Joey Avery appears to have everything. Happiness. Loving parents. A life all mapped out. But it's all a lie. An entire life based on a lie. First of all, she's a her, not a him, though it gets people confused all the time, since her name is typicall...
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It's been forever since I last was in this ring and I feel powerful, yet careful, knowing Joey is mine and probably don't want to see me get hurt. I hesitate when she told me she wanted me to keep boxing. I mean, it's not that I don't like it anymore, I do, my priorities just lie else where now. She's my priority number one and I wanted to be entirely sure that she was fine with it, with me fighting for fun. She went through so much, she begged for violence to stop her whole life, I would've stopped if she told me to, if I was under the impression she was totally okay with this. But she assured me that it wasn't the same.
"On the right side, our local champion, Xander 'Knock Out' Wells," I don't greet the crowd, I stay focus on my objective, after making sure Joey is safe and comfortable, of course.
She smiles at me, the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. I am going to win tonight. For her.
"On the left side, the one and only, Bradley 'The Wild' Jensen."
My head immediately shoots up, finding myself face to face with the one person I want to see dead the most. I wasn't supposed to go against him tonight, he wasn't even supposed to fight tonight, he wasn't on the planning. I take a deep breath before scanning the crowd, meeting Joey's eyes. As much as she looks surprised, she doesn't seem scared, she gives me a nod, allowing me to stay on the ring, telling me not to run to her.
Sebastian gets in the ring, as well as Jensen's coach and they both prep us. Bash makes sure my hands are properly wrapped. They are, thanks to Joey.
"Look, I know your story with Jensen goes way back and that there are thousands of reasons why you should kill him, but don't let your anger get the best out of you."
"Thanks for having a little faith in me."
"Oh, those aren't my words, man, they're Joey's," he tells me, and I can't help but smile.
She always puts so much trust in me, I can't break that.
"You can get in there, and you can get this fight over without a dead body on your hands, go kick his ass properly and fairly," he adds. "Disclaimer, those are my words, not hers.
I laugh a bit, letting my anger out by knocking my gloves against one another, before walking to the center of the ring, Bradley Jensen is one punch away, his typical assaulter's smirk on his face, but I keep my cool, I have to listen to Joey's advice. I can see in the corner of my eyes and the simple sight of her reminds me how far I've come, every good thing that has happened since she walked into my life. I can't risk all of that for some stupid revenge. She has forgiven him — not forgotten, just forgiven —, maybe I can do the same. I have to stop living in the past. Being mad at Jensen, being mad at my dad, being mad at the world. Joey has been through much worse and she's still standing, smiling, living the best she can.
If not for myself, I'll do it for her.
When the fight begins, it is expected that Jensen wants to win, if not kill me. He comes at me with all his weight and strength, but he forgets to protect himself, allowing me to punch him right on the side of his head, throwing him to the mat. He gets up in a second, throwing himself at me once more, hitting me right in the stomach, again and again and again. Those poor ribs are going to hurt later on. I defend myself, pushing him off of me and knocking him out after many inevitable blows and blood running out of my nose. The referee grabs my hand, lifting it in the air to announce my victory, while Bradley Jensen difficulty rises to his feet and gets his bag from the side.
