16 : protecting vengence

— Everleigh

(unedited so please comment mistakes)

The entire place was sketchy from the moment we walked in. I was asked how much money I'd like to put up, and I ended up putting about five-hundred for Kayo—double or nothing. It was all the money he ended up giving to me in tips, so I figured it had some of his luck sprinkled on it. The rest of the guys put money on Kayo, but they put a lot more than five hundred.

They had to have gone to watch fights quite a bit. Everyone knew Andre, Malik, and Tyler. From the moment we walked in, they were greeted by almost everyone. I casually looked over at Xyah to catch the blank expression on her face, but the moment she noticed my gaze, she broke out into a smile.

Just when I was about to return my attention to out in front of me, I bumped into a chest as hard as steel.

"Watch where you're going," he grumbled. I looked up into stone cold eyes. He was tall, probably just a bit shorter than Kayo. One of the first things I noticed was that he was shirtless and had scars covering his body—similar to Kayo. He had to be older than me but not more than ten or twelve years.

The moment his eyes met mine, interest swirled within them.

"You shouldn't be here," he said. A smirk settled on his lips. "Girls like you shouldn't be here."

A shock ran down my spine. There was something about the way he looked at me that was frightening. He was like a lion getting ready to feast on his prey. I gulped.

"I—"

"Kyle," Malik said. The man looked away from me, and it was like my lungs could finally work again. With his attention on Malik, I turned to Xyah to see she was just as shocked.

"Who are you?" Kyle asked him, quirking up a brow.

"Malik. She's friends with Kayo, so I would suggest you leave her be," Malik defended me. At the mention of Kayo's name, Kyle lit up like a Christmas tree. An actual smile came across his face as he turned to me again.

"A friend of Kayo's?" he asked me. I didn't know what the right answer was as he looked me up and down. There was something about his smile that failed to meet his eye as he took a step closer to me. I stood still as Kyle leaned in closer to me until he was just a whisper away from my ear.

"You tell Kayo I will kill him and then take his girl as a fucking prize," he whispered. My eyes widened as he pulled away from me but not before grabbing my chin and pressing his lips against the corner of my lips. I cringed.

Suddenly, he was pulled off me.

"Oh?" Kyle laughed as Kayo stood up in front of him. There was a snarl on his face as he stared Kyle down. Neither of them would break eye contact as they stared the other down.

"Get the fuck on," Kayo demanded. I was right. Kayo was taller by only about an inch. It was still easy for them to look eachother in the eye. I looked around to see that a crowd was beginning to surface as everyone waited for some kind of fight to break out. What the hell is happening right now?

Kyle chuckled. "Did I strike a nerve? I was just beginning to tell your girl how I couldn't wait to fuck her—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kayo pushed him. Kyle was about to respond with a fist as he raised it up, ready to go flying at Kayo when some older man came running toward the two of them.

"Kyle! Kayo! Both of you, back the hell up!" he shouted. Something worst than anger came across Kayo's face—it was pure hatred—as he stared at the man.

When neither of them moved, the older man began to push Kyle back.

"You settle this in the ring! Kyle, you better leave before Mr. Siciliano hears about this. You know what happened last time, don't you?" the older guy threatened. Kyle finally looked away from Sasha to glare at the older man inbetween them. He lowered his fist, took one last glance toward me, and stormed out of the facility while the crowd boo'd.

"You're about to fight! Go!" the man demanded Sasha. Sasha looked at me, something unrecognizable came across his face as he turned around and made his way toward the ring.

I let out the loudest breath that I had been holding onto for so long.

"Damn," Xyah muttered. "What is up with you attracting all these hot, giant fighters?"

"Damn, E! That was tense!" Malik exclaimed.

"Malik, you are a fucking idiot. You know damn well Kayo and Kyle been beefing from the jump, and you go in with that..." he deepened his voice, "'She's Kayo's friend' bullshit! You were supposed to help not make it worse!" Tyler yelled.

For once, I agreed with Tyler. I didn't know Kyle, but I could sense every bit of hatred he had for Sasha. The man said they had to settle in the ring, but that was one fight I didn't want to see. Knowing what Kyle had in store for me if he won also brought a nasty chill to run down my spine.

"Let's just sit down before E runs into more fighters," Andre tried to joke, but no one laughed. "Geez, tough crowd."

My heart was still racing and my palms were sweaty. I didn't have it in me to laugh. Andre led us over to an empty row that was sort of in the middle and we made our way over to chairs where we all sat down. Xyah sat next to me with Andre on the other side of her. Malik also sat right beside me.

"You know, E, I don't even want a chance with you anymore. Not after seeing all the competition I now have. I think it's best if I took myself out the race," Malik muttered. I couldn't help but laugh, and with that, all the previous tension melted away.

Just as I got settled down, a spotlight shined down on the caged ring as Sasha stood in one corner and some man who was slightly shorter, but looked like a body builder stood in the other. He was completely covered in tattoos all the way up to his neck. Even his face had a bit of tattoos on it.

They were like two starved birds locked away in a cage for the guests that would pass by and stare. They were animals, and to us, entertainment. Even as they got the okay to begin fighting, it was like I couldn't look away. I anticipated the gore and violence, and for some reason, it grasped my attention and wouldn't let go.

Sasha managed to block one of the guys punches. Just as Sasha blocked the punch, the other guy lifted his leg, preparing for a kick when Sasha grabbed his foot and used it to hold him in place as he brought his own leg up and slammed it into the guy's face. He quickly fell to the floor. There was so much force put into the kick that a loud cracking noise could be heard as the guy's tooth went flying out as blood began to seep from his mouth.

Ou's and ah's could be heard from the crowd as Sasha whipped around just as the guy began to get up from the ground. He began to back up until Sasha was directly in front of him. He went in for a punch which Sasha blocked, and another, followed by another. Sasha grabbed him by his neck and slammed his knee into his side. I was sure his ribs broke by the sound that echoed through the room as he fell to the floor in pain.

"Finish him!"

"End him, Kayo!"

"Finish him!"

Chants began to fill the room as my eyes grew wide. I didn't want to believe it was true—that fights like these ended in death. I really didn't want to see Sasha murder someone. I shut my eyes and prepared for the worse when suddenly I could hear booing from the crowd.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Sasha exiting the ring. I watched him as he walked out toward the back. I quickly got up and went after him. Not sure why or what compelled me, but I followed after him. I only stopped when a girl was handing him a towel and batting her eyelashes.

Really, another one? I thought to myself.

It was electric the way he suddenly lifted his head to see me standing there. He pushed past her, throwing the sweaty and bloody towel in her face and made his way over to me. I could just see that he was pissed.

"What are you doing here, Everleigh?" he asked. The way he said my name made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

"I came with my friends... to watch," I told him.

He narrowed his eyes at me but didn't say anything.

"You don't come here. It's not a place for a girl like you," he said. He turned around and was beginning to make his way toward a restroom when I crossed my arms over my chest.

"By that, you mean a girl that doesn't respect herself?" I asked. I wasn't sure why I did it, but I did.

He turned back around and stalked over to me until he was hovering above me. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hard. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just leave, okay?" he questioned. I settled with a sigh as I turned around to make my way back to my friends who were waiting for me. Once Xyah saw the look on my face, she placed her arm around my shoulders and led me out the door and toward the car.

—

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