Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 120 - Monday: Future Plans

Devan

Arriving at the gym, I was not surprised to see Asher's bike parked outside and to find him inside, setting up for the early birds.

The boy took this task on himself a couple of years ago, showing up each morning before school to make sure that everything is ready for people wanting to have a workout before they start their days.

I've never asked him to do this.

He also uses the time to have a quick workout himself, but he mostly just takes care of mundane tasks we didn't get to the previous evening, such as re-stacking weights, replacing empty water cooler bottles, and running some of the training plans he'd come up with by me. 

A few of our regulars have come to count on him being here in the morning to spot them or give them pointers. In fact, I've also come to count on him being here. I am proud to say that Ash can stand in for me regarding most of the gym-related tasks.

Last year, I started to involve him in the training of a couple of talented fighters sent to me to get them ready to make their pro debuts later this year, and lately, he has been doing wonders with them. Last week, when I had to spend time in Grey Mount, looking after my mother in the hospital there, I felt confident handing the running of the gym over to him.

He is an 18-year-old with the face of a vulnerable boy and the soul of a much older man. I took him under my wing long before his abusive, dead-beat father left him. At first, I just wanted to teach the scrawny, meek little guy to defend himself next time his father came after him to toughen him up, as he called it. I did once use that same approach on his father to see how he liked it when someone stronger than him slapped him around. I'm not proud of it, but... it helped.

I soon realised that Asher had a real talent for the sport and enjoyed the release it gave him.

When Blane Wright finally ran away from his troubles, leaving his child behind, I was pleased to discover that in all his bad parenting, he had at least taken the time to fill out forms declaring me Asher's legal guardian and having them delivered to my door. All I had to do was sign them and have them filed, which I did. I suppose he knew that there was no way I would not do that.

The day I received the papers and realised that the man had abandoned his son, I rushed over to their house to collect Asher and assure him that he was not alone. I thought the poor kid would be there, all by himself and terrified, but I was wrong. He wasn't at the house. He was at the Davenports' place, already taken into their abundant care and seeing the look on his face and the way Paisley, Jake and Tanner were doting on him, ready to defend him from the world, I realised that I could not take him away from them. They were his family and had been that for some years already by that time.

He was home. He felt safe.

Besides, they needed him as much as he needed them. He has a calming influence on both Paisley and Tanner, and he has always been a pillar to Jake. I was still going to tell him that I have custody of him and that he could come to me for any signatures or help he might require, but then I heard him say to Tanner that he still belonged to his father; he wasn't thrown away. His father was just hiding for a bit. It's not that he didn't want him anymore; he would've signed him over to the authorities if he didn't want him. I guess at that stage, it gave him some hope that the man did not abandon him and would return. He was a lousy father, but he was still his father.

Hearing that made me feel sick. I couldn't tell him the truth.

Through the years, the kids concocted this idea that they were cheating the authorities and conning Ryan into signing permission slips and whatnot. It's all rather complex, and Ryan and I have had to work around their crazy schemes as best we could to keep the secret. Ultimately, I was the one signing any documents Asher needed to have signed, and there was no chance of him ever being taken away from his family.