9 : winners and losers

— Everleigh

I had just gotten out the shower when I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped into my room. It was so much colder than my bathroom and all I could do was shiver as I pulled out my drawers and gathered my clothes.

A sigh pushed past my lips when loud music boomed throughout the entire apartment. It was bad enough that I had to listen to it all day at work. I really wanted to come home, relax, and give my poor, exhausted ears some rest.

After slipping on some panties, a oversized tee, and some shorts, I quickly braided my curls into two thick french braids, and walked out of my room. Xyah was in the living room sitting on her boyfriend's lap with some of his obnoxious friends sitting beside them. They didn't seem like much but they had money for days.

"Come join the party, E. We're celebrating," Andre said, smiling at me. Andre was puerto-rican and black—he made sure to remind me every single day. He had little coils all around his head with a high taper fade. He was lighter in complexion. He always made sure to rock the newest pair of Jordan's, using the money he won from all the gambling he did but could almost never afford. He dropped out of college a year ago, becoming a full-time gambler.

"Celebrating what, exactly?" I asked.

"The big fight tomorrow. We're gonna make a lot of money," Andre's friend, Malik, said, grinning at me almost flirtatiously. It could have all been in my mind, but I always felt like anything Malik did was flirting.

He was some musician's grandson. Malik came from a lot of money but he never really flaunted it, unlike Andre who didn't have a lot of money. Somehow, Andre always walked around looking more wealthy than Malik.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked him.

"We put ten thousand on Kayo... double or nothing. Kayo has never lost a fight, he's going to win," Andre said. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"And if he loses, then what? You're short ten-thousand dollars which is a lot of money," I said.

I looked at Xyah, hoping she would back me up but she was silent. I hated anytime he was around, she always acted like she couldn't go against him.

"Have you seen him? 6'7, shredded, tatted, bad-to-the-motherfucking bone. Trust me when I say he's not going to lose," Tyler interrupted. Tyler was white, and he had the blue eyes and light brown hair to prove it. He was also the group's target for any dark humored joke ever. Sometimes, I felt bad for him until he would touch my ass without my consent.

He was the son of some attorney. Tyler was in law school, ready to follow in his father's footsteps. I had no clue how he ended up hanging out Andre and going to an underground fighting arena every weekend.

"Did this dude just say 'bad-to-the-motherfucking bone?'" Malik laughed. It didn't take long for Andre to join in.

"On some Conor McGregor type shit," Andre added in, laughing even harder.

Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Y'all are insane," I muttered. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight and turn the music down, please."

I turned on my heel.

"Aye, E! Wait up!" Malik called from behind me.

I let out a loud sigh before turning to face him. He got up from the couch and headed over to me, licking his bottom lip. I could see it in his eye, and with the way he looked me up and down that he was hoping I'd invite him to my bedroom.

"When are you gonna stop acting like you don't want me?" he asked.

Xyah tucked her lips into her mouth like she was about to start laughing. My eyes narrowed at Malik as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I wasn't aware that I was acting," I said. Maybe I was a little rude, but Malik and his advances had to stop. There was nothing more I hated than a guy who couldn't take no for answer. I wasn't playing hard to get, I didn't secretly want a chase... I just wanted to be left alone. Maybe me not wanting him was a bruise to his gigantic ego.

"Damn, E... that hurt," he declared, patting himself on his chest, specifically above his heart. "I thought we had something more special than that," he said, going to grab one of my braids.

"Don't touch her!" Xyah exclaimed, getting up from her boyfriend who tried to pull her back into his lap. She stormed over to Malik and pointed an accusatory finger in his face. "I'm sick and tired of you and Tyler touching her when she clearly doesn't want to be touched. The next time that happens, you both have to leave and you can't come back."

I smiled at her appreciatively. It probably wasn't easy for her, and I was so proud to see her stepping out whatever spell Andre had her in any time he was around. She returned my smile before going back into her boyfriend's lap. He didn't say anything now, but I was sure she would be hearing something from her later. He always acted like he owned her.

"Damn, chill," Malik said holding his hands up and making his way back over to the couch.

'Chill' was their favorite word and it annoyed the hell out of me.

"What I do, Xyah?" Tyler asked, seemingly hurt by her true accusation.

Xyah narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't play dumb with me."

He settled with rolling his eyes. "Get your girl, Andre."

"Shut the hell up!" she exclaimed. Her brows were furrowed as she stared him down. I could see it in Xyah's face that she was ready to fight.

"Chill," Tyler said.

"Everybody needs to chill!" Andre exclaimed. "We supposed to be celebrating the fight tomorrow! In Puerto Rico..." here he goes. "...we would never ruin a good chance to party. Malik, stop tryna' holla' at Everleigh, she clearly don't want your ass. Tyler, don't disrespect my girl like that ever again. Everleigh, we'll turn the music down. And baby, Xyah, please calm down."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Since when did Andre become the peacemaker? It almost made me laugh. Instead, I nodded my head just like everyone else in the room.

Just like Andre said he would, he got up to lower the volume of the music. Malik stared me down with narrowed eyes. Tyler was glaring at Xyah, and Xyah was glaring right back at him. The tension in the room was thick, and I couldn't help but feel like it was all my fault.

"Night," I muttered. No one responded. Well, no one other than Xyah, who turned to face me, saying, "Goodnight girl! Tomorrow will be a good day for us."

"For all of us," Andre corrected her.

I gave her a small smile before returning to my room. Before I closed the door, I could hear Malik talking shit about how I rejected him. With me gone, their party was back in full swing—only the music was lowered this time.

I pulled out my laptop and began working on my manuscript again. I've always loved romance. My dad said that it was because I just loved love. From the moment I was eleven and lost my best friend, I had no one to talk to, so I wrote everything out. It began with letters I wanted Sasha to read once we found eachother again, and soon, it became stories, and then finally, it was novels.

I still didn't have a name for my book, and I was hoping that by the time it actually got published, would have something perfect.

Suddenly, my door barged open and Xyah poked her head in. I could hear the chanting of, "Chug! Chug! Chug!"

"Hey!" Xyah exclaimed over the loud men in the living room.

"I just wanted to check up on you. You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Are you?" I questioned.

Her shoulders fell as a sad smile came across her face. I watched her shrug. "I want to break up with Andre," she muttered.

I was sure she could see the shock on my face.

"But..." she sighed. "I'm scared of what he might do once I do break up with him."

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

She peeked behind her as if she were looking for someone before stepping into my room. Once she shut the door, she walked over to my bed and sat down.

"Please promise me that you won't say anything," she said. Her tone was unlike anything I ever heard before. She was beyond serious, and it scared me a little bit.

"Okay," I drawled out curiously.

"No, I need you to promise me," she stated.

"I promise. You're scaring me," I told her.

She lifted up her shirt and on her side was a very large and dark spot. My eyes widened as I took in the sight of her bruise. I went to touch it and she immediately winced.

"He did that to you?" I questioned.

She quickly pulled her shirt back down. I could see the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "Yes. He asked me for money to put in with that big fight bullshit, and I told him that I needed the money for rent. Then, he hit me,so I gave him my money. After that, he apologized and now he's acting all nice today... defending me and stuff. I gotta get out of this relationship with him."

I pulled her in for a hug as I noticed her sobbing.

"I'm so stupid," she cried.

"No, it's not your fault," I whispered. "We'll figure this out."

I was ready to go kill that fucker myself.

"I promise."

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