by T M Kelly
I believed in sportsman-like conduct, so I lifted my fists to tap against Nikki. Instead, Nikki proved to be something altogether different and stepped away without tapping my fists. Her action surprised me for a split second and then somehow motivated me.
We were both waiting against the side of the fence for the bell to ring. We had five rounds and each round was five minutes long. This would be my longest fight, but I planned to shut it down in one round.
The bell rang and I hopped forward, ready for action. We started to circle each other like caged dogs ready to attack. Brooks yelled, “Get in there, Charlie. Make the first move. What are you waiting for?”
“Yeah, Charlie, what are you waiting for?” Nikki repeated. I didn’t plan to talk during each round; I needed to save my energy for a fight. When I didn’t answer, she laughed. “Not a fan of trash talking? Come on, don’t be boring.”
I let her continue yapping. If she was talking, that meant her focus was off. It also meant my chances of taking her down where stronger. Nikki hopped back and forth but never made an attempt to advance on me. It was time for me to make the first move. I bent my body and plowed forward, bringing her body to the ground.
“You bitch,” she yelled and struggled to free herself.
“Maybe you need to pay attention,” I said and threw a few punches against the side of her face.
“So you can talk.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I managed to keep her back flat on the floor for several seconds. When she finally freed herself, Nikki was completely out of breath, and then the bell rang to end the first round. I knew I had an advantage now.
Tyler was my corner tonight. “You’re looking good, C.” He rubbed some Vaseline under my eyes and wiped away some sweat. “She looks exhausted already. Don’t hesitate. Take her down the moment you see her pause.” I was catching my breath, so I only nodded.
“You look amazing, sunshine,” Brooks said and rubbed a bag of ice up and down my back.
Round two was ready to begin, and I was ready for this to be over. I wanted that belt in my hands and now. Normally we would tap fists before each round, but Nikki just wasn’t interested. We hopped around the octagon twice while circling each other. I was getting bored just standing around, so I made the initiative to throw a few punches. One of the strikes landed on the side of her eye and immediately there was blood. I didn’t wait for her to respond. My hand flew up and landed on her jaw. Her eyes were telling—I had caused damage. She stumbled back, which was my cue to pounce. I was looming over Nikki’s body, throwing one punch after another, determined to force her to tap out.
Nikki was curled up in a ball with her arms over her head, trying to shield the punches. I didn’t show sympathy—that’s not why I was here. My goal was to win the flyweight title, and I planned to fucking get it. My punches became faster, and then suddenly my body was pushed out of the way by the referee. I looked around and realized she had just tapped out. I fucking took her down and won.
I turned my body toward my team, and I threw my hands up in the air. I ran around the octagon yelling and jumping up and down. Brooks wrapped his body around mine. “Oh, my God, I did it.”
“Sunshine, you just won. I knew you could fucking do it.” He picked me up in the air and spun me around.
I glanced over to see Nikki sitting on a stool, being checked out by the on-site doctor. My mom always taught me to be the better teammate. I walked over. “Good fight,” I said and held out my fists to tap with Nikki.
She shook her head and stood up. “That was amazing. I pegged you wrong.” Nikki tapped my fists and pulled me in for a quick hug. “Congrats.”
The belt was heavy and wrapped tightly around my waist as I made my way to the locker room. My mind wandered to the day I left home. I knew my dad had never believed I could fight, let alone win a title. All this time I had no desire to see him, but as I rubbed my hand over the gold surface I thought about how much fun it would be to enjoy the look on his face. Then a vision of The Punisher flashed in my mind and I knew my dad was smiling. He had always believed I would win the belt, probably because he knew I had the fighter bug in my blood. I only wished I could share this win with him.
As I stepped into the locker room, several people sprayed me with champagne. “You know that’s a waste, right?” I teased and brushed the loose strands of hair out of my eyes.
Lily stepped forward and handed me a full bottle. “Don’t waste this one.”
I tugged my sister forward and hugged her tightly. “If I can’t celebrate with The Punisher, you have to take his place.”
“Are you trying to make me cry?” she said and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Let’s save that for later when we visit his grave site.”
She leaned back and smiled. “I love that idea.”
“So, you did it.” Chuck Anders laughed and held out his hand. “This is a big deal. You know that, right?”
“You mean I get to be all big and famous like my sister now?” I loved calling Lily my sister.
“That and we need to discuss your salary.” He nodded and took a full glass of champagne from one of the team members. “We’ll talk after you get back from vacation.”
I groaned at the thought. Lily was hell bent on making this vacation perfect. “Vacation, right. Do you have a fight I could do instead?”
“Fuck that,” Lily said and stepped in between Chuck and myself. “We’ll send you a postcard.” She pointed at Chuck.
“I think I need to listen to her. Sorry, Charlie.” Chuck took a swig and then set his glass down to leave.
Brooks snuck up behind me to wrap his arms around my waist and spin me around. “You were amazing out there.”
The moment he let me down, I turned my body to face him. “What happened? Why did she bonk out so fast?”
Julian stepped close to Brooks. “From what Chuck just said, Nikki thought this would be an easy fight. She didn’t think you would give what you did.”
“Which means what exactly?” I still felt surprised by the win.
“She didn’t train as intensely. I talked to one of her trainers who was heading to her locker room. She went out to celebrate with friends last night.”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?”
“I wish I was.” He smiled and reached for Lily’s hand.
“How stupid can you be? The title is on the line, and you know you have broken records for consecutive wins.” I was completely lost on this one. It made no sense. “She doesn’t deserve the title with that attitude.”
“That’s my girl,” Brooks said and kissed my temple. “It was time for someone new to have it.”
I kissed him and then excused myself. The room was loud, and I needed to take a breather from all the crazy. I was leaning against the brick wall with my head down. There were people coming and going, so I didn’t bother to look at every person who passed.
“Good fight.”
I straightened up so fast at the sound. “Mason. I thought you loved Dad. Instead, I see you managed to avoid prison time.” I found out he had taken immunity to save his own ass.
He cleared his throat like I had made him uncomfortable. “I just want to talk.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you?”
“I deserve that,” he said and kept his hands up.
“Damn right you do. You wanted me dead. Hell, you almost succeeded.”
“Charlie.”
“Oh, I’m Charlie now?” I ground out.
He let out a deep sigh. “Yeah, that’s your name, right?” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “I talked to Dad this morning.”
“Am I supposed to care?”
“The lawyers are speculating he may receive the death penalty.”
I wasn’t prepared to hear those words. Dad should be locked away for good but not killed. I didn’t feel sympathy for him. Actually, it was quite the opposite; I wanted him to suffer in a cell until the day he died naturally.
&nb
sp; “That seems extreme,” I admitted.
“Will you help to prevent that from happening?”
“Mason, I don’t plan to help with anything. I did my part, now it’s up to the judicial system on what happens to your dad. If death row is his destiny, then so be it.” I turned to head back to the locker room but stopped at the door. “Dad killed two of our family members and almost made that number three. Karma is a bitch sometimes.” I didn’t wait for him to reply. I just stepped back into the room. Dad was getting what he deserved.
“Hey, baby,” Brooks said and reached for my hand. “Wait, are you okay?”
“I’m beyond okay,” I said and leaped up into his arms. “Guess what, Hollywood?”
“You won the flyweight championship title?”
“Not fair, I wanted to share.”
“Then tell me.” He smiled and spun me around. “But loud and proud.”
I lifted my hands up in the air and felt the wind on my face as he spun. “I fucking won the flyweight championship belt,” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The room erupted in cheers.
I knew my father was wrong. The belt was always meant to be mine.
37
Two weeks later…
“At least I’m not sporting a shiner for this trip.” I stood in front of Lily’s full-length mirror and twirled in place. Lily and I had decided to raid each other’s closets for the trip. We both had way too many clothes and a shit-ton of bikinis. “This bikini is adorable. I don’t think I have ever seen you in it, though?”
“Bought it a while ago to wear to some gathering.” She fluffed out the edges of the fabric. “Then it somehow got shoved to the back and forgotten.”
“Well it’s mine, now.” I quickly stepped away.
“When did you start liking skirts and dresses?”
“When Brooks told me how beautiful I was in them.” Lily made a gagging noise and headed back into the closet to pull out more items. “Oh hush, woman. How are you and Julian doing?”
She almost floated out of the small space. “Really, really, really good.”
It was my turn to start gagging. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“What? No,” she said a little too quickly and disappeared back into the closet. “I don’t know. I never expected my life to be what it is today. The fact that I get to be with Julian fucking Moore is like the icing on the cake.”
“Again with the fucking in the middle of my name.” Julian appeared in the doorway of the bedroom.
Brooks popped up behind him. “Get used to it, bro. It’s your name and don’t wear it out.” He walked over to the mirror and stood behind me. “A skirt. I like.”
“Yeah? I was thinking we could dress up and go to a fancy dinner one night.”
“Or you can wear nothing else but the skirt and show it off in our hotel room.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Lily said and quickly walked over to me. “Out. You have failed on my one rule.” She was shoving me out of the room. “Take the skirt with you. I don’t think I could ever look at it the same again.”
“What rule did I fail?” I was cracking up as I walked down the hall toward the stairs.
“Maybe it was the sex talk rule?” Brooks said and tickled my side.
“Or maybe it was the discussion about skirts?” I stopped halfway down the stairs and turned to face Lily. “You do hate anything that is not leggings.” Lily held up her middle finger. “That’s okay, sissy, we need to go home and have sex with only a skirt around my waist.” It was too much fun fucking with her.
“How long is this trip?” Brooks said and sat down on the bed. I was shoving clothes into my suitcase and trying to make sure it would close. “You seem to be packing for a month-long vacation.”
I leaned over the top of my luggage and applied pressure to help move the zipper along. “One week. Are you judging me?”
He burst out laughing. “Judging? No. Worried we will run out of space in the small car and tiny hotel room? Yes.”
I leaned up and scooted closer to him. “Don’t be worried, baby.” My voice was lower and more seductive. “I had to bring all your favorites.”
“Oh?” He pulled me up and sat me on his lap. “My favorites, huh?” I felt his hands slide down my arms and move to my lap. “Should we test them out before they get stuffed in the cargo hold on the plane?”
“Um, maybe we should,” I said and wiggled my behind back and forth on his lap. “They could be a poor choice for the trip, and we wouldn’t have time to find a replacement.”
We were all flying out tomorrow, and I still felt unsure about heading back to where this mess in my life all began. My dad was locked away. His business was being liquidated. So why was I nervous? Hell, there was no way this trip could go south. I think the fact that everything seemed too perfect lately made me worry. After experiencing blunt force trauma on the side of my head, it was hard to let go of a few memories. Especially since I still experienced extreme headaches every once in a while.
“C, you know you’re safe on this trip, right?”
“Yeah, of course. Why?”
He brushed a strand of hair away from my eye. “I can tell by your facial expression you are not excited to go on this trip. Honestly, I have my reservations, too.”
“So why did we agree to go?”
“Lily’s right. We need this trip.”
I hopped off his lap and walked over to the dresser. “It’s silly when I think about it. I know we will be okay, but going back to the spot where it all went down—”
Brooks stood up and stepped closer. “Charlie, the only visual I have is when the asshole hit you over the head. I wake up with that image frequently.” His confession brought tears to my eyes. “When I started training you, I never planned for all this.”
“You mean being captured and almost killed? Because I never planned for it either.”
He smiled causing my insides to swirl. “No, you, me, this. I will do anything to save you, Charlie. I did back in the United Kingdom, and I will do it over and over again if I have to.”
I placed my hands on his chest. “Brooks.”
“Just hear me out. I want you to put on your game face like you do when you step into the octagon.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. “Don’t let anyone ever see your fear.” He kissed both my cheeks. “With all your experience, I know you can get through anything.”
“You seem so sure.”
“I am sure. The woman I met that first day in Fight It Out showed no fear. It’s what caught my attention from across the room.”
“You could see all that?” I wanted to cry, but it wasn’t the right time.
“I could. You hold your emotions closely with every one of your facial expressions.” Finally, he kissed my lips. “Since Lily brought up the subject of going back to the U.K., your face has had unease plastered in every corner.”
He was right, I needed to toughen up. This trip would be cleansing. If I continued to feel afraid going back to the very country where I was almost killed, my dad would win. He was in jail and yet still had some serious power over my decisions.
“You’re right.”
He placed his hand behind his ear. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
I pushed him back toward the bed. “Oh hush,” I teased and forced him to lie down. “So what was it about trying on some outfits?”
“Oh, right, you need to give me a show.” He circled his hands around my waist and pulled me down on top of him. “First I have a fun preview we need to check out.”
38
“Don’t forget your passport,” I said and shifted the phone to my other ear. My dresser was a dark, never-ending pit, and I was currently sifting through the mess trying to locate my own passport. You would think I would catch on and not throw the damn thing into the drawer after every trip, but no, I was a glutton for punishment.
“It’s in my purse and ready to be stamped,” Lily said and cleared her throat. “Um, Charlie.
”
“Yeah? You have that voice.”
“What voice?”
“You know the voice. The one where I know a bomb is about to drop.”
I could hear her laugh through the phone. “No, no bombs today. Um, Brooks called me last night.”
Her words caught me off guard. “Called you?” I stopped searching and dropped my hand to my side. “About?”
“He’s really worried about you.”
“Lils, I’m fine.” After our conversation last night, I wasn’t surprised he felt the need to call Lily. “I mean, this trip has me on edge, but I’ll plow on forward.”
“We can stay state-side and go to San Diego?”
“As tempting as that sounds, we need this trip.” I couldn’t believe I was encouraging us to go on the trip. “I may not be my normal self, but I know this is important.”
“You can be quiet all you want. Plus, we can go home early,” she said. “We’re not locked into a full week.”
“No, it’s okay, I promise.”
“Brooks and I agreed we would make sure you’re happy the whole time.”
“You both have your work cut out for you then,” I teased. “Let’s just get packed and safely to the airport. Everything else can be figured out later.”
“I love you, sis.”
“I love you more.” As I hung up the phone, I felt it vibrate in my hand. I hit accept and quickly said, “Lily, I’ll be fine. Just finish packing.”
“Ms. Hill,” a male voice said and cleared his throat.
“Oh shit, I mean, I’m sorry. Yes, this is she.”
“Mr. Hill asked me to call you. This is his defense lawyer, Gene.”
My dad had his lawyer call me? What the hell? “Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“We need to prevent him from getting a death row sentence. If we can have you testify and help his case—”
I didn’t mean it, but I burst out laughing. “You do realize my father almost killed me and successfully killed my mom and sister right in front of me? Why the ever-loving fuck would I want to help him? He should’ve thought about this shit a long time ago. Nobody is invincible. His day was going to come around eventually.”