Paradise Fought (Abel) (13 page)

“I’m just curious. How do you know Abel Callahan?”

“Who?” she questioned me with pinched brows.

“Abel. Callahan. The boy that got me the interview.”

“I don’t know an Abel, honey.”

“So…” I looked at her in confusion.

“My sister is Chrysanthemum. You know her as Carrie.” She raised an eyebrow at me and winked.

Saturday night was fight night again. It was an important one, too. My name was out there now, a combination of Betta and Abel. In some manner, I was still only recognizable as the opponent of Thor. My body hummed to have a rematch with him inside the ring. My blood still roiled from his actions toward Elma. While he didn’t get in her pants, it was clear that she was upset by him. I tried to reason with myself that if she wanted him, she wouldn’t have let him leave, nor would she have let me hold her all night. I had to believe that the reality, of what could have happened, didn’t occur to her until Thor and I fought.

I’d let him escape that night. I should have finished him, but a sure way to lose any effort I’d gained was to fight outside the ring. If I was caught, I’d lose the wins and the underground would be lost to me. I needed to stay here to earn my way out of the deep. I was using the underground as practice, to build my skill and my reputation. I needed to have both before I tried to jump bowls; I had bigger fish to battle elsewhere.

My tunes were loud tonight. I needed the aggressive energy boost. I’d worked hard all week at the gym, sometimes twice a day, as I skipped the rest of the week’s human anatomy class. I told the professor I had a family thing to attend to and submitted this week’s work online, taking a quiz in the testing center. I avoided any chance of encountering Elma.

My comment about family business wasn’t a complete lie. I did search for this Sofie girl that Cain sought. The registrar’s office wasn’t willing to part with personal information, as I figured, but it was worth a shot to start there. They didn’t even want to confirm that she was a currently registered student. I tried my human anatomy professor next. Cain’s only other information was offering that she had taken the same course I was currently enrolled in. Unfortunately, the class had several teachers throughout a year. The professor could only offer me three possible names of others, who might have taught the course in the previous sessions. She couldn’t confirm who had taught a summer session, other than to say it wasn’t her.

Saturday night, I released thoughts of Elma from my mind. I had to be clear headed and focused for this fight. This was important. If I couldn’t beat a big contender, as well as a skilled fighter like Thor, I wasn’t going to be able to face anyone again. It was part of the reason I wanted the persona to stay hidden, to remain anonymous, until I had built a rep for victory. Tonight’s battle wouldn’t question bravery. It questioned proficiency as a fighter. Even if I lost, which I didn’t intend to do, the integrity of the fight was based on how long I lasted as his equivalent.

The call came and I followed Shepherd to my corner. The crowd was thunderous with the cry for Thor, but it wasn’t much lower in cheers for Betta. I was him. He was me. There was no more hiding.

“You,” Thor hissed at me as we met in the center of the cage. “You’re going down like you should have last week.”

“Fair fight, gentlemen, and fight fair,” the referee commented. I didn’t respond. My thoughts were centered. Thor had to be the one hammered home.

The fight started and Thor was on me fast. A fist to the face sent me sideways; a second later, I encountered a swift jab to the lower ribs. My left hook took him in the side of the head, but he spun out, then back at me with a low kick. In an attempt to axe him in response, he caught my foot and sent me to the mat.

“Fight, goldfish,” he mocked as his body covered mine. I had to get him off me. I turned into myself. The constraint of him over me was too much. A childhood memory flashed quickly, but I dove forward. I wrapped my legs around Thor and flipped us. I had to keep him down. A blow to the head didn’t deter him. He struggled like a slippery fish. He was out from under me easily, and we faced off upright again.

The buzzer signaled a return to corners. Coach yelled things at me, but I wasn’t hearing the words. Sound in my ear was garbled like I was underwater. I imagined I heard the siren cry of, “Take him, Betta.” A sweet accented drawl, despite the shrill screech of it, was something I didn’t want to notice in the moment. I couldn’t let her voice catch me. I refused to be baited by her. Her words meant nothing to me, I told myself. I shook my head and jetted forward.

By the third and final round, my opponent and I were moving with the combined emotion of hatred. This wasn’t courage on display. This was impassioned dislike. I wasn’t going down as easily as Thor anticipated. His verbal taunts didn’t unsettle me. It only propelled me inside myself, where I had the greatest strength. It was a secret a review tape would never reveal. I’d been verbally abused all my life. Words of disappointment, cracks about my incapability, and insults about my skill would only drive me onward. I refused to go back to who I was. The river of victory was flowing forward.

We were in a final hold. The time was getting close.

“You fucking pussy, just quit,” Thor demanded.

“Never,” I hissed. It was the first time I responded to him. It was hard to hold my tongue, but there again I had a hidden talent. I’d learned to never talk back. The slaps across the face from my father taught me to keep my mouth shut. Over time, Cain took the severity of those blows. He’d even taken worse, on my behalf, by opening his mouth to deflect my father from me. Because I was small, because I was weak; Cain felt he had to take care of me. Take the punishment for me.

I couldn’t let my breach of silence distract me. Speaking took thinking, and I had to keep my mind focused on physical control. My head twisted as if that would help force Thor over. We were struggling against each other, opposing forces when the unthinkable happened. He bit me. I screamed out and the ref called the time.

“He bit him,” Shepherd yelled, climbing into the space allotted for the fight. Thor was already celebrating with fists raised to the heavens. The crowd was going wild. I rolled to all fours and stood slowly. A trickle of blood was streaming down my right pec from my neck.

“He bit him,” Shepherd bellowed again. The ref approached me to examine the top of my shoulder. The skin was definitely broken. Thor’s teeth were sharp. The move was illegal. Two other officials were behind me. Words were being shouted, but I wasn’t listening. My body ached in places that had been continually worked, and yet still not prepared for a contender like Thor. Over Shepherd’s shoulder, I saw her. Her eyes were filled with concern as I stood panting. Blood was being wiped off my chest. Thor’s voice registered.

Without thinking, I spun, fist raised and ready to fight again. The crowd erupted. Officials were holding Thor and I back from continuing to destroy one another. The
boos
outweighed the cheers, but the steady combination almost cancelled each cry out by the equal enthusiasm on both sides. I didn’t care. My body was on a natural high, despite the loss. Shepherd and a guard eventually pulled me away.

In the locker room, I threw my gloves at the wall. My chest stung.

“That fucker probably gave me rabies,” I cursed.

Shepherd didn’t think that humorous as something was poured over the wound that only made me hiss in pain. I needed to have the bite examined.
I’d had a tetanus shot, but I’d need something else since he’d broken the skin. While I waited for a medic in the makeshift locker room, I heard her voice again.

“Betta?” she questioned. “Abel,” she said softer. I kept my back to her. Shepherd looked me in the eyes. I shook my head once. She wasn’t going to come to me now. I couldn’t handle Elma tonight.

“Look, sweetheart,” Shepherd began coldly, “You’ll need to step outside. Betta needs some tending to.”

“That’s why I’m here. I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she replied, addressing me around Shepherd. Coach had been staring at her over my shoulder, but glanced back at me again. Concern crossed my trainer’s face.

I shook my head infinitesimally.
Get her out
, I tried to express with my cold glare.

“He’s going to be okay. Step out now, please,” Coach bit with suppressed edginess. This was new territory for both of us. We hadn’t had to deal with women yet.

“Abel, please. I’m…I’m concerned.”

With that I stood and spun to face her.

“Why, Elma? Why now?”

She blinked rapidly, and I knew I’d be damned if she cried. She wasn’t that soft, though, which is why her tears the other night had surprised me.

“I…you haven’t spoken to me all week. I wanted to talk to you. And tonight…he bit you,” she said, stating the obvious and stepping toward me. The space was small so when I stepped back, not wanting her to touch me, I bumped into my coach.

“I’m going to go check for that medic,” Shepherd said hastily, then walked around me and closed the door to the tight confines. My best guess was this was an old janitor’s closet. The walls were closing in on me. I felt trapped with Elma blocking the door. I didn’t want to be in here with her.

“What do you want, Elma?” I snapped. It clearly wasn’t me.

“I want to know why you’re avoiding me.” Her fingers twisted back and forth between her clasped hands. She had on tight jeans and a revealing shirt. It was some kind of sheer material and she had a black bra underneath it. I had to look away. My body was already jacked. A certain part of me was ready for further release.

“I think we’re through, Elma. Don’t worry about the money. I got it figured out.”

She stared at me.

“I got the job. Thank you for that,” she said sheepishly.

I nodded once. I hadn’t really gotten her the job. Cain had somehow.

She stepped closer to me, and I was backed into the wall. My mind began to race. I didn’t like to be cornered. My body was at odds with itself, as the energy of the fight was slowing down, and the fear of her touching me was picking up. While I had craved her hands on me in my nightly dreams, the actual physical connection would be torture. I couldn’t play games with her any longer.

Too late, her hands came to my bare chest. My fingers gripped her wrists and spun her. Her back connected with the wall, and I towered over her in a move she had taught me. I boxed her in with hands on either side of her head, pinning her wrists like our specimen in human anatomy. I wanted to examine her, every inch of her, but I fought that intention. Arms extended, I kept my distance.

“As I said, we’re done, Elma.”

“What about your lessons?” she teased. “The tutoring sessions.”

“I’ll find another partner. A more willing one,” I mocked. I bit my tongue, preventing it from further insult. Elma had certainly been willing with Thor, until her mind overruled her body. I didn’t intend to force her to commit to something she clearly didn’t want to do, which was be with me. I needed what Elma knew, not Elma herself. There were other female fish in the sea.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t willing,” she said softly. I stared at her. She lowered her eyes then looked back up at me and blue speared me to the soul.

“What are you saying, Elma?” I asked hesitantly. Elma was good at games. It was written on her face. After thinking long and hard about her comments regarding her need for Thor, I determined that Elma had ulterior motives with him specifically.

“I’m saying I still feel I owe you. You covered the tuition. You found me a job. An amazing job.”

“Amazing, huh? You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.” I pushed off the wall. The excitement on Elma’s face told me she was pleased with the new position. She would be taken care of there. I wasn’t going to hold her to the money she owed me. I was earning it back myself.

“I could tell you about it tonight,” she added, still pressed against the wall. My eyes narrowed at hers in distrust.

“What do you want from me now, Elma?” I sighed. I had nothing left to give her.

“I could still teach you a thing or two,” she flirted, but I wasn’t playing.