I watch him as he warms up, as I’m not allowed to leave the room. There are girls in half their clothes walking around in here, too, but he doesn’t seem to notice them the way I do. I don’t get it. Is this what happens at these kinds of fights? I’ve heard my father talk about them before and how they needed to end them, but I’ve never actually seen one take place.
Royal rolls his shoulders, his eyes catching mine as I stare at him with my mouth slightly parted. He’s not ugly. Far from it if you ask me, he’s really good-looking in that rugged bad boy kind of way.
His eyes never leave mine, even as girls rub against his chest and wrap their arms around his neck. His lips move, talking to them, but his eyes … his eyes stay locked with mine. I’m not sure what message he’s trying to convey here, but I have to look away first.
“You stay right next to me. You don’t walk off with anyone,” Jeremy orders, catching my attention this time. Jeremy isn’t bad-looking either. He’s smaller than Royal, but I have no doubt he’s just as dangerous.
“Okay.”
“Good. I don’t want to have to throw your ass into the ring,” he says. Now I turn to look at him as if he’s lost his mind. “You don’t think I would? Women fight here, too,” he tells me. I swallowhard and nod my understanding. I’m not a fighter. Never have been.
“Let’s get this shit going,” I hear another man yell. I’ve heard talk of other fights happening before this one. They kept saying that this is the main event. A chill runs down my spine as they announce Royal. He walks toward me, his hand resting on my back. It’s like ice has wrapped around my spine, and I suddenly don’t know how to move.
“Pay attention, River,” he says before giving me a shove toward Jeremy. Jeremy grabs my wrist as we all leave the room. We make our way down the hall and out into the main room, where people are packed in and screaming.
Royal goes straight to the cage while Jeremy drags me along to the side of it.
“Stay right here,” he orders me. I stand, planted in this spot as they announce the other fighter. We turn to watch him walk out, and my jaw drops. He’s massive. A lot bigger than Royal.
He takes his place in the cage, and I tap on Jeremy’s shoulder.
“Is this fair?” I ask him over the roar of the crowd.
“Not in the slightest,” he tells me before turning back.
After the announcements and shit, the fight starts. I don’t want to watch this. I don’t want to see what happens, but I also can’t pull my eyes away from it.
Fists fly, kicks land. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Blood splatters on the floor, running down both of their faces. My hands clench the side of the cage as I watch the showdown continue.
“Get in there, Royal!” Jeremy yells. I turn my head and look around at the whole crowd screaming and cheering. They like this. They like seeing them bloody and broken. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s just me, but this is too much. I pull my hands from the cage and step back, but Jeremy is there to stop me.
“I can’t watch this,” I tell him. He laughs.
“Too fucking bad.” He shoves me back against the cage while the fight continues. Royal hits the ground, and I gasp. The other man climbs on top of him, punching him in the face.
I don’t know where it comes from or why I say it, but I find myself yelling at him to get up.
“Get up, Royal!” I scream as loud as I can. Jeremy laughs, but Royal flips the man off and rises to his feet once more. He waits for the other man to stand, and then he moves in. More hits, punches. A kick to the head and the man goes down. He hits the mat hard as the crowd goes insane.
I stand here with my mouth open, watching what happens next. The ref grabs Royal’s hand and holds it in the air. Jeremy goes insane, rushing into the cage while I stand here shocked.
After a few minutes of being pushed around by the crowd, Royal throws his arm around my shoulders and tugs me along with them.
“Close your mouth, or I’m going to put something in it,” he tells me. I slam my mouth shut as he laughs and leads me back into the same room we started in.
He releases me, and I drop into a chair across the room as people move in around him. Jeremy comes to stand by my side, no doubt making sure I don’t run.
Girls throw themselves at Royal as he wipes his face on a towel. I can see the bruises forming from here as he cleans the blood off his face.
“Don’t move,” Jeremy tells me. I nod my head as he walks away, telling Royal something. He nods his head, his eyes coming to meet mine. I sit, staring back at him, unsure what to say or do.
He starts speaking and clears the room until there’s only us.
“What?” he asks.
“I’ve never … I don’t know …”
“Adrenaline. It’s what you feel right now. That high.”
