The Marx Brothers

Chapter Thirty Four - 'Fear'

Pressing the phone against my ear was when Phoenix made his move, stomping towards me where he tore the phone from my grip, quickly checking the caller ID before hanging it up and shoving it into his tracksuit pants pocket.

"Give that back" I growled between teeth

"Stop being a child Eden"

He was calm, which infuriated me further

"I'm making the adult decision to remove myself from this" I signaled between us "I don't want you dead because you're paranoid about who I'm talking to on the phone"

"You think that by being MIA will make it easier for me to concentrate?" He folded his arms over his broad naked chest

Now I was the one distracted.

"It appears that way" I nodded

"You couldn't be more wrong"

"Judging by today, I couldn't be more right. When I'm here your head isn't in the game, the moment I left, you were improved, how many times do I have to tell you"

He took a step closer to me, his arms dropping

"You're staying here, I... I need you, here. You are the entire reason I'm doing this, if you aren't around to motivate me, then I lose the fight already"

I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to take it

"If you don't want anything to do with me once this is over, fine. But right now, you need to be here, you need to know that this fight, it's for you, for your safety, for your life to go back to normal without having to worry about creeps following you, or beating you or threatening you"

"Do you really think it'll all be over once this is done?"

"When Gonzales gets his fight, he will make sure of it, Jaston, Dylan, Brody, whoever I call out he will ensure never evens looks in your direction again"

"Why do you trust him so much? He was the reason your sister-"

"Trust me, I hate him, and I'll get in whatever revenge I can tomorrow night for it, but my main focus is making sure I fix the mess I've made with you, and if that means negotiating with him, it's what I'll do"

I shook my head "That's unfair"

"It's what I know the right thing to do is, it's what my sister would be telling me to do"

I sighed and slumped, defeated "Then you need to trust me, who I talk to on the phone shouldn't bother you"

"But it does"

I was surprised at his admittance

"Why?"

He rolled his eyes taking another step towards me "Let's stop pretending why it bothers me when you go out and speak with these other men, and why it bothers you when you hear rumors about me being with other women"

He was right. I knew why.

"How do we get past it?" I shrugged

He looked annoyed "Is that something you want to do? Get past it?"

I didn't know. I just looked around the room as though an answer would appear magically in thin air.

"What this is" I began "It's volatile. We always end up arguing and in each others face"

Closing the gap lingering in the middle of our bodies, his expression changed dramatically. His muscles relaxed, his eyes softening as he looked down at me.