“It’s not okay!” that time Aubry really had yelled and people winced at her loudness. “Briana is absolutely beautiful, and that scar shows her strength. It is not ugly, and nothing is wrong with it or her. You, on the other hand—”
“Listen here, little girl,” Sylvia cut her off. “You don’t tell me what to do. If I want to call my niece Quasimodo, I will. You don’t get to tell me otherwise or tell me what is wrong or right, understand?”
“You most certainly will not call my daughter ‘Quasimodo’,” my mom told her loudly with a menacing look. Sylvia stayed silent at her statement.
No one else said a single word for several minutes. Everyone was shocked that Sylvia had said something so mean, and that Aubry had stood up for my sister without even batting an eyelash. She was making a lasting impression. Was it a good one? That’s debatable, but my extended family was annoying, so it didn’t really matter too much to me what they thought.
Soon enough, the adults were talking amongst themselves and the kids were at the end of the table being mostly quiet. Though Bri, Aubry, and Cece were all talking in-between each other. Aubry was smiling at my two little sisters and being silly with Cece. They both seemed to like her very much.
Eventually, Stephanie huffed at my ignoring of her. I wanted nothing to do with her, and what she wanted from me was just plain nasty.
I assume it was because of that ignoring act that she decided to go for Aubry. “So Aubry, what kind of drugs do you do?” Stephanie asked nonchalantly. It made Aubry choke on the food that she had put in her mouth, and her eyes widened in confusion. “I mean . . . There’s no other explanation as to why you are so ugly.”
Aubry rolled her eyes and glanced my way. I had no idea what to say to that backhanded comment.
After Aubry didn’t even justify that with a response, she continued. That time, she went for something that she knew the girl was probably sensitive about—her mom.
“Hey.” She caught Aubry’s attention. “Do you really know that your dad is really your dad?”
Aubry stiffened up next to me and sucked in a deep breath that she winced at. “I mean, I’m sure that your mom probably slept around with enough men to not be sure, just like you.”
Aubry stood up abruptly with a mean look and everyone at the table looked at her in curiosity. Her face quickly looked blank, and she looked at me once again. I really didn’t know what to say. What was I supposed to say?
She sighed at my silence. “I um . . . have to go to the bathroom,” she commented before leaving the room.
As soon as she left, people started talking shit about her. Granted, it was mostly just Stephanie and Sylvia, but some other really judgy members of my family were taking digs at her as well. My whole immediate family stayed completely silent, though. None of us quite understood why no one else liked Aubry. Sure, she was different, but it wasn’t in a bad way. She was nice, funny, smart, honest, and pretty. Cece was even about to start crying at some of the mean things that they were saying about her friend.
A few minutes later, people were still talking shit, but it all died when Aubry reappeared at the door. Her hair was still down, and her lips were still red, but her clothes were changed into what she came in. Everyone was shocked, I even heard a few scandalized gasps.
I couldn’t help but to smile, though. She still looked just as gorgeous as ever. That was exactly how I liked her. I liked her when she looked genuinely herself and unbothered by others. She had her head held high and didn’t cringe at the attention that she was receiving at that moment.
“My dad called and needs me home, so I have to go. Robert, happy birthday, and we’ll have to do that rematch very soon,” she told my grandpa kindly.
“Thank you for the lovely dinner, Dana.” My mom nodded at her.
“Briana, thank you for the dress. Cece, it was lovely to see you, and I’m sorry I can’t stay to play.”
She paused and then looked at Stephanie and Sylvia. “You can say whatever you want about me, my parents, and my looks . . . that’s fine, I don’t give a shit about you or how you view me.” She shrugged but turned a glare to them rather quickly. “But don’t you say a damn word against Briana. She has the best heart and most genuine personality out of everybody in this room besides Cece. So before you insult her, maybe you should think about how ugly that makes you, not her. Briana is beautiful, and you two are some jealous bullies who have to degrade others to make yourself feel better about yourselves. It’s actually really sad.”
She turned around towards the door without saying anything to me and began to walk out. I was shocked and proud at the same time. She did what I couldn’t. She was so pure and much better than she gave herself credit for.
I got my thoughts together and quickly got up to follow her. “I’ll walk you out.”
The walk to the entryway was excruciating and before I knew it, I snapped. “What the hell Aubry? You don’t even have a phone!” I said loudly when we stepped out of the dining room and into the entryway. I was sure that they could hear us from the dining room, but I also didn’t care.
“Do you honestly think I’m going to just sit there and listen to those two idiots constantly insult me for no reason? I don’t have the time or the patience for that BS. Not to mention, the fact that you didn’t even stand up for me, even though I’m your guest! Heck, don’t stand up for me for all I care. Just stand up for your little sister!” she yelled at me with anger. “She was in there getting bullied and belittled, and you just sat there and allowed it to happen. What would your mother have said if she had heard everything that they were saying?”
“Aubry, I . . . a . . .” I started, but I didn’t know what to say.
How was I supposed to come up with a logical explanation about that? About what I did to Briana?
My heart sank as she glared at me. I was quickly realizing how much I cared about her and her opinion and that was not okay. None of that was okay!
“Aiden, just save it. I really don’t care, nor do I have time for your meaningless excuses. I’ll just see you later for the fight.” She turned to leave but sighed and turned back to me. “Just think about it, okay? Briana deserves someone to stand up for her. It should be you. I don’t know what happened between everyone, but I know that she is hurting, and you can help . . . so help her.”
She quickly walked out of the door, and I felt like throwing up. She was right, Briana deserved a good brother—one that would do everything for her, one that could protect her, one that would defend her, claim her, and be there for her.
I couldn’t be that though. I couldn’t be that for her. I had already proven that. I was protecting her by keeping her from me. I couldn’t let her get close to me. Not after everything blew up in our faces last time. Not after I caused everything, she went through.
No one could ever get close to me ever again. I’d only hurt and destroy them like everything else in my life.
Chapter Twenty
Suffocating
Aubry
I finally made my way up to the gym and sat down by the door, waiting for Aiden to show up. It was where we would always meet up before a fight. He’d help me warm up, ice my barely-healing ribs, while Brandon usually drives us to the Underground.
My stomach growled a little loudly, and I didn’t quite understand why. I mean sure, I left in the middle of dinner, but I still had quite a bit to eat. It was much more than I usually had, so I didn’t really get what the issue was. My stomach felt at least half-full which was better than the hunger pains that I had gotten pretty used to.
All three of the boys showed up not too much later in Tom’s car. Aiden made his way to the door and unlocked it for me. He didn’t utter a single word. I returned the favor and stayed silent as I walked in and got myself ready.
I changed into some sweatpants and a black tank top. Brandon helped me ice my ribs, and we all sat there in awkward silence for twenty minutes. After my ribs were iced, I went directly to the punching bag and star
ted with some warmup punches.
Aiden still hadn’t said a single word to me. It was keeping me on edge. I did nothing but speak the truth at the dinner.
Brandon was the one who told me who I was fighting and what he was like on the way to the gym, not Aiden, the way it usually played out. I glanced at Aiden, who was staring out the window intently, not interested in our conversation at all.
I truly did not understand what his issue was. He had no right to be mad. I didn’t say anything that was bad, just the truth. That had constantly gotten me in trouble, though. I was too honest for my own good sometimes.
The whole rest of the car ride was silent, and tension-filled. When we finally made it to the Underground, I rushed out of the car quickly. I took in a deep breath of air. It severely hurt my ribs, but it helped refocus my mind on my task. I had to win.
The boys stayed in the car much longer than I had expected, so I left them behind and rushed inside. I went right for the bar; I needed a damn drink. Everything was making me anxious.
“Hey Aubry! Drink?” Jace greeted. I nodded at once, and he poured me a few shots of whiskey.
I took them quickly and felt my muscles relax accordingly. I was too high-strung for my own good, I was glad that alcohol relaxed me in that way. I sighed deeply, letting the pain from my ribs radiate through me.
Focus, I needed to focus. I was there to fight, not to worry about some stupid messed up boy with anger problems.
“Aubry, are you okay?” Jace asked over the music and crowd.
I nodded in silence and shoved my shot glasses towards him. He gave me a questioning look, but he still filled the glasses up and gave them back.
“Good luck on the fight tonight.” He then turned around to tend to other customers, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
The one thing that wasn’t making me anxious that night was the fight. I knew that I could beat him. I had seen the dude fight the weekend before. He had a good punch, but his footwork was atrocious, and he was quite slow.
I was ready for him. I was already angry, and I wanted to hit a few things—namely, Aiden. However, I knew that wasn’t really an option so I was ready to hit whoever I could.
I looked around the big space, and my eyes instinctively landed on Aiden. I gritted my teeth together violently when I saw that he was standing with Crystal across the room. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled herself very close to him. He had his arm draped across her lower back and wasn’t pushing her away. That made me inexplicably mad. I wasn’t even sure why, but it also didn’t matter. I just let that fuel my rage.
Finally, after what seemed like years, it was time. I made my way to the left wing of the mats. Both Tom and B met up with me. Still, no Aiden was in sight.
“Where’s Aiden?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. I was sure that he was still with Crystal. He didn’t give a shit about me or my fight. I wasn’t even sure why I deluded myself into thinking that he did.
Tom gave me a sympathetic look and pointed back over to where he and Crystal had been before, and I saw them making out like no one was in the room with them.
I curled my fist tightly and took another deep breath. It was good for me to be pissed off, I fought harder when angered.
“We have another fight for y’all!” the announcer finally declared. “Max the strongman and Aubry the flash!”
The crowd cheered loudly, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Aiden and Crystal. “Place your bets!”
I looked across the mats to the other side, and Max was standing there eyeing me. I felt uncomfortable due to his stare, but I made damn sure not to show it.
“You know fighting isn’t attractive,” Max called out to me as I made my way onto the mats.
I smiled sweetly at him. “That explains a lot about you then.”
His face hardened at my words. He was staring daggers into me.
I found myself to be excited at his anger. I knew in that moment that the fight would be fun. I was ready to pummel someone, and he was going to be that someone.
“Fighters ready.” We both got into position. “Fight!” the man yelled into the microphone loudly, and the crowd went wild.
Max came over to me and raised his fist high into the air to punch me. Did he really think that I was going out that easily? Before he could swing his fist, I quickly punched him in the gut disorientating and winding him.
Just as he lost his concentration, I punched him in the nose, making him grunt in pain as his nose cracked audibly. His fist fell by his side as blood gushed from his nostrils.
He swung at me sloppily and angrily several times. Each attempt was sloppy and ridiculous. I hadn’t a clue as to how the guy even made a name for himself, he wasn’t very good.
I brought my fist up again and punched him in the jaw as I avoided his hands. His head swung over to the right, and blood gushed from his mouth. He spit out a tooth, and I found myself to be very proud.
He raised his fist again, but that time he was wobbly; and I knew just one more hit, and he’d be down.
He swung his fist at me, and at the same time, I punched back as hard as I could. His fist connected with my shoulder, but I could barely even feel it. Nevertheless, my fist connected with the whole right side of his face, and he went down.
There was a loud thud and then a lot of cheering. I couldn’t hear anything over my own blood pumping in my ears though. I just felt adrenaline rushing through me. He was down and knocked out. It felt good to win.
“The Flash wins!” the man said into the microphone and lifted my arm above my head.
I smiled at the crowd, but my grin faltered when I saw Aiden and Crystal walking towards the front door. I wasn’t sure if he even watched my fight. I wasn’t sure if he even saw me knock the guy out. I felt anger rush back in, followed by hurt and jealousy. He was supposed to be my coach and watch me!
I made my way down the steps toward Tommy and Brandon, trying my best to smile convincingly. It was useless, I knew they could see right through my facade.
“Congrats Aub! You did good, Brandon said, high-fiving me. His smile was forced just like mine, but I knew that the was genuinely impressed.
“Yes Aubry, very good job,” I heard a voice say from behind me. We all three turned around at his voice, and I instinctively took a step backwards. Trey was standing there smirking at me.
“You’re getting very good; I will be fighting you a lot more. You make me a lot of money,” he said, coming closer to me.
I couldn’t even be excited at the prospect of more fights due to his proximity. It was making me feel dizzy and sick. It was like the energy that was radiating off of him was nasty and dark; he reminded me so much of Sunny and the men that I had grown up around.
“Of course, these people that you will be fighting are going to be much harder, maybe I’ll even make you fight one of your friends,” he said into my ear, making me shiver and want to retreat even further backwards. I knew that he was trying to intimidate me, but I couldn’t let him.
“Speaking of friends, where’s Aiden at?” he asked.
Tommy stepped up next to me putting some distance between me and Trey. “He went to the restroom, he’ll be back any moment,” Tommy stated harshly with a mean look on his face.
“Mmm. Well, I suppose I’ll see you soon Aubry, very soon. Good fight,” Trey stated and walked away towards the crowd.
I sighed in relief, but still felt dizzy. The memories of the men like Trey from my past were trying to make an unwelcome and ill-timed reappearance through my head.
“I-I, um, I’ll be back!” I said, running into the crowd. I was practically running towards the back door to get out. I felt like I was suffocating in the overcrowded place.
I got outside and leaned up against the wall, taking in very deep breaths in an attempt to get my panic attack under control. I usually didn’t get freaked out by men like Trey, but something about him made me cringe and always brought up my haunting past.
When Aiden was around, it didn’t normally get to me so badly, but without him there, at least that time, it freaked me out. I had a bad feeling about him and about the whole night in general.
It was pretty dark in the alleyway. There was one streetlight back there, but it didn’t light up everything completely. I hadn’t been paying attention though, I was too busy trying to get my panic under control. That was when I heard a few voices coming from the side and stood up straight. I pushed my panic away abruptly and tried to be strong.
“Who’s there?” I asked in a voice that sounded a lot stronger than I felt.
There was a pause. It seemed to take several minutes, but I was sure that it was only seconds. I tightened my jacket around my body and opened my mouth to speak again.
Suddenly, a boy maybe a little older than me with dirty blond hair walked out of the shadows towards me. I could smell the marijuana stench as he came forward.
I stood my ground, though all I wanted to do was run away quickly. There was absolutely nowhere to go that I could get to quick enough.
“Sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you.” He paused, and three more guys came up from behind him. I tensed even more. This wasn’t a very good situation to be in. “You look like you’re having a bad day, want a hit?” he asked, holding the joint in his hand out toward me.
“H-How do I know you didn’t lace it with anything?” I asked. I knew taking drugs from a stranger was probably a bad idea, but weed usually made me calm down. That was just what I needed, to calm down.
“Sweetheart, we’re smoking it too,” he said, bringing the joint to his lips and taking a long hit. “See? Why would we lace it if we’re smoking it? I was just trying to be nice.”
I mean he did make a good argument.
I took the joint from his fingers and took a long drag from it. It had been so long since I smoked weed, I almost forgot the taste and the feeling it gave me. It gave me a calm and serene feeling. I blew out the smoke and slightly coughed.
Fighting For Life Page 19
