All Chapters of Fight Dirty: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

CharlieMaybe there is a rational explanation for all of this.I twist my ring around my finger and pull it off my knuckle. Tears blur my eyes as I stare out at the water. Happy people walk the path behind me, and the air is full of typical New York City sounds.Cars honking.People laughing.People arguing.Music playing.Hearts breaking.I squeeze my eyes shut and a fat tear rolls down my cheek. Of course today of all days, I chose not to wear waterproof mascara. I look up, blinking back the tears. The only thing worse than crying in public is going back to work and having people ask me about it.Though there’s a good chance I can’t go back. That I won’t be able to bring myself to walk through that set of double doors, across the busy lobby, and press the elevator button to take me up to the office.Because he’s there.And I know there’s not a rational explanation for all of this.Part of me wishes I hadn’t seen what I did. I wouldn’t be standing here in the middle of Central Park d

CharlieI pick up the remote and flip through channels, needing to find something funny to watch. Or maybe something depressing. Or dark.Yes. Dark is what I need.Bonus points if there is cold-blooded murder committed by a scorned woman.“Charlie?”Blinking, I look away from the bright TV and see my sister’s silhouette appear in the doorway.“Hey.”“You look like shit.”I glare at her but don’t have the energy to argue. Mostly because it’s true. “You know people say we look alike, right?”“We do. And trust me, I’ve been there and looked worse. Which is why I’m here. I’m taking you out.”“I don’t want to go out.” I flop back against the pillows of my childhood bed.“You’ve been holed up here for days. I’m getting worried, sis.” Carly comes into the room, going to the window. She draws the blinds, and I’m half tempted to hiss at the sunlight. “I get it. You need to grieve what you lost. But this isn’t you.”Blinking as my eyes try to adjust to the sudden change in light, I look at my s

Owen“There you go, ladies.” I slide a tray of tequila shots onto the table and make eye contact with a woman who I think introduced herself as Rose. Or was it Rachel? Hell if I know. The only name that matters is mine in this case, because she’ll be screaming it later tonight. “What’s the occasion?”“Oh, nothing really. We just wanted to come out and let loose a little,” Rose or maybe Rachel giggles.“You came to the right place.” I flash her a grin. It’s one of my go-to moves and one that hasn’t failed yet. She smiles back, eyes glimmering, and drops her gaze to my crotch. A blush comes to her cheeks, realizing that I just caught her staring.And then she does it again.“You let me know if you need anything else, all right?”Rose? Rachel? Ros-chel? Whoever it is, reaches out and touches my arm, letting her fingers trail down my skin. “Oh, I definitely will.” Her friends erupt in giggles and catcalls. I flip my hand over, sweeping my fingers over hers as I walk away, going back behin

OwenViolet starts to settle down, but my heart is in my throat. Charlie is only a few yards from me, standing on the sidewalk, staring at me like she’s seeing a ghost. In a way, maybe that’s all I am to her.A distant memory that’s started to fade. I can only hope it’s haunted her a few times over the years.Because she’s haunted me.“O-Owen,” she starts, pulling her earbuds out of her ears. It should be illegal for anyone to be this good-looking. Her blonde hair is pulled up in a high ponytail and sweat drips down her chest, disappearing between her breasts. She’s wearing a pink sports bra and tight running shorts. Her body is toned and tan, and I remember all too well the way it felt under mine. “You…you have a baby?” Her eyes go to Jackson. “Or two?”I wave Jackson back over and laugh. “No, they’re not mine. You remember my brother Wes?”She blinks rapidly as she nods. “Oh right, Dean said he had kids.” Her eyes go to Violet. “She’s adorable.”I give her a wink. “Now that she does

CharlieI bring my hand up to my face, covering my nose. Mom does the same and takes a step closer to the door. She offered to help me look at rentals around Eastwood today since I didn’t put the deposit down on the apartment yesterday. There are a whole three houses up for rent in Eastwood right now, and we’re on house number three already.The first was nothing more than a trailer parked in someone’s yard. I’d share my propane hookup with the house, so that was an automatic no. The next house was rather large for one person, and looked promising from the outside…until we saw the water damage in the basement. Turns out it floods during bad rainstorms.And this current house is small, tidy, but smells terrible, like cigarettes and cat pee. Looks like I’m stuck with Mom and Dad for another month and a half…and that I’ll be dropping off the deposit to hold my spot at the apartment complex.Mom and I do our best not to gag as we walk through the rest of the house, which is actually cute