The guy is bigger than me, taller and probably stronger but that’s okay, I’ve had worse odds.
The fight in the ring ends, not in death for a change and the unconscious guy is carted off to recover while the winner accepts his winnings, and the rest is dished out to the gamblers betting on each fight.
Blood is haphazardly mopped up off the mat before the door is opened once more and I’m grabbing the bars to haul myself up. The clang of the metal is loud in the now silent room as the door is locked behind me and then Brandon.
“In the ring,” A voice bellows from the speakers, “We have Brandon Hall and Sebastian Levine. Place your bets!”
I walk to the center of the ring and pound my knuckles against Brandon’s.
And then the fight begins, there’s no flare or bright lights, it’s just pure malice and aggression. Brandon slams a clean fist against my jaw, instantly splitting my lip which has me spitting blood onto the already stained mat. I get my own hit in, just above his eye and then another that splits his skin.
It goes on much like that for a few minutes as I learn his moves, learn his weaknesses. I take a hard kick in the ribs, feeling something crack and steal my breath which he uses to his advantage. My back slams against the mat and blood pools in my mouth as hit after hit lands against my face. For a moment I think this is it.
There’s a ringing in my head, drowning out all the noise and a light behind my eyes that makes the body above mine a blur of darkness in my vision. All I can do is take the beating, trying to defend myself but the blows keep landing.
Pain flares through me, lighting every nerve on fire.
But then I see Willow. Front and center in my head, I see my sister. I see every ounce of damage and destruction I have caused. I don’t want to die; I just want to pay what is due.
I cannot fucking leave this earth with the people I love still around me. Not when they need protecting, even if they need to be protected from me.
I do this to pay for my crimes, but I won’t be meeting the devil tonight.
Blocking his next hit and the next, I buck my hips up, catching him off guard since I’d just laid there and taken the beating, something within me coming alive with the violence that floods my system. I pay for my crimes by giving both my blood and theirs. I take and I fucking take, steal lives like a kid in a candy store.
I get my arm locked around his throat and he thrashes,slamming a fist into my side, right above where he’d already clocked me and if the rib wasn’t broken before, it definitely is now. I grit my teeth through the pain and tighten my arm but he’s strong, and big and if I don’t do something now, he’ll get the upper hand again.
My mind is conjuring images of Willow, under me, on me, her smile and her laugh, her freckles and wild red hair. She’d never forgive me if I lost this and didn’t go back to her. I have payback to serve for letting me leave with the skin mask still on my face.
The rage in me is now a simmering pot of water, dulled now that it’s been served its pound of flesh, so I jerk my arm, snapping Brandon’s neck within the cradle of my elbow.
Every time, I always believe they’ll be a minute of fight left, they’ll be some kind of thrashing and begging but it never happens. His body goes instantly limp, and I drop him to the floor, the crowd around me going silent as they stare at the lifeless form at my feet.
Yeah, they all thought I was going to lose.
But I’m Sebastian fucking Levine,I never lose.
Jumping out of the ring, I head straight for that section where River is still sitting, his eyes following me. Yeah, this kid is fucking young, early to mid-twenties at a push.
“Need a ride?” I grunt, throat raw.
He quirks a brow, “You in any condition to drive?”
“Nah,” I shrug, “But you look worse.”
He chuffs a laugh, “Fair enough.”
And that’s that. I accept my winnings from the clerk on the way out and don’t stop for a second as I push through the pulsing crowd on the upper floor with River following silently behind.
Even as we make our way to my car parked a block over, we don’t speak, nor on the journey to the hospital.
“Thanks, man,” River grunts before he shoves open my door without another word and makes his way into the ER, leaving a pool of blood behind on my seats.
And then I make my way to the only place I want to be right now.
I make my way to Willow.
Chapter Fifteen
