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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Cobra!" The irritating voice called out, and I let out a breath of disappointment as Mark pulled away from me. I turned and glared at Junior.
"What do you want, Junior?" I growled at the man who had just interrupted one of the most perfect moments of my life. Mark patted my thigh just above the knee before standing up off the bench we had been sharing. My head shot around to look at him, not caring about the man who now had another strike against him.
Mark had masked his face, hiding any emotion from me and leaving me with more disappointment than I had expected. I wanted to know how he felt about what almost happened between us. Based on our interaction beforehand, I assumed that he wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him, but unless he spoke to me or kissed me, I wouldn't know for certain.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I still need to bring you to your surprise. It's really important." Alex raised his eyebrows at me, seeming impatient and irritated th
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KNOCKOUT Sixty- One
"Mark!" I scolded as I tried to pull my hoodie down, aware of the unwelcome eyes on my skin. "I'm fine! Would you let go of my top?" He dropped the fabric, leaving his hand to still hold onto the end of it. His head tilted up from my injury to look at my face. "Sorry," was all he said, but his eyes stayed locked on me. I glanced at his lips, trying my best to push the thought out into the universe for him to kiss me. His eyes glanced down to my mouth, and I tried to hold back the smile of excitement. "Your lower lip is really swollen from that shot to your jaw. Come on, we need to get ice on that and then maybe a warm shower, so you don't get too sore." He turned toward the dorm, grabbing my hand as my jaw dropped in disbelief. He did not just do that to me again. When he pulled his hand away from mine to open the door for me, I let my own drop into the pocket of my hoodie. Mark seemed oblivious to my state of frustration and let his hand fall to my l
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Two
I threw my room key, cell phone, and towel on an empty lounge chair. My gaze remained on the hot water with excitement. I slowly and carefully pulled off my tank top, wincing when I had to lift my hand higher than my side wanted to allow. I set it down on the chair and turned to see Mark and his roommate, Trey, grimacing at the sight of my ribs. "What?" I asked, hoping they would get the hint that they were making me uncomfortable. Both men looked away, but not before I saw the obvious disgust on Mark's face. The lump in my throat from his reaction took me by surprise. I turned quickly, hoping he would see my reaction. Disappointment filled me when it was obvious that Chey caught on. She would probably want to talk about it later. I looked down as I moved toward the Jacuzzi, and the bruise seemed to have gotten even bigger. I frowned and moved my arm back to cover it. If I didn't have to walk past Mark, I would have gone back to the chair and pulled m
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Three
Marx P.O.V. I rubbed the back of my neck aggressively as the elevator moved up to my floor. What the fuck did I just do? There was a very high chance that she just told me that she liked me, and I told her to go talk to her ex-boyfriend. I'm such a fucking idiot! Walking over to my door, I took my key out but paused before opening it. How could I expect her to choose me if I was just pushing her toward another man and walking away? I wanted to make her my girl. I just needed to know that I was the only man in her life. The feeling of dread washed over me when I realized that I might have just given her up if she still had any feelings for Jessie. My feet moved before my brain processed what I was doing. I jammed my finger into the elevator recall button, but it was no longer on our floor. In a rushed panic, I bolted through the door to the stairs and made my way down to Julie's room. Several deep breaths were pulled into my lungs as I mustered
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Four
Jessie's P.O.V.I had to get out of that house and of that town. My father had gotten violent. The more trouble I was in, the harder he hit. I had started living with Alex last month. He showed me where he fought for money and trained me so I could pay my part of the rent since scooping ice cream didn't cover it.Seeing Julie at that club today made my heart pound harder than ever. It was as if just looking at her brought the once useless organ back to life.At first, I thought it was a joke and froze. Alex had been bringing me 'surprises' every other night. Each woman he paraded in front of me to get my mind off Julie was attractive, but they could never compare.I did try to forget her as I got lost in the beauty that had offered herself to me. While Julie and I hadn't even slept together yet, it was unbelievable that fucking other women didn't help me to shake her from my mind.It didn't help that each time I wished it was her instead of one of
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Five
I heard Jessie's sigh of relief and immediately felt the regret and anxiety fill me. "Text me when you're here, and I'll head down," I said, and he advised that it would be about forty-five minutes. The call ended, and I sat there thinking about what I had just done. How stupid could I get? The smell of Chlorine was still prominent on my skin, so I jumped up and ran into the bathroom. I rinsed off in a hurry. After getting dressed, I grabbed my keys and phone and headed down to the lobby. Chey passed me as I moved out of the elevator. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to stop and talk to me, but she snapped her jaw shut just as quickly. Having had captured my attention, I turned to her. "Hey, Chey. I'm going to be out for a while." She smiled and nodded. "Jessie's going to be here soon, so we can hash this shit out." She looked confused but said okay. Trey just shook his head next to her, and I couldn't help but feel that he was disappointed in me.
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Six
I cleared my throat as I approached the table, and they both turned to face me. My face was frozen in confusion, and I was practically swimming in tension. "So, what's this?" I tried to ask calmly, but the voice that came from my throat was not my own. It was scratchy. "Julie, do you think I can talk to you in private?" Mark smiled nervously. I hesitated before nodding slowly and walking back outside to a bench. He sat down a second after I did. We sat there in awkward silence for several minutes as I waited for him to say his peace. "So?" He let out a throaty laugh as I dragged out the word. "Okay, what I want to tell you, I'm not sure how you are going to react to it, but I need to throw my hat in the pile." He looked down at his hands and messed with his finger for a minute. "I really like you, Julie." He didn't look up at me, and my heart stuttered in my chest at his words. "But, I know you still have feelings for Jessie. He hurt y
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Seven
He had been there supporting me this whole time, but I never realized that he was there for everything too. He needed someone, but I always made it about me. I nodded. "I was a terrible girlfriend. I owe you an apology too. I never thought about what you experienced through all of that. I was just focused on what I was experiencing and how it impacted me. I can forgive you, but I don't want to be with you, Jessie." My hands fiddled in my lap, but I looked up to meet his eyes at the end, so he could see how serious I was. "Let me at least make it up to you. We can just be friends for now, and maybe in time, I can prove myself to you. I know you like Mark, but I do still love you. I think I always will. I'd rather have you in my life as my friend than not at all." He got to his feet and pulled me into a huge hug. It wasn't awkward like I thought it would be. It was familiar, and for the first time since he broke my heart, I felt safe around him again. I pulled away aft
KNOCKOUT Sixty-Eight
"So, no matter what, I'm going to have to hurt Jessie?" I stood up, frustrated by the answer, and wandered over to my bed. I was over today. I just wanted to curl up and fall asleep, so I could pretend I didn't have to deal with any of this. I looked up, and Chey was trying not to laugh. "What?" She let out the laugh anyway, and it took her a minute to catch her breath. "This is going to be so much more difficult when school starts Monday, and all the guys meet you." She bit her lip to hold back more laughter, and I know why too. Because my face was stuck in a horrified expression. I just kept picturing how Mark would react if another guy tried to flirt with me. It both excited me to know that he would be possessive over me and made me nervous because I didn't want him hurting anyone and getting expelled. She patted my back. "It's going to be okay." "Is that supposed to help?" She shook her head and then phased out in a dreamy state. "So, who
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KNOCKOUT Epilogue
"Bye, Julie!" The ten-year-old screamed with laughter as she ran into her bedroom, slamming it behind her to prevent her older brother from getting to her with his can of silly string. A smile stretched across my face at the sight of my family celebrating Bri's birthday. It had been a relaxing day enjoying the barbeque and pool party with all of her friends and family. Ryan and Terry had been present, and while we were civil for the sake of Bri, we tended to avoid each other at these types of events. Ryan held a grudge against me for being such a troublemaker and reflecting negatively on their family name. Meanwhile, I held a grudge against them for trying to put me back into the foster system to find a new family after I was released from the hospital. I knew it would happen eventually, but that didn't make it hurt any less. They never made it that far. I had been able to petition for my independence and emancipation as I was only a few months from turning 18. Luckily for me, this
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Nine
I woke up as the door slammed open, and the lights came on, peaking in from the edges of my blindfold. I would have tilted my head back and looked over to see who walked in from under the fabric, but I still couldn't move."Please! Why are you doing this? Why can't you just kill me? Don't do this please! Don't do this to her!" Mark's voice would have been calming if it wasn't full of panic and fear.The sound of someone approaching was followed by the blindfold being ripped off my face. I could see three men pulling Mark into the room from the corner of my eye. I wanted to tell him I would be okay, but couldn't. He had to know that I was stronger than anything they threw at me."She had nothing to do with it! If you're going to kill me, just kill me! She wasn't even there! Please, I'm begging you! Don't touch her!" He was slammed down into a chair that another man dragged in behind them, and was quickly tied down to it.A hand wrapped around my ankle, but
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Eight
Julie's P.O.V.I took a deep breath to relax as I felt the SUV pull to a stop after at least half an hour of driving. I heard doors opening, and I tensed back up. Someone grabbed my legs while another pair of hands reached for my arms.I squirmed and struggled. They had pulled me halfway out of the car, and I started screaming. A cloth was shoved into my mouth, but I kept hitting and fighting with all I had. I felt a sharp pain in my leg. Not even thirty seconds later, my leg went numb, followed by my other leg, abdomen, and everything else as it worked its way up my body until I couldn't move or speak, but somehow felt everything.I collapsed onto the ground with a thump. My limp legs were lifted up off the ground, and I could feel my back and hands scrapping against the hot concrete as they pulled me to our destination. I heard the door open, and I was dragged once again.My back held a searing pain, and if I could, I would have screame
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Seven
As I made my way to the door of the classroom, my eyes eerily glanced to the parking lot on my right. This building was the closest to it, so I was worried. I picked up my speed a little bit when I heard footsteps quickly following behind me at a faster pace than my own.The logical side of my brain was telling me that someone was just late for class, but the panicked part of my brain told me to run. The footsteps grew louder as the person got closer, and I turned my walk into a brisk jog, my backpack bouncing as I did so. The door to my classroom was only four doors away, and it was open. I just had to make it a little further before breaking down and having my panic attack.The squealing of tires caught my attention and sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing straight off of my body. My breathing came out in small pants as I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.A large black SUV came into view and slammed on its breaks not more than 50 ya
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Six
I backed up towards the door. Unfortunately for me, we didn't keep the cleanest room, and I tripped over a pile of clothes landing right on my butt. When I looked up, Mark was smiling at me, the humor of me falling taking away from the seriousness of the situation…for him at least."Mark? W-what . . . what the fuck is going on?" I stammered as my throat closed up. He stood with the gun still in his hand and walked toward me. I started to shake. He stopped a few feet in front of me and looked down at me with his other hand outstretched in my direction, palm up.When I didn't take it, he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Julie, I'm not going to hurt you. I would never, ever hurt you." He said as he crouched down next to me. "Why would you think that I would?" He sounded honestly hurt."You just pulled out a fucking g…" He placed his hand over my mouth."Julie, no one can know. Please, just let me explain. Plus, this gun isn't mine. This gun is
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Five
His Adam's apple bobbed harshly, and I met his stare as he scanned my face over as if judging how serious I was. Then, he nodded his head to the side and turned to resume walking. I moved with him, knowing that he needed a minute to collect himself. We made our way back to our dorm slowly, but he stopped me before we reached the front doors."I know what you mean. It was so hard…everything we went through, but we did it together. I don't think I'm ready to let you go yet, but I know I have to. I can't keep holding onto you and what we used to have, because that's gone now." He nudged the tip of his shoes against mine, and I looked down just as he pulled his foot back. "You do seem happy with him. I don't want to be in the way of that.""I really am." My voice was soft, as I didn't want anyone to overhear us.Jessie cleared his throat, and I fiddled with the hem of my shirt between my thumb and forefinger. He gave me a sad smile and let out a chuckle while
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Four
I flipped through the television, rather violently, much to Deidra's annoyance. After several minutes, she got to her feet, announcing that she was going to go visit her boyfriend (who I had yet to meet), and left me alone with my thoughts.Why would he stand me up?Was this payback for me not forgiving him sooner, or was it because of how poorly the conversation went last night?That petty, son of a bit…The sound of knocking broke me from my thoughts, and I turned off the baking show I had landed on.I got up slowly and walked over to the door. I swung it open."Hello?" I looked up, and I saw Jessie in a clean white t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans."Are you ready?" He asked with a big grin.I kept a straight face."I'm sorry I'm late. The headmaster called me into his office. I tried to get out sooner, but he just kept babbling." I smiled at him and nodded."It's okay. I'm ready. Let me just grab
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Three
I wanted to pull Mark to the side of the hallway and tell him everything involving Jessie from yesterday to today, but with the crowd around us trying to get to class, it didn't seem like the right time.Maybe, I should wait and tell him after I cleared the air with Jessie this evening and everything was settled. If he knew about my meeting with Jessie beforehand, I figured it would make him stressed and frustrated wondering what we were doing, and if I was being faithful, even though we weren't technically together. As far as I was concerned, Mark was mine whether we placed a title on it or not. If another woman tried to make a move on him, she would have to deal with me.The entire second period, I was flooded with guilt that I hadn't talked to Mark yet, that I couldn't even enjoy the feeling of his hand on my thigh throughout the class.I pretty much ran to World History for third period so I could talk to Chey and Deidra and not have to worry about Mark over
KNOCKOUT Ninety-Two
I burst through the door to my first hour at the last second with my backpack slung carelessly over my shoulder and my half-finished coffee in my hand."Nice of you to join us, Ms. Sanders." The teacher said with sarcasm.I just sent her an apologetic smile, and she nodded as I sat down in my seat."We're going to be studying the magical work of Romeo and Juliet for the quarter." The males groaned, but I had a huge grin on my face. I was still a nerd at heart. Plus, my old school had already covered this curriculum months ago."Two households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.From forth the fatal loins of these two foesA pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;Whose misadventured piteous overthrowsDo with their death bury their parents' strife.The fearful passage of their death-
