The Mute Fighter | 3

019

019 - Truth or Lies

Mitch had left after that. He most definitely knew something, I needed to know how or what he knew. He was angry as hell, he stormed out and North had run after him.

The remaining had followed me and the girls to class. I felt unsafe and unsure of the situation, Mitch made me feel unsafe, I didn't know what he knew, how he would get through the day.

I didn't know what was going on in his mind, it scared me.

"Which one of you knows Alex Lowell and Marcus Torres?" I asked Oliver during lunch, North and Mitch weren't in the canteen. It was just us. "Mitch, it's his friends. He knew they were in West County that weekend, you were lucky" Oliver said.

I grew quiet after that. How much did Alex and Marcus know? I bit my lip, and didn't have the stomach to eat my food.

After lunch I tried to get Mitch to myself for a second, but now he was the one ignoring me. He was smart, he kept somewhat close to Melanie and knew that I couldn't approach him.

He and North were avoiding the rest of us all day. "Man, what really happened in West County?" West asked as we sat in the library, working.

"I did what I had to do, okay?" I snapped, Fran and Celina looked up in surprise. "What does that mean?" West asked me nervously.

"They put someone I love in a hospital bed, so I put them in their place. I did what I had to do" I repeated. "I'm so sorry," West said and rubbed my back.

When he did, he moved my shirt a little from the movement and Fran jumped up from her seat. "What the hell?" She blurted out, she slapped West's hands away and pulled my shirt up by my collarbone.

She gasped when she saw my bruised shoulder. "What the hell happened? Start talking now" Fran snapped at me. I knew everyone could see at the table and I looked away.

I pulled my shirt out of Fran's hold and covered the bruise as well as I could. "I can't do this right now" I mumbled and grabbed my bag and laptop.

I walked out of the library and hurried down the hall, I hid in the locker rooms. When I was in the farthest corner, I let the tears flow.

I tried to keep it down as well as I could, I wrapped my hands around my knees as I sobbed. All I felt was pain, rummaging pain in my entire body.

"Nicolina..." Francesca spoke softly, she slid over to me on her knees and hugged me tightly. "What happened, tell me what's going on" She begged me while she held me.

"Fran, I can't- no one can know" I whispered to her, I finally looked up at her and she wiped my tears away. "Talk to me, I won't tell a soul. I promise, this is just you and me" She whispered to me.

I nodded and took a deep breath. "My last name is Martell, you know of the underground fighting world. I am related to Ward Martell" I started out and ran a hand through my hair.

"Wow-I thought you said-""-I know. I said we were distant cousins. But he's my brother, Fran. He got jumped by our enemy's crew. They're not exactly strangers to me" I muttered.

"Is he okay? Why would they jump him? He's like the king of the underground fighters?" Fran asked with worry.

"The reason I moved here, a girl nearly killed me in a fight. I was an underground fighter too, my brother had trained me for years, I was finally working my way up. She used dirty tricks and I was wavering around between life and death. I got severe head trauma and was told I had to stop fighting, if I got any more hits to the head, my brain would most likely turn to mush and that would mean permanent brain damage" I told her.