I knew they believed in me, and I tried to turn that into positive energy, but it was hard.
“Let’s just get out there,” I said, flexing my hands, feeling how comfortably tight my hand wraps were. “I want to get this shit over and done with.”
When we exited the bathroom, my brothers flanked me as we entered the club. Music was blaring, and the dance floor was cleared, the occupants of the club were over at the platform that Marco said would be my base of operations for the next few years. I already knew that Marco had me booked to fight in different countries, but I tried not to think about that. I did what Kane said—I focused on this fight and blocked everything else out.
A bellowing voice announced my entrance to the club, and I was met with booing and obnoxious laughter. I was expecting that. I was a lanky kid, and the guy I was fighting was twenty-five ... the same age as my eldest brother. If I were part of the crowd, I would probably laugh, too. They didn’t know that the dude I was fighting was doing so for money, while I was fighting for my brother’s life.
When I reached the platform, I saw my opponent up on the surface with his hands on his hips as he shook his head from left to right. I could see on his face he couldn’t believe he was fighting me. He thought I was going to be an easy win. I’d have to show him and everyone else just how wrong he was.
“You’ve got this,” Damien said when I turned to him.
He was scared for me, I saw it in his eyes, and I knew he saw my fear in mine, too. I hugged him and my other brothers. I didn’t linger with them; instead, I jumped up, gripped the platform, then hoisted myself upwards until I was on my feet and standing across from the man whose name I didn’t bother to learn. I decided that I didn’t want to know the names of the people I fought. That way, it was easier for me to tune out that they were real people.
“How old are you?”
I didn’t want this man talking to me. I just wanted to fight him, then leave.
“Fifteen,” I answered. “You didn’t know about me?”
He shook his head. “I was just told this morning about this fight.”
I had known about it for few weeks.
“Lets’ get this over with.”
The man chuckled. “I don’t wanna hurt you, kid, but I’m going to.”
I shifted my stance. “You can try.”
He laughed again, and it wasn’t a conceited laugh. It was a genuine one. He thought this fight was a joke. His relaxed stance told me he didn’t take it, or me, seriously. He didn’t see me as a threat in any shape or form, so I had to use that confidence to my advantage. I knew how to fight. Kane had been working with me until I could no longer stand in preparation for this match. I knew I could handle a body mass twice the size of my own. I knew I was going to kick this guy’s ass ... before I was worried, but standing up on the platform facing him, I knew the only person who should have been worried was him.
“No pain,” I said out loud, bumping my fists together. “No fucking pain.”
The buzzer sounded without warning, and the man came at me fast. Most likely, he wanted to put me out of my misery. He swung his right fist my way, and he put power behind it, hoping to catch my chin and put me on the canvas. I ducked left and fired two jabs to his liver. His body jerked at the contact, but he swung around, and the surprise in the man’s eyes wasn’t missed. He stood a little taller, tensed his muscles more, and tightened his guard.
He wasn’t playing around now.
When he darted forward, I managed to avoid his first jab, but he caught me around the waist with his free arm, lifted me up, and slammed in against the floor. The breath was knocked out of me, and it hurt, but I didn’t lose focus. I wrapped my legs around his torso, then latched onto his arm when he tried to twist out of my hold. I controlled my breathing and applied pressure on his arm. I heard him scream, and the crowd did too. Their cheering became deafening and encouraged me to keep hold of the arm bar I had. I got a fright when a roar came from the man, followed by a pop in his arm that I somehow felt. I quickly let go of him, and he promptly rolled off me, hollering in pain.
I couldn’t look at his elbow. It was obvious by the angle that I had snapped the bone. I didn’t notice the blood until he turned over and I realised the bone had come through his skin. I didn’t want to fight any more at that moment ... I didn’t want to hurt other people. I looked at my brothers, finding them with wild eyes, and I focused on Kane when he jerked his head. I knew what he was telling me to do. Marco said I wasn’t to stop fighting while my opponent still had fight in him. Damien’s life depended on me following orders. One look at the man told me that he wanted to kill me, and my heart dropped.
My stomach twisted in knots.
I shot forward before he could get to his feet, and I dived on him. I punched him until he stopped trying to fend me off, and when I saw he was in no condition to continue fighting, I stood and roared. I let out every bit of pent-up frustration, hurt, anger, and fear that I had, and I released it within that roar. I wouldn’t fear my fights anymore. I would trust myself, and what I was capable of doing, and I would knock down anyone in my path. It was a stranger’s pride versus my brother’s life, and my family would win every single time.
Marco would regret the day he made me his fighter ... I’d make sure of it.
CHAPTER FIVE
Eighteen Years Old ...
“All I’m saying is you both don’t have to go to public school. I can continue to homeschool you both right here.”
I gently banged my head that resting on the kitchen table, making my brothers laugh. All but my eldest brother, that is. Finished with my cereal, I pushed the bowl away and gave Ryder my full attention.
“I don’t know what you’re all finding so funny,” he grunted. “I’m serious.”
“Ry,” Damien began. “We’ve been homeschooled our whole lives. We’ve never been around kids our age ... not normal kids, at least.”
Ryder sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to convince us to stay at home.
“Look,” I continued, “it’s a good thing. We’ll be around people our age in a natural environment. Haven’t you always been worried that we were too sheltered?”
“Yeah,” he agreed with a nod. “But—”
“We want to go to this public school, Ry.”
Ryder looked at Damien when he cut him off, and though he looked so much like our dad, I knew he was a much better person and wouldn’t react violently towards us. He looked at all of us, and as I knew he would, he bobbed his head in understanding. He was clearly worried about us, and I hated that. He always worried about us, but something as trivial as us attending school didn’t need to be added to that lengthy list.
“The school is ten minutes away from here, and it has a max of three hundred kids. There are forty-five kids in our graduating class, Ry. Nothing is going to go wrong. Not even Dominic can get into trouble here.”
“Don’t jinx yourselves.”
“We’ll be fine,” I assured him.
Kane was observing us quietly, like he always did, but when we stood from the table, he snorted.
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s so funny?”
“You’re both matching.”
Damien and I looked at one another, then down at our school uniforms, before we looked back at Kane.
“You have to wear a uniform at this school. We can’t wear regular clothes.”
“I get that, but you’re twins, so it’s funny to see you match.”
I never thought of that.