Fighting For Life

by Kylie Alyssa Forte

  “Do you know why, mom?” I asked hesitantly.

  “No, I don’t, but I’m pretty sure B does. Why do you think he treats her like he does? I mean, even just in conversation, he protects her like a wounded bird.” She sighed and touched my cheek softly.

  “Son, why don’t you just go talk to her? I know you’re upset, angry, and hurt, but maybe if you talked to her you’d be able to understand.

  “I love you so much, Aid. And it is because I love you, that I know how much you love her. I’ve never seen you happier than when you were with her. Just talk to her. Let her explain and properly apologize. You owe her at least that much,” she finished with a hand on my shoulder.

  “Thank you, Mom. I love you,” I said and hugged her tightly.

  She was right. I had to talk to Aubry. I had to know why.

  ***

  I got to the Underground and walked in with only one mission—to find Aubry. As soon as I walked through the door, chants, hoots, and hollers were yelled all across the building. I was being pulled in several different directions. It made me angry, I just wanted to see Aubry.

  After I managed to push everyone off of me, I made a beeline to the bar. I needed a damn drink after all of that BS. Plus, I also knew that Aubry would be around there somewhere.

  I caught a glance of Tom, B, and Bri a few seats down at the bar and went to them.

  “Where’s Aubry?” I asked hesitantly.

  I didn’t miss the smirk on Brandon’s face when he pointed her out on the other side of the bar. She was nursing a drink as I looked at her.

  “She wouldn’t sit with us,” he stated flatly. “She still feels awful about everything.”

  She looked horrible. Well, not looks wise, but she wore her emotions clearly on her face. She was drained and tired. I was too. I put us all through so much BS, it was about time that I finally stopped.

  “Quit staring at her like that! You’re gonna shoot laser beams out of your eyes in a second if you keep it up,” Tom said shortly and shook his head.

  Had I been staring at her? My bad, I didn’t meant to.

  I had no idea what to say or do to talk to her. Was I just supposed to go up to her? Would she ignore me for being a complete ass? That was what I would deserve. Ugh, I was making it difficult.

  After several minutes of contemplating, I finally looked back up. I was just going to let my heart guide me. That seemed to be the only part of me that had its shit together. However, when I looked back up, there was just an empty barstool where she sat. Ugh!

  “Where did Aubry go?!” I asked, kind of panicked.

  Tom shrugged. “She probably got tired of you staring at her like you were gonna kill her and walked off.”

  “Yeah, I thought that your talk with your mom would make you better, not worse.” Brandon said exasperatedly.

  “What? No, I wasn’t mad at her! I was mad at me. I-I’ve completely screwed everything up and I’ve just . . . I want to understand. I’ve got to find her!” I said quickly.

  “Well there is a shit ton of people here tonight, there’s no telling where she went!” Brandon exclaimed.

  “Help me please? I’ve got to talk to her before the fight!” I pleaded.

  The guys exchanged looks and nodded.

  “Can you two look around a bit? Maybe check the back alley? I’m going to check Trey’s office. I swear, if she is in there with him . . .” I didn’t finish my sentence as I walked away.

  ***

  Aubry

  The look in his eyes was enough to make me want to die. He looked so angry, so hurt. The fact that I caused him those feelings, made me sick to my stomach. I hurt him like no one else could. It was me.

  He was down right glaring at me. I couldn’t handle it. I had to get out of there. I pushed myself away from the bar and made a beeline for the door to the alleyway. I was becoming very acquainted with that alley. I pushed the door open and spilled out into the dim area. I leaned my back onto the brick wall as silent tears fell.

  It was ridiculous! How the hell was I supposed to fight him when I couldn’t even handle him glaring at me? I was pathetic. I should have just let Demetri kill me when I had the chance. I deserved it.

  A throat cleared from beside me, I instantly stood up straight on alert. The sudden movement jolted my ribs and made me intake a sharp breath.

  When I saw who was standing there . . . my blood went cold.

  Daniel stood next to the door with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face. Right next to him was Ronnie with a smirk on his face. Trey’s keys were in his hands that he fiddled with carelessly. I breathed heavily.

  “Well, well, well little girl . . . fancy seeing you here!” Daniel said mockingly.

  “What do you want, Daniel?” I spat out harshly.

  He said nothing and his smile widened.

  “What are those keys?” I asked slowly.

  That was the question he was waiting for me to ask, and he chuckled darkly.

  “It’s for the deadbolt,” he said as he pulled on the door. It did not open.

  “What? H-How did you get the keys?” I wondered aloud.

  He chuckled humorously. “Do you not understand that my brother and I have our hands in everything, little girl? How do you think Trey keeps this place running with no police interference? It’s us. We keep the cops away for half of the profits. It’s a pretty good business model,” he answered thoroughly.

  It made sense, and it was annoying as hell that he was even there with me. I was pissed. How dare he come at me like that, especially with the other clown that was standing there smirking at me?

  “Aren’t you dying to know how we know each other?” Daniel asked as he put a playful arm around Ronnie’s shoulders. “It’s funny, really. He is actually one of our best drug dealers. In fact, he is almost as good as you. Of course, he didn’t screw us over like you did though.”

  “You work for them?” I asked like an idiot.

  Ronnie smirked at me. “How do you think I got away with doing that to Briana?” he asked eloquently.

  I wanted to kill him. However, there were two of them, I couldn’t take on both of them. I had to play it smart. They were both bigger and stronger than me. Not to mention, they both knew how to fight.

  “Imagine my surprise when he showed up to pay us with gashes all over his face.” He laughed easily.

  “Now.” He strutted up to me and put his crappy arm around my shoulders. “Imagine my complete and utter shock that the girl happened to be you.”

  He laughed and shook his head again. “This is such a small world, huh? All of us are connected to each other in one way or another.” He turned and faced me with a wicked grin. “I want to be connected to you in other ways though, little girl.”

  He took a step closer to me. Our bodies were almost touching. I felt the bile rise up my throat. I was going to be sick at that thought.

  “I think that it’s about time for you to learn a lesson on your place in the world. Ronnie here, has so graciously agreed to help me teach you that lesson.” Daniel motioned for Ronnie to come stand next to him.

  I choked back the sob that was about to rip through my throat. I looked around carefully for a way out. But I knew I was stuck. There was a wall behind me, and the two idiots were blocking my path from the front. I had no idea what to do.

  “I told you, little girl, you’re going to pay!” Ronnie sneered in my face.

  I stared wide eyed at both of the men. How was I supposed to get out of this?

  “What? Cat got your tongue now?” he teased.

  There was only one thing to do . . . fight.

  I swung my fist at Ronnie unexpectedly and caught him in the mouth by surprise. Daniel instantly went into action. He shoved me against the wall, making a loud crack sound in my back. I grunted in pain, but I quickly shoved that feeling away. I had to focus on the task at hand, getting away from the sociopaths.

  I headbutted Daniel in the nose and shoved him backwards easily. Before I could
run, Ronnie grabbed me by the waist and squeezed hard. If it weren’t for all the adrenaline pumping through me, I knew that would have killed my ribs.

  Thankfully, I felt nothing.

  I threw my head backwards and heard a loud crack when my head hit his face. He faltered slightly but didn’t let go. I thrashed around violently until I got a hand free. I punched and clawed at Ronnie until he dropped me.

  By the time Ronnie let me go, Daniel recovered from my hard hit. He was back in front of me as he began swinging and punching at me. I tried to fight back, but Ronnie was holding me again.

  The situation did not seem to be going in my favor.

  Ronnie picked me up from behind as I thrashed. I took that moment to kick both of my feet out in front of me as hard as I possibly could at Daniel’s face. I knew I had gotten him by the cracking sounds under my feet.

  I then trashed my feet around behind me. I made contact with him several times. Nothing seemed to phase him—that is, until I got his groin with a particularly hard hit. He immediately dropped me as he groaned in pain.

  I took off running as fast as I could. Before I made it even just a few feet, Daniel caught ahold of my shirt and sent me backwards into the ground. I tried to take off again, but then he threw me back down with a lot of force. I heard several cracks when my body hit the ground again, but I couldn’t really feel them. I just knew I had to get away.

  I recovered and stood back up. I tried to run again, but I was slightly wobbly. That slowed me down tremendously. Ronnie easily caught me and threw me down once again.

  “No, you bitch, you belong down there,” he hissed angrily.

  That time, my head took the brunt of the impact from the fall. It smacked the concrete with so much force that it bounced. Everything around me went hazy and blurry. I knew I needed to get out of there.

  I sat back up and struggled to stand. Before I could get up, Ronnie stomped on my chest and sent me back down. My head hit the ground again with a thud. That time, everything around the edges of my sight went black. I knew that I couldn’t take much more.

  Ronnie’s foot was still on my chest, so I clawed at his ankle. He let out a hiss of pain as he took his weight off of me. I tried to sit up again, but I felt something cold and sharp dig into my neck. “One more move, and I’ll slice your throat open!” Ronnie sneered.

  I stopped moving and Daniel laughed at that. “Aw you aren’t so tough anymore, are you?” he spat out.

  Honestly, I couldn’t have cared less if he sliced my throat open. I would have much rather died from that than whatever they had planned for me. I quickly clawed at Ronnie’s hand. We fought over his knife harshly. It cut me in several spots, but I didn’t really feel it. I took control of it when Ronnie got sliced, and he jerked his hand away.

  As soon as I had it in my possession, I threw it at the figure, standing over me by my feet. I knew that there was no way that I could stand at that moment. I just prayed that it hit him. It didn’t seem too promising from the way I could see three of him before me, but it was worth a shot! I knew I had missed from the sound of the knife skidding across the pavement behind him. I sobbed.

  I tried to get up again, but before I could even peel my back up off the ground, I saw Daniel’s foot coming towards me. I saw the hit rather than felt it. I couldn’t feel a whole lot of anything in those moments. He stomped on my face heavily and made my head hit the cement again.

  That blow to my head made me lose all sight. I saw nothing. I kept blinking but no sight came to me. I was a goner. I panicked and tried to get up again, but I felt my arms being held above my head.

  That was it, I failed. I didn’t fight hard enough again.

  They won.

  I was left blinded and injured. I didn’t even want to know what was going to happen next, so I sunk further into the blackness of my mind. I didn’t want to remember anything.

  After a few minutes, I tried to move again. My body didn’t respond. I knew it was shutting down. It couldn’t take everything that I had done to it. I couldn’t take any more of the life that I was born into. I was done.

  My breaths became slower and harder to take. The only thoughts in my mind were of Aiden. His deep blue eyes, his soft touch, and his dreamy deep voice.

  I could almost hear him calling my name.

  “Aubry!” I kept imagining it. It was a beautiful sound.

  “Aiden!” His name flowed out of my lips naturally. I wanted no one but him.

  I was floating on the edge. I could feel myself slowly slipping away. His smell lingered around me. I let it try to lull me the rest of the way to death. I was still only just there, though. There was something there that was holding me back. Something was keeping me from taking my final breath.

  “Hold on, please! Aubry . . . just stay,” It was his voice speaking to me. It was his voice begging me to stay.

  I wanted to; I really did. I would stay just for him. I would do anything he asked of me, but I could feel my breaths becoming few and far between. I could feel the darkness trying to drag me under even further. I wanted to stay with him, but I knew it was all pretend. It was all in my imagination.

  My life had been a horrible mess filled with darkness. My life had been full of fighting to survive. I didn’t want to fight anymore. I was tired of fighting. I didn’t think that I had anymore fight even left in me.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Prize

  Aiden

  I banged on Trey’s office door with barely-contained anger. I was in no mood to play, I just wanted to see Aubry and finally understand. I had been a complete idiot for far too long.

  “What?” Trey demanded when he opened his door for me.

  I studied his face for a second with a sadistic smirk. His eyebrow had stitches, his lip was busted up, and he had a nasty looking black eye. I didn’t feel quite satisfied, but it was a start.

  I smirked at him. “Is Aubry in here?” I spat out.

  “No,” he answered immediately. “Aww, did you lose her again?” he said mockingly.

  I ignored him and pushed the door open abruptly with force. I looked past him, studying the room all around just to make sure he wasn’t lying to me. She really hadn’t been in there though.

  “I’m not the only one that wants her, you know,” he sneered. “You can’t just have her to yourself. You have to share, Aiden. Don’t be selfish!” he spat out with a smirk. He knew that his words were going to get under my skin.

  I instantly grabbed him by his throat and picked him up a few inches to match my own height. He was on his tippy toes and struggling to breathe.

  “Who ‘gets’ her is her choice. Aubry’s. Not yours, not mine. Not some old guy named Steve . . . Aubry’s. She is not a damn object to take advantage of to scar in ways that can’t be repaired. She is a person with rights and a mind. She is a human being! I am so sick of you psychos acting like you have a right to even be near her! You have no right to even glance at her, much less touch her!”

  I was sick of people trying to take advantage of her. She did absolutely nothing to be treated that way. The only thing she ever did was help people and look absolutely breathtaking. It wasn’t her fault that she looked so vulnerable and beautiful all at the same time. She was not a damn object!

  “It sounds like you know something, Trey. So, help me God, if something happened to her and you end up knowing something. I will kill you. I don’t give a shit who you have on your payroll.”

  “I know nothing. However, I do know that no one can resist a prize like Aubry. She’s irresistible.”

  I punched him by reflex at his nasty comment about her. She shouldn’t be looked at like that, like she was prey or something. She was supposed to be loved and cherished, not a sought-after prize for some sleazy guy.

  I left his office and made my way to the alleyway door. The way that Tom, Bri, And Brandon were all standing next to it, made me nervous. She had to be out there. Where else could she have gone?

  “It’s locked,”
Tom said as soon as I made it next to the door trying to push it open. “We couldn’t find her in the crowds either, and Bri checked the restroom. I have no idea where she disappeared to.”

  “Either way, if we can’t get out through here then neither could she, I’d assume . . .” Brandon sighed.

  I nodded at his logic and sighed exasperatedly. Where was she?

  I quickly found my way through the rowdy crowd and walked out the door. I looked around frantically. I was hoping that she just went out the door to catch a breather. However, I couldn’t stop the dread that filled my stomach.

  Something was wrong.

  She was nowhere in sight outside of the place either. I was becoming increasingly worried. Surely, she wouldn’t have left without telling B? He was her ride. Plus, she had to fight, even if it was against me, she needed the money. None it added up! It was making me panicked.

  “Aubry!” I screamed aloud. I called her name over and over again. I was just praying that she could hear me. I was praying that she’d answer back.

  By the third yell, I heard her scream. It was loud and distressing. My name left her mouth several times as she sounded pained.

  I wasted no time as I ran around the building towards where her voice was coming from.

  Of course, it was from the back alleyway. I should have known. I pushed myself as fast as I could go. I couldn’t lose her. I was supposed to be making things right again, instead, something bad was happening to Aubry . . . again.

  When I finally reached the small alley between the two buildings, I stopped dead in my tracks. The scene in front of me was like a horror movie. There were two guys there with a girl who looked dead, that girl was Aubry.

  I wasn’t sure what I was even doing. I just let my rage take over. I didn’t wait for B or Tom who were running behind me, I didn’t wait to see what explanation there was for the awful scene, I didn’t wait for Aubry to call for me again. I just jumped into action. I was ready to kill especially after I saw who it was that was standing over Aubry, Ronnie and the guy who told me about Aubry and my dad.