by P. A. Jones
“Don’t worry. You are stronger than that. I’m sure about that. You have that in you, Nathan. That’s why you are the brightest fighter in our club. And if you can’t stand on your legs, we will let a girl give you a lap dance in the hospital.” Mason chuckled.
“I think whatever the result maybe, I’ll just tell this part to Eva when get back.”
We were waiting for the plane and I was neck-deep in guilt. The gray clouds of shame floated around me. Concentrating on the match was more difficult than I had guessed.
“Come on, dude, our plane is ready.” Mason shook me. I followed him.
***
“What? Are you married?” Gavin asked me with surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me, dude. We just talked a month ago.”
“Long story short, it was an accident. And it was a good one.” Total confusion was out of my brain.“I had thought it was a bad accident first, but it turned out to be a pretty good one. And I’m a settled person now.”
“Are you happy, dude?” Gavin put his hand on my shoulder.
“Yup, I am,” I said cheerfully.
“When is the first match?” he asked.
“Well, day after tomorrow and all the three matches are in a single day. It’s a bloody trap for me, but I’m going to knock their socks off.”
“That’s the attitude, man. I hope you practiced with Mason only.”
“Who else I would trust for this one?”
“Yeah, he is amazing while training. We used to cross train MMA and boxing in our college days. He is amazing in both.”
“Yes, he is.” I said.
“Another surprising thing; when did you two get back together?” He was there when the drama had happened between me and Mason.
“A few months back when he helped me to train for the earlier tournament.”
“That’s cool. I’m so happy for you, dude. But did you kick his ass? He deserved it for what he did to you.”
“If you want to see, he will show the scar. It’s still there.” I winked.
“Gross.” He laughed.
“Where is your princess, dude? I wanna meet her,” I said.
“Let’s go.” Gavin replied.
***
“What is with this chick Jenny? You were flirting like you liked her,” I asked Mason. All of a sudden, he knew the maid of honor.
“Nothing important, and you better concentrate on the match.” He gave me a smug smile.
“I want to know everything about her. And when did you date her; just everything,” I warned him.
“Don’t you remember you are facing a national champion in less than ten minutes?”
“That I’ll handle, don’t worry.” Frankly speaking I was tense on the inside. I was going to fight after almost a month and I hadn't even had much practice, either.
The announcer came and announced my name. The crowd started cheering my name. “Nathan, Nathan...”
“When did I get so famous?” I asked in surprise.
“It’s the marketing buzz. Your name is made bigger in the underground market. So they will bet more on you,” Mason replied.
“Isn’t that shady?”
“We don’t have to care how they make money. We have a legal contract and that is sufficient for us. Let’s go; it’s time for you to show your ass.”
I stood up. I was given a dark red hood with my name on back of it. I went in and raised my hands as the sponsor had instructed me. I felt ashamed; I'd never done it in any of my previous matches.
“Pretty lame,” I muttered.
“And now it’s time for the champ to come forward,” the announcer said.
The crowd burst into huge cheers. They were all shouting Peter’s name. Mostly girls. It seems that Peter was famous in such fights. After all, he played for the international team.
Peter jumped in the ring over the ropes, raised his hands and looked everywhere. As he faced me, he fixed his eyes on me and pointed his finger. Then he did a neck cut action in style. The crowd went wild with his actions.
He was insulting me in front of the crowd. My blood temperature raised fast with his every action. I remembered exactly what he had done with me and what insult he did in front of Eva. I dashed forward in fury. I was going for his mouth. But then something happened; he actually anticipated it and punched my face before I could save myself. The next moment I was down on the ground, looking upwards. The ring revolved around me. My confidence suffered with that first blow.
It was humiliating. I could hear the crowd laughing at me. The referee came and gave me a hand to stand up. My pride was hit; my anger wasn’t in my control. With an enraged glance to Peter, I went back to my corner.
“Why in the hell did you do that Nathan?” Mason screamed.
“Because that jerk deserved that.” I wiped blood from out of my mouth.
“Don’t do it, Nathan. Lots of things are at stake here. Play it calm and hit him with the techniques.”
“I’ll try, Mason, but I’m not sure if I can control my anger when he is in front of me.”
Mason didn’t say anything. The referee rang the bell and I walked towards Peter. He was already in the middle of the ring.
“Please shake hands,” the referee asked us.
“Sorry, Referee, but I’m not going to shake hands with this jerk,” I replied in anger.
“I don’t need to shake hands with this mother fucker. By the way, your girlfriend's ass is way heavier these days. I wonder how it would feel to bang her ass.” He grinned wickedly.
I flexed my neck and bit my own lip. “You better cover your own ass. It’s going to get fucked in a minute.” I chuckled.
His face changed color rapidly and his neck muscle tensed.
The match started and Peter took a defensive stance. I danced around him for a few moments and tried to get an opening to try my angled hook on him, the new technique Mason taught me in last few days. But Peter was quicker than I guessed. He blocked my every attempt; he was even quicker to hit me back.
“What happened you, pussy head? Go back to your girlfriend’s lap and enjoy a nap. You are not made for the fight.” He teased me while blocking my every punch.
I changed my strategy and decided to hit him in the air. First, I threw a straight kick at him to catch his surprise. It worked, because he was expecting punches from me. I hit him hard on his chest and he stumbled back. A huge roar rose from the crowd. My confidence swung back.
But the next moment, he recovered and hit me back with a devastating punch. Everything went black for a moment. Only Eva’s face was visible. He hit me on my forehead hard and then he continued hitting me strait on my face. I couldn’t save myself from him. I could only see Eva and her disappointed face. He was hitting me again and again. I was losing my senses, but Eva was there. She was nodding her head; I deserved that beating. Peter vanished; so did the whole arena. Only Eva stood there with a letdown look on her face.
Peter hit me again; this time my headgear flew in the air, but I stood there frozen, watching Eva. Every punch on my face gave me more pain, but that wasn’t enough to force Eva out of my mind.
The next moment, I received excruciating pain in my right ribs. Peter must have hit me with his straight kick. I fell back, still seeing Eva. The referee came and asked me something, which I couldn’t answer. He counted till ten and somebody came running towards me.
Two people grabbed me and took me somewhere. Eva was out of my mind, finally, and I could see people around me. Mason and a paramedic were around me. The paramedic was applying some gel on my chest.
“I’m sorry, Mason.” I closed my eyes in pain.
“No, dude, you can’t be doing this,” he screamed. “You were standing there and hitting him hard and then in one second you stopped blocking. What the fuck happened to you, man?”
“How is he?” Gavin’s voice popped out of somewhere.
“Ask him. He is a fucking crazy man. I don’t know what happened to him, but he literally gave up the match.”
With effort, I lifted my torso and sat on the bench I was laying down on.
“Don’t do that. I think you just fractured your rib in the match. But we can’t be sure until we take some x-rays,” the medic said.
“No, I’m fine,” I said with pain.
Mason came closer to me and grabbed my shoulder and he jerked me hard. “Why, dude? Fucking why?” His eyes were shooting fire at me.
“I don’t know, man. I lost my control. I could only see Eva in front of my eyes. The guilt paralyzed me. I forgot everything, even defense.” It was over for me. I’d given up my hopes; the hope I had built for my future was eaten alive by my weakness.
“No, I can’t let you ruin your life. Not now, at least. Do you think about your future, dude?” He looked in my eyes. “Honestly, man, I know you lied to her, but you can’t just give up on your freaking life. Remember you are doing this for her.” He paused and looked at the horizon. “You did this when I slept with Samantha, and now you are doing this again. This emotional weakness is killing you and I can’t watch this anymore. You have to do this by any means necessary. I don’t care if you freaking die there, but at least die with the dignity.”
“He is telling the truth, Nathan. You have to give a hundred percent, and not only for you, but for us. Look outside; the crowd is hooting on your name. I can’t stand that anyone calls you names, and especially when you have the strength to fuck that bastard out there.” Gavin tried to motivate me.
They were telling the truth, but how could I betray Eva and do this? How could I just lie to her? “I’m a big fucking liar man. I can’t live like this.”
“No you aren’t, Nathan. Do you know for whom you are doing this all? For that fucking woman, your wife. And if you want to give her a good life and if you want to take revenge for her, go out there and fight.” Mason screamed.
“No way this man can fight. Please don’t provoke him,” the medic said in between us.
“Remember what that dick head said about Eva. How many ways he wants to fuck your wife. Come on, you pussy, get up and fight for your pride, for the pride of your wife.” Mason provoked me more.
I remembered the exact moment when he touched Eva and the words he had said about her. The way he goaded me in the ring few minutes back. He deserved worse than this. And I wasn’t gonna let him live with this. Blood dripped in my eyes. I stood up. The medic came to stop me, but I forced him back. It was do or die for me. Either I would stand victorious, or I would break all the bones in my body.
Chapter 18
Fight
Nathan
“But sir, you are injured. You can’t fight in this condition. You have to forfeit the match,” the medic said in a concerned voice.
Mason replied to him instead of me. “No way is he stopping this time. Go, Nathan, go. You have two more minutes to show up, or else they will declare him the winner.”
I didn’t look back. I walked to the ring. My ribs were in pain, but I ignored it completely. I had a battle to win.
“What a surprise. Nathan is back from the grave,” the announcer shouted from the ring. Peter was sitting in his corner; he glanced at me for a moment and then looked at his coach and his second, asking something. His coach whispered something in his ear and pointed to me.
I didn’t care what they thought or what strategy they made. I was going to play with my guts and my will power. Any further injury wouldn’t stop me from winning this battle.
The referee came to me. “Are you sure, Mr. Brown, that you can fight?”
I said, “Yes.”
The referee went back and started the match.
Peter was frowning at me. When we came to the middle of the ring, he muttered something; I didn’t care what he said.
The moment the match started, he charged me, pushing me in defense. His target was my right rib, where he had attacked hard in the first match. I knew if he succeeded in attacking my ribs once more, I might not stand up again. I had to save my right side and at the same time hit him back. My mind worked fast, registering his every move and looking for an opening. But his attacks increased every second; he threw punch after punch directed to my right side.
I had no other chance but to leave open my right chest for him. He paused for a second and smiled, seeing I’d left it open. That moment was enough for me; as he dashed his punch to my right side, I quickly turned back and took his punch on my left arm. My arm was hit badly, but his face was wide open for attack. I timed my right punch on his face and hit him hard. An excruciating pain emerged in my right chest. For a second, everything went black. I jerked my head to get out of that condition; I had no time to focus on anything else. Because of my timed punch, his head tumbled back and his headgear flew away by force. It was the only chance I got. Without wasting any time, I jumped on my toes and hit his chest with both of my knees. He saw me and pushed himself back to save his chest from my knees, but he couldn’t. My knees hit him hard and he fell back on the ground. He tried to stand again, but I jumped on him and hit his face with all my strength.
The force was enormous. He fell down and could never stand up again; he gave up the match. I won that match by knock-down. The crowd went crazy and started shouting my name. I could hear a few girls screaming my name. “Pound me hard, Nathan. Hard and hard.” I looked at the crowd and turned around. It was just the first win. I had another match to win before I could celebrate.
“Good work, Nathan. I couldn’t believe you jumped on him. Great reflexes.” Gavin chattered in excitement when I went back to check with medic. The pain was killing me, and if I was going to win the next match, I’d have to win it quick. The medic applied some more gel on my ribs.
“He is no match for you, Nathan. Just be there and save your right side. You can easily kick his ass now.” Mason handed me some water.
“He is faster than ever, Mason. Do you think I can try the leg hooker?” That was the move he taught me in the last championship.
“That may be overkill for you. You can’t put pressure on your right side. But if you can take a single hit on your right chest, then go for it. It will finish him off.” Mason said.
“Roger that.” My brain was already working on various moves I could try on him. I had knocked him out and that meant he would be angrier, and he might try some foolish moves. I just needed to build on that momentum. You are going to pay for what you did, Peter.
Peter was back in the ring. The crowd was going wild again. They were crazy about the match.
Before the match started again, I asked the speaker to give me the mike.
“Guys and gals of L.A., I know you are freaking excited about this match and I’ll make sure that you enjoy it by defeating your champion, Peter. I will crush him down like a dog and pee on his dead body,” I screamed from the bottom of my lungs. The crowd started shouting over my voice.
I looked back at Peter; he was looking at me with red eyes. He was shooting daggers at me and I liked that. I wanted him to get angry, more angry. I gave him my middle finger. “Suck it up, champ.” Adrenaline rushed in my veins and my heart started pumping more blood to my arms and legs. Hell, I am ready for anything you throw at me, Peter. I even forgot my pain.
The referee rang the bell and the match started. Third and final match.
Peter was enraged from the start and he held nothing back. He dashed at me with punches and kicks. I only had to block him and laugh at him. I wanted his rage to go over the top. He had played enough with kids; now it was time to teach him a lesson. He must lose his cool and today is the day. I taunted him again. He charged with a fist, giving me an opening. I balanced on my left leg and hit his chest with my knee in a semi-circular kick. It sent him flying back to the corner. He held his chest with both his hands. His face twisted in pain.
“First blow, champ. You are going down,” I growled, and with my hands I invited him for an attack.
His eyes had the first hint of pain and fear. I liked it; my wicked self laughed at him. The animal in
me woke up to kill him.
“Come on, Peter. Don’t be a pussy. Your fiancée was more of a warrior than you,” I teased him. And that was the moment he lost his cool. He roared and came running towards me. I groaned hard and jumped in the air, throwing a circular kick at him. My kick hit him on his shoulder and he rotated forty-five degrees, opening his face wide open for me. I wasted no time and hit him hard on his left cheek. His head gear flew off again. Surely, there was something wrong with his headgear that day. He fell back on the ground.
But I wasn’t yet satisfied. I jumped on his chest and hit him with punch after punch before the referee pulled me back.
Gavin and Mason came to hug me, and then I realized the pain in my chest again.”Fuck you guys, take me to the hospital,” I roared in pain.
Eva
When Nathan left New York, I went to stay with Chloe couple of days. I felt relaxed sleeping on my old bed, after the aerobic and exhausting almost nightly sex with Nathan. But still, I missed him so much. I missed his touch, his love, everything. I couldn’t even sleep well the first night in the dorm.
“Did you make any decision about your scholarship?” Chloe asked.
“Where is the teacher?” I changed my sitting position on the couch while watching TV and enjoying my coffee.
“Sleeping.”
“Did he move in with you already?” He had been here since yesterday. But I never saw him come out of her room.
“Not yet, but we are thinking about it. As school is ending, I’m thinking of taking a job somewhere nearby, and then we’ll rent a place for us. It’s so exciting, Eva.” She came and hugged me tightly.
“At least it looks like it is.” I could see his presence everywhere in our dorm. His clothes, shoes, slippers. Still, I wasn’t convinced with the way she was heading with this guy.
“You didn’t answer me. What about the scholarship?”
“I’m going to search for a job; I don’t have my mom’s card anymore. Even Nathan is going through some financial crisis and I can't be a burden on him.”
