“Relax, Hollis. This happens to everyone. Everyone loses a fight at some point. You just happened to go incredibly long before you were handed a loss. It’ll be okay,” he said.
“Thanks. It’s just a terrible feeling. I don’t like it.”
“I know you don’t. And I don’t expect you’ll have many of these. Will it happen again? Of course. But you’ll rebound well.”
“I will,” I promised.
“It’s not such a bad thing to show the world you’re human, just like the rest of us.” Vin winked at me and then let go of my hand. He patted my arm and then my upper back as I walked to the chair that was for me.
I set the bottle of the bright blue sports drink on the table and made sure to twist the cap off and take a sip with the label facing the cameras. As flashes of lights went off, my mind flashed back to Chase. I wondered if he felt sick every time a camera flashed. My agent began selecting reporters to ask a question. I made sure to turn my head in the direction of the reporter asking and by the fourth question, I realized my agent was taking care of selecting questions alternating from the left and right side of the room. That way as long as I looked in the direction of the question, the sponsors’ logos would be seen.
“Hollis, you’ve given us six years of nothing but victories. Did you think you were going to lose tonight?”
“No. I prepare as best as I can. But I never step into the cage thinking I’m going to win or lose.”
“Hollis, four years ago you became the youngest fighter to win a TCF title match. Why lose now?”
What the fuck kind of question was that? I didn’t even know how to answer that. I took the cap off of the bottle and gulped down some of the blue liquid.
“Understand that I didn’t step into the cage expecting to lose. Or win. It’s just what the cards had in store for me tonight. Brendan Rowe is an incredible fighter, and he’s someone I’ve looked up to ever since I learned about the sport.”
“So is the loss just the way the cookie crumbled today?”
The reporter’s question drew many laughs. I was sure they were laughing at the reference of my age.Keep your cool. Stay professional.I glanced at my agent, and he quickly selected another reporter to ask their question.
“Hollis, did you train for this fight as you do for all your other fights? Or was this one different?”
Fuck. Everyone was looking for a reason or answers as to why I’d lost. Couldn’t I even lose without getting the third degree?
“The training was the same. Physically everything was the same. The level of mental intensity was a bit different.”
“Why was the mental aspect different?”
“I have some things going on outside of the cage.”
“Troubles with the ladies?” someone asked without being called on.
“It’s a private family matter that I’d rather not go into.”
“Does this have anything to do with the increased security for your family members?”
I frowned and looked at my agent. How did anyone know I had increased security? Did people pay that much attention to who was around me or my family? Questions started being hollered out, and a bit of commotion erupted.
“Why did you have to increase security?”
“Are there threats to your family?”
“Is there a connection to the increased security of the young model, Haley Cooper?”
“Is this why your parents and youngest brother were absent from the fight tonight?”
“Were you distracted by whatever is going on with your family?”
My agent, Corey, made his way to the stage as the questions kept coming.
“Hollis, are you or your family members in immediate danger?”
“Hollis, do you think Marcos Silva is behind any of the threats to your family?”
