Not working for him? Where was this coming from? Was this because I stopped him from going further on our date? How could he be breaking things off between us when he was just professing his feelings for me days before? And why did he have a black eye and a split lip? None of it made any sense—my traumatized brain could hardly process the information. “Why are you doing this? What … what happened to you?” I stuttered out, my words a jumbled mess in my head. “Life happened. We all grow up sometime, and that sometime is now. I’ve decided to go into boxing. I’m good at it and can make a s**t ton of money. You know I don’t want to end up in debt like my dad, and boxing will get me there. I’m quitting school, and this little thing between us is over. My life is headed in a new direction, and it
