Falling Fast

Getting in behind the wheel, I hit the remote for the garage to send the door up, and start the engine. After backing out, I send the garage door back down and head for the road, with Loki running behind me. He stops at the end of the driveway and turns back toward the house, knowing better than to go any further.

It takes me less than twenty minutes to make it to the gym, and when I pull into the lot, I see Tide has already arrived. Tide has been my best friend since I can remember. His dad and mine are best friends, and since they spent all their time together, we spent all of ours the same way. I don’t know what the hell his parents were thinking naming him Tide, or naming his sister Crimson, even if his dad did play football during college for Alabama State University.

Grabbing my duffle off the passenger seat, I get out and slam the door behind me. I spot Tide at one of the weight benches at the back as soon as I enter the gym. Giving him a chin lift as I pass, I take my bag to the locker room then head back out to meet him.

“Yo.” He puts the barbell up in its resting place when he spots me and sits up. Tide looks like a Viking, with his blond hair and blue eyes. He’s a big guy, bigger than most, and it’s not because he works out every other day. He’s just built that way; it’s in his genes, since both of his parents are big. In high school, they called him Mac because, like his dad before him, he played football and ruled the field. Anytime someone saw him coming, they got out of his way, meaning our high school football team was undefeated the four years he was on the team.

“What’s up, man?” I ask, bumping my fist against his once I’m close.

“Nothing new.”

“How’s my Goddaughter?”

“Perfect.” He gives me the same smile he always does when he’s talking about his three-year-old daughter, Olivia—a smile that says he’s got it all. “Wish I could say the same about her mom, but it is what it is.” He shrugs and lies back to finish lifting. “We have another court date in three months.”

“What’s this one for?” I ask, stepping up to spot him.

“I want custody to be fifty/fifty. She wants me to have every other weekend so I’ll have to give her more money,” he says through clenched teeth. I feel for him. Since the day Olivia was born, he’s been working on being a good dad and being present in her life. He stayed with Anna, Olivia’s mom, for a while after Olivia was born, trying to make it work with her so he could see his daughter every day, but that didn’t work out. I don’t know what all went down, but I do know that neither of them were happy. I also know that since he moved out, she’s been working on making his life hell.

“It will work out. The judge will see that you want to be in Olivia’s life and give you the time you’re asking for.”

“I hope so.” He sits up, grabbing the towel off the floor at his feet. “I don’t want to miss out on any more time than I already have,” he mumbles, then his eyes go over my shoulder and turn hard. “Fuck,” he clips, and I turn to see who he’s looking at then shake my head when I see it’s Lisa and her two best friends walking in. “I don’t got anything against women, and normally I’d be thrilled to watch bitches strut around in tight clothes that leave little to nothing to the imagination. But seriously, what the fuck are they even doing here?” he questions, studying them.

“Don’t know, don’t give a fuck,” I mutter, taking off my hoodie and heading for the treadmills across the room.

“Christ, they even have on fucking makeup. Who the fuck wears makeup to go work out?” he asks, claiming the machine next to mine.

Ignoring his question and the fact that they’re even here, I start up my machine and begin to run. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Lisa since I’ve been home, but I wish I could say it would be the last. Lisa and I dated in high school then off and on while I was in college for two years and after I joined the Marines. I proposed to her after my first tour overseas, and we had a plan to get married after my second. Needless to say, it didn’t happen. After I was shot and lost use of my legs, she ended things with me. The doctors didn’t think I would be able to walk again, and she couldn’t handle the idea of being with a paraplegic, so she jumped ship.