I adjusted the strap of my duffel bag on my shoulder before straightening up and tightened the ponytail I tied my hair in. I got off the bike and took the keys out of the ignition, slipping them into my bag.I was dressed in all black, a V-neck shirt that was loose enough to not constrict my movements and decent enough not to show any cleavage. There is no way in hell am I going to play dirty by exposing my boobs. That thought can go to hell.I made sure to leave all my personal things that has initials, ID cards basically anything that can link to my life outside fighting back at the house to make sure that whatever happens today, stays here and wouldn’t be knocking on my doorstep anytime soon.I took out my payphone and called Levy while walking to where the noises came from.“Hello?”“Don’t you ‘hello’ me, you big oaf! Get your ass here! Where the hell are you anyway?” I voiced my thoughts irrit
I stared at the steaming cup of hot chocolate in front of me. Both of my hands cupped them, trying to warm myself up. I was in the Jones’ residence because they offered me a place immediately after finding out that I practically lived alone in my own house.My phone dinged and I glanced at it, the notification lighting up the screen.Next match is in 2 days, 8:00pm. Don’t be late -LevI chewed on my inner cheek. I hate these kinds of moments where you and your thoughts were left alone. It causes me to overthink too much and builds up the suppressed regret for every choice I’ve made.A hand landed on my shoulder and I felt a thumb rubbing small circles on my shoulder blades. “What’s got you so tense?” Adam’s voice filled the kitchen as both of his hands landed on my shoulders and started massaging them skillfully.I sighed in content as I rolled my head back. That’s the spot. I thought happily as hi
A cough wrecked up my whole body as I heaved. I staggered forward but I pushed my legs to keep moving. Keep running.Sobs left my body as I looked everywhere only to be met by the fire that casted a dim illumination in the hall. Dancing, mocking and taunting me on how helpless I was against it. The flames licked the walls, swallowing whatever is in its path into its heat and charring the furniture. I screamed out Adam’s name in panic.“Where are you?!” I screamed out in frustration. I looked back and forth between the exit and the flames, tears of desperation escaped my eyes and trickled down my ash coated face.The smoke was getting thicker and thicker by the second but I didn’t want to leave any of them in this house. I’ve spent minutes trying to get to the bedrooms but even as I sprinted there, I knew it was hopeless.I decided to sprint out the house to check if they made it out even though it wasn’t likely
I ducked my head in vain. A crumpled up piece of paper flew and hit my temple. I could feel myself growing irritated. This had been going on the whole day and I don’t think I can withstand it anymore without kicking someone for it.Thank God it’s Friday or I wouldn’t have anything to be happy about and feel pathetic, taking it out on one of these jerk-faces and reveal my identity by knocking him out with one punch.If it wasn’t for the fact that my street fighting is an illegal type of street fighting, I would’ve lashed out on every single bitch that throws me a crumpled paper, which will probably take a long time considering the amount of crumpled papers that has abused my forehead and temples today.I grumbled out a curse, glaring at my table with a heated stare, willing it to come alive and eat the stupid, annoying baboons.What the fuck did I ever do to them? I thought in frustration and gritted my teeth. They&rs
I cut off the engine with a flick of my hand and slid the key out of the ignition before hauling my ass off the bike and hitched the helmet on its hook.I adjusted the duffel bag and took my phone out to call Levy but his voice halted my finger from pressing the call button.I turned to face Levy and squinted when I saw a few minor bruises on his face as he approached me in a hurry. I could see the scars from the fight 2 nights ago but some were actually fresh.“There you are! Dammit, Pix. I told you to be here at 9. What the hell took you so long?” He ranted off, taking my wrist and dragged me along to the familiar path we took before my first fight here.I rolled my eyes at his overdramatic greeting. “Well hello to you too, Mr. Cranky-Pants,” I smiled sweetly at him while he shot me a brief glare and continued dragging me inside the building. Two minutes was barely counted as late.This time, there weren’t any str
“For the love of God, where on are Earth are you taking me?” I huffed out in exasperation, earning a booming laugh from Adam.“Calm down, Case. We’ve only been in this car for 10 minutes.” It’s true. But when you’re being chewed on by the suspense and curiosity, 10 minutes feels like an eternity.“Goddamit, just tell me already!” I threw up my hands in frustration and Adam chuckled once more. I know I’m acting like a brat but when your genes contained impatient and stubborn qualities, it was kind of impossible to sit quietly.“Now where’s the fun in that?” He teased and I glared jokingly at him, causing him to raise his hands in mock surrender. I cracked a smile.“There it is!” Adam exclaimed when the smile made an appearance, startling me. The smile grew a teeny bit bigger at his stupid antics, suppressing a silent laugh.“Shut up,” I playfully
The cold prickled my skin and I tilted my head and gazed at the sky. A lone star twinkled and the sky turned a darker shade of blue, the clouds started to darken and blended into the night.It was 6 and I would be lying if I said that I regretted what I did just a moment ago. I stared back at the small fancy restaurant. The food tasted bland anyway and the atmosphere in there was so bleak and sophisticated, I could’ve hurled myself.Not to mention the level of idiocy that short and chubby manager has. Fucking idiots roaming the Earth and contaminating the human race with their low IQ.At least we had a good time in the ring before hitting this place.“How about some McDonald’s huh? You seem like you could do with some food in your system after all that bickering and yelling in there.” Adam offered his jacket and I shook my head even though my knees were quiver lightly at the cold.Dammit, Mother Nature! Are you trying to
There are a lot of things in this world that can get your heart racing.The thrill of a roller coaster ride.An adrenaline to fight.Meeting up with your crush.When reality slaps you in the face and you realize that you’re about to die.Getting dragged around by a chimpanzee holding on to your foot.But at that moment, I made a newfound discovery and added something on the bottom of that list.Your date meeting your opponent from a fight that he forbade you to take any part of and possibly figuring out that you are fighting for the money to help him with his mother’s medications.FML.“Who. The. Fuck. Are. You.” Adam gritted out once again, already on his feet and a step behind me.The guy smirked at him. “Oh, does the little fighter have a boyfriend?”I anxiously watched them glare at each other, switching my stare back and forth between them.“Well, this boyfriend is going to kick your ass if y
The car had toppled over and had landed on its side. Casey was under me. I could feel the liquid that drenched my eyelids, preventing me from cracking my eyes open. I felt the pressure on my arm that laid under Casey's head to protect it from the jostling that happened as the car swerved and fell sideways. I couldn't feel my lower half either but from the movements that Casey made under me, I knew that I've successfully cocooned her.Through the blinding pain, I heard Casey's cries and screams over a faint hissing noise. Every movement she made that nudged any part of my body would flare a new set of pain that threatened to knock me out. But amidst the unbearable pain, I felt relief in my heart.My little sister was okay. She was alive. She was moving.That was all I needed.
I pulled up at the spot where I dropped Casey off earlier and got out of the car. I jogged to the front door where Casey stood, one of her friends hanging a few feet behind her with what looked like my sister's purse in her hands.I locked eyes with Casey and she started walking. I couldn't read her expression as she looked straight ahead and power walked towards me. I slowed down, ready to spread my arms to give her a hug, but she stepped past me and walked towards the car instead. I turned to look at her back as she continued walking before turning back to her friend, handing me Casey's stuff.Casey's friend gave me a look and shook her head, tipping me off on how bad it went. As I took Casey's bag from her and ran after my little sister who was already walking towards the car, I watched the drag in her steps, as if they were the heav
"Yeah, just drop by any time you feel like it, Bryant. I've got no plans tonight so I'll probably be home. I'll text you my address." General Reeves said through the phone."Thank you, General. I'll call you when I'm on my way there." I spoke into the phone before hanging up.It's been a few days since I last heard from Dom. If our fight the other day didn't happen, I wouldn't have thought much about his silence since we weren't the kind of friends who had to talk to each other every day to stay close but how we left things off the last time we met made me worried.I checked his social media account to see if he was active or had made any posts lately but found nothing that eased my worries. Maybe I was too hard on him..But wha
I shut the front door and locked it before taking off my shoes. Casey was laying sprawled on the living room couch in her pajamas, covered by a layer of blanket. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, head resting on a pillow propped up against the armrest and hands holding a spoon and an ice cream tub. The TV was playing one of the episodes of 'Salvation' on Netflix.When she heard me stroll into the living room, she raised her head and craned her neck to look at me. "You're home early," she commented, looking at the time displayed on her phone screen.It was only 6 p.m. so technically it was early. After staying for a few hours in the park, watching the sunset together, I told Maddy what I was planning and she understandingly agreed without any objections or complaints. I was lucky to have a supportive and understanding girlfriend.
I tilted my head up with my eyes closed, trying to just absorb the fresh air and let it cool my insides and help me relax.I opened my eyes and watched as the wind shook the branches of the tree we were sitting under. Fall was already here and winter was just right around the corner, approaching fast. The branches were already balding, giving it a bare look, making the tree seem almost naked without its green. The leaves that managed to stay on the branches had already turned colors, pulling different shades of orange, yellow and sometimes even a beautiful bright red. The sight made by the tree branches reaching out and creating a web right above us, mapping across the space between us and the sky, was entrancing, at least to me. I could never get enough of it.The sun was nowhere to be seen today, hidden behind some clouds. The air aro
"Leaving?" Casey asked me as she stirred her cereal and milk in a bowl for breakfast."Yeah, I'll be back by 10 p.m. tonight." I told her over the jiggle of my keys as I pocketed them. "Do you have any plans today?"Casey shook her head, "Get home as late as you'd like, I'm not a kid, I'll be alright. I'll just be chilling inside, binge watching netflix and enjoying my ice cream."I didn't want to argue with her about going home later. It was more for my peace of mind than anything else. For the past year, I've tried very hard to never let Casey be alone. Especially in an empty house late at night. Of course she didn't understand where my worries and anxiety was coming from but that's alright. I'll do the worrying and being the anxious one, she can live in blissful ignorance that comes
"You haven't forgotten what day tomorrow is, right?" Casey asked me while she dumped her things on the foot of her bed.I plopped on my bed beside hers and rubbed my eyes tiredly. I hummed in response to her question, laying my arm over my eyes to block the light streaming in through the window by my bed.When she didn't continue speaking, I raised my arm slightly and took a peek at her.Casey stood over me, staring me down with her hands propped on her hips."You totally forgot what tomorrow is, didn't you?" She asked again.I grunted in annoyance, prompting her to stop speaking in circles and just get to the point.I felt a slap l
I rang the doorbell and waited for a few minutes for Dom to answer it and let me in.I had the urge to look around to check if anyone was watching me while I was waiting but I didn't want to tip off the people watching if there were any. I didn't want to give them further reason to suspect that I was hiding something.Because I was, and they're not supposed to know that.It was a Saturday afternoon and it was way too shiny than I'd like it to be. The sun was beating down my back and it was starting to get uncomfortable, so I knocked on the door to rush Dom."Coming! Hold your bloody horses!" Dom cursed from behind the door as the door jiggled and swung open. Dom stepped aside once he saw it was me and let me in. "You're here."
We stepped into the restaurant and told them we had made a reservation under Johnson.A waiter led us to a table where a man in a collared shirt sat, talking into his phone.When he saw us approaching, he waved and said a few words into the phone before hanging up and stashing the device away, smiling widely at my parents."I thought you stood me up!" He joked, standing from his seat to warmly greet my parents with hugs.Dad slightly turned his body to let the man see Casey and I clearly."This is Bryant, my oldest." I smiled as Dad made the introductions, stepping forward and offering my hand.He took my hand and shook it firmly. H