Released (Caged 3)

“You feel better now?”

I turned around and saw Dr. Baynor sitting on a bench near the ring. I hadn’t seen the guy in months, and I wasn’t sure what to think of his sudden appearance except to be glad it wasn’t Yolanda showing up again.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Does that kid remind you of anyone?” He stood and walked toward me.

“Only the other assholes who thought they were better than me,” I replied.

I grabbed a towel and ran it over the back of my neck and chest before tossing it into the bin. Baynor continued to eye me, and as much as I wanted to ignore him, the man had a way of getting under my skin.

“You have an interesting way of not seeing the obvious, Liam,” Baynor said. “What’s that saying? Something about the only people who are truly blind are those who refuse to see?”

“I don’t think that’s the saying.”

“It’s still the same point.”

“Fuck you.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that before when I was right,” he replied. “You going to keep saying it? Do you say it to Tria? You going to say it to your baby when it’s hungry at night and won’t let you sleep?”

“Of course not,” I snapped back.

“Then get your head out of your ass.”

“What the fuck are you doing here, anyway?”

“Just checking up on you,” he said. “Erin called, and I had a pretty good idea about where you might have gone. She was worried about you.”

“Well, she can pretty much kiss my ass.”

Okay, so the fight hadn’t quite put me back on my game. I was annoyed again and definitely in the mood to punch someone else.

“How about you get up there and go a few rounds with me?” I suggested with a sneer.

“Would that make you happy?”

“It might.”

“Let’s go, then.”

I laughed.

“Did you see the last one?” I asked. I pointed across the room at the bleeding kid. “You don’t even have any training.”

Baynor shrugged.

“I did some wrestling in high school.”

“When was that?” I asked. “In the eighties?”

“Yep. So where do I get some tape or whatever for my hands?”

I laughed again, but then I realized he was completely serious.

“I’d kill you up there,” I told him.

“Maybe,” he agreed with a nod. “Not the point though. If that’s what you need to get yourself over this and realize there are people out there who care about you and want you to get your shit together, I’m willing to take a few hits.”