Blood trickled down the side of my head and I inwardly cursed. My head was probably split open.
Well the odds certainly aren’t looking good.
I could taste the metallic taste of blood as I licked my split lip. Narrowing my eyes at the man I once considered a friend I tried my best to keep myself upright.
He kept his steely grey eyes trained on me, his gaze never leaving mine as his chest rose and fell at a rapid pace. The man standing opposite of me has a huge build.
I have sparred with Levy before. We’ve trained together. I’ve seen him fight. But fighting against him now made me realize that he had never really showed me his true potential. I guess this was what he was saving that for.
There was no trace of the playful friend he always was to me. He wasn’t planning to hold back this time.
Next thing I knew, his fist swung an inch away from my face and I immediately pulled my head back.
He was being ruthless, he didn't spare me a second to catch my breath, he just kept coming and coming.
By his physique, I knew that he trained hard for this competition. If it wasn’t for the cut on his lip and his slightly swollen cheek, I would’ve thought that it was impossible to land a hit on him.
He wasn’t just quick, he was strong and had incredible aim. In all honesty, his hits made me feel like a meteor just landed straight on my face.
Now I was simply doing everything I could to avoid getting another hit and hope he’d get tired soon enough. Judging from how everything was slightly spinning, another hit could possibly knock me out.
I was stalling, buying myself time to let the pain subside and will the world to stop spinning. We circled each other before he lunged once again.
It was almost impossible to predict his next moves Every time I manage to dodge his hit, it would always be a close call.
The frustration that I felt within me whenever I failed to land a single hit on him was overwhelming and I felt like tearing the hair off his head.
He charged at me once again, emitting a loud roar. I side stepped him once again but one of his hands grabbed my foot. Before I knew it, my back had hit the ring’s floor with a loud thud.
Before the guy can slam his body on mine WWE style and possibly breaking every bone in my body, I rolled out of the way and onto my feet.
I balanced myself on the balls of my feet, shuffling non-stop to be ready to move out of the way once again if he decided to have another go at me.
I tried to keep my breathing even and tried to think clearly.
‘Come on, Case!’ I urged myself as I tried remembering everything that I learned from Mr. Huang.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I remembered the meditation sessions that Mr. Huang made me do.
I hesitated for a split second before closing my eyes, catching sight of levy crouching as he watched me.
The second that I heard footsteps barreling towards me from my left, my eyes snapped open. I spun my body out of the way, inches away from getting knocked down by Levy.
As Mr. Hulk 2.0 zoomed past me, I raised my leg and kicked him hard on the back, aiming for the back of his head.
I almost hooted as I felt the impact. I watched him fall face first, sprawled on the floor.
When I saw him rolling over and attempting to get up, I dashed over and sent another kick flying straight to his face.
I put my whole body into it and the result was sickening as a loud crack echoed throughout the tent.
Levy fell backwards, blood had smeared his face and when he didn’t twitch or make any signs that he was going to get back up, a guy in uniform came running into the ring. He checked for a pulse.
I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as I clenched my fists and waited as trepidation washed over me.
The guy in uniform nodded to someone behind me and suddenly the voice of the announcer blared through the speakers.
I felt my shoulders relax as I heard him announce that Levy was still alive I watched as they hoisted him on to a stretcher and whisked him away.
Someone landed their hand on my shoulder and I tensed up. I grabbed the hand and instinctively got ready to flip whoever the owner of the limb was over my shoulder.
“Woah!” The panicked voice of the host echoed through the speakers. I immediately let go of the tight grip I had on his hand.
I turned around and saw the fear in the host’s eyes as he moved the mic away from his lips and cleared his throat.
He avoided my gaze as I kept my features stoic and announced me as the winner.
I knew I should’ve felt overjoyed and, basically, like a million bucks, but all I felt was relief.
The only happiness I felt was from knowing that everything was finally over. The relief, however, was the best part.
I was finally free from this deadly competition and I could finally live a decent life.
The host gave me directions on where to collect the prize money in cash before he turned back to his audience.
I followed his directions that led me to a metal door in the end of a dim lit corridor.
Rolling my eyes at the cliché setting, I knocked twice before a voice called out, granting me permission to enter.
Inside the room was a man sitting on an office chair behind a mahogany desk. His hair was thinning and from where I was standing by the door, he was wearing a navy blue button up.
He gave me a brief assessing look over the rims of his glasses before looking back down at the pile of papers that were scattered on his desk.
“It’s not every year we get a female fighter as a winner.” He mused aloud as he continued fussing over his papers.
Judging from the expensive looking watch on his wrist, I took an educated guess and assumed he was someone important.
Better not piss him off then, Case.
“I’m Richard. I run this place.” He introduced himself, giving his papers a quick once-over before finally taking off his glasses, folding it up and setting it on top of his desk.
“Pixie,” I gave him a tight smile that I’m sure resembled a grimace more than anything else.
I didn’t mean to be rude but this place wasn’t really popular for its hospitality. My head was pounding and all I wanted to do was take that money and go get some sleep.
For some reason, Richard’s lips quirked up into an amused smile after I introduced myself.
Once his smile worked its way into a grin, I started to become more wary.
Was this guy okay?
“You’re quite the famous one, aren't you?” Richard chuckled, his voice suspiciously hinted at a ridiculous amount of excitement.
“Well who would’ve thought,” Richard mumbled as he looked at me with a newfound fascination.
“What do you mean?” I narrowed myself, tensing up.
“You hear all sorts of news in this industry. Wanted by a lot of people, I see.” Richard smiled, a gleam in his eyes.
I frowned at him, not quite understanding what he was trying to say.
“I can definitely see why Quentin is so intrigued by you. You’re quite the girl. Brother killed and now targeted by the driver that killed him and a few others. But they did say that the diamonds can only be in its most beautiful state after being cut and polished.”
The crease on my forehead disappeared as I finally understood what he was talking about and I took a small step back. Fear grew in me at how much this man knew about me. I’ve never seen him my whole life but he knew a lot about me; more than I’d like.
“Who are you?” I asked, swallowing hard.
“Oh, you don’t worry. I’m not one of them. I’m just a business man.” The man smiled, gesturing to the papers on his desk.
“Alas, I can’t really say that what I do is very legal but I try to stay away from any that would get my hands dirty.”
“What else do you know about me?” I didn’t know whether I should feel mortified or amazed. Was I that famous in the street- fighting world?
“You tried to quit the competition but re-entered because you got on someone’s bad side and got blackmailed.” Richard shrugged. “Public knowledge.”
Public knowledge?
“Apparently, the psychopath was asking around about you, rambling about how he needed to get his revenge on you. He basically scoured this entire place for someone who knew anything about you so that he could track you down and deliver his blackmail.” Richard clarified with an amused grin.
“Since you’re standing here, I guess that plan really backfired, huh?” Richard laughed.
I was gobsmacked. I never bothered to wonder how Cole found me. I just knew that he was dangerous and a grieving psychopath.
“Do you know who gave him the piece of information he needed to find me?” I asked Richard. I figured that maybe his good mood would make him more willing to help me out.
Maybe the same person who helped Cole can help me.
“Sorry, sweetheart, I’ve got nothing on that. I only know what I hear,” Richard shrugged his shoulders.
I felt disappointment settle in as I held in my defeated sigh.
Way to raise my hopes up, Richard.
“Well, since you were blackmailed into this competition, I guess you wouldn’t be interested in fighting for me anymore, would you?” Richard asked.
The second he mentioned the word fighting, I knew I wasn’t going to agree to anything.
I was done with fighting. It was time to retire from this illegal part of my world and wipe my life clean.
Richard sighed and pointed at a bag that laid against the wall and told me that it contained all the money.
I walked towards it and opened the bag, finding it filled with cash.
I didn’t want to waste another minute so I took the bag, nodded at Richard and started walking away to the dressing room.
Since the adrenaline wore off, I felt nothing but pain as I walked.
I certainly do not want to see the other guy.
Despite the pain, I didn't let any emotions show until I was back in the dressing room.
I was expecting Adam and Preston to be waiting in the dressing room but when I walked in, there was only Cole.
I withheld a gasp from escaping my lips as I felt my heart jump.
I was fretting over the fact that I didn’t know how to reach Cole no longer than 10 minutes ago and here he was, standing in my dressing room.
I was immediately on edge. I realized that even if he was the guy who entered this competition to help his parents take care of his siblings, he was also the guy who threatened to hurt everyone I love.
No matter how loving he could be towards his family, he was undeniably a little unhinged.
I kept my distance as we eyed each other closely, both not letting our guards down.
I raised my arm that wasn’t holding the bag of money to show him in surrender. I slowly placed the bag on the ground between us before taking a step back.
Cole looked at the bag once before looking at me again.
“What’s this?” He didn’t even make a move to approach the bag I’ve set on the floor.
I nodded at it, “See for yourself.”
His eyebrows drew together as he gave me another look before approaching the bag slowly and opening it.
When he saw what was inside, his eyes shot to me. “It’s yours.” I said simply.
“This is..”
“The prize money.” I finished for him.
Cole took a step back from the money, his eyes looking at the money that filled the bag.
His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of the water.
“I know you need it.” I said without thinking, realizing my mistake a second too late.
My eyes widened as I realized what I was implying.
Shit.
Cole’s head moved so fast, I was surprised he didn’t get whiplashed.
“What?” Cole rasped out.
I shuffled on my feet, not knowing how I could tell him the next part without upsetting him or triggering his crazy side.
“I know why you joined this competition.” I told him.
“I know about your younger adopted siblings and I know that you fought for them.” Before I could elaborate any further, Cole was already in front of me with his hands wrapped around my neck and pressing me against the wall adjacent to the door.
“What are you talking about?! Have you been stalking me?!” Cole growled out angrily, shooting questions at me in a frantic manner and I knew that he was more freaked out than angry.
Great job, Case.
The door suddenly swung open with a bang and Preston and Adam ran in the room. When they saw me, they immediately rushed to get Cole off me but before they could touch Cole, I brought up my hand to halt them.
I took Cole’s thumb that was squeezing the life out of my neck and twisted it abruptly away from my neck while he was distracted by the boys. I shoved him away from me so that I could breathe again.
“Cole, calm down and listen to me. I’ll explain everything.” I croaked out, my throat already feeling bruised from the pressure he applied to it.
Cole was about to pounce on me again but the two brothers stepped between us and held him off.
With the boys between Cole and I, I tried catching my breath and calming down, giving Cole a minute to sort his shit out.
“Cole, I want to help you.” I looked at him, trying to show him that I’m being honest. Cole simply glared at me and at the boys that were standing between us.
I didn’t make a move to tell the boys to back off because I didn’t think I'd be able to take another beating for the night.
“Just hear her out. All you need to could do is listen!” Adam snapped as he glared back at Cole.
“Exactly why I don’t trust her! I threatened everyone she loves, why the fuck would she want to help me?” Cole raised his voice as he glared at Adam as fiercely as Adam was glaring at him.
“That’s what I wanna know too,” Preston muttered angrily, glaring at Cole.
“She’s different! She joined this competition to save our mother after only knowing us for a matter of months!” Adam defended, giving Preston a pointed look.
“Why am I supposed to trust you?” Cole bit out and I rolled my eyes at all the fuss that I was going through just to help this asshole out.
“Because the money will help take care of the huge ass burden on your family’s shoulders,” I told him with a ‘duh’ tone.
I know I was acting like an immature teenager but I’ve had enough of all this.
“Just take the money and leave so we all can go home,” I told him after another round of silence.
I waited for him to make a move to leave so that I could pack my bags and leave too but he didn't move an inch.
Finally, he spoke up. “How did you know about my family?” he asked.
“I saw you a couple of times with the kids in the park. Then I met your mother in the store. She told me about you and your brother.” I told him earnestly.
I pushed the boys aside so that I could speak properly to Cole.
“Look, I understand why you don’t trust me. I might not understand the pain and anger you feel while watching what your brother is going through and while I can’t do anything to fix your brother, I can at least give you the thing that you were fighting for.” I said, trying to convince him.
“I had an older brother once and I knew that if it was me who got hurt, he’d hunt that person down and made them hurt them 10x worse. So I understood why you did what you did even though I don’t like it.” I explained slowly, trying not to upset him again.
I could feel Preston and Adam staying close to me in case there’s a sudden shift in Cole’s mood.
“I just want to help,” I raised my hands and bent down to take the bag of money before handing it to him.
Cole looked at the bag before looking at my face. I let out the breath that I didn’t know I was holding when Cole finally took the bag from me and muttered a quiet ‘thank you’.
Cole didn’t look at any of us after taking the bag and showed himself to the exit as he left.
When Cole was no longer in sight, I turned to the boys with a relieved sigh.
“Thanks for having my back there, guys.” I gave them a weak smile and offered each of them a hug.
I was just glad that this part of my life had come to an end.
My eyes caught Adam’s and I sent him a grateful smile as he nodded at me.
Adam was the only person who knew about my plan to give the prize money to Cole.
The night that he sought me out after my fight with Cole, we sat in a park and I told him that I wasn’t planning to stop fighting.
“Look, I need to win that money.” I started off but Adam immediately cut me off.
“No, you don’t, Case. You’re loaded,” Adam pointed out and I rolled my eyes.
“It’s not for me. I don’t think my parents would appreciate me asking a hefty amount of money to give to the guy who threatened their lives.”
This time Adam looked at me like I’ve lost it, and maybe I have lost it. Maybe I took too many blows on the head and my brain is permanently upside down.
“You mean to say that you’re going to risk your life further to give the prize money only to give it to the guy who wants to make you suffer by killing everyone you love?” Adam trailed off.
Well, when he puts it like that...
“Adam, I don’t expect you to understand but yes, basically that’s what I’m doing.” I told him slowly.
Adam shook his head at me. “You’re right, I don’t understand.”
I tried to straighten up from my slumped position on the park bench and face him properly. I know I needed to tell him the whole story to make him understand.
Although it’s been a long night and I wanted nothing more but to go home, have a nice warm shower and drifting off to a deep sleep, a part of me wanted Adam to understand and back me up on my decision.
I needed to feel like someone was supporting me because I simply didn’t know how much of that sheer willpower I had left in me.
So I told him everything.
“I’ve met that guy’s mother. She’s an old woman and she adopted three little angels. She’s a great woman who’s struggling to provide for those three kids. Her sons, that guy and his brother, has been trying to help her with that.”
This time, Adam remained silent, letting me continue on with my story.
“Those two guys joined the competition to help their mother provide for their adopted siblings. I could relate to their desperation, joining the competition for the sole purpose of helping someone you love. When I found out their reason, I understood his anger because, even if I didn’t do it purposely, I’ve basically ruined his brother’s life. They didn’t want in just for the heck of it, Adam, they were fighting for the people they love; just like I am.”
I was overwhelmed by the end of relaying everything I knew and all I wanted was to do was to go sleep it off.
“I can’t just walk away after putting that family through everything that had happened. I can’t let him to have suffered through all this for nothing. I need to help them.” I looked Adam straight in the eye, willing him to understand that this was something I had to do for my sanity.
Adam reached out and grabbed my hand in his. I looked at our linked hands, marveling at how familiar the feeling was before looking back into his eyes. He squeezed my hand lightly.
“I can’t believe I believed that you could have murdered my mom.” Adam said softly, his eyes lowering in what looked like shame, before he looked back up into my eyes again. “You’re something else, Cassandra Johnson.”
I felt the edges of my mouth lift up to form a smile and I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes.
I was grateful that I had at least one person on God’s green Earth supporting me. To tell me that I wasn’t entirely losing my mind for wanting to help Cole’s family.
“Thank you,” I whispered softly to Adam and he nodded once, letting go of my hand.
I averted my gaze to the night sky, breathing in the night air.
When I looked away from the sky, Adam was still watching me, a look of wonder and amazement still evident in his eyes.
I felt my heart swell a bit more, thinking that maybe - just maybe - my Adam was in there somewhere and I’ll be able to see him again one day.
That night, I slept as peacefully as I could with all the aching bruises I was sporting from the fight. My mind was as peaceful as it could get.
I had clear thoughts of what I wanted - needed - to do and I had no worries about Adam hating me or thinking horribly of me again.
I’m going to fight my way out of this competition and I’ll win it for all the people I love and care about. Because that’s all there is to life.
You simply have to fight through life. You always have a choice.
You can roll over and die,
Or you can keep fighting. And I choose the latter. Because to me?
To live - is to fight.