Lars Crawford was a simple teen. He loved his siblings, loved baseball, loved life until a tragic accident ripped his older brother away along with his left arm.
Now he lives his life serving after school detention from fights he faught for his best...
“Damn you hit hard.” I shook out my hand as Ethan bounced from left to right shaking out his arms. Rolling his neck he pulled out his mouth guard.
“Am I hitting you too hard? Do you need me to ease up?”
“I’m not a pussy E. Give me your best. I can take it.” Stuffing my hand back into the pad I put them up telling him to do the second combo we discussed. Hitting with more of his left to make his hits just as strong as his right, I asked where did he learn to hit so good.
Pushing back his hair with the gloves, he tried to swallow around his mouth guard. “Mike’s cousin has been taking us to a rec center on the other side of town. We’ve been learning some helpful moves.”
“How long have you been going there?”
“Since they tried to fight us in the cafeteria.” Hitting with more force than before my right hand was throbbing in the pad but I knew the fight made Ethan mad and that’s what was fueling him.
“Good good.” Taking a step back I switched up the moves so he could incorporate leg kicks. “So you got fit after a few days of working out?”
“Jealous?” Catching his kick at the last minute we both laughed at his sneak attack to get my ribs.
Crossing my eyes I held my hands out, “Definitely.”
Dropping his arms Ethan pulled out his mouth guard wiping over his forehead again. “I’ve been lying to you sometimes Lars.”
“Only sometimes?” I joked.
“I know but I feel bad. Sometimes when I say that I’m going to hangout with Mike, I’m actually going to swim some laps at the school.”
“At school? You break into school Ethan?”
His sweaty red face began to brighten in color. “Worse. I made a copy of the custodian’s key.”
“Why though? You have a big ass pool in your own backyard.”
“I know,” he shrugged taking off a glove to get some water, “but going to school when it’s empty and I don’t have to worry about Griffin popping out from a dark corner feels different. It’s like I have the entire school to myself.”
