Clutch (Custom Culture) Read online

  Panic set in and I looked over at my mom. She’d turned her gaze down to her coffee cup. I’d always been told I had my dad’s eyes but, at the moment, his had flames in them. “What do you mean you took care of things with Jimmy?”

  He released his grip on me. “Jason told him that the business partnership would end if he continued to see you.”

  “And Clutch agreed?” I asked making every attempt to stay calm. The last thing I wanted to do was lose it in front of them and give them any sense of victory.

  My dad averted his eyes.

  “Did he agree?” I asked.

  “Jimmy is a business man,” Dad said, “He’s not going to give up everything he’s worked for just for a fling with a pretty school girl.”

  “A fling?” The tears I’d held back broke through. “Is that really what you think this is? You haven’t answered me. Did Clutch agree to Jason’s terms?” My voice sounded shrill now, and I would have been pissed at myself if it hadn’t felt as if every piece of me was crumbling.

  There was no answer. I raced from the kitchen and slammed my bedroom door shut behind me. I stuck my phone on the charger. There was one voicemail form Clutch. My fingers trembled as I dialed up my voicemail, terrified about the message he’d left. It was brief. He wanted to talk. His voice was distant. Not like he’d sounded in the last few days, those few days when we’d been dizzy with each other’s company. Or at least I had been. Maybe for him it had been just as my dad had so cruelly put it— a fling.

  I curled up on my bed and cried. I didn’t have the courage to call him back. I laid there staring at the room through blurry eyes. My mom had straightened it out, no doubt because it’d given her an excuse to snoop. She’d even straightened my sketching supplies. This time my carelessness had been my undoing. I’d taken off the smoke soaked sweatshirt and dropped it in a corner of the room. Because of the Shelby, they’d known about the fire at Clutch’s house. But none of it mattered now if Clutch had just as easily given up on us to save his business.

  Complete and utter despair pushed me into a deep sleep, and when I woke, my room was striped in the shadows of dusk. My head hurt and my throat was dry. I got up and walked into my bathroom for a drink of water and an aspirin. A knock startled me out of my drowsy state.

  “Taylor, dinner is on the table.” Mom’s voice had the usual everything is fine pitch.

  “Not hungry,” I called from the bathroom.

  Her footsteps retreated down the hallway. I swallowed two aspirin and trudged back to my bed. I glanced at my phone and was relieved to see that no one had called. I couldn’t talk to him yet. I wasn’t ready to deal with his excuses. I wasn’t ready to face the reality of my heartbreak. I badly needed to talk to someone though, and lately, Scotlyn had been my one true friend.

  I dialed her and she picked up right away. “Hey, Taylor.”

  I broke into tears at the sound of her voice and wanted to kick myself for it. “What’s wrong, Sweetie?”

  “My parents are demons, and my brother told Clutch that he would break up the business if he continued seeing me. He’s worked hard for that business. Why would my parents be so stupid? Now I’m going to lose him for good.” The last words came out on a series of sobs.

  “I think you’re completely wrong about that, Taylor. I know Jason and Clutch aren’t speaking at the moment. You can cut the tension in the office with a knife, but Clutch is crazy about you. He’s not going to give you up.”

  “My parents said he has already chosen the business over me.” Just saying it produced an ache deep in my chest. Of course, he’d keep the business. I was just a silly nuisance to him.

  “Look, Cassie and I are just finishing dinner.”

  “My gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening.”

  “No, Taylor, that’s not why I brought it up. We’ve made a decision. It’s probably a really stupid one, but Cassie’s had a few pina coladas and she’s decided we should go to the fights. Dray is competing. Nix and Clutch will be there. Come with us and then you can talk to him yourself.”

  “I’m afraid to talk to him. What if it’s all true? I don’t think I’m ready to face it yet.”

  “Taylor, get dressed. We’ll swing by and pick you up in twenty minutes. Can you get away?”

  I thought about it. The agony of not knowing was probably worse than knowing. “There’s a little park two blocks before my house. Pick me up there. See you in a few.”

  Long ago, I’d perfected an escape plan, and I used it whenever my parents were pissed enough to forbid me from leaving the house. I turned on the shower to give the impression that their little girl was getting ready for bed. I tiptoed around and pulled on my jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. Then I brushed my hair up into a ponytail and turned off the shower. I flipped on the television and pulled on my boots. The screen in the window next to my bed had been pried out of its notches. I slid open the window, pushed open the bottom of the screen, and climbed out. After the drama scene in the kitchen, they would most likely check in on me later, but I really didn’t care anymore. They’d been instrumental in destroying my happiness and ripping my heart to shreds. There just wasn’t anything else they could do to ruin my life.

  Cool air drifted up from the city below as I race walked to the park. My resolve to see Clutch had strengthened during the execution of my escape plan. In my rush to get out quickly and quietly, I’d left my cell phone behind on the charger. I stood under the giant oak at the corner edge of the park and waited. The quaint little park had become my clandestine meeting place, and if it hadn’t been so awful knowing how often I’d had to sneak around, it would have been humorous.

  Scotlyn’s car turned the corner and pulled into the tiny parking lot. I climbed into the backseat.

  Cassie peered over the front seat at me. “Hey, Taylor. Thanks for coming along on our ridiculous adventure. The more the merrier.” She sounded nothing like the Cassie I knew. It was obviously the drinks talking.

  “Sure thing. You know I’m always up for anything. Where are we going to watch Dray?”

  Scotlyn glanced up in the rearview mirror at me. “Tank’s Gym, and I have to admit I’m a little nervous about driving through the city.”

  “Do you want me to drive?” Cassie asked.

  Scotlyn laughed. “No, I think we’ll choose my inexperience behind the wheel over your rum soaked reflexes.”

  “Probably a good idea,” I piped up from the backseat.

  Scotlyn’s blue eyes met mine in the mirror again. “Did you hear that Cassie was offered a photo journalist internship with a big international newspaper?”

  “Whoa, Cassie, that’s awesome. When do you start?”

  Cassie fell silent for a moment. “I don’t.” Her uncharacteristically, happy-go-lucky tone had soured. “It would require me to spend six months traveling abroad.” She glanced back at me. “I can’t leave Dray for that long.” Her face brightened again as she forced a smile. “He can’t even feed himself properly.” She looked over at Scotlyn. “Did I tell you what he made himself for dinner the other night when I had to work late at Freefall?”

  “That good, huh?” Scotlyn asked.

  “He made himself a French fry sandwich but there was no bread involved. He cooked two frozen pizzas and a bag of frozen curly fries, which he sandwiched between the two pizzas. He was so proud of his culinary feat, he wrote down the recipe so he wouldn’t forget it.” She shook her head. “It was a pretty simple recipe. Cook two pizzas and squeeze some fries between them. I told him it was just like one of those heirloom family recipes that we could someday pass down to our grandchildren.” She sighed but some of the disappointment had returned. “Seriously, he doesn’t even know how to replace the toilet paper on the holder. If he ran out he’d probably just start using newspaper. He’d never survive without me.”

  “Maybe you’ll find an internship
closer to home,” I suggested.

  She shrank down some in the front seat. “Yeah, maybe.” she said quietly. I knew Cassie was crazy about Dray, but she was also crazy about photography. And she was extremely talented. It had to have been a heart wrenching decision.

  Scotlyn gripped the steering wheel tightly as we pulled off the freeway and into the heart of the city.

  Cassie brought up Tank’s Gym on her phone. “Turn left at the light.”

  “Have you ever seen one of Dray’s fights?” I asked.

  “Only ones outside of the ring. It’s probably really stupid of me to do this, but I figure, what the heck. Who knows— it might even be fun. Right?”

  “Sure,” Scotlyn said weakly.

  I had no response. In fact, a hesitant hush fell over the car as we all seemed to be imagining the possible scenarios we might be met with in the middle of Tank’s Gym. I had even more to worry about. I had no idea what to expect from Clutch. My earlier trepidation had returned.

  “What’s the worst that could happen?” Scotlyn broke the contemplative silence. “If we don’t like it, we’ll just turn around and leave.”

  Cassie nodded. “Just put in an appearance, eh? Good plan, Scottie.” She looked out the window. “Jeez, this really is the seedy part of town.”

  I peered out at the scenery. An old guy was holding a conversation with a trash can or at least he seemed to be talking to it. “No, I think we passed seedy back when that guy was peeing on the bus stop sign. I think we’re entering the bowels of the city now.”

  Cassie ran her thumb across her phone. “Oh, wait, turn right. It’s just around the corner.”

  “I have to warn you that if parallel parking is required then we’re turning back around and heading home,” Scotlyn said.

  Cassie pointed ahead. “Look, I think that one is big enough to pull into.”

  Scotlyn parked and once again an anxious silence fell over the car.

  “The place looks dark,” I said.

  “I think the windows are covered with some kind of dark material. It’s hard to see through the all the bars.” Cassie looked over at both of us. “Why would you need security bars on a gym? I mean are people going to break in and carry off those big, unwieldy punching bags?” She sighed. “Let’s go before my buzz wears off and I chicken out.”

  We climbed out cautiously as if we were stepping onto the surface of the moon or some strange planet. And in a way, we were.

  Scotlyn looked back at her car. “I sure hope it’s still here when we come back out.”

  Cassie pushed on the big metal door, and it creaked open. Instantly, our senses were assaulted with the sounds and smells of men. A heavy set guy with a frosty white goatee stepped in front of us. He had a wad of cash in his chunky fist. The entry way was dimly lit, and the row of spectators lining the ring in the center of the gym blocked any light from coming through.

  The guy squinted down at us, and two chipped front teeth emerged from his smile. “Well, normally I’d ask ya’ for fifteen bucks each, but we could use some sparkle in there.” He motioned for us to go inside.

  Instinctively, we all placed hands over our faces to block the stench of sweat. The timing of our arrival was perfect. The crowd, mostly guys, was so absorbed with the action in the ring, that nobody took notice of us as we scooted through the place. I stretched up tall and looked for the blond head that always towered over everyone else, but I couldn’t find it. It was entirely possible that Clutch wasn’t even in the place. I was slightly comforted by the idea that I wouldn’t have to see him tonight. My stomach churned with worry, and now, more than ever, this really seemed like a stupid idea.

  Self-preservation and the sticky cloud of unpleasant man smells sent us to the back of the gym where the only visible part of the fight was the spray of sweat when a fighter got slammed. Loud roars echoed off the cement walls of the building, and the dense air closed in on us. The din of the crowd made it impossible to speak to each other, but the looks we shot each other said it all. We should never have come. Some stuff was better left to the imagination.

  Even though we couldn’t see a thing, Cassie flinched every time the sound of knuckles smacking flesh shot up from the ring. Cheers thundered through the building, and the ground beneath our feet trembled. The fight in the center ring was over. Cassie’s shoulders relaxed as both competitors walked out on their own and not on a stretcher.

  Their attention no longer drawn to the ring, the spectators began to take notice of the three of us as if a spotlight had turned on above us.

  Scotlyn took hold of my hand. She looked over at Cassie. “We should probably find the guys soon.”

  “Agreed,” Cassie said. But, suddenly, we were like cornered prey in a den of predators, and with each cautious step we took, the predators moved closer. “All right,” Cassie said. “I’m officially calling this a mistake.” Then a side door opened on the opposite side of the gym and, aside from a few stragglers, the pack of hunters turned their attention back to the ring.

  I stretched up on my toes in an attempt to peer over the sea of heads. One head stood above the rest. I took a sharp breath and dropped back to my heels. “I think Dray might be next in the ring. Clutch is one of the people who just came out of that side door. I can’t see Nix and Dray, but I’m sure they have to be nearby.”

  Cassie took hold of Scotlyn’s arm. “I’ve changed my mind. I can’t watch this. I don’t know what I was thinking. Let’s get out of here.”

  “You only have to ask me once. It’s probably best if we can scurry out of here without the guys seeing us.” Scotlyn squeezed my hand even tighter, and I took hold of Cassie’s hand. Scotlyn’s long silver blonde ponytail lit the way as she pulled us quickly through the mass of testosterone. Through the maze of men, we spotted a clear but narrow path to the door. The rumblings and voices grew louder and the spectators pressed closer to the center ring. In seconds, our escape route had filled with men. I pointed toward an opening, and Scotlyn dove through it. Our quick and slightly frantic rush seemed to be drawing attention toward us again.

  Without warning, a man’s arm snaked around Cassie’s waist. She lost her grip on my hand, and I pounded my fists on the guy’s back. The stale smell of alcohol floated out of his mouth as he laughed at my futile attempt to harm him. Cassie grabbed his thick wrist and tried to pry his hands off of her.

  Scotlyn pushed her face up into his. “Let her go, you creep.” When she was pissed, she had some solid tone behind her usually demure voice.

  Unfortunately, Scotlyn’s scolding only served to draw more attention to us. Then moments later, the trip to Tank’s Gym grew from a bad decision to a colossal, irreparable mistake. It was hard to know exactly when the impact had occurred. It had all happened so incredibly fast. Dray had shot across the room almost as if he’d had the preternatural speed of a vampire. He was standing between Cassie and the guy who had grabbed her. The nauseating sound of a nose breaking snapped through the low roar of the crowd and the guy stumbled back, blood pouring from his face. In a blur of movement, two large guys with tight black t-shirts that read ‘security’ shoved into the center of the action and dragged Dray roughly to the backroom. In the chaos of it all, I’d lost sight of Nix and Clutch.

  Cassie’s narrow shoulders shook with sobs. Scotlyn grabbed hold of each of our arms. “We’ve got to get out of here now.” We inched closer to the ring where it seemed we could find our surest way out. Cassie kept her face down, and Scotlyn forged ahead with steely determination. We emerged from the sea of bodies and ended up directly next to the ring.

  We crept along its border. We were halfway down the ring and just twenty steps from the exit when an announcer came on the microphone. “We are looking for a match up in round three. A fighter has been disqualified for throwing a punch outside of the ring.”

  Cassie’s face shot up. Her glasses were steamed from tears and
the moist, hot air in the gym. She pulled them off. “Did they say he was disqualified?”

  Scotlyn looked at me and then reluctantly turned to Cassie. “I’m pretty sure that’s what the announcer said.”

  Cassie’s hand flew to her mouth. “Dray’s been anticipating and preparing for this match for weeks. He’s going to be so upset. I can’t leave until I know he’s all right.” Her voice trembled.

  Simultaneously, we glanced in the direction that security had taken Dray. The path to the rear of the gym looked daunting.

  Cassie took a deep breath. She wiped her glasses off on her shirt and placed them back on her face. This time Cassie took charge, and with elbows swinging and expressions that told people to get hell out of the way, we made the long trek to the backroom door.

  Something told me that Dray was not going to be in the greatest of moods when he saw us, but Cassie knew him better than me and she headed toward him now with unflappable determination.

  Cassie glanced fleetingly at us before opening the door. A cold, dark corridor wound around a corner. Light and voices streamed out into the otherwise unlit passage. We followed the sound of the deep voices and came to another metal door.

  Cassie’s confidence seemed to shrink with each step we took. She pressed her hand against her stomach. “I feel sick.”

  Scotlyn placed a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe they won’t suspend him for the whole night.”

  Yellowish light seeped beneath the door making Cassie’s face look even paler. “I caused all of this.” She opened the door and three familiar faces popped up. They stared at the three of us as if we’d just emerged from a spaceship. I didn’t look directly at Clutch, but I could feel his gaze on the side of my face.

  Dray shot Cassie a hard look. His jaw twitched as he spun around and paced toward the back wall lined with a row of dented lockers. He threw his fist into one, and the clang of metal echoed off the cement walls.