Page 12 of 4 Corinthians

The doors opened again, and Robert entered the room. “Uri,” he called my name. “Come.” He left without waiting for me.

I patted my brother on the shoulder, then followed Robert to the sparring room. We hadn’t been back to his office since the incident with Corinthians. Every time I was close to his office, I got nervous. When I closed my eyes at night, I saw Corinthians being beaten. I haven’t had a full night's sleep since.

I walked into the sparring room to see Corinthians sitting in the corner of the ring. Her daddy was talking to her about something, and all she did was nod. Ruben looked frustrated, and every so often, he would ball up his fist.

“Uri!” Robert called my name again, and I turned to look at him. “Get in the ring.” I did what he said and stood in the center of the ring. “You will be fighting someone new. You won't hold back. Not once do you hear me?”

“Yes,” I answered with a single nod.

“No!” I heard Corinthians yell. I turned to see her being held back. Her daddy was holding her while Logan tied her to the corner cushions of the ring. “No! You promised. You said if I fought, she wouldn’t have to!”

“Uri,” Robert said, and I slowly took my eyes off Corinthians to look at him. “You ready?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“Daddy, no!” Corinthians cried. “Please no!”

“It’s fine, Corinthians; she needs this,” Ruben replied. “Now stop crying.” He jumped down from the ring and walked away. I watched as he left the sparring room, the door slamming behind him, echoing.

“No!” Tears fell from Corinthians' eyes. She turned to Robert. “Please don’t make her! I will fight. I will fight him! Don’t make her do it.”

“Pet,” Robert chuckled and walked to the ring. “This is all for you.”

“Not her, not him,” she cried, then turned to me. “Please don’t. S-s-s-s-she can't handle it. I will do it. Tell him I will fight you.”

The doors opened again, and in walked Corinthians' little sister, Psalms. Corinthians was right; she was so small. Her eyes were big as she looked around. She clenched a ladybug stuffed animal against her chest. I’d seen a lot of kids come through those doors, but she had to be the youngest.

I shook my head and stepped back when Ruben helped her into the ring. She saw her sister, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Robert! Please!” Corinthians pleaded. “I’ll fight Uri. Let me do it!”

“Pet,” he sighed. “You can't keep protecting her. She needs to be in the ring.”

“Let me do it,” she cried. “I’ll do it. Don’t make her do it.”

Robert stared at Corinthians. At first, I thought he was going to say no, but then he sighed and nodded. “Untie her,” he instructed Logan.

“Untie her?” Logan asked, confused. “You said-“

“I know what I said!” Robert yelled. “Now do as I said and untie her.”

Logan worked quickly to untie Corinthians, and once he did, she ran to her sister and hugged her. Corinthians said something in her ear that made her nod, then Corinthians stood. She pulled her sister to the other side of the ring, away from Logan, and set her down.

“Stay right here, keep your back to the ring,” Corinthians told her once she was settled. “And no matter what you do, don’t turn around.”

“I can fight him, Cori,” her little sister said. Her voice was so light I almost didn’t hear her. “I can do it.”

“I got it, Bug,” Corinthians said, wiping the tears from her face. “I told you I would protect you, and I mean it. Now sit here and don’t turn around until I’m done.”

“Okay,” her little sister said, nodding. Corinthians put her hands over her ears, kissed her head, then stood up.

Without saying anything, she looked at me, then at Robert.

“Don’t hold back,” Robert said.

I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, me or Corinthians, but it didn’t matter. Corinthians nodded, then ran at me full speed. Her fist hitting my face made me stumble back in surprise. It didn’t hurt, but I was surprised by how fast she was moving.

I sidestepped her punches, knowing that she would tire out before I would. A few more swings and Corinthians stepped back. She tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to figure something out and then glanced over at Ruben. He was watching, his hands in his pockets, his face void of all emotions.