Twenty-Two #2
“If she wants to stay. She stays.” The crowd starts getting riled back up and I know the other fighter is making his way towards us.
I grip Maxwell’s shoulder and pull him as close to me as possible.
“If I start to take too many hits, don’t let her watch.
” I whisper hurriedly. I turn to face Eli to get any last minute advice or to try and channel AJ as much as possible.
She would be able to help me win this better than anyone else.
But she’s not here. The other fighter comes into view and I take a sharp inhale.
He is fucking huge. And one thing is always certain about big guys, they hit really fucking hard.
Watch his feet first, absorb the hits, and find an opening. I can hear AJ’s voice in my ears.
Mia steps in front of me, despite my brothers both trying to pull her back because the fight will start in just a minute and I need her safely in that corner behind them.
“If I do something stupid, promise to not ask questions?” Her words are rushed out and I nod because there isn’t anything I wouldn’t give this girl.
Her arms wrap around my neck and she kisses me feverishly.
She coaxes my lips open with a swipe of her tongue.
She pulls back before I even realize that she isn’t kissing me any longer.
“Don’t lose.” I’m slow to open my eyes just as she is fully shielded behind my brothers.
She just kissed me for everyone here to see and she did it because she is nervous about this fight. And I promised to not ask questions about it.
I turn around and am met with a hard fist and even sharper knuckles crunching across my jaw.
“That was my brother's first fight. This will be your last.” Great, a talker. I take a few steps back, giving me room to gather myself. Watch his feet. I drop my eyes to watch the way he shifts his weight on his feet. His back foot flutters forward before his front foot flutters backward. Rhythm stepping. We move around each other in a circle, he’s clearly waiting for me to strike.
He’s taller, legs the size of tree trunks.
I take measured steps and let him come back to me.
His shoulder drops as soon as he gets in close enough to drive a punch into my ribs.
Absorb the hit. I always hate this part of AJ’s strategy.
Taking a hit is always a risk. And it can often end in real pain and broken bones.
Definitely bruised ribs. All my breath is stolen from the impact of his fist driving under my ribcage.
I double over and he wastes no time driving a knee into my abdomen.
I bring my arms in to protest him trying to drill my face into his knee.
He loses his balance and has to take a step back.
He shifts and his steps falter as I am able to bring myself back up.
The sound ends the first round though, giving me a second to catch my breath.
I slowly make my way back to my corner, not letting it show how bad that shot to my ribs really hurt me.
“He’s dropping his hands every time he steps forward. It’s like he can’t see.” Maxwell steps forward and puts ice, where the hell did he get ice, on my ribs as Eli drops water into my dry mouth.
“Bait him.” Eli instructs. I spit out the water and open for another shot of water.
“If you take another hit here, he will crack a rib. That’s where he is going to aim.” Maxwell helps me stand up as Eli pours water down my chest and back to help me get more alert.
I take careful steps back to the center and this guy's eyes are wild with rage.
This is the perfect example of what can happen in one night here.
You never know who you are going to go up against. It can be a guy just trying to figure out if fighting is really what he wants to do with his free time.
Or it can be a guy that probably hates every aspect of his life.
This guy absolutely hates his life. He swings big and I move my front foot first, keeping my base with my hind leg.
Find an opening. He steps forward and I watch his hands drop, thank you Maxie, and I take my shot.
One to the softer spot of his abs to make him gasp for air and then one to his chin.
He stumbles backwards but I don’t hit him hard enough to faze him.
He charges again and he pushes me into the cement wall.
My head slams hard and black spots decorate my vision.
I dodge his fist and barely give myself the space to push my knee up and make him step back.
I know I have to hit hard and fast. I break the skin on his lip, feeling his teeth cut through the wrapping on my knuckles.
Blood sprays from his nose from the second hit and he lets out a loud mixture of a battle cry and growl.
He grips the back of my neck and tosses me to the side, throwing a left hook to the space between my jaw and mouth but still manages to cut my lip.
I can feel blood trickle down and wipe it away.
This round ends and I can feel the lack of proper oxygen affecting the lightness of my head.
I can feel my brothers surround me again but I can’t really make out what they are saying.
All I can hear is AJ’s voice telling me to find an opening.
I need a better one. I try to let the past few minutes replay in my mind.
Water surges through my mouth, nearly choking me.
Eli squeezes my jaw and forces me to look at him.
I can see the worry in his eyes. But he doesn’t open his mouth to say anything.
He releases his hold and hoists me up to go back for the next round.
He moves fast and then I see it. The smallest fraction of a second where he takes a double step forward.
I throw a kick, shoving the heel of my foot into his chest and let him come forward again.
I take the fragment of time to throw a kick to the top of his thigh and his steps falter.
I move every molecule of my body behind the next punch thrown and he falls just like his brother did.
I fall to my knees the moment I see that he isn’t getting up.
The pain slowly makes its way through the rushing of blood flooding my ears as the cheers from the crowd drown out the space around me.
Then I see her before me. The playful spark in her colorful eyes faded away to a clouded and slightly teary look.
She’s small enough that even on my knees she is able to cradle my head into her stomach.
Her fingers brushing through my hair and holding me close.
All I want to do now is go back home. But my biggest concern is that I want her to come with me and I don’t think she will.
I was wrong.
She demanded to come with me. She took the bag from Eli with force and walked with so much authority all the way back to the car. She didn’t even let me drive. Not a single word left her mouth the whole way back to my house. I think I scared her tonight.
The fight got almost too rough but that happens sometimes.
I know her well enough by now that every emotion is swirling together in her head and she is trying to sort them.
Just the thought that I’m the cause of turmoil inside her makes me feel like puking.
Mix that with the pain emitting from every cut and forming bruises on my body and I’m beyond sick.
Even though she is clearly upset with me, she takes care when parking the car so I’m not jostled too much. My brothers offered to patch me up before we left and she cut them a look that would wither away most men.
“Can you walk?” She asks as she cuts the engine off without even glancing at me. She reaches into the back seat to grab Eli’s fight bag.
I only nod yes, afraid to speak. She marches up the driveway and unlocks my front door. I follow her inside and limp over to the couch. I watch her disappear down the hallway and then hear water running. She comes back with a wet wash cloth.
She motions up and down my body, “Strip.”
I shimmy out of my shorts and wince as I pull my shirt over my head. Thankfully I had already removed my shoes. Mia carefully catalogs every wound on my body, deciding where to start. She tucks her wild curls behind her head. She looks like a frayed wire ready to start a fire.
“You’re mad.” I say gently.
I’m sitting back against the couch cushions with my knees spread out, fully on display for this beautiful girl to slice me open with whatever words she has ready to say.
I wasn’t expecting her to stay silent as she straddles my lap to get close enough to my face to start wiping at the blood.
She meticulously cleans each cut with alcohol before rubbing ointment to help them heal faster.
Her eyes change color as she battles through her emotions. Still never speaking one word to me.
Mia is the girl who never fails to hold back what she wants to say or how she’s feeling. To have her be like this splinters the facade she puts on with everyone. I gently wrap my hand around her wrist to stop her from cleaning a cut on my chest. Her focus breaks as she looks up at me.
“I’m sorry.” And she breaks. Her eyes brim over with the smallest tears. I reach up and grab her face and press my forehead to hers. I let her feel whatever she needs to feel.
Her lips find mine. It’s the softest of touches but it feels the biggest. Just one simple kiss, that’s all she gives me.
She clears her throat as she pulls back.
Reaching over my shoulder and pulling the blanket off the back of my couch she slips off my lap and pulls us into a laying position.
I feel the soft material cover us and my eyes grow heavy with her hand softly playing with my hair as she cradles my head like she did earlier after the fight.