Prologue #2
If I could have found any other solution to attending this tournament without having to spend the night under the same roof as Caprice, I would have jumped on it.
But there hadn’t been, and I would do anything, even willingly subject myself to my bratty cousin, if I could get an extra minute with Sixx.
Logically, I suspected what was going on.
I wasn’t stupid or na?ve. Talking about periods wasn’t taboo in our house, unlike some of my friends from school.
I knew a girl who hadn’t had a clue what menstruation was until recently and only learned about it because she’d gotten her period during class.
Her parents made it seem like something she should be ashamed of.
My mom had explained everything to Abi and me when we were younger, even showing us what to do during her own cycle.
When my sister got her first period, it was celebrated.
Abi got to pick where we went to dinner that night, and then we came home to a surprise party for her, something that Mom and Aunt Lucy had secretly been planning together in anticipation of the day, complete with red velvet cupcakes.
We’d had so much fun that night, I’d been excited to get my own.
But Abi had been older when she’d gotten her period. I only turned ten two months ago. Caprice hadn’t even gotten hers yet, and she was older than me.
This sucked. I was a little scared, and no one had warned me that the cramps would be this intense. Abi had moaned and groaned a few days each month, but I thought she was being dramatic. Were these cramps what I had to expect for the rest of my life?
No, thank you. There had to be a way to unsubscribe from this monthly subscription. Medication. Surgery. Maybe a fairy godmother. I could not live like this forever.
On top of all the pain and the headache that was borderline migraine-level, I’d worn white jeans. White!
Embarrassment crawled along my skin, making it heat and itch. I vowed never to wear white again.
Until that moment, it had been one of my favorite colors because I loved daisies.
They were so pretty with their soft white petals and those sunshine-yellow centers.
Daisies were underrated, in my opinion. Some people called them weeds, but Sixx picked me daisies whenever he saw them.
I still had the first one he’d ever picked for me, preserved in resin.
It was on my bedside table, right next to the picture of Sixx and me at Disneyland when I was six.
For my tenth birthday, he’d given me a tiny bottle of Daisy perfume because he said he thought of me every time he smelled it.
Another cramp hit that made me want to curl into a ball and cry.
That was when I looked at Sixx and found him frowning right at me.
He’d moved seamlessly through each match all morning.
And with one look, he could tell something was wrong.
Quickly, I swallowed the sob that bubbled in my chest and gave him the biggest smile I could, while internally cringing from that terrible squishy feeling.
“Ali?” Sin crouched down beside me, already wrapping his band hoodie around my waist, hiding the mess on the back of my jeans.
I felt some of the tension that had been coiling tight inside me begin to relax.
His brown eyes, almost identical to Sixx’s, scanned my face. “What do you need, sweetheart?”
My eyes stung and my chin wobbled, but only for a moment before I sucked in a deep breath.
If I cried, that would definitely throw Sixx off.
“I dunno,” I whispered, biting the inside of my cheek harder.
With how badly my head was pounding, I’d forgotten everything Mom had explained I should do when this eventually happened.
Sin’s face was already filled with understanding.
He had always been one of my favorite adults.
He and Ro were in my top ten, for sure. With him, I felt just as safe as if I were with my own dad or my godfather, Harris.
I trusted him more than Aunt Kassa, without a doubt.
“Okay. We’ve got this. I have four of the most badass chicks with me, who never leave home without every item a girl can dream of needing. ”
Reaching behind him, he grabbed his wife’s hand and tugged, getting her attention. Roanna bent down, her own brown eyes shooting from me to Sin and then out to the mats where Sixx was before quickly landing on me once again. “What’s up, my daisy girl?”
I had to suck in another sharp breath to stop the tears from flooding my eyes. She’d started calling me that right after Sixx gave me that first daisy. It was my favorite nickname. “I got my period.”
“Ohh.” Her eyes got wide but then melted into something softer in a way only moms could do.
I wanted mine so badly at that moment. If not Mom, then Aunt Lucy.
But without either one of them, Roanna was my next choice.
She stroked her thumb over my cheek. “Same. I was going to run to the bathroom once this round was over. Want to come with me?”
“Yes, please.” I looked over at Sixx, who had moved to stand with his other teammates, including Bentley. They were all horsing around except for Sixx, who was watching me stoically.
Roanna and Sin followed my gaze. Sixx’s face turned stormy, his eyes flicking from me to his parents, like we were a puzzle he couldn’t solve. I curled my fingers together, making a heart, trying again to give him my brightest smile. He only tensed more.
Sin groaned, sensing the dark energy building in his son. “You take care of Ali, sweet girl. I’ll let our boy know everything is fine.”
Taking Roanna’s hand, I walked with her out of the gym, glancing over my shoulder whenever possible. Hopefully Sin got Sixx to relax. If he was distracted for the rest of the tournament and lost, it would be my fault.
On the way to the bathroom, Roanna stopped at one of the vendors.
She grabbed a pair of black leggings and a T-shirt that had Sixx’s BJJ team’s logo on it, handing over a few large bills and telling the woman behind the table to keep the change.
All the profits went back into the jiu-jitsu academy, funding travel to tournaments and even providing scholarships for the less fortunate students who wanted to participate.
Other women and girls were in the bathroom. Fortunately, the big stall with the baby changing table opened up, and Roanna guided me over to it. There was more room in there so Ro could help me. No matter how many times someone had explained how to use a tampon, I still found it intimidating.
Roanna called my mom while we were in the stall.
After explaining what was going on, she offered me the phone.
As we talked, I heard Dad’s voice, and he sniffled a few times, but thankfully, there wasn’t any sobbing.
I wasn’t sure if I could have held back my own tears if he’d started openly crying like he had with Abi’s period.
Once I was cleaned up, I felt less squishy, but the cramps kept getting more and more intense.
When we got back to our seats, Aunt Kassa’s attention was divided between Bentley on the mats and Caprice at her side. She didn’t seem to have noticed I’d left.
Sin sat waiting for us, with two Diet Cokes from the concessions in his hands.
He offered me one of the drinks before producing a bottle of ibuprofen, shaking out enough meds for both Roanna and me.
Once I’d swallowed them, he then handed me another hoodie since the one he’d wrapped around my waist earlier was temporarily ruined.
But this one wasn’t Sin’s.
It was his son’s team hoodie.
With a happy hum, I stuffed my arms into the oversized black hoodie that had my best friend’s name on the back, burying my nose in the cotton blend. Another sting of tears burned my eyes, but I shot Sixx a smile that only wobbled a little.
Something wild filled his face for a moment, but it quickly disappeared. I made another heart with my hands. His lips twitched before he dipped his head, once again focusing on the professor’s instructions.
I was so glad I’d come today.