It's Not Perfect

Chapter 9

I held my breath.

Ryder's match was after this one. Just like last time Ryder's fight would close out the night, assuming he won. Because if he lost, there would surly be a riot.

And I would be leading it.

The announcer was calling out the shots as two men circled each other in the ring. I had just seen them a couple hours ago, laying on the couches in that room watching T.V. They had seemed to be friends. But I guess friends fought friends in these matches, Miguel didn't seem to care. He was just in it for the money, he wouldn't give two shit's if one of this fighters got seriously injured. And that's what scared me. Ryder was the big shot, the super star, but Miguel still wouldn't blink an eye if Ryder died tonight. He'd have another fighter replace him at a moments notice. Of course no one could compete with Ryder's destructive power but I still worried.

And I saw that Maria did too.

Despite what she had said about us being the 'queens' and always being in control, she almost cried when Chase got socked so hard across the face that blood sprayed from his mouth like a hose. Chase managed to finish the fight and win, but Maria and I saw him collapse into Ryder's arms as soon as he was out of sight from the crowd. Ryder's eyes sought out mine then he disappeared around a corner, dragging Chase's unconscious body with him.

Even though I had just met Maria hours before, I found myself consoling her just as Julie was. It was almost as if we were best friends, comforting our saddened sister. And Maria happily accepted it, she didn't try to brush off her fear as though it weren't important. It was refreshing.

A loud noise snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up in just enough time to see one of the men get thrown across the mat, slamming his face into the metal caging in front of me. I felt my chest rising and falling quickly, I was panting. The man fell onto the mat, his eyes rolling backwards and closing. The other man straightened out to his full height, barely able to stand himself. He rose one hand while the announcer rose his other, yelling the victors name. But my eyes were glued to the unconscious man on the floor.

What if that's how Ryder ends up tonight? What if his opponent is too strong this time and he doesn't make it out of the cage awake? I didn't know how to react to something like that, I didn't know if I'd be able to react to something like that.

"Alright, we're going to take a short break to...ahem...clean up the mat." The announcer informed, laughing at his own joke, "Then we'll bring out the two men that will really heat up the night. Don't loose your excitement folks because we'll be right back."

I let out a long breath, I had a little time before Ryder fought. I turned to Maria and found her staring at the darkened hallway that led to where the fighters waited before each fight and where they vanished to after each fight, either walking by themselves or being wheeled out on a stretcher. She wanted to see Chase but she felt obligated to stay here because of me. I squeezed her arm, when she looked at me I gave her a small smiled and shouted over the crowd, "Go see him, tell him I said he fights like a girl."

Maria slowly smiled then she hugged me tightly, "I'll be back soon."

Then she disappeared amongst the crowd. And I was left alone.

But for the first time in forever, I didn't feel alone.

I felt like I did back in my Junior year. I felt like I could make something of myself. In this moment I knew I could get over what Duke had done to me, because I was about to watch a man fight who actually cared about my safety. He was risking himself for me and that warmed my timid heart which had been dormant for the last year. Ryder was changing my life, for the better, and he didn't even know it. For a long time, I didn't know it either.