Dante

It was safe to say I had no words for what Sammy had just disclosed to me.

Literally none.

"I-" I started to say something, but caught myself. Luckily, Sammy came to my rescue.

"A lot to unpack, I know." He replied, as he finally turned the car on. "It's been many years now, and if it helps, my father was also a pretty shit person to begin with."

That was something I could relate to.

"People got their vices, and liquor was his. He used to throw my mum and I around a lot when I was growing up- real pussy ass shit if you ask me."

I was right now real time discovering that I hadn't known jack shit about Sammy until now.

"He was in business with Jimmy at the time, and Jimmy found out my father had cleared out their rainy day fund with his gambling/alcohol addiction. The night Jimmy came over to confront my father, was a night my father was particularly wasted on... A lot-"

Sammy paused a moment, as he pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot. I waited patiently until he was ready to continue.

"A lot happened that night, but things got physical between my father and Jimmy. Before I knew what was happening, all I heard was a round of gunshots coming from the backyard. When I went outside to take a look, Jimmy was hovering over my father. He wasn't alive at that point."

Surprise. Shock. Anger. Sadness.

I really just felt it all as I heard Sammy tell and almost relive this painful memory. His voice was leveled, but it was obvious that him disclosing any of this wasn't easy. At first, I wasn't sure what even compelled him to share. Sammy answered that question seconds later.

"I know it's all pretty heavy stuff. Like I said, it's been years since. I decided to open up about it and bring you with today, because of how little I've shared about myself." Sammy explained. "It's not that I don't want you to know me, it's just hard to admit I'm quite ashamed of my family. Grayson and Kas ended up taking me in after my mum passed, and I'd consider that to be my true family... so as far as I'm concerned, you've already met everyone I care for."

That last bit made my stomach flip in a good and not so good way.

Really, everything he said had.

It was hard to ignore this feeling of guilt. Sammy had been blatantly honest with me- something I hadn't been reciprocating.

Hearing about his family made my heart break. Just knowing he and I grew up in such abusive situations... that feeling was inexplicable. When I looked at Sammy all I could do was wonder where I went so wrong.

Sammy took that tragic background and made something for himself.

All I did was cycle out one abusive relationship for another.

"My father was a bit of an asshole as well." I spoke suddenly, startling even myself.

Sammy's eyes momentarily left the road to catch mine. I don't think either of us expected that.

"He practically drank himself to death after his professional career ended. He was... he was always a coach before he was a father." I tried to explain. Words sounded so foreign right now. "Some days, he dropped the fathering act completely. He got increasingly abusive in every aspect towards my mother and I."

It was hard to miss Sammy's entire body going tense with those words.

"Unfortunately, I didn't take the self love route you did." I continued. "Instead, I ended up falling for another up and coming fighter my father had started to train before he died. Regardless of how shitty my father was, his death wasn't easy for me to handle. At first, this dazzling young fighter took a lot of that pain away. He mourned the passing of my father with me... but- what's that one quote? Crazy attracts crazy? I didn't realize how much he idolized my father, until after my fathers death. Let's just say he's on the same sadistic level of fucked up my father was on."

Sammy's eyes looked over in my direction for such a concerning amount of time, I almost pointed back to the road just to remind this man that he was very much still driving.

"So when you told me you left Texas because of him..."

I gave Sammy a nod. "I fled after he had a breakdown in our home."

Just mentioning that night elevated my heartbeat considerably.

It made my breathes short, and hands clammy.

It was a night I'd have to work tirelessly to forget. It was the night Shaun damn near killed me.

There was a moment of silence where I'm sure Sammy was working hard to think of a reply to that one. I essentially just confessed to this man the numerous levels of fucked up I was. Any hopes he'd still want to even look in my direction after this, had to be slim to none.

I was honestly pathetic.

But when Sammy spoke again, I was taken back. "Don't do that." He said seriously.

"Do what?" I asked him.

"Blame yourself for other people's actions. That man hurt you. He violated every ounce of your trust, and for that, he's worth less than the filth I'd scrape off the bottom of my fucking shoe."

Amidst all the times I've seen Sammy snap, this particular moment was vastly different. He looked calm, but every fiber of being in my body could feel that radiating anger. I realized now that Sammy and Jimmy gave off this same intense energy.

It made me think back to what Sammy mentioned about his father and uncle working together.

I'd believe pigs could fly before I believed that whatever business they were mixed up in, was legitimate.

Sammy was different, though... or maybe that was just what I was telling myself. As my eyes analyzed him, I wondered what other secrets he had. What else might come to light.

Sammy

I did my best to remain calm, but I felt like punching something right now.

Even though I suspected most of what Dante told me, it was difficult hearing it come from him. I wanted to believe someone showed him all the love he was entitled to as a child growing into adulthood. I wanted to believe my initial assumptions were wrong... but of course they weren't.

His previous partner sounded like fucking dog shit, and shoving a wrench through his eye was just the tip of an iceberg of things I was prepared to do to him.

When I glanced back at Dante, I allowed my gaze to linger a moment. Were were sitting in the parking lot of the hardware store now, so I'm sure it was okay to take my eyes off the road.

Dante was truly an extraordinary mix of handsome, but also just downright beautiful. His chiseled features... those soft eyes. I could feel myself getting lost again. How could anyone not fall in love with him?

To survive in a place such as this one, one thing was critical: Dante was going to need to learn how to love himself.

"Come on," I nodded gently to him. "Let's go get these supplies and head home."

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