Fighting For Life

by Kylie Alyssa Forte

  “I guess we should head to the gym. I might’ve won my last few fights, but the last one was too close for comfort,” I said slowly while not looking him the face.

  “We’ll pick this conversation up later,” Aiden whispered in my ear, giving me the chills.

  ***

  Aiden

  Aubry had been working extremely hard all day long. Her ribs were doing a bit better, but with how hard she had been pushing herself, it wouldn’t be surprising if their progress has halted.

  It was seven when I finally got her to stop and eat. It was a struggle, but I got her to eat and then go take a shower. She was completely relentless in her training. It was part of what made her so good, but it was also going to be her downfall if she didn’t cut herself a little slack.

  Of course, she was too hardheaded to listen to me, though. We were going to have to get it into her thick skull soon.

  I was out of the shower before she was, even though she went in there first. I knew it was because the hot water worked miracles on her sore muscles. I heard her moans of tension relief, the water in my shower quickly turned to cold due to those beautiful sounds—that was why I was done with my shower so fast.

  With the events of that morning so fresh in my mind, I was having a hard time keeping my thoughts about Aubry appropriate. It was hard when all I wanted to do was kiss her and love her.

  That was why when she walked by me in some baggy sweats and a tight tank top, I couldn’t help my eyes from roaming. It was also difficult when I saw her eyes hungrily taking in my body that still only had a towel wrapped my waist.

  Did she want me as bad as I wanted her?

  She finally tore her gaze away from me and walked over to her locker. She audibly took sharp breaths and laid her burning face against the cool locker.

  I couldn’t help myself.

  I walked slowly to her as if I were stalking some sort of prey. She remained oblivious as she tried to get her breathing under control.

  “So, about that conversation earlier today,” I said, reaching her back.

  She turned around and took a deep breath due to our close proximity, our faces were almost touching. I backed her up until her back touched the locker behind her. She was breathing heavily as I softly stroked her reddened cheek. Her face softened, and she leaned into my touch.

  I looked at her beautiful, almost-completely-void-of-bruises face for a long moment. I couldn’t stop my hands when they reached out to touch her face. I gently touched her slender cheeks, her chin, her cute button nose, her forehead, and finally her soft lips. I let my fingers linger there just a little bit longer.

  She slowly reached out and hesitantly touched my shoulders down my chest, grazing my long scar, and eventually laid her hands on my abs, making my core burn. I sucked in a long breath at her feather-light touch.

  I slowly leaned my forehead down to hers. I looked deep into her big beautiful green eyes, looking for a confirmation that she wanted me too.

  She bit her bottom lip nervously and stared back at me. The fire in her eyes was my favorite thing about her, it was burning so bright in that moment, and it consumed me completely, pulling me forward into her.

  How could that beautiful creature ever want someone like me? It was truly beyond my comprehension, but her eyes simply pulled me in and made me want to stay with her forever.

  “Aubry,” I said in a whisper.

  “Aiden,” she whispered back. She was looking into my eyes as she let out a small and deep breath.

  “Can I—” I started, but the front door slammed just like the door this morning had.

  “Yooohoo!” Brandon yelled loudly.

  I had never hated his voice so much in my life.

  I groaned loudly and out of frustration, I softly hit the locker behind Aubry. I just want to freaking kiss the girl! Was that too much to ask for?

  I crossed back to my locker, slowly keeping my eyes on Aubry. She was still in the position I left her in with her lips parted every so slightly, her eyes staring at me intently. Her gaze bore right into me, and I wanted nothing more than to let her consume me completely.

  “Are we interrupting something?” Brandon asked as he, Bri, and Tommy walked into the locker room.

  Aubry immediately tore her gaze away from me.

  “Yes,” I said, annoyed that we got interrupted again.

  “Go put on some pants, lover boy. We need to get going,” Tommy said with a knowing smirk.

  “I guess you’re finally letting Bri in on our secret?” I asked B while digging my clothes out.

  He nodded his response.

  “Don’t tell mom, Bri. Seriously, not a single word.”

  She just looked at me skeptically as I went to change.

  When I walked out of the restroom, it was just Aubry in the locker room again. She turned to me and smiled at me.

  “You ready?” she asked while shrugging on her jacket.

  I turned to my locker to close it and lock it back. However, I quickly felt Aubry pressed against my back like how I had done to her.

  “We’ll pick this conversation up later,” she whispered sensually.

  I sucked in a deep breath and gave her a meaningful look.

  “Later,” I agreed.

  ***

  Tommy got us to the Underground quickly. Aubry went straight to the bar and took two shots at once.

  “Aubry, you’re gonna be fine. You’ve won every single fight so far. This will just be practice compared to Shawn and the others.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  “You worry far too much, Aub. Just pretend that it’s practice and beat the shit out of him.” After those words, she was called up to the mats. “You’re going to be fine, Aub.”

  I stood at the wing of the mats and watched her as she sized up her opponent. She didn’t look intimidated, just nervous. She didn’t trust herself or her ability. She needed to trust in herself.

  It was like it was in slow motion when the fight started. She was too wound-up and too stiff. Her opponent took advantage of that and got her into the corner. Without further ado, he grappled her to the ground, and she took several body and head hits before she got herself up off the ground and out of the corner.

  Her face when she got up was one of pure fury. Grappling was already not one of her strong suits, and the fact that he got her with it so early in the match made her livid.

  With no hesitance, she picked his movements up like a hawk and went in for the kill. He had used too much energy when wrestling her to the ground which made his movements sluggish. However, Aubry’s anger propelled her to go even faster. With little to no time, she had landed ten punches in various spots and then landed one final high-kick right to his chin.

  As soon as she made contact with his face, it was done.

  He fell onto the floor with blood spilling out of his mouth and his eyes closed. She knocked him out cold.

  The crowd went wild, but her scowl just deepened. The look on Aubry’s face was not one of a winner. She was angry as hell when she exited the mats.

  “That was fucking awesome!” Brandon exclaimed loudly, high-fiving Aubry.

  Bri was excited too as she looked around the sketchy place.

  However, Aubry’s face was still frowning deeply.

  “Hey what’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing her hand and bringing her close to me.

  “He almost got me!” she said darkly.

  I chuckled out loud, making her turn her evil look at me. I held my hands up in surrender to her. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe you’re so mad about it! I mean you knocked him out! Plus, you got yourself out of the situation expertly. You did good!”

  “That’s beside the point Aiden. He shouldn’t have been able to get me down! I need to train more!” she said, making me sigh in disbelief. She was absolutely impossible.

  “You need rest, Aubry!” I yelled at her, making her frown deepen. Everyone in our proximity turned to glance at us. I took a deep breath to cal
m down.

  “Aubry, you don’t need to train more. You need some fucking rest! You’re moving slower because your ribs hurt due to your vigorous training today. You were distracted because you were trying to overcompensate for your left shoulder that I can tell has been bothering you for days now. You need some rest and to ice the shoulder. Let us help you. That’s the final decision, understand?” I asked in an authoritative voice, staring at her.

  She rolled her eyes at me and sighed in frustration. “You know, sometimes you taking charge and telling me what to do is sexy, and other times it just makes me want to throat punch you.”

  “Oh, you think I’m sexy?” I asked, coming closer to her.

  She held her hand up to me.

  “No, this time I want to throat punch you,” she said, crossing her arms.

  I chuckled at her and kissed her cheek. “I’m just looking out for you, trust me,” I told her smiling at her.

  She tried not to smile back but failed and playfully rolled her eyes at me.

  Her smile immediately vanished when she saw the person to our right watching us interact. I immediately moved Aubry behind me while glaring.

  “Aren’t y’all just the cutest?” Trey said, putting his hands together in front of his body. “It’s just adorable,” he added snarkily. “Congratulations are in order, Aubry!” Trey said, holding his hand out for her to shake.

  She stepped out from behind me and skeptically shook it.

  He kept her hand in his grasp as he spoke again, “You’ve been doing so well in my Elite bracket this past month, so this is a formal invitation to fight in the tournament starting in March. Of course, all of you, Death, Brains, and Knockout are all invited as well.”

  Brandon and Tom immediately declined as Trey still held Aubry’s hand in his.

  “And you, Aiden?” Trey asked, looking at me.

  I nodded silently while trying not to break his hand off.

  “And you, gorgeous?”

  Aubry forced a smile and nodded.

  “Wonderful! And expect more fights, Aubry. You make me tons of money, you know,” he said joyfully, still grasping her hand. “Anyways, I should leave you. Your cut is at the bet window, just as always, sweetheart.”

  He picked her hand up and kissed it for too long. “Good luck in the tournament.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Why Not?

  Aubry

  I laid on the couch bed with my eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. I was alone, and it was completely silent in the still sleeping house. Alone was not a good place for me to be.

  I couldn’t believe how quickly time was flying. The weeks were passing like the wind, and February was more than halfway over. I just had three more months.

  I curled up in a ball under the covers and let some tears escape my eyes. There were just some things that even Aiden couldn’t protect me from, like Demetri, Daniel, and the money that I owed them. I could look forward to the future as much as I wanted, but it wouldn’t ever stop my past from catching up to me.

  I heaved a sigh. It was too early to be awake, but my mind wanted to remind me of every bad thing I had ever done. My back was stiff and my face had dried tears on it, making it hard to move. I felt like a cluttered mess with my hair tangled and clothes wrinkled from the restless sleep.

  I pulled myself from the bed and decided to go take a shower. I hoped that I could wash away my panic and bad mood along with everything else.

  I stayed in the shower for quite a while. I was trying to forget the world by simply breathing in deeply. However, I was failing at both because my anxiety was getting the best of me. My mood hadn’t really improved as I got out of the shower, and after I put on sweats and a long sleeve shirt.

  I opened the door and walked out of the bathroom. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing with my mind elsewhere, and as a result, I immediately ran into Aiden’s chest. Without hesitation, he wrapped his big arms around me quickly and steadied me. He started to pull away, but I clung to him tightly. I just needed him to hug me for a few more seconds.

  “What’s going on?” Aiden said, pulling my face up to meet his.

  What was I supposed to say? Oh, ya know, I’m worried about dying in a couple of months. That probably would not be the best answer.

  “I just didn’t get very good sleep last night,” I finally blurted out.

  “You know you can come and sleep in my room whenever you feel like it. My bed is softer,” Aiden said, finally letting me go and making me feel cold on the inside.

  “It’s not the bed,” I stated solemnly.

  He softly pecked the top of my head and brushed my cheek with his fingers. “Your dreams?” he asked quietly.

  I nodded slightly.

  “I’ll be out in a minute, then we’ll go to the gym, and you can work off some of your pent-up feelings, okay?” he said cautiously.

  I tried to smile, but I knew that it was thoroughly unconvincing, so I just simply nodded.

  ***

  I sat in the trainer’s room while waiting on Aiden to put the ice on me. My ribs were feeling a bit better from the fight the week before. When Aiden had yelled at me to chill out, he truly meant it. He was making sure that I wasn’t going too hard in my training. I wanted to be mad, but I was also just super happy that someone actually cared.

  Aiden put the ice down gently, then came around to my face. He stroked my cheek very softly, and my face burned. He had been offering me small and light touches whenever he could since the previous Saturday with our brief intimate moments.

  Yet still, he hadn’t tried to initiate another moment, and God knows that I would never initiated anything. He was probably coming to his senses and realizing that he didn’t really want me.

  My heart sped up as he studied me. His eyes roamed around my body expertly, from my face to my ankles to my shoulders to my back. His gaze was everywhere. His gaze left me tingly.

  “You’re really beautiful, you know,” Aiden said, making me blush deeply. “What about this one?” he asked while pointing to the scar on my left bicep.

  It was a sort of game that we had begun playing. He’d point to a scar, and I’d tell him about how I got it. It was a really freaking sad game, but it was an easier way to tell him about my past without outrightly spilling my guts.

  I looked at the scar that he pointed at. It went straight across my arm about three inches and on one side it sloped downward, it was also raised up, making it look more like a long blister. I stared at it for a few moments, then looked back to Aiden.

  “This one . . . This one was my first self-inflicted cut. I chose my bicep because my dishwasher uniform was short sleeve, so I could hide a bicep cut better than a wrist cut.” I paused for a second, remembering the story. “It was right after my sister left, I was fourteen years old and terrified. I had never been without my sister before and then all of the sudden, I felt lost and afraid without her. She just went to college and left me. She never once looked back.” I could feel the tears building up in my eyes and my voice broke at the end. I didn’t realize how much I missed Kelsey until I talked about her. I knew that it was a fracture in my heart that would never heal.

  “She just left for college and didn’t come back?” Aiden asked with his eyebrows furrowed in.

  I nodded slowly. “She just . . . left.”

  “Have you called her? Did you ask why?” Aiden asked, making my heart ache just a tad more.

  I shook my head slowly. “I tried. She never answered my calls, and eventually, the number was disconnected. I was so worried about her. I thought she might have died or something, but I looked her up on Google once, she was listed as a president’s honor roll student at UCLA, so she must be doing great. I guess she just didn’t want me in her life. I just—I just wish that I could talk to her one more time though, just to hear her and make sure that she’s okay.” I could feel the tears slipping down my face.

  Kelsey always told me it was us against the world, but that w
as obviously a lie.

  Aiden quickly wiped the tears on my face away. “I’m so sorry . . . That was her loss, Aubry. You’re amazing, and if she didn’t want to be a part of it, then that’s her issue, not yours. I know that it must be hard, though. Thank you for telling me.”

  I smiled thankfully at Aiden and touched his hand on my cheek.

  “Aiden, I really don’t deserve you or everything you do for me.”

  “You’re right . . . You deserve so much more,” he said, kissing my forehead lightly.

  It gave me butterflies.

  “You ready to train?”

  I smiled widely at him. “So ready.”

  ***

  School went by slowly due to my anticipation of getting ready for the fights the next day. Although, it wasn’t really my fight that I was excited about. Aiden was going to be fighting for the first time since he had started training me. He said he needed to start getting back into fighting as well to get ready for the tournament.

  When we got to the gym, I was ready to go after we quickly iced my ribs. I was eager to start my training for the day. More so, I was ready to train with Aiden for the day.

  I walked up to the mats and stood there, just observing for a moment. Aiden was beating the bag vigorously, making it swing erratically. I knew he was good, but I never realized just how amazing at fighting he was. Each move was calculated and strong. He seemed to be in control of everything.

  I walked up closer to him, waiting for him to finish his warmup, still astonished at how good he was. As he threw his last punch, a sinking feeling began in my chest when an unsettling thought crossed my mind.

  “Aiden, what if we have to face each other in the championship?” I asked thoughtfully as he was catching his breath.

  He stood up straight and cut his eyes to me quickly, opening his mouth to answer me but closing it again, obviously unsure of how to answer me. He raised an eyebrow and huffed. “Well, if that does end up happening then I’ll—” he started, but I cut him off suddenly.