Page 17

Chapter 17

Bones

M y heart pounded as I sat in the locker room, waiting for my very first fight of the start of my new career to begin. This made all my recent decisions so much scarier, much more real, and the full force of my new life was beginning to affect me.

Training was one thing. It had been hard enough to win the other fighters over—which I’d succeeded at somewhat—but I was acutely aware that winning the respect of the underground fighting world, as a whole, was going to be something else.

Sitting with wrapped hands, taking a moment to steady my nerves, and fully accepting that I was about to head back into the limelight, and all that came with that was about the same feeling as a punch to the gut.

I was not only scared about going into this for me. Although I was really not looking forward to the idea of even more negative publicity, I worried what that negativity would do to others who didn’t deserve it. I was also scared for my dad and his health. He had been thrilled for me, over the moon that I would return to the sport that had always made me so happy, especially when he saw how serious I was about my comeback. But I was afraid about having to leave him alone. He’d been okay so far. We’d been introducing the help of home healthcare nurses, and all had been fine, but Lotto and I were still around. It wasn’t always going to be that way if I started to win, and promoters wanted me again.

“Okay, Bones,” Frankie said firmly as he reentered the room with my full training and fight team following. “I’ve been thinking about it. Because of the way social media has built this fight, and because of how we are trying to move forward and not look back, I already decided we need to do zero interviews before the fight. And depending how the fight goes, maybe none after.”

I wanted to jump up and yell in anger at this one. What the hell was Frankie thinking? Interviews were part of the gig. It was part of fucking with the opponent’s head before the fight and gloating after the win. If I didn’t show my face before, I could come off as scared. And if I didn’t show my face after the win, how would my future opponents learn to fear me? Fuck that.

But as I glanced at Lotto, he nodded with Frankie as if he completely agreed with him.

I didn’t really know what to do at the moment. When I used to fight, I could make suggestions, and I was always listened to. But unfortunately, I lost that right when I fucked up. I gained the sense that if I started running my mouth off now, I’d end up isolating myself and proving the rumors that I was difficult were true. I was on probation every single day. Frankie had kicked my ass in training far more than he would do anyone else. The only reason I didn’t complain was that I needed it. I wasn’t afraid of hard work, and I would earn my place back in the cage.

With that, I forced down all my own opinions and continued to listen intently, quickly realizing that the more Frankie talked, the more he pissed me off. I’d heard whispers that the last top fighter for Smiley’s had left because of Frankie’s captaincy style, but I was doing my best not to let that affect me. I had much more to lose than anyone else. This was my only shot. If I had to get along with people I didn’t like and keep my opinions to myself, then so be it.

“Right,” he finished with the same scowl he always had. “Let’s get out and do this. Don’t fuck up.”

We lined up to enter the main room that housed the cage, and all of a sudden, as I heard the noise from the crowd, the headlines started to flow through my mind.

Disgraced boxer, Bones Vega, to return to the ring.

Will Bones throw the fight again?

Bones brings his tainted past to a once-respected gym with a legacy.

A sickness swirled around in my stomach, and my confidence level dropped. When I woke this morning, I’d felt ready to conquer. I’d wanted to prove to the people who believed in me that I was worth it. The surprise kiss I’d shared with Ari a little over a week ago floated to the forefront of my memory, and I’d wanted to make this work for her. I’d felt like I could take on the world and nothing would bother me. That I could brush it all aside and focus on all the nonstop training I’d been doing to prepare for this moment. But now all that confidence was gone.

Fuck, what the hell was I doing here? Why did I ever think that this was going to be a good idea?

If only my dad could be sitting in the crowds somewhere. I would feel a million times better if I could know he was there. Instead, he was at home, watching me on the Internet, which was all the support he could give me. It had to be enough, but I still wanted him nearby.

Where was Ari? I had Frankie, Lotto, and the team prepping me, painting my classic bone mask onto my face, standing near as I was weighed, had my hands inspected, and readied for the fight, but I never saw her.

Ever since that kiss, she had been keeping her distance. She wasn’t exactly cold, but she always seemed busy and rushing to the office and closing the door when I was around. I didn’t exactly have much time between the non-stop training, but I had still hoped she would be present for the fight. I needed her. I needed that positive energy. I needed my bloody angel right now.

I sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to calm my panic-stricken body, but it didn’t do much good. My heart still raced away, my palms were still sweaty, and I was trembling all over.

Just think about the fight . Just focus on how you’re going to show everyone what Bones is made of.

As the announcer called out, and we entered the cage with deep bass music blaring through the speakers, I forced out all my negative thoughts and looked around the audience seats… until a loud mass of boos rang out, just for me.

Booo.

You suck.

You fraud.

Go home, you cheat!

The Godwins should have killed you.

I hung my head, looking only at my feet, praying it wouldn’t last forever. I could win people back. I could prove I was a different person. I just needed to weather this storm first. If I fought well, if I gave it my all, I might even be able to start winning again.

“Ignore. Focus. Win,” Lotto coached, snapping me out of my self-pity, before leaving me to battle all the demons that awaited me.

I finally stood alone in the cage and faced my opponent who was already there waiting for my arrival as he bounced, pounding his fists together. I didn’t recognize him from when I last fought, so I wasn’t sure what he would deliver. With him being slightly larger than me, his punch might have enough force to knock me out.

I would have to dodge the bull like I had mastered doing so in the past. His aggressive nature didn’t intimidate me at all. I knew how to deal with brute force. Giving the man a cocky nod and a wink, I took pleasure in seeing it pissed him off. He was hoping he would scare me, and instead he did nothing of the sort.

The audience, however. That was a different story.

Wave after wave of sounds from the crowd added to the chaotic noise in my head. I could barely focus on anything when finally, the ring of the bell broke my spell.

It was on.

It was fucking on.

Like any bull, my opponent charged. This made it easy for me. He was the bull, and I was the fucking matador. It didn’t take much to avoid his punches, which allowed me the room to jab his ribs and get the kidney shots that would eventually hand me the win.

Dodge, punch.

Dodge, punch.

This was like stealing candy from a damn baby. I could have kept at this pace all night, but it was time to go in for the kill. One charge from the man out of frustration was all it took for me to land an uppercut to the jaw, and he was down.

Hard.

I didn’t have to wait for the count from the ref to know I’d won. The man would not be standing again.

Fucking knock-out without so much as breaking a sweat.

A massive cheer burst out from the crowd, filling my chest with an intense joy until I felt like they had the power to knock me out as I had to the poor man lying on the mat. I’d done it. I’d actually fucking done it.

I’d won.

Someone rushed up behind me and threw my arms into the air. As that happened, a chant started forming in the crowd. I listened closely for a second, trying to work out what was being said.

“Bones, Bones, Bones…”

They were cheering for me. Not a single ‘boo’ existed. Sure, I could see people who were pissed they’d lost their bet, but even then, there wasn’t hate in the air.

I felt lighter, happier than I had in a very long time, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the future looked more filled with color. I pictured my dad standing in front of the laptop screaming with his bowl of popcorn spilled all over the floor. The man was probably wheezing and gasping for air, but so overjoyed he wouldn’t even notice. I had made him proud, and that was worth every hour of training and every negative write-up about me reentering the scene as more than a freelance scab.

It transported me back to the time when I’d first joined the world of cage fighting. Everything had been so shiny and new back then. I’d never thought I would get sucked into the underbelly of power, the negative side of it. I’d thought that I was stronger than that, and that I was a better person.

Of course, I was proven so very wrong.

That wouldn’t happen again. I wouldn’t allow anything to grip me in the way gambling did before. Not this time. I was a grown-ass man. Not a fucked-up twenty-six-year-old kid with no real responsibilities. I would grasp this opportunity with both hands. I would appreciate it for what it was, and I was going to make the best of it, no matter what it took.

Dad was right. This was always where I was supposed to be, and I was so unbelievably glad Ari had forced me to take that chance.

“You did it.” Frankie grinned at me, all of a sudden my friend. “You fucking did it.”

“Yes, you did,” someone else said. It was the voice I had been waiting for. The only voice that mattered at that moment. The voice of the one person I wanted to make proud. “I knew you would. I never had a doubt.”

I realized the person holding my arms up in the air as the winner was Ari. She was standing behind me, holding me up. Holding me up...