Chapter 1
The broadcaster on the small television in Gio’s garage stood outside the cemetery where services for Trinidad had been held. The light from the television screen was the only thing that illuminated the otherwise dark garage. Gio wasn’t even listening anymore. He’d stopped listening hours ago, but still, he sat there on his Raiders beanbag, like he had for days, staring at the screen.
The knock at the door was soft, and he didn’t bother responding. Someone opened it anyway and walked in. Gio’s eyes never left the screen that now panned out, showing the mourners entering their cars as the recording of the broadcast of the services played on. Trinidad had been buried days ago. Gio had already watched this footage repeatedly. Just like the first time, he felt numb each time he watched it again, but he couldn’t tear himself away from the television.
“Hey.”
Without looking away from the screen, Gio lifted his chin. It was the only response he showed to hearing his best friend Noah’s voice.
“Roni made zucchini bread. She wanted me to bring you some.”
“Cool. Tell her I said thanks.”
Noah took a step forward, pulling the string above Gio’s head to turn the lights on and turning off the television. “You gotta stop this, G. Your mom’s worried. She asked me to come over and talk to you. I was going to anyway. Everyone’s worried, man.”
“About what?” Gio said, staring at the floor and tossing the remote aside. “I’m not the one who’s dead.”
“So what? Because his life is over, yours is too?” Noah sat down on an ice chest near Gio. “What happened sucks, Gio, but he knew the risks when he stepped into that ring. Hell, we all do. It’s a tragic thing, but you can’t blame yourself.”
Gio finally turned to face Noah. “What do you mean I can’t blame myself? Who else is there to blame? I’m the one that took the shot at him. I ended that guy’s life.”
“Boxing ended his life! You just happened to be the opponent in the ring with him at the time. If it hadn’t been you, it would’ve been the next fighter he faced. He had a pre-existing condition for Christ’s sakes. If anyone is to blame, it’s whoever cleared him to fight. He should’ve never been in there in the first place.”
Gio stood up, hands at his waist and paced. “What’s gonna happen to his wife?”
“That’s not your problem, G. I know it sounds shitty, but—”
“You’re damn right it sounds shitty!” Gio stopped and glared at Noah. “She’s pregnant. What’s wrong with you?” As long as he lived, those agonized screams would haunt him.
“Look.” Noah lifted his hand. “All I’m saying is she has a family. She’ll be taken care of. You shouldn’t burden yourself worrying about that right now. You should worry about this.” Noah pointed at Gio’s forehead. “You’re my friend—my family. And I’m worried about you right now—worried about what’s going on in that head.”
The door opened. Gio’s other friend Abel and his younger brother Hector walked in. “We all are,” Abel said. “You need to get your ass back in the ring. Sitting around in this cave isn’t gonna do you any good.”
Gio collapsed back into his beanbag. “Maybe I don’t wanna get back in the ring.”
They all stared at him, but Noah spoke first. “You’re just saying that now, but—”
“No, I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe I don’t wanna risk it. What happened to Trinidad can happen to any of us. Maybe I don’t wanna take that risk anymore.”
“But this is what you—” Noah stopped talking when Abel touched his arm.
“So you train,” Abel said. “You’re a hell of a trainer. You know those two you’ve been training have ‘up and coming’ written all over them. You said it yourself.”
Gio glanced at Abel but said nothing and then stared at the floor again. He hadn’t even stepped foot in 5th Street since that horrific night.
“They’ve been asking about you,” Hector added. “Just today at school. Nate asked if I knew when you were coming back.”
Both of the guys Gio was training were still in high school—juniors like Hector, but both had massive potential.
He couldn’t believe he’d actually said it out loud that he didn’t want to get back in the ring. But it was true—for now anyway. Maybe someday he’d get back in it, but for now, he didn’t even want to think about it, not for himself. But Abel was right. He did love training. He’d even thought about asking Jack, the owner of 5th Street, what he thought about him starting up a beginner’s class for some of the younger kids in the neighborhood.
He turned back to Noah, who still held the zucchini bread wrapped in plastic wrap, glad that his friends had gotten his mind off Trinidad even it was for only a few minutes. “Give me that.”
“Is that Roni’s zucchini bread?” Hector asked.
Noah nodded, handing it to Gio as Hector’s jaw dropped open. “Relax, she made a whole bunch. I didn’t know you guys were gonna be here, or I would’ve brought you some too.”
“What?” Hector’s eyebrows pinched. “He’s gonna eat that whole loaf by himself?”
“Damn right,” Gio said with a smirk. None of them had ever even had zucchini bread until Noah’s girl made some for Christmas last year, and they all loved it.
“I gotta go,” Abel said, making his way to the door but stopped before walking out. “So will we see you at the gym tomorrow?” Gio shrugged. “I swear to God, G. If I have to come get you and drag your ass out of here, I will.”
Gio frowned, tearing a piece of the zucchini bread off and handing it to Hector, who was still staring at it. “That’s it. The rest is mine.”
“Don’t act like you didn’t hear me,” Abel raised his voice.
“I heard you.” Gio took a bite of the bread.
“All right. ’Cause I’ve had it with this shit.” He pointed around the garage. “Your mom gave me the go ahead to kick your ass if I have to.”
For the first time in weeks Gio laughed. “Like you could.”
“You’re lucky I’m in a hurry or I just might right now.” Abel opened the door. “I’ll see you guys at the gym.”
Gio didn’t doubt for even a second that Abel would come and drag him down to 5th Street if he didn’t show up soon. Considering the fact that Abel outweighed him by at least thirty pounds, Gio didn’t doubt Abel could whip his ass if he really wanted to. In fact, he knew this was coming. The guys had given him a few weeks to wallow in his guilt, but he knew it was just a matter of time before they came and demanded he snap out of it. None of them were the coddling type either. Just like Noah walked in there telling him it sucked but to move on already and Abel threatening to kick his ass, Gio had expected no less from them.
Noah and Hector hung around a while longer. They told him about some of the things happening around the gym in the last two weeks since he’d been a no show. The most interesting of all was that Felix Sanchez, an old neighborhood buddy of theirs and only alumnus of 5th Street in over forty years who’d made a name for himself in the boxing world, had contacted Jack, saying he’d be by for a visit soon.
Not only had Felix made a name for himself, he was now the WBC welterweight champ of the world. He’d clinched the title just last year by knocking out the former champ. It was a huge upset, but it was well deserved. Gio and the guys were all proud of him but none more so than Gio. Felix and Gio had been the closest when he still lived in the neighborhood. Felix always said he’d never forget where he came from, and to this day, he’d kept his promise. He even donated money to help Jack get new equipment in the gym.
“He asked about you,” Noah said with a lift of an eyebrow.
“Yeah?” Gio knew with all the media attention Trinidad’s untimely death had incited Felix had to have heard about it. “What did he say?”
“Like the rest of us, he was worried about you.”
Gio walked out with them when they said they had to go and went inside his house. Since the fight where Trinidad lost his life, Gio had spent the better part of every day in the garage. His mother and sisters came in often to bring him food and sit with him. He’d come in the house late in the evening only to brush his teeth and go to bed. He was sure his mother would be glad to see him in the house before eight tonight.
***
The media vans in the parking lot of 5th Street were the first clue. The line to get in was the second. Felix was in town. Gio made his way through the crowd to the front door of the gym. One of Felix’s big bodyguards and driver, Tony, recognized Gio as he walked up to where he stood guarding the front door.
“Hey,” he said with a big smile and a hearty chuckle, shaking Gio’s hand then clapping his back. “How we doing, G? Long time no see!”
“I’m good. How’ve you been?”
Of course, his first day back would be a madhouse. It’d been almost a week since Noah, Abel, and Hector’s visit to see him. Noah had texted him to tell him he was holding Abel back, telling him to give Gio more time, but he warned Gio that he didn’t know how much longer he could hold him back. It was time. He had to face it. Trinidad’s death, while tragic, was not his fault. It would haunt him for years, if not forever, and he was still sticking to his decision of not getting back in the ring.
After chatting with Tony for a bit, he went inside. It was mayhem. Camera crews were everywhere. Photographers were taking pictures not only of Felix and his entourage but of some of the regular guys training.
Felix stood by the ring, smiling as a reporter interviewed him in front of a television camera. As usual, there was a girl in his crowd, and as usual, she was all glammed up like all the girls he ever brought with him. He brought a different one in every time he came. Gio peered at her for a second to see if he recognized her from anywhere. The last couple of times he was here, both girls he’d brought were small time celebs. One was the previous year’s runner-up of American Idol, and the second one played a supporting role in one of the hotter sitcoms on TV.
This girl didn’t look familiar at all, but he knew that didn’t mean anything. Gio hadn’t recognized or heard of the first two girls either. Noah and Abel walked up to him halfway to the locker room. They seemed more excited to see him than having Felix at the gym.
“Hey, you’re finally back.” They both greeted him with the usual guy shake and patted him on the shoulder. “And not a moment too soon,” Abel added with a smirk.
“No shit.” Noah laughed. “He ain’t lying. He just finished telling me this morning if you weren’t back by tomorrow he was coming to get you.”
Gio chuckled. “Well, then I’m glad I did.”
It felt a little weird being back, and having Felix’s circus there made it feel even weirder. He turned to where Felix was being interviewed. The girl he’d brought held a phone to her ear and covered her other ear with her hand. “She anyone we should know?”
Gio had felt a little stupid the last time he’d been introduced to Felix’s flavor of the week and he had no idea who she was. He wanted to prevent that happening again.
“I dunno,” Abel said with a frown. “Somehow it got leaked that he’d be here today. The camera crews have been here all morning. He just arrived about an hour ago. He was mobbed as soon as he walked in. We barely had a chance to talk to him.”
“I don’t recognize her from anywhere.” Noah tilted his head sideways.
Gio gave up trying to figure it out and headed to the locker room to put his things away. He hadn’t been in there very long when he heard a commotion and then loud voices coming toward him. Felix and Abel walked to him. Felix had a big smile on his face. “Hey, my man! How’s it going?”
“I’m doing all right.” Gio reached out his hand to shake Felix’s, but Felix pulled him in for a man hug.
Felix pulled back to face him and the smile slowly collapsed. “I heard about what happened, man . But you know what? This shit happens in boxing. They say you’re really beating yourself up about it. You can’t do that, G. It’s not your fault, and hey, it might even happen again.”
“No, it won’t,” Gio said, turning back to his locker, “not to me anyway because I’m not fighting anymore.”
Felix glanced back at Abel who shrugged, leaning against a row of lockers. “What do you mean you’re not fighting anymore? You can’t give up because of this one thing. Gio. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know.” Gio stuffed his bag in the locker. “But I’m done.”
“Dude, so what are you gonna do now?”
“I’m gonna train. There is some real good talent coming in here lately who I think have a lot of potential. I’ll focus on getting them ready.”
Felix’s eyes opened wide then he smiled. “Fuck that. If you’re gonna train, come train with me. I need a good sparring partner and you were one of my best.”
Gio stared at him for a moment, not sure if he was serious. “With you?”
“Yeah, it’d be perfect. This fight is coming up in a few months, so I’m headed up to Big Bear to train there. You can come with me. It’s only a couple of hours from here, so if you ever need to come back home for whatever, you can just drive back.”
Gio and Abel exchanged glances. “Are you serious?”
“Hell, yeah,” Felix laughed. “This will be awesome. You’ll be well compensated too because even though we’ll do the whole snowboarding and partying with all the snow bunnies up there, I’m putting your ass to work. This guy I’m fighting is supposed to be the best thing outta the Philippines since Pacquiao. I got my work cut out for me.”
“Yeah, you do,” Abel agreed then turned to Gio. “Some time away might do you some good too. Who knows? Sparring with Felix might get you itching to get back in the ring.”
Gio wasn’t sure about that, but Abel was right about one thing: the time away would probably do him some good. “When are you headed up?”
Felix smiled. “Next week. I’ll be up there for two months straight. ’Course there’s gonna be times I’ll have to leave. Since I’ll be in California, my agents lined up some stuff for me to promote the fight: television appearances, morning radio shows, shit like that, but I’ll only be gone for two, maybe three days tops when I do that stuff. You can stay up there and ski or go snowboarding while I’m gone.” He winked with a smirk. “I’ll make sure you have company.”
Gio chuckled, knowing exactly what he meant. “Speaking of, who’s this chick with you today? Anyone I should know about before I make an ass of myself like I did last time?”
“Nah, she’s a jazz singer, but she’s small potatoes. I met her in Vegas after one of my fights. She does have her own show out there, but nothing you’d know about.”
“So, she your new chick?” Abel asked.
Felix laughed. “C’mon brother, you know me. Life’s too short to settle on just one chick. Although, there is one who seriously has me considering it.”
“No way,” Gio said, closing his locker. He’d heard rumors about Felix and a girl from Big Bear, but just like all the other rumors he’d heard about Felix, Gio hadn’t thought anything of it.
“Hey,” Felix said, lifting his hands in front of him. “Stranger things have happened. So what do you say? You in?”
“I’ll give it some thought and let you know in a couple of days. I gotta talk to Jack too. This is my first day back, and already I gotta tell him I may be leaving for two months.”
“I doubt he’ll have a problem with it,” Abel said “He’ll probably agree you could use the time away.”
Gio frowned. “Still, I gotta run it past him first.” Gio had to admit the more he thought about it, the more he agreed with Abel that getting away might do him some good.
As it turned out, not only was Abel right about Jack agreeing that Gio could use the time away but he insisted Gio did. That evening, Jack took Gio aside. “I’m getting old—too old to be managing this place. The busier it gets, the harder it gets for me.”
“That’s what me and the guys are here for. You know you can count on us for anything.”
“Oh, I know that,” Jack said, coming around to sit at his old desk. “I already have Hector doing the bills and payroll for me.”
“Hector?” Gio asked, confused. The kid was still in high school.
“Yeah, that boy is smart as a whip. I showed him the other day how I do all the back end stuff around here, and within minutes, he had it all going on the computer—said I could do it all faster and more efficiently that way. He’s working on getting everything in there now.”
Gio remembered Abel telling them how his little brother had always been smart and talented that way. He said if the kid ever stopped messing around, he might actually do something with that talent.
“Anyway, so Felix is talking about remodeling this place and putting some big bucks into it. He really wants to give back.”
Gio’s eyes opened wide. “That would be awesome!”
Jack turned to Gio. “That’s why I need you to go and get yourself all better. This place is gonna be all of yours soon, and I need you to be here one-hundred percent, both physically and emotionally. But there’s something else I wanted to run by you.” Gio nodded, waiting silently for Jack to go on. “Your name is already on the title of 5th Street. I added you years ago.”
Gio’s eyes opened wide. Jack had made comments in the past about how someday he’d pass 5th Street on to him, but he had no idea he was already on the title.
“I wanna add Noah’s, Abel’s, and Hector’s names too, but I wanted to make sure you were okay with that.”
Gio couldn’t believe Jack would even have to ask. “Of course, it’s okay. They put in just as much work around here as I do. But Jack, I don’t … I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say you’ll always work as hard as you do now to keep this place running smoothly. This place is my life and I’m trusting you boys with it.” Jack stood. Gio walked over to him and hugged him.
“You have my word.”
Jack smiled. “I knew I would, Son. Just do me a favor. Don’t tell them anything yet. I wanna get their names on the title first. And keep to yourself the fact that your name was the only one I added at first.” He pressed his lips together. “You were just the first one I got close to. But now I love you all the same. They don’t need to know about that.”
Gio promised not to say anything, and with that, their guy talk was over, and Jack left him with a lot to think about. Gio always knew in his heart that someday he and the guys would be running things. Jack, who had no family of his own, always treated them like family, and he’d been a father figure to all of them. For the first time in weeks, Gio felt excited again.
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