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Bleeding Love
By PMCV of Z-4R
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"Travis, let us go out for a walk?" Thomas, drinking his beer, said.
"Alright big brother. I am coming!" He hated being called big brother and calling him that made everyone laugh.
Once we were in a safe distance, he started "Travis, I am going to tell you two things. Both of which you are going to have to keep to yourself. You understand me? You cannot even tell Abby."
"What is up? What is this all about?" I was starting to get worried. Thomas seemed really serious about this.
"Okay, you will not tell right?"
I nodded.
"First, I do not work for some advertising company. I work for - the NBI. The fighting skills I have learned from our childhood and the Circle was an early training for what we do. The convention that I attend across the state was my excuse to leave. In reality, I go back on duty. It is a risky thing to do, lie to you guys and put my life in danger but I am safe, and the government supports us."
He looked at me in a serious manner and continued, "Fighting at the Circle, that is illegal. That is putting your life in danger while being sure you will not be safe and supported."
I was in shock, I could not grasp this all in. "So that means you do black ops and secret operations?"
"Yes. Wait let me finish, that brings me to the second thing I was going to tell you. With you fighting at the Circle and only losing once, note that it almost got you killed. The NBI knows you have received really good training, like me. Also, the NBI barely does this unless they are sure with what they are going into. They are asking you to join the team. We usually get around a hundred applications a year and that is a lot to choose from," I narrated, "but listen, we need skilled men and when they see people like you, with potential, they make you priority over the 100 applicants. You get me? Now remember, this is a secret you cannot tell anyone, even Abby. I am leaving Monday morning and you have until then to tell me what you think."
"Okay." It was all I could say.
"Now young brother, let us get back inside before they get curious and start looking for us." We walk back to the house in silence, breathing heavily with all that information Thomas just laid out there. All I could think about was Abby. The kids. Lying. NBI. Being away.
That Sunday, I could not stop thinking about the offer. It was going to change a lot of things- again, but it seemed like I had no other choice.
When the kids were all asleep, I decided to talk to Pidge. "Pidge, if I take a job like Thomas' will it be okay with you?"
Pigeon stopped for a moment and looked me in the eyes. I could not read what she was thinking; she had that poker face on again. "If you will promise to visit at least once a month and call everyday then it is fine. Besides, there is FaceTime now so we will be able to see you."
And with that, my decision is made. "Oh God, I love you Pidge."
"I know Trav, I do too."
The next morning, the first thing I did was call Thomas. I made sure no one heard me and when I told him the conditions Pigeon had made, he told me that the NBI would be okay with that. He was going to send me papers immediately and again, they would be confidential.
An hour later, a guy was knocking at my door with a sealed envelope. I immediately answered and looked at what he had for me. As soon as I open the envelope, there was a red folder. Of all the colors, they chose red.
We did the usual, enter through the window, pass all the dark hallways and soon the match was starting. The fight went really well. In fact, I had a good feeling that I was going to win the game. I would constantly check on Abby and in one of my usual glances, she was gone. That was where it all messed up. I looked around to check if she just happened to move for a better view. Trent was there and Abby was nowhere to be found.
Trent was mouthing something I could not understand and before I realized it, my opponent, Brady, hit me on the head. The crowd started to make noise and I could not control the punches I was receiving. I did not care if this was my first loss; all I wanted to do was find Abby. As my vision was blurring and I knew I was falling to the ground, I saw Adam raise the red flag. That meant the fight was over and I had lost.
"Travis! Travis! Baby wake up! I am just here! Travis!"
I knew that was Abby. Thank God she was safe. I opened my eyes and her face was filled with tears. Adam was right beside her, raising the red flag that declared my loss- my first loss. I was accustomed to seeing that raised for my victory, not for my loss. Things have changed. A red flag had been raised to declare my defeat.
"Pigeon." And that was my last memory.
The next thing I knew, I was lying down and not a single limb in my body would move. I could not open my eyes, my mouth and I could not even move my hands. When trying to talk, it felt like there was no sound coming out and that the voice was all in my head.
People would come every day and check on whatever they had to check on me. Some of them would even talk to me; I think those were specifically the doctors and nurses. It was nice to know that some people still considered talking to me. I would actually answer their questions and ask some too, but of course, the voice just stayed in my head. Despite that, I always had one question to ask every day. What happened after Adam raised the red flag and I saw Pigeon crying?
Fights- they have been the reason I am Travis 'Maddog' Maddox. It is where I get money to survive every day of my life. And it is in one of my fights where I first met Abby, or my Pigeon, the only girl in the whole university who despised me.
Like all other love stories, I worked my way to her heart and actually won it. Only this time, it was through a bet. A bet that we both did not know would change our lives.
Pigeon and I are happily married. We have three kids, Jessica and James, who are twins, and Jake who is still in Pigeon's stomach. We currently reside in a bungalow just a block away from my dad's house. That way, my family was not too dependent on them, but in case we needed something, they would be there in no time.
Every day I waited for three voices that soon became four. Abby's, Jessica's, James', and Jake's. They would come every single day and talk to me like they could hear my answers. Constant questions I would hear were "when are you coming home daddy?" and "why are you always sleeping daddy?"
It hurts me to hear those questions but there was no other choice but to listen. In fact, it was the only connection I had to the world. I would sometimes feel them touching me and holding my hand but I always looked forward to Abby's. I wanted to hold and caress my newborn son, Jake, but I could not. My heart broke for I did not welcome him to the world like I was able to for Jessica and James. It hurt me the most when I realized that his first encounter with his dad was when his dad was in a coma.
At times, Abby would put Jake in my arms for as she said "So you could touch him like the whole family does." My family would come and visit me for what felt like an hour and that would always be the best part of my day. When they gave their goodbye kisses, I hated how they had to leave me but I had to understand, their lives had to go on. There were tasks to be done and most of them could not be done in the hospital.
I do not know how long this went on but all I just dreamed off was for my limbs to move when I wanted them too. All I wanted was to wake up and be a normal human being again.
On one of the visits of my family, I tried my best, like I always did, to at least show them I was listening. And this time, it worked. I was able to first move my finger and when I did, the whole room was in chaos. Nurses and doctors started coming in to check on me and before I knew it, I was awake again.
When the doctors said my condition was stable, my family was allowed to enter the room again. The room was filled with tears, hugs and kisses. The doctor said it was a miracle that I woke up again and God, it was. I was finally able to snuggle with Jake and communicate with my family. I found out that the forever I thought I was in a coma lasted for six months. I never knew that six months could actually feel like forever. After one more week in the hospital, I was allowed to go back home. Finally, home.
Even if I was home, things did not immediately go back to the way they were. There were a lot of adjustments to be made. I was on bed rest for another month, I had to take note of time so I could drink my medicines, and we now had a crib for Jake in our room. My children had grown and a lot has happened to them that I was not able to witness.
Being on bed rest and having a new baby in the family, a new system had started in our house. Jessica and James became more independent and responsible when it came to chores. While Pigeon was cooking food for us, Jessica would prepare the tables while James did homework. After dinner, when Pigeon was feeding Jake and putting him to sleep, James would clean the dishes while Jessica would do her homework. When any of them had a difficult time doing their homework, they would not hesitate to ask for help. They would prepare their uniforms the night before without needing to be reminded and when they were both finished with their homework, they would either play with Jake or watch a movie with Pidge and me.
Watching movies was something we tried to do as a family at least once a week. It was our way of spending time with one another and making up for the time we had lost. On Saturdays, we had game nights. Most of the time it was just us but we would constantly have dad and my brothers coming as well. We played Scrabble, Pictionary, Monopoly Deal, and whatever we had new. When the kids were asleep already, we played poker. Like the usual Abby, she would win almost all games and constantly have a poker face on.
On Sundays we would go to mass but on the third Sunday of my bed rest month, we did something different. We went to the hospital and had my check-up. Thankfully, I was fully recovered, out of medication and out of bed rest. The only thing I had to continue preventing was strenuous activities. It was not like I had any plans of fighting again though, I would not risk being alive and seeing my family for fighting at the Circle.
The next Saturday, the whole Maddox family was present for game night. That included Thomas, who finally came home from his advertising convention, Trenton, Taylor, Tyler and dad. It was the first time we were going to be complete again after my coma. Thomas, being the usual eldest brother he was, pulled me out to talk after I had lost in the second round of Monopoly Deal. Abby had already previously won three poker games. God, she really was good at having a poker face. But her skills, she owed it all to her dad. I expected the talk with Thomas to be usual- about how I should be responsible and how I needed to see the consequences of my actions. This time, it was about something else.
After having just recovered from a six-month coma, receiving this envelope meant I was really joining the NBI. It felt like I was going to be in a coma again. But this time, worse. I had to lie to my family. I had told them earlier that I worked in the same place Thomas did. The kids easily believed and it seemed like Abby did too, but with Abby, I was never sure. She was known for her poker face. Her dad, Mick had definitely trained her.
A month after I decided to join the NBI, I was leaving like Thomas always was. My whole family brought me to the airport and everyone was filled with tears. I assured them that things were not going to change for I was a phone call away. It was time to go so I said my goodbyes.
When the plane was boarding, I received a text message from Pigeon. "Good luck with working in the NBI. Do not worry, I will not tell. Kill them with love Trav, like you always do."
It was just the beginning of working in the NBI and Abby had worked her spell. She had fooled me and knew the secret. It was going to be complicated, a lot of explaining to do but that was how things were for Pidge and I. Everything was complicated.