𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌'𝖘 𝖊𝖓𝖉

3

        .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛
"It doesn't matter." I stand, walking towards her. She backs away, her eyes roaming my entire body.
  Her back hits the wall, and I take a single step closer before stopping.
"If you tell anyone, I swear to god I'll-" I'm cut off by the gravity of my thoughts, fearing my own words. Staring into her eyes, they flick from my eyes to my lips.
  My eyes begin to travel too, scanning her nose and lips. Her plump, pink lips.
What the fuck.
My eyes snap back up to hers.
A single bead of sweat runs down my face as she studies it. Though her face is showing fear, her eyes are filled with everything but.
A snarky grin appears on her face, my irritation levels spiking.
As much as I want to smile right now, I think it'd be scary if I did.
"My god, Adalyn." I palm my face, sliding my hand down and off. I step away, sitting back down on the wooden bench.
"What? You'll do what?" She continues, her head cocked in a teasing sense.
"I can't even with you," I shake my head in annoyance, letting my body down on the bench. She walks back to the wall, looking down at me.
She leans against the lockers with a metallic thud, her arms folded. "Does Addi know?"
"No, and I plan to keep it that way." I mutter, attempting to prove authority. "If she finds out, she'll kill me."
  I had thought about every scenario in which she found out, and none of them were good. I don't want Addi to see this side of me.
  "I would just imagine she'd be worried for your safety." Adalyn shrugs, running her hands through her near platinum blonde hair. "And you're doing just fine, so she has no need to be worried at all."
But she doesn't know I'm doing fine.
  "Could you imagine if she came to watch me beat the fuck out of someone?" I scoff, my head tilted. "I wouldn't want to work with someone who's capable of that, let alone be their friend."
  That sentence got my thoughts out perfect. Addi would see me as a dangerous person, just as most do.
  I wonder if Adalyn will think that too.
        .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
  "How do you know Adalyn, exactly?" Adrienne asks, dusting herself off.
  "Work." I shrug. "But that doesn't really matter right now. Worry about yourself first."
  "Ri, he threw you pretty far. Does anything hurt?" Adalyn adds on, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
  "My shoulder and my wrist," Adrienne winces, rolling her wrist slowly.
  "Do you think you need to go get checked out?" Malcom asks, closing the double doors and locking them.
  She shakes her head, refusing to make eye contact with him.
  Adalyn turns her head towards me, giving a look. I give one back, wondering why the fuck their friend just threw Adrienne through a door.
  "Maybe you should go in. Just in case," She turns away from me, her hands on her friend's shoulders. "What if something's fractured? Broken?"
  "I can take you in," Malcom chimes in, nodding to her. "It's half an hour from here."
  "Do you think I need to?-" Adrienne starts.
  "I think you should." He cuts her off slightly, nodding.
  She follows Malcom out, leaving Adalyn and I alone in the locker room. She sighs, rubbing her eyes.
  "Who was that?" I ask, referring to Dallas.
  "He's her ex-roommate. He can be a good friend sometimes, but most times he just drinks and pisses himself off." She responds. "I've been thinking we should drop him, honestly."
  "Was that not obvious?" I scoff, shaking my head. "He could've seriously hurt her."
"I guess so. She's grown, though." Adalyn continues. "Turns 20 in September. Dallas is older by like a year."
"How'd you end up with friends that much older than you?" I ask.
"How'd you end up with a friend who's 8 years older than you?" She turns it on me, grinning. "He looks 36."
"Shut up. You do not get to turn that on me." I shake my head, a smile growing on my face. "And it's your girl who likes him."
She sits down on the bench, sitting criss-cross over both of them.
"He's only 23 and my trainer. Or coach, whatever you want to call it. He just happens to be my friend, too." I answer. Her slim hands find a comfortable spot in her lap, resting folded.
"Adrienne was really my sister's friend," She starts. "Up until she had to drop out to be with her family. She moved back last year, and we became friends."
  I wait for her to explain Dallas, but she doesn't. She stops speaking for a few moments.
"How long have you been fighting here?" She asks, watching as I sit down in front of her.
  "3 years. They forced me in when I was 13." I mutter, fiddling with my fingers. "My dad owed the owner enough."
  She stays silent, her brows furrowing as I speak. "I can't really go. If I try to quit, they'll do something. To me, my friends. I don't know for sure."
  "Shit," She scoffs. "Very trusting- considering I've only known you for a day."
  "Guess so."
  It goes silent, neither of us knowing what to say. I stare into her eyes, the swirl of green and brown tripping me out. She doesn't return my looks, her eyes too busy roaming my nearly bare torso and arms.
"Are you finally gonna ask?"
"Ask about what?" Her eyes flick up to mine, her brows raised.
"My scars. You're always staring but you're too scared to ask." I cock my head, my brows furrowed. "Come here."
I stand up, motioning for her to come to me. She walks over, her eyes still on me.
"Wha-" She stutters, somewhat speechless. "Can I?"
"If you want."
She steps closer, her eyes focused on the scars on my arms and abs. Her hands eventually find my torso, tracing some of the smaller ones. Her hands leave goosebumps wherever they touch me, trailing over my arms and onto my back.
I tense.
"Who did this to you?" She asks, her hand tracing the familiar area on my back.
"The guy who runs this whole thing." I turn my head back, sure I know which one she's talking about. "When I first got here, they kept me in a room upstairs. They'd lock me in for days on end and beat me whenever they felt like it. They guided me with fear- I was scared into obeying anything and everything they fed me- info wise. One day, though, I got so tired of it, I tried to fight back. That was my punishment."
  "Do they still do it?" Her voice comes out small and quiet.
  "No. I convinced them to let me fight instead." I shake my head. "As long as I'm earning them good money, it doesn't matter how hard the other girls fight. It's enough for them."
  Her hands continue to roam my body, skimming my waist. I flinch slightly, and her hands immediately break from my skin.
  "Was Malcom your ride here?" She changes the subject completely, stepping back in front of me.
  I hum.
  "Let me walk you home then, yeah?" Nodding to me, she opens the door. "Is it far from here?"
  "No."
        .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖑𝖞𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛
  "So how long have you lived here?" I ask, walking alongside her.
  "My whole life." She responds, the street lights illuminating only half of her face. "My parents met here, so."
  It goes quiet once she stops talking.
  "You?" She suddenly looks up, her head turned to face me.
"Four years. Five next month." I nod, my face blank. "Moved here when my parents died."
  "Shit."
  "I'm over it, anyways." I cut her off before she can say anything more. "I live with my sister. She's in college."
  "Which college?" She asks, looking down at the ground. Her eyes scan the floor.
  "Columbia."
  She hums, nodding. The gravel under our feet is the only thing making noises: besides distant music and sirens.
  "Shit. I have to stop at the gym." She curses under her breath, rolling her eyes. "I left my backpack."
  "Okay," I follow her out of the alley and into the street, watching as her eyes roam the tall buildings.
  "Shortcut's up here," She calls, walking into another alley.
  She slips into the shadows with me chasing behind her, her walk turning into a jog. We reach the gym doors in record time, an extra fifteen seconds devoted to her finding the keys.
  Once we're inside, she runs up the stairs and, presumably, into the room with all the punching bags. Once a few minutes pass and she's not back, I sit down on one of the benches.
        .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛
I rummage through the closet and storage cabinets, my backpack nowhere in sight.
Where the fuck is it?
I run into every other room upstairs, including the storage one. It's been at least fifteen minutes, and I can't seem to find it. Rummaging through the last cabinet, I spot it on the floor beneath a table.
The sounds of rain hitting the roof fill the entire building as I run back down.
"Found it." I huff, panting as she stands up. "We can go."
"It's raining," She grins, evidently holding back a laugh. "Do you have an umbrella?"
"No."
She giggles, and I groan. Stepping into the entryway, I prepare to open the door and walk out. She stands behind me, her muscles tensed.
I finally open the door, running out and under the nearest shop entrance. She follows close behind, crouching beside me.
"Why don't we just grab a taxi?" She shouts over the heavy downpour.
  "Because there usually aren't any around." I respond, glancing down the street to see if her option's better. "Not here."
  "There," She points down the other end of the street, to an oncoming taxi. "Think we can flag it?"
  I shrug, scrunching my nose in thought. With time running out, she grabs my hand and sprints into the rain. She waves her free arm for the taxi, and just before it passes us, the tires screech. It stops a bit in front of us, rain soaking my entire body.
  Adalyn giggles as I open the door, slipping in.
  "Where to?" The man driving asks.
  I give him my address as Adalyn smiles.
        .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
  He pulls up in front of my apartment building, so I hand him a few bills and get out. Adalyn follows, glancing up the building.
  "Are you sure I can stay? Shouldn't you like- rest or something?" She mutters, walking through the front door.
  "Yeah, why not? I don't have another fight for three days." Clicking the elevator button, I shrug. "Stay as long as you want."
  We both step into the elevator, and I click the 10th floor button. We stand in silence, waiting for the door to open.
  The screen above the button flicks to 10, and the elevator dings. I step forward when the doors open, walking out and down the hall.
  "When does your sister want you home?" I ask. My keys jingle as I open the door, stepping in just before her.
  "I don't know. She's probably out," She shrugs, closing the door behind her. "I'm seventeen, Madison. I don't think she'd care even if she was home."
  I hold back a grin and shake my head, tossing everything down onto the counter and stretching. She looks around, stepping slowly.
  "Did you buy this yourself?" She asks, her brows furrowed. "It's really nice."
  "No," I yawn. "Malcom's paying for it."
  "Damn." Her brows quirk up, her eyes meeting mine once again. I shrug in response, waiting for her to say anything else.
  "I'm gonna go change," I start, breaking the silence. "Do you want something to change into?"
"Maybe. Depends what you have." She shrugs, nodding to me.
  "Hoodies, t-shirts, shorts, sweats?" I furrow my brows, wondering what she was meaning.
What else would I have?
  "Just grab me a hoodie," She shrugs. "That's probably what'll fit- If that's okay."
I hum, turning and walking down the hall. I turn into my room, flicking the light on and rummaging through my closet. I pull out a black compression shirt, sweats, a light blue NC hoodie, and a pair of black shorts.
Slipping my soaked hoodie off, I fix my bra, then pull the shirt over my head. I tug my shorts off and pull the sweats up my legs.
Stepping back out with my hoodie and shorts, I spot her by the door.
"Here." She turns to face me, eyeing me up and down. "Stop staring. You can change wherever. The bathroom's down the hall, and my room's to the left."
"Thank you." A little smirk flashes on her face as she takes the clothes and walks into the bathroom.
After a few minutes, she comes back out in new clothes and her wet ones in hand. She treads towards the front door once again, bending down and setting them folded on the shoe rack.
  "Are those too big?" I ask, nodding to the clothes on her.
  "No, not at all." She shakes her head, standing back up. "Thank you."
  "Do you wanna watch something while we wait for the rain to stop?" My eyes are trained on her, watching as she nods.
  "Sure."