worse.

"I know I should have kept my distance…" I kept my eyes down on my food as I spoke. 

     I couldn't tell if they had heard me, but I kept going. I need to get something off my chest. And honestly if they weren't going to say anything I might as well.

"Next time I see something happening, I'll…" I started but stopped when Grandma interrupted me with her gentle tone. 

"No, sweetie… we need to tell you something… important." She said before looking at Grandpa. 

     He looked apprehensive for a moment. Guess he wasn't expecting grandma to throw him under the bus like that. After taking a sip of his drink, he looked at me with a somber expression. There was a look in his eyes I've only seen twice. One when he caught me trying to ditch middle school. I had only been living with them for half a year by then and I was trying to get out of a science test. The second time was when he was called by the high school for fighting in the men's locker room. To be fair I was defending myself on that one, one of the football players wouldn't leave me alone. Making stupid jokes about my time living in japan. Grandpa had a hardened look you'd only expect to see on a man marching into a fight and not expecting to come out without a scratch. 

"Your father's going to be in town… and… we offered him a place to stay." I dropped my fork at that news. 

     A chill went down every bone in my spine when I heard that. I wanted to run; to scream, how long did they know about this? When was he… I stopped that train of thought. I guess they knew this upset me a little. 

"When's he…" I started but grandpa picked up my question from there. 

"He's flying into San Francisco at the end of the week. We don't know how long he's going to be staying." Grandpa finished before taking a bite of dinner. 

     I could feel my fingers cinch into fists as I processed everything. I mean I haven't seen the man for close to ten years and now he's coming here… why?