Takedown

by Gemma Brooks

  And then it all disappeared.

  Within seconds, the warmth of Drew’s lips pressing on mine was the only sensation I felt. I didn’t hear the conversations of the people around us. I didn’t hear the music thumping from the sound system. I didn’t feel the thud of my purse as it fell on the ground and landed on my shoes.

  I peeled myself away from him and turned towards Rowdy. It all happened so fast and by the look on his face, he’d seen everything. Before I had a chance to react, Rowdy turned away and started heading the other way.

  “Why the fuck did you do that?!” I screamed at Drew. I couldn’t think straight. All I saw was red and the flash of Rowdy’s confused face in my mind, and as if something came over me, I raised my hand and smacked Drew across the side of the cheek as hard as I could. My palm burned red and throbbed with pain, and I was pretty sure I’d hurt myself more than I’d hurt him.

  Drew’s jaw dropped as he raised his hand to cover the palm print that splayed across his cheek.

  “You! Out of here!” the bartender yelled. He was a rather large man with a shaven head and thick, black goatee surrounding his thin lips. His eyes meant business and it was clear that he didn’t have the time or patience to even ask what was going on. “Now! Both of you! Or I’ll call the cops!”

  I picked my purse up off the ground as I pushed my way back towards the exit. My heels clicked on the sidewalk, pinching my toes with every step, as I hustled back to my car down the street, trails hot tears streaking down my face.

  CHAPTER 13

  My heart thumped in my ears as I walked into the repair shop Saturday morning. Maybe it was a crazy move, but I had to explain to Rowdy what had really happened with Drew. That scene replayed in my mind in slow-motion all night as I tossed and turned, and I knew wouldn’t be able to calm down until he’d heard my side of it.

  “Hi, Frankie,” I said sweetly as I approached the front door.

  “Car trouble again, Gia?” he replied. His eyes never met mine. He just kept staring at the computer screen in front of him as he clicked around and pushed a few random buttons.

  “No,” I said. “Thank goodness. I’m just here to see Rowdy.”

  Frankie looked up at me like I was crazy for just showing up like that. “He’s working.”

  “Duh,” I said teasingly. “I know that. I just thought I’d be able to catch him here. I tried texting him last night, but he didn’t respond.”

  It was true. The second I got home I managed to compose myself long enough to type a message to Rowdy asking him to call me. He never did.

  “Can I see him?” I flashed Frankie the kindest smile I could muster. He was the only thing standing between Rowdy and me in that moment.

  Frankie sighed, annoyed, and yanked open the door behind him to the shop floor. “Rowdy!”

  The shop got quiet as tools were powered down and seconds later Rowdy emerged, his face tensing up when he saw it was me. His eyes searched mine as his jaw clenched and he said not a single word.

  “Hi,” I said. “Can we talk?”

  Frankie shot Rowdy a look. Poor Frankie. He was used to it just being the three of them his entire life. I knew he was a good kid, but sometimes I wished he’d try to dial down his resentment towards me just a tiny bit.

  Rowdy nodded his head towards a door in the waiting area that led out to an alley next to the shop.

  A gush of breezy fall air swooshed by us and tossed my hair all around my face. I finger combed it back into a makeshift ponytail and draped it over my shoulder. I studied his chiseled face under the cool, autumn sun. He was back to being a closed book once again.

  “What you saw last night,” I began. “Was not what it looked like. At all.”

  I waited for him to reply, but he stood there, stoic, with his greasy, blackened hands resting on his hips and his eyes burning into mine.

  “That was Drew,” I continued. “My ex.”

  I licked my lips and brushed the hair out of my face once again. The fact that he wasn’t saying anything was starting to give me a little bit of anxiety. Maybe I’d made a mistake in coming to talk to him in person.

  “He saw me at the bar and wouldn’t leave me alone,” I said. “I kept trying to get away from him, but he followed me and then he put his hands on me and then he kissed me. I didn’t want any of it.”

  His face softened the tiniest bit. “I know.”

  My heart stopped. “Wait. You do?”

  His eyebrows raised and he shifted his weight. “I took care of it, Gia.”

  “Wait – what?” I was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “I took care of it,” he said again. He looked around to make sure no one else was there. “Billy told me what happened. I had a little talk with Drew. He won’t be bothering you again. Ever.”

  “Billy?” I asked.

  “The bartender,” he said.

  The bartender who kicked me out without allowing me to explain myself had suddenly become my favorite person.

  “What did you do to him?” A few scenarios flashed in my mind, one of which was violent. The others involved Rowdy scaring the living shit out of Drew. I only wished I could’ve seen it in person.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he said with a chuckle. “Just had a, uh, talk with him.”

  “Does he know…” my words started to trail off. I was going to ask if he knew that Rowdy and I were talking, but we really weren’t. Not anymore. I didn’t know what to call it.

  “No,” he said. “I didn’t tell him anything.”

  I didn’t know whether to be relieved or insulted, so I decided to be a little of both. “Oh.”

  At least a couple of feet separated us but it may as well have been miles. We were stuck in this sort of emotional gray area. Whether or not he meant to do it, he was playing a game of chess with my heart and he was winning.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to town this weekend?” I asked as I bit my lip and braced myself for some potentially hard truths. I fully expected him to say that he wasn’t interested in me anymore.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” he said with a sigh. “I had this night planned out for us. I was going to get a hold of you today actually.”

  “Sure,” I huffed. It sounded a little too convenient.

  “My dad told me he had something planned for me Friday night and not to make any plans,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t bother telling you I was going to be in town Friday. I thought I was going to be busy.”

  It was all starting to make a little more sense. “But why didn’t you text me back last night? I wanted to explain what happened.”

  “Gia,” he groaned. “My phone was off last night. Do you know how many people were blowing up my phone the second they found out I was back in town?”

  My shoulders relaxed a bit. All the little puzzle pieces were finally fitting together, and I silently chided myself for assuming the worst.

  “Anyway,” he said. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later? Maybe we can go for a walk around the trail at Gilmore Park?”

  Gilmore Park was a sweet little nature preserve on the outside of town with a small lake and a tree-lined walking path. It was also a popular make-out spot for the local high school kids. I hadn’t been there in years.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Meet me there around five,” he said. “I promised my dad I’d do some work for him today and help him get caught up. His business seems to be taking off right now for some reason.”

  Sweet Rowdy had no idea just how big his name had become in this town. It didn’t surprise me at all that everyone and their dog wanted his dad to be their personal mechanic all of a sudden.

  ***

  I climbed up onto the top of the picnic table and took a seat as I waited for Rowdy to show up. I brushed some peeling paint chips off the top of it and wiped my hands on the front of my jeans. The sun was just starting to set, but there would be just enough time for us to take a stroll around the lake before night. />
  I picked at the skin around my nails. The cooler weather was starting to dry them out already, and I was in desperate need of a manicure. I took solace in the fact that Rowdy wasn’t the kind of guy to notice those types of things.

  The rumbling of a truck as it entered the gravel parking lot brought me back into the moment as my stomach fluttered a bit. In the distance Rowdy climbed out of his truck and his boots kicked the gravel beneath him as he headed towards me.

  “Here you go,” he said as he approached the table. His giant hands had nearly hid the fact that he was carrying two white Styrofoam cups filled with hot cocoa.

  “Hot chocolate?” I squealed. “Thank you. How sweet of you.”

  “You look nice,” I said. My hands cupped the hot cocoa as I brought it to my lips.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  What I really meant to say was that he looked different. The jeans he wore were dark with cheesy white stitching on the pockets. and his t-shirt was cobalt blue and plastered with the Zanical XT logo on every square inch. I missed my faded blue jeans and t-shirt wearing Rowdy.

  He took a big sip of his hot cocoa as he stared at me.

  “Wanna walk?” I asked.

  He held his fist out and opened his sprawling palm to take my hand as he helped me down off the picnic table. I brushed the paint chips off the backs of my thighs as we headed towards the trail, shoulder to shoulder.

  In a perfect world, he’d have wrapped his strong arm around me or held my hand as we walked, but I knew he wasn’t that kind of guy. We weren’t there, he and I. Not yet anyway.

  “How long are you in town for?” I asked. My boots dragged one behind the other as I intentionally walked slow. I didn’t want our time together to end any sooner than it had to.

  “I leave tomorrow,” he said. The fallen leaves on the trail crunched beneath our shoes as the crisp, fall air kissed our faces.

  “Oh.” I didn’t bother hiding the disappointment in my voice. I wished we could’ve spent the entire weekend together, but I couldn’t be stingy.

  About halfway around the lake, Rowdy pointed towards a park bench beneath a canopy of oaks. I took a seat next to him, and in my mind I was nuzzled under the comfort of his broad shoulder.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” he said. He cleared his throat and rubbed his palms on the front of his jeans.

  “Anything,” I said. My eyes burned with intensity as I waited for his question.

  “I have a fight in Tulsa next weekend,” he said. “It’s against Ricardo Macuna. He’s undefeated so far this season.”

  “So it’s a pretty big deal, huh,” I said.

  He rubbed his hands together and cocked his head towards me, meeting my stare. “I was going to ask if you’d come to the fight.”

  I stifled the smile that tried to spread across my lips. I could’ve jumped into his lap at that moment, but I contained myself.

  “It would really mean a lot,” he said. “I’ll fly you out and everything. Get you ringside seats and a backstage pass.”

  “You really want me there?” It wasn’t enough for him to ask once. I wanted to hear him say it again and again.

  “Yeah,” he said. His body was rigid and tense, and I’d never seen such vulnerability on his face before. I chuckled to myself at the fact that he thought I’d ever say no to that.

  “I’d love to,” I said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  CHAPTER 14

  “Rowdy?” I said as I knocked on the door to his locker room.

  Rowdy and his coach looked up. I’d apparently interrupted their deep conversation.

  “I just wanted to stop in and say good luck,” I said as I lingered in the doorway. My hand gripped the door jam. I wasn’t setting foot in there unless he wanted me to. His face was sullen, and it didn’t take long for me to realize how stressed he was about his fight.

  I flashed him a half smile and turned to leave.

  “Gia,” he called out. He rose to a standing position.

  “Yeah?”

  “Where are you going?” he asked. His coach’s phone rang giving him a good excuse to leave the room.

  “I didn’t want to bug you,” I said.

  “You’re not.” He wrinkled his nose at me. “I wanted you here, remember?”

  I took a few steps closer to him and leaned in to give him a hug. “It’s good seeing you.”

  My words implied that it had been a long time since I’d seen him last. It had been six days, but it may as well have been an eternity. The side of my cheek rested against his smooth chest and the faint drumming of his heart seemed to beat a little faster the longer I held onto him.

  “Rowdy,” his coach said from the doorway. “It’s go time.”

  I pulled away from him, our eyes meeting, and gave him a smile. “You’ve got this.”

  He pursed his lips, a ball of tense energy, and nodded as he followed his coach out to the hall. I scrambled out to the octagon to find my spot. Music pumped from the speakers as loyal fans went nuts. The only difference, this time, was that most of the signs were for Ricardo and not Rowdy. For every sign covered in Rowdy’s name, there were five more for Ricardo.

  “In the red corner…” the announcer began. Lights began flashing dramatically and the crowd began to go nuts. I still couldn’t understand the appeal of fighting, but I couldn’t help get caught up in all the excitement.

  The second Rowdy emerged I stood up and cheered my little heart out. I whistled, whooped, clapped, and threw my arms in the air. He had a number one fan in me for sure.

  As the fight began, the audience grew eerily silent. All eyes were on Rowdy and Ricardo. The intensity in Rowdy’s eyes was one I’d never seen before.

  One sweep of Ricardo’s leg and Rowdy lost his footing and fell hard to the ground. Ricardo threw himself on top of Rowdy while Ricardo’s coach was yelling out orders.

  “Ground and pound! Ground and pound!” the coach screamed at the top of his lungs as Ricardo threw merciless punches into the side of Rowdy’s face.

  Mere feet away from me, we locked eyes for a brief moment. I’d never seen such a look of defeat from him before. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and it looked like he was beginning to lose consciousness. The one thing I feared the most was happening, and the second he closed his eyes I knew it was done.

  The referee stopped the fight as medics swarmed the stage. Crouched beside him, they rolled him to his back and waved smelling salts under his nose. His eyes remained shut. The medics worked to stabilize him as a stretcher was brought out. I wanted to run to his side. I wanted to help. My nursing background told me to stay away and let them do their work. The last thing I wanted to be was a distraction. They didn’t need some emotional girl getting in the way of trying to save him.

  The stretcher was lifted and an unconscious Rowdy was wheeled out of the octagon. The crowd that had so dominantly rooted for Ricardo before was now standing and clapping for Rowdy. Tears streamed down my face. I covered my mouth to try to muffle the sobs that were escaping as I ran out of there.

  “Can’t go back there, ma’am,” the security guard said as he stopped me at the door to backstage. He was different from the one who stood there earlier.

  I held my pass up to his face. “I need to get back there. I need to talk to Rowdy’s coach. I need to see which hospital he’ll be at.”

  The guard huffed as if it was very privileged information and I was some stalker fan.

  “I’m his girlfriend,” I said. Sort of. Not really. But he didn’t need to know that. “His family’s not here. I’m the only one who knows his medical history.”

  He sighed as he opened the door and let me pass. Long strides, one after another, carried me down the hall where I saw his coach leaning against a wall.

  “Where are they taking him?” I heaved, breathless, as I placed my hand on his arm.

  “St. John’s,” he said. He turned and I that he was once again on his phone.

  Every minute that went b
y was a blur and before I knew it, I had hailed a cab outside the arena.

  “St. John’s,” I said. “Please hurry.”

  The driver dropped me off in front of the emergency room entrance. An ambulance, likely the one that had rushed Rowdy there, was pulling away as I climbed out of the cab.

  “I’m with Rowdy Matthews,” I said to the emergency room clerk as I approached the desk. “I’m his girlfriend. I know his medical history.”