Regret

Chapter Thirty- Dude, You Need To Get Laid

A/N: I'm back! How are you all? Sorry for disappearing on you guys. Anyways, thanks for getting me to 100k! You might have to read the last chapter again to remember what was going on. Enjoy :)

"You're involved with street fighting?!" I hissed at Josh, raising my hand so I could slap him on the arm to get my anger across. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him, but it was enough to make a point. "You've gotten yourself involved in street fighting?" I repeated, letting my own words sink in.

"Ow, stop hitting me, woman!" Josh exclaimed, grabbing my hands so I couldn't slap him on the arm again. "I said Elijah is involved with street fighting. Me and the guys just go to watch his matches, and occasionally we'll train together."

"Oh, because that makes it so much better," I replied sarcastically, wiggling my hands out of his grasp so I could take a seat on one of the couches.

Josh had led me to a room at the end of the hall, and from what I could tell, it seemed to be a games room. There was a pool table in one corner, with two couches and a TV on the other side of the room. The room was empty, so I guess that it's off-limits to most people.

"It does, actually." He replied, plopping down beside me but at an angle so we could face each other. "Do you really think Elijah would let me inside a ring with those people? And even if he did, I'm not stupid enough to get myself killed. The people who fight in those cages either do it for the money or want to become professionals in the future. I don't fit into either of those categories."

"Then why do you travel all the way to New York just to watch your friend get his ass beat?" I asked, still not understanding Josh's involvement in all of this.

Josh let out a scoff at my words, "For one, Elijah doesn't get his ass beat because I've never seen him lose a match. Secondly, I go there to support my friend and be there if something bad happens one day. Lastly, I go to learn new techniques to use them in practice with the guys. There's nothing wrong with learning how to fight."

"Since when did you start needing to learn new fighting techniques, Josh?" I asked softly, shuffling closer towards him. My mind was racing, thinking that maybe he had got himself in trouble since moving here.

"Since I realised that fighting helped me release all that anger I felt inside." He paused, glancing away before he continued. "I was angry with everything going on in my life. I was lonely, living in a town 3000 miles away from where I called home, and my mom was only getting worse each day. My life was flipped upside down, and I had no way to let out how I was feeling, so I bottled it inside.

Elijah is used to seeing guys bottle their anger because of what he does, and he noticed it. For some reason, he decided to help me. He's been teaching me how to project my feelings onto other things, and honestly, it's been helping me."

I listened intently to his every word, and by the end of it, I found myself feeling even more glad that Josh had made these friends. I didn't know Elijah and the others, and quite frankly, I didn't care that they were involved in street fighting. They weren't my friends to worry about, but Josh is my friend. I trusted him not to put himself in danger by fighting people he wouldn't be able to take on, but I couldn't help but worry about him.

What kind of friend would I be if I didn't care about his safety?

"I trust you not to get yourself into a situation you can't get out of. You're a smart guy, Josh, and this is a healthier coping mechanism than what you could have chosen." He nodded his head at my words as we both sat in silence for a few minutes. "You could have told me how you were feeling, you know?"

His reply was instant, almost like he was waiting for me to say this. "You seemed so happy with how everything is at home. I didn't want to burden you with my problems."