Hearts of Grief (CaitVi)

VI

Vi's POV
That same night

"AND THE WINNER IS... THE PIT FIGHTER: VI!" The announcer said through the loud speakers as the crowd went wild and I stared at the 6th unconscious man of the night, laying on the cold concrete floor.

My breathing was rapid and heavy. I could feel every drip of sweat running down my face and body.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in, feeling the momentum of the people cheering for me.

I opened my eyes and screamed with the crowd, giving them the encouragement they needed to keep on roaring for me.

This is the only way I can get them to pay me. This is the only way I can get money. This is the only way..

I continued to scream, spit coming out of my mouth and sweat bouncing off me. The music started to slowly start playing again and I took that as the sign to walk off the arena through the big hole on the side of the wall that led to multiple rooms where other fighters got ready for their matches.

The way this place worked was that the people who betted on us and supported us were on top with the bars, music and tables. Down below were the ones being betted on that fought for honor, status and money.

I walked into my room, immediately wincing at my bruised up, bleeding knuckles. I kicked off my boots, not caring where they landed and looked down at my hands to inspect them once I sat down on the red couch that laid against the wall. The bandages over my hand were covered in sweat, dirt and blood. Gonna have to change these bad boys before I get home.

I went into the bathroom and slowly took off the bandages over my hands and chest, exposing the cuts and bruises I received there too.

The instant regret I felt when I had to bite my tongue to avoid groaning in pain because of these stupid leather pants I decided to wear tonight.

The only bad thing about showering here was that there was never any hot water. If I wanted to turn into an ice cube, I could've just walked down to the kitchen area and stuffed myself in the freezer. I stood in the tub as I let the freezing cold water wet my entire body.

I looked down at the drain, fixated on the black paint that was coming off my hair and wherever else I decided to spread it today, as well as the dry blood and dirt that was all over me.

Anger started to boil my body.

How is fucking this fair?

"MOTHERFUCKERS!" I punched the wall before aggressively washing my face and body, continuing to scream at the top of my lungs while doing so, before stepping out the tub and drying myself up.

I walked over to the main area of the room and grabbed my backpack from the floor. I started rummaging through it to pull out my roll of bandages, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a pair of basketball shorts and the white t-shirt I was wearing earlier.

It took me a while to slip into the shorts and shirt due to how sore by whole body felt. I sat down on the couch again once I was done and Sevika walked through the door after knocking first. "Good job out there, the crowd really loves you. 98% betted on you tonight." She placed two, thick envelopes on the coffee table that sat in front of me.