Chapter Two-Hundred and Seventy

Carl chuckled as John climbed into his truck, looking at the mussed hair on his head and over all 'I just rolled out of bed' look he had going on at the moment. "Morning Johnny B." He smiled, starting up his vehicle and starting down the road for the school.

John leaned his head on the window, rubbing his eyes with the heal of his hand. "Why does school have to be so early?" He grumbled, patting Chance's head as she laid her head on his lap.

Carl shrugged, wincing as the Pit Bull's tail whapped on his thigh and caused it to sting. "Because they like to torture you." He reached into his bag, handing John a huge Boquete of red roses. "It's Valentine's Day, by the way."

John took the flowers from him, realization slowly dawning on him as he realized that he'd forgotten that Claire liked Valentine's Day. "Shit…" He dug into his wallet, pulling out a twenty and handing it to Carl. "Can you do me a favor?"

Carl nodded, cocking a brow with curiosity as to what was going though this kid's head. "What you need?"

"Claire was looking at this huge teddy bear in Retro Planet. It's about five feet tall, and has a pink ribbon around its neck with a black nose, dark chocolate fur, and is holding a cup of coffee that says 'I love you more than coffee' on it."

Carl shook his head, laughing with all the details John could remember. "Good God, they weren't kidding about that photographic memory, were they?"

John rolled his eyes slipping his fingers into a hidden pocket inside of Chance's service animal vest, he pulled out another fifteen dollars. "It's was $34.86, so this should cover it."

Carl patted John's shoulder, happy to see a hint of the old light of ambition in those eyes again. "Alright, I'll bring it by later today."

John grinned, writing down Claire's combo to her locker. "19-45-23, is her combo, she's right next to my locker. You can't miss that."

"I'm sure I can't." He turned into the parking lot of the school, patting Chance on the hips as she moved to jump out of the truck with John. "It's the one with sharpie on it and a noose tied at the top, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"You've been doing that same move since junior high." He tossed the roses to John, smirking at the shock on his face. "Get going, Shithead!"

John slowly wrapped his hands for boxing practice, swallowing his fear with the movements. "They won't die…" He whispered, pulling the wraps tight before he pulled a glove on. "Everyone will be okay…"

Toby watched his friend for a moment, able to see that he was fighting memories. He bit his lip, worried for John's safety while he fought. He knew that John had competed in illegal fights while he'd been in Mexico, but he didn't want to think about what other abuse he'd taken while down there. "You alright?" He took a seat next to John, wrapping his elbow in tape to help support it.

John nodded, attempting to ignore the red tinting his vision. "Yeah… I'm good." He pushed himself to stand, rolling his shoulders only to catch Braxton and a few other of his teammates staring at the new scars on his back. "Just a little tired."

Carl unlocked Claire's locker, stuffing the giant teddy bear inside with a card he'd bought with the extra money. "Hope that'll work, Kiddo." He smiled, jumping when he turned and nearly ran into a woman, he'd met more than fifteen years ago. "Bianca?"

Mrs. Hernandez's eyes widened, reaching toward the man she'd been forced to leave when she was no more than fourteen. "Carl?" She touched his cheek, tears brimming in her eyes. "Carl Reed…"

He smiled, taking her hands in his own. "What happened?" He remembered the last image of her he had, watching her driving away from Chicago with her parents. She'd been pregnant with his child at that time, and he'd never gotten to see her or the baby again.

She dropped her gaze, remembering the painful birth she'd gone through without any support. "My parents made me give him up for adoption after he was born… I don't know where he is, or even what his name is…"

Carl nodded, kissing her head and pulling her close to his chest. "Bianca… I'm so sorry…"

She closed her eyes taking comfort in his embrace, the embrace she'd been deprived of since that day. Even through her entire four years of marriage, she'd never felt this loved. "I've missed you…"