by K. L Hart
“Railey?” Ms. Ellie asks sounding annoyed.
“Huh?”
“Are you even listening to us?” I shake my head and Rick smirks; asshole probably knows I was checking him out now.
“Sorry? What was you saying?”
“I asked if you wanted any breakfast before Rick whisks you away.” I go to say yes but Rick answers for me,
“I’ll take her to breakfast, give her a chance to wake up properly.” He smiles sweetly at Ms. Ellie and I roll my eyes, fucking suck up. “Come on, we have a long day ahead, do you have everything?” Rick asks,
“I'll be right back.” I say taking a gulp of coffee and running to my room, I grab some cash that’s stashed under my mattress and I take my phone that was still on charge, and my cigarettes and shove them in my jeans pocket. I go back down stairs and Rick is waiting by the door. He opens it for me and I leave walking towards his car. I stand there awkwardly for a moment before lighting my cigarette.
“Where are we going?” I ask not sure why I haven't told him to fuck off and gone back to bed at this point.
“After breakfast, I'm taking you to our gym to get in a few hours training as your fight is tomorrow night.”
“Oh, why do I need to train?” I ask, never had training for any other fight and I pretty much have won them all.
“Because, you fight dirty which is good but you need to learn to sort out your posture when you punch and it wouldn’t hurt for your combinations to be a bit more, clean cut.” I shrug at him and he shakes his head.
We step into the small diner and Rick slides into one of the booths at the back, I sit opposite him,
“So why did you come and get me, I thought Tyler was the Railey handler?” I say with attitude.
“He’s busy today and he was never assigned to you, he just has a more likeable personality, the rest of us just piss people off.” He says with a shrug and I agree.
“So now I'm stuck with you, the guy who decided that I deserved to be beaten up by the whole school. Wonderful.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, I did what I had to do and it didn’t really work out for me did it.” He says,
“Good, you shouldn’t pick on innocent people!”
“Nothing about you screams innocent, Railey, but your right, I was already pissed off and when you bumped into me, I just decided you were the one, I normally find someone with a dirt secret who isn't actually innocent this time I didn’t and I am sorry for that!” I nod,
“I accept your apology, just don’t fuck with me again!” I say and he gives me a small smile, which brings out some cute ass little dimples.
“Deal, what do you want, I’ll go order.”
“Can I get a coffee and some toast; Ms. Ellie makes us eat so much and it makes me feel Ill all the time.”
“Yeah, she cooks for the thousands that woman, but why does it make you feel sick?”
“I used to live off like a few breakfast bars and some noodles a week, eating once a day was rare so it’s a big adjustment.” Rick frowns but he nods and goes to put in our orders. He comes back with our coffees.
“So, you had it rough before you came here.” He asks,
“You have no idea, but I don’t like talking about it, no point in looking back right?” He nods.
“So how did you learn to race like that?”
“I used to flip cars now again.”
“Your joking?” I shake my head and he laughs. “So, you're telling me you’re a car stealing, weed smoking, badass fighter and you also look fucking hot in a dress?” he laughs again and I join in too.
“Pretty much, I like to be different.”
“Different, Railey I think your one of a kind.” His gaze locks with mine and the energy shifts, after a while I break the contact and sip my drink.
“Here’s your food.” The waitress says as she places our food in front of us, my toast and Ricks scrambled eggs. We eat in silence, after we finish Rick stands and holds his hand out to me, I'm not the touchy feely type and normally I would have scoffed and got up on my own so I'm confused when I take it and let him intertwine his fingers in mine and leave the diner.
We get to the Gym and I'm shown around by Rick, apparently, they own it so I have it all to myself today with my trainer, Rick is sticking around and will take me home later. I go to the little shop in the gym and buy some workout gear there isn't a lot for girls so I'm basically in a low pair of workout leggings a sports bra and a small crop top, I grab some boxing gloves and get in the ring.
“Show me what you’ve got.” Sam the trainer says as he holds up some pads. I throw punches for a while and Sam corrects my posture to throw more weight in them, and it works, I did need a bit of training. By midafternoon I am sweaty, and tired and we call it a day, Sam and Rick discuss my improvements and I overhear Rick telling him I have a good shot of winning tomorrow. I go to the changing rooms grab a quick shower and get dressed. I meet Rick outside and spark up a smoke.
“Who am I fighting tomorrow?” I ask and Rick cringes,
“Thompson, he's currently number at number three but I think you can take him, I did try to set you up with a girl but we don’t have many and they all refused after hearing about what went down at school.”
“It’s cool prefer fighting guys, don’t have to hold back.” Rick chuckles and them dimples appear again, making me feel all hot, fucking hormones.
“Let’s get you home, you can get some rest and be ready for tomorrow.” I nod my head, flick my cig and get into his car.
Tyler picks me up at nine the next night to take me to the fight,
“You ready for this Rails,” He asks as we pull into the warehouse carpark.
“As ready as I'll ever be,” I say the pre-fight nerves kicking in, we both get out of the car and Tyler takes me past the Queues of people and past the guards at the door, the place is packed, this is the biggest fight I have ever fought which makes my nerves even worse. I'm led to the side of the room and down a small hallway where the changing rooms are,
“You have your own changing room; Rick didn’t want you sharing.” I roll my eyes, but I am grateful for a bit of privacy. “Go get ready, I'll be waiting out here.” It only takes me ten minutes to change and wrap my wrists, I shoved on some black baggy shorts and a tank top, I did also wear the sports bra I had yesterday as even though they aren't huge, my breasts can jiggle too much and its distracting. I pop my head out of the door,
“How long have I got?”
“Walking in a few minutes.” I wait in the hallway with Tyler when someone comes to get us. My name is announced over the speakers by a booming voice and Tyler shoves me down the walkway to the ring,
“Good Luck!” He shouts, I step up to the ring and Harv holds the ropes open for me.
“I'll be in your corner, If I say it's time to quit, you quit.” He says in my ear as my opponent is announced.
“Fucking hell, that guys massive!” I say to Harv,
“He is also thick as shit, and slow, use your speed your agility and keep mixing up combos, the only thing he has is a hard right hook so don’t get one to the head!” Harv explains and I nod. I move to the middle of the ring and bump hands with Thomspon, the ref starts to talk to us,
“No rules, do what you need to, I decide the winner.” Why we even have referees at these fights is beyond me. We both start circling each other when the bell sounds and he takes the first punch which I dodge, he lunges again and I dodge it again, I soon realize it takes him a while to reposition after he lunges so I use that to my advantage, when he lunges again I doge the other way so I am on the inside, I quickly rush him and land tow punches to his face and one to his ribs, he falters but not so much I can land any more. We circle again and this time I lunge first he blocks my first punch but the next one's land, he shakes his head a cut already forming on his cheek, he quickly punches me with his left and it lands, fuck that hurt, he tries with his right but I block, I throw punch after punch in quick succession and most of them
land. My knuckles are starting to bleed with the sheer force I'm using in my punches and the ref calls end of round one, I got to Harv and sit, take some water while he rubs some gel into my cheek and cleans my fists.
“Good work, keep it up and he will go down soon. Use your legs, no rules remember.” I nod and I stand just as the bell dings again, we go back to circling bouncing from foot to foot, I lunge he blocks the punch but doesn’t see my leg swipe coming, he it’s the floor and I rein down punches on his face. The ref pulls me away, and Thomspon stands he is swaying on his feet now, his eye swelling and the cut on his cheek has gotten a lot worse. The ref clears us to fight and I go in I don’t waste time I land a killer right hook and Thompsons head snaps to the side; he goes down like a ton of bricks and is deathly still, the guy from his side checks his pulse and nods.
“Winner by knock out, Railey Barnes.” The Ref’s voice booms over the speakers and the crowd goes wild. Harv comes over and smiles,
“Remind me not to piss you off!” He teases and I chuckle, he wraps my fists in bandages just to stop air getting to them for a while. I am picked up and spun around by Tyler who bulldozed Harv put of his way. I slap his shoulder and he puts me down,
“I knew you would win.” he grins “I put a thousand on for you to win!” his grin widens.
“How much you win?” I ask Eighty-Nine thousand dollars.
“Drinks on you then.” I tease and he laughs.
“Come on let's get to the after party, we have some celebrating to do.
Chapter Nine
“Here.” Tyler hands me a beer, the after party is held at someone’s house and like the fight its packed, everyone from school is here. I'm wearing an actual dress as Emma thought it would be inappropriate to come in sweats. The dress is black, short and tight, my tits are on show and so are most of my legs, I have some black heels on which are really high and a clutch bag which is silver and sparkly. Never mind the big hoop earrings, dark makeup, necklace and bracelet.
“Railey, you look hot.” Lisa says as she comes up to me.
“Do all girls feel this uncomfortable in a dress with accessories or is it just me?” I ask genuinely wanting to know, I hear a chuckle from behind me and I ignore it.
“Every girl but you get used to it.” she laughs before she goes off to find her friends. I turn and all of the knights are stood behind me.
“She is right though; you do look hot.” Tyler says,
“Beautiful as always.” Rick adds, they all have this teasing grin on their faces and I glare at them, well except Oscar who is tapping on his phone again.
“Why do you get to wear sneakers and I have to wear these! I can deal with the dress, I can deal with the tits, I can deal with the fucking bag, but shoes this high and this flimsy are not my thing!” Tyler bursts out laughing and I roll my eyes. “Prick!” I storm to Tylers car and gesture with my hand for him to open it, I bend in the back seat and find my sneakers, fuck it I don’t care, I'll wear sneakers if I damn well want to. I pull off the shoes and throw them in the car and slide on my sneakers. I walk back to the boys and they all hold in laughing,
“Not one fucking word!” I warn them. I fumble with the bag and finally get a smoke and a lighter out of it, I throw the thing to Tyler. “You can fucking hold it.” I light the smoke and grab my beer that Rick is now holding, I take a large gulp and feel myself relaxing.
“Railey, where are your shoes?” Emma shouts as she approaches, I roll my eyes and that sets Tyler off again.
“Please don’t make me wear them!” I beg her as she stands in front of me with her hands on her hips,
“White sneakers do not go with that outfit.” She sighs,
“I know, I'm sorry but I think I have a cracked rib from the fight and they were making it hurt.” I lie, Tyler isn't helping at all as he is now bent over in hysterics, Rick is chuckling and Harv is biting his fist to stop himself from laughing too.
“Fine, but next time you are wearing the heels!”
“Yes, next time.” She walks away and I slap Tyler on the arm. “Not helpful dickhead.”
“Rails, anyone would think you hated being a girl.”
“I don’t hate it, sometime it's just inconvenient.” I shrug.
“I think that you are the best girl we have ever met.” Harv states and Rick nods his head slightly,
“If anything, you are highly entertaining.” Rick adds.
I wake up the next morning still buzzed from the night before, I got hella drunk and I do not regret it at all, I had fun and so did the knights from what I can remember. I sit up in bed and check the time on my phone, ugh six-thirty, time to get ready for school. I open the text from Tyler,
Tyler: Morning, how's the hangover?
Me: Not awful, but I am in no state to drive, I'll be walking to school today.
I grab a shower and take my time getting ready, thank god for makeup because my face is a mess of yellow and green bruises from last week and a big black bruise on my cheek from yesterday, I cover as much as I can and look half decent. My phone buzzes and I go to read the incoming text.
Rick: Heard you're not driving today; I'll be there to pick you up in thirty minutes.
Me: I can walk its fine.
His reply is instant,
Rick: I will be there in thirty minutes.
Me: Rolling eye emoji.
I get my stuff together and head down to breakfast, I eat a slice of toast and have some coffee but I don’t feel like anything more, I say bye to the girls when I see Rick pull up and head out the door. I get in the car and buckle up.
“Morning, how's that cracked rib?” I glare at him; he knew I was lying.
“All better.” I reply sarcastically.
“Seriously though how are you today? Any pain from the fight?” I burrow my brows at him,
“Just the normal. Nothing to worry about.” I reply and he nods.
“So, some shit is going down in the town, I can't really talk about it but stay close to us from now on, you'll be safer with us around.”
“You know I'm not your friend, right? Why does everyone assume that I'm suddenly their friend?”
“You kind of are, Railey and you should accept it sooner rather than later. We like you, you fit somehow.” Rick says truthfully.
“I don’t fit anywhere.” I mutter,
“Well now you do. Just go along with it, maybe you'll learn to like having friends you can count on.”
“Mm-hmm.”
The next week goes by quickly, I now have four boys following me everywhere I go and it's frustrating but I have strangely come to like their company even Olivers, turns out he plans stuff within the businesses, he predicts turnovers and shit and that’s why he is always tapping he is predicting the outcome of every decision the other knights make which is scary if you think about it long enough. Harv is sweet compared to the others, he is very old fashioned in the way he treats women. Tyler has been nothing but the cheeky dick he has always been and Rick has been even more distant, but I catch him staring at me a lot which freaks me out. I am currently sat on the dais with them in the cafeteria because when I refused, they came and sat with me where the girls sit and they found it very uncomfortable so I moved.
“What's the plan for the weekend?” Tyler asks,
“We have some business to deal with in town tomorrow, then Sunday is looking like a chilled day.” Oliver answers,
“Railey, what are you doing?” Harv asks and I shrug,
“Nothing, no plans.” I shrug, I pop some more bread into my mouth and swallow, I instantly feel sick again, this is getting worse, every time I try and eat, I feel nauseous and dizzy but I have to eat to survive and my body has to get used to a normal amount of food. I wash the bread down with some Pepsi but that doesn’t help, I start to feel faint so I put my head on the table.
“Are you ok?” Tyler asks rubbing my back, I hold my hand up giving him a thumbs up but I feel it shake and shake hard, my whole body starts shaking and I can'
t stop it. When I start jerking about uncontrollably, I realize I'm having a seizure, I feel my eyes roll back and everything is black. I hear the guys shouting and talking but their voices start to fade until I must black out.
Chapter Ten
I wake up to the sound of beeps and Ricks voice telling someone off in hushed tones, I slowly open my eye’s the lights are so bright and it gives me a headache, I look down see myself in a hospital bed and gown and a tube coming from my arm to a bag of fluids. I cough and Tylers face appears in front of mine,
“Railey, are you ok?” He asks as he helps me sit up, adjusting my pillows and the bed. He passes me a glass of water and I take a small sip.
“What happened?” I ask,
“Your very sick, Miss Barnes.” The doctor who was being yelled at by Rick says as he comes to check my vitals.
“How sick? Like dying sick?” I start to panic, Rick comes to my side and holds my hand,
“No Railey, but you do have refeeding syndrome but it is fixable and will only take a few days maybe a couple of weeks.” Rick shoots a glare to the doctor,
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Refeeding syndrome is common with people who have anorexia or have starved recently, have you any eating disorders I should be aware of?” I shake my head,
“Food was practically nonexistent for a while but its better now, I can eat as much as I like.” I say confused.
“Ahh, your body needs to readjust very slowly, the new intake of food is causing your insulin and your electrolyte levels to skyrocket, we need to reset and reintroduce food slowly to your system. I have explained in detail the plan for your recovery to Mr. Knightingale and he assures me he will help you stick to it. I will sign your release papers and you can go home.” The doctor states before leaving.