The fright brought on a high fever that same night.

There was nothing I could do. My hands shaking, I called Georgia.

The line rang and rang before it finally connected.

"Georgia, Grandma, she—"

I hadn't even finished before her tired voice cut me off.

"Let me guess. Grandma's sick again, and you want me to come running."

"Jacob, that trick's getting old."

The rest of my words stuck in my throat and wouldn't come out.

Georgia kept going.

"John's almost done with his shower. Lately he can't fall asleep without a bedtime story from me."

"Have a little heart for a dying man. Don't pick now to throw a jealous fit."

I bowed my head, and one scalding tear after another dropped onto the back of my hand.

I remembered my first time at the ring, how badly I got beaten.

When they dragged me off the platform afterward, my face was swollen out of shape.

I was huddled in a corner when a white handkerchief appeared in front of me.

Georgia stood before me with the light behind her, her voice unbelievably gentle.

"Wipe your face."

After that, she dressed my wounds, went with me to see Grandma, taught me how to use my own build to land the cleanest, most perfect hits with the least effort.

The first time I won, she wrapped her arms around my waist in front of everyone, her warm breath falling against my chest.

"From now on, you can lean on me."

I actually believed her.

Thinking about it now, what a fool I was.

Grandma lay on the bed, her breath coming hotter and hotter.

I wiped my eyes, went outside, dragged the cart out from beside the house, and laid a mat over it.

Then, gritting my teeth, I went back into the room and got Grandma onto my back.

The wound on my chest hurt worse and worse. I held it in without a sound, inched my way step by step to the cart, and laid her down flat.

The snow on the road was thick.

I sank and stumbled with every step.

By the time I stood at the hospital doors, I couldn't feel my body at all.

The doctors inside came rushing out.

Then the familiar light over the operating room came on.

I leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on the doors, not blinking.

The snow on my shoulders had long since melted into water, soaking through clothes that were already thin.

Thank god the doctor's words gave me something to hold on to.

"The patient's condition is stable for now, but the follow-up treatment has to keep up."

Something anxious turned over in me.

"How long will the follow-up treatment cost run?"

"Around a hundred thousand."

I let out a breath.

These past two years I'd barely stopped, one fight after another.

What I'd saved was just about enough to cover what came next.

When I walked into the ward, Grandma was already awake.

"Jacob, I've made trouble for you again."

I shook my head, the tears falling without stopping.

I took out my bank card and tucked it under Grandma's pillow.

"Grandma, when you go in for treatment, pay with this card."

"When I'm not here, you have to take good care of yourself."

The next day, picking up her medicine, I ran into John Swanson.

"Jacob. What a coincidence."

"I only had a bit of a headache last night, but Georgia insisted I come in today for a checkup."

I twitched a corner of my mouth, not wanting to get into it with him.

But when I came through the door, I saw the person who was supposed to be lying in bed sprawled on the floor.

"Grandma!"

Grandma's hands were shaking, and all at once she slapped herself across the face.

I caught both her hands, and my stomach dropped.

"What happened?"

Two lines of murky tears ran down, and her lips trembled.

"A few men just barged into the ward and took the card away."

"It's Grandma's fault, useless Grandma couldn't keep it safe!"

She beat at her own legs, her face full of remorse.

I opened my mouth, but no sound would come out, and the darkness came over my eyes in waves.

Grandma gripped my arm, the hatred in her eyes almost spilling over.

"Those men were the same ones who came to take our house yesterday!"

I thought of running into John Swanson downstairs just now, of that unreadable smile on his face.

It was him.

I turned and rushed out.

From a distance I saw the figure in the wheelchair.

"John Swanson!"

Eyes red, I ran up to him and stretched out my hand.

"Give me back the money!"

He tilted his head, all innocence.

"Jacob, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop pretending!"

I grabbed the arm of his wheelchair and begged.

"Whatever you've got against me, take it out on me. I'll give up Georgia James too. Just give me back the money."

"I'm begging you. All I want is the money."

He stared at me for a moment, and then his eyes slowly reddened, his body starting to shake.

"Jacob, you're scaring me."

The next second I was shoved aside by some force.

Georgia James yanked my arm, fury churning in her eyes.

"You really never learn, dragging your scene right up in front of John."

"Looks like I went too easy on you yesterday."

I let out a few laughs, a dull ache tearing at my chest, and the look in my eyes when I turned to her was dead.

"I only wanted him to give me back my money."

Georgia knit her brows at that.

"You lost your money?"

"If the money's gone, you earn it back. What are you doing making a scene in front of John?"

I flung her arm off and screamed, breaking apart.

"There's no time! I don't have time to earn it!"

Georgia's temper flared too, and she slapped me across the face.

"What do you mean, no time!"

"I spoiled you too long, and now the laziness in your bones is showing!"

"You're nothing but a lump of mud that'll never hold to a wall."

Once, she'd called me wild grass. Tough. One of a kind. She'd said she was drawn to me, deeply.

Now she called me mud.

My throat worked, swallowing down the sweet, bloody taste filling my mouth.

She turned John's wheelchair and started to leave.

"Jacob, I am so disappointed in you."

My body went rigid, but I didn't miss the flash of triumph in John's eyes.

Inside his drooping sleeve, the familiar face of the card flashed by.

I lunged at him, only to be kicked away by Georgia.

Then two bodyguards pinned me hard to the ground.

"Jacob, that's enough!"

The wound in my chest seemed to be getting worse, and black spots began to swim across my vision.

A commotion suddenly broke out somewhere in the distance.

A nurse ran past, her face grim.

"Someone jumped from the inpatient ward. No vital signs, confirmed."

"Just admitted last night. Word is it's because their money got stolen."

The voices around me blurred and drifted away, until all that was left in my ears was my own heavy breathing.

In the end, I couldn't hold it back, and coughed up a mouthful of bloody sweetness.

As my consciousness faded, I felt someone lifting me up.

They were talking.

"Take him back."

"Boss said his life belongs to the ring now."

Little by little, my consciousness sank completely into the dark.

……

The hospital parking lot.

Georgia James lifted John Swanson from the wheelchair and helped him settle steadily into the back seat.

As she straightened up, someone came hurrying over and said a few words close to her ear.

The next second, the color drained from Georgia's face.