Chapter 36: Chapter 36

XXIX

Axel's P.O.V.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit off today, my boy." coach says as I keep on punching the same fucking bag, which has become my biggest friend and my biggest enemy at the same time over the past two weeks.

I decide not to reply and keep on punching, seeing the coach sigh out the corner of my eye. "Stop. Just stop." he demands, putting his hand on my shoulder and forcefully pulls me away.

I sigh this time and look in the distance, wishing he didn't pull me away from my stress reliever. I'm already on the fucking edge, I don't need him pulling me over.

"I don't get it, Axel. What's up with you? Are you worried about tomorrow? If you are, you really shouldn't be. In these two weeks you've done fucking great, you got the muscles, you learned a shitload of moves and tehniques. You're definetly going to pass-"

"It's not that." I interrupt him. I stopped calling him "fucker" in my mind the third day after I've met him because I actually earned respect for him.

The man is a great fucking boxer and has a shitload of patience, something that is really fucking rare these days.

"Well, what is it then?" he asks. "Because I don't get it and it's screwing with you. If you fail tomorrow, it won't be because of the lack of boxing skills but because of what's bothering you, which means we need to solve this now." he decides and sits down, patting the place next to himself. "Come sit with me."

So I do what I'd never usually do. I sit down next to him. His father-ly figure must've really stepped into my head and softened me.

"Talk to me, Axel."

I take a big fucking breath and lean my head on my palms. "I've done a shitload of fucked up stuff in my life, you know." I say, not really realizing what I'm talking about.

I glance around the gym, making sure that there's nobody else here.

"I figured so. Not to be stereotypical, but it was pretty obvious that you didn't plant flowers every day back in America." he chuckles.

I lean my head. "Yeah, well. I got involved with some pretty bad things and people and now, this whole boxing thing that might make me famous one day, well, it's scaring the shit out of me. After all, I did come here to run and hide from those fuckers."

He stays quiet for a few moments, probably double checking if he should really help me out.

"What did you do, Axel?" he asks and I gulp.

"Can't say. But it's really fucking bad." I tell Arnold.

"Like the "they'll kill me if they find me" bad?" he asks and I nod. "Yeah, that bad."

He makes an understanding gesture with his head and sighs. "Well, I can't say that I haven't dealt with this kind of stuff before. I mean, honestly, boy, don't you think that the rest of the famous boxers have bad history? And they almost never get in jail, how's that, huh? Look, there's a lot of ways, understand? Ways to make past disappear, ways to make sure nobody will touch you, you can even change your identity if you think it's that bad." he tells me and my brows shoot up.

"Change my identity?" I ask and he nods. "Yep. Know a lotta people who do that."

"And then what I've done is not under my name again, cannot be linked to me?"

He shruggs. "Well, nobody knows where Axel Jarvis is and the things he's done cannot be linked to you, because you're not him anymore, if you want to do that. It's a completely fresh start."

I think about it for a second, scratching my brow. It's a huge fucking move, but it means that, on paper, I'm not Axel Jarvis anymore, and I was never involved with the gang.

Still, it seems too simple. I still look like myself and if the cops found out I killed Greyson, if the gang told them I did, and then told them I just changed my identity, wouldn't they be able to arrest me? Wouldn't they be able to prove it was me?

So I ask Arnold that.

"No, they wouldn't." he says, shaking his head. "Trust me. I know from personal experience."

I nod in understanding. "And the people around you? You could still hang around with them? Did they accept it?"

"Well, yeah, because they knew it was the way out of what I did. You ask because of the girl, right?" he asks and I nod.

"It's going to be so strange, her having to call me by a different name and all." if we do see each other again, which we probably won't anyway, but still.

"Look, you can always set Axel for your middle name." he suggests.

That's actually a good idea.

"Are you sure the police can't prove it was me?" I ask and he nods.

"Positive."

"And the gang? They'll know it's me when they see me. They don't need any proof."

"They don't, but you can always get bodyguards when you think you might be in danger. God knows they won't risk their lives to kill you in front of witnesses. It's never that bad to risk one's own life."

I gotta admit that he's right. They may want to revenge Greyson, but noone actually cared about him as much to kill me in front of a witness. He was an annoying motherfucker.

"Okay." I nodded.

This is a good idea.

"You wanna do it?" Arnold asks, lifting his right brow.

I nod. "Yeah."

"Then let's do it now, before the judges meet you tomorrow. The less people know you changed your identity, the better." he decides and stand up.

As I stand up, he puts his palm on mu arm. "I honestly don't know why I'm helping you so much, kid, but you better don't let me down, eh?"

I smile at my coach. "I wouldn't dare with the amount of connections you have."

He laughs and then we go to change who I am.