Mayhem

1: Sweetheart

CHAPTER 1: Sweetheart

One punch. One punch is all it takes for me to distract him. I get in a punch to his stomach and he doubles over. He's angry now. But that's okay. Angry is good. Angry makes it easier. He stands up and we circle each other until he lunges towards me. I set my feet and grab his arm when he passes, twisting it behind him and kicking his legs forward, flipping him onto his stomach as he falls. His body hits the sand and I dig my knees into his back. He gasps for air and struggles beneath me. My weight isn't helping much to keep him down but my hold on him is doing the job. I notice as he's down there that his nose and mouth are bleeding and bruises are forming along his jaw and eyes, all thanks to me. He knows he has lost, I can see it in his eyes. After a few more desperate attempts to escape, he surrenders. The whistle blows. I win. Again.

I get up off of him and he takes in a large breath of air. I'm barely winded. The money from the bets is being passed around and I get my cut as well. Drowning in the yells and cheers from the crowd, I walk around the makeshift ring victoriously. They are all yelling one thing and one thing only.

"MAYHEM! MAYHEM!"

I drink in their cheers as I make my way out of the ring and to my best friend, Skylar Jennings. She's waiting for me by the edge of the audience and when I meet her she puts her arm in mine and we strut off. I smile. Another fight won with only a few, if any, scrapes and bruises. I'll have to check to see what damage was done when we get to the small beach house where Skylar and I are staying for the day.

As we walk away, I can hear the cheering starting to get louder. Another fight it about to begin. I normally stay to watch, but tonight Sky wants to go partying.

This stretch of the beach is empty, which is good because then we don't get any suspicious looks. As soon as we are out of sight of the ring, Skylar turns to me and looks me over to see if any serious damage was done. I know she hates my fighting but she stays with me for every single one.

She knows why I have to fight. So she decided that since she can't stop me, she can make sure I'm okay. She nods her head and smiles at me, showing that nothing too bad happened to me, before wrapping her arms around me in a bone crushing hug.

"You were absolutely amazing Jess! That guy never knew what was coming!" She squeals as she continues to hug me.

"I know! That shows him for judging me beforehand because I was a girl!" I reply, remembering that before the match, he laughed when he saw that he was fighting me. Serves him right.

She lets go of me and laughs. "Oh, I wish I could have taken a picture of his face after that first punch that knocked him back! Can you say priceless!"

"Hey, you know we can't take any pictures of the fights. One, they're illegal, and two, we can't risk anyone recognizing me." I remind her. I point to my black mask with spikes around the edges for emphasis.

"Yeah I know I know. I was just saying," she sighs. I know she hated that I fought, but she also knew that this mask was my best protection and that I could take care of myself. I mean, I've taken taekwondo since I could practically walk. Skylar has been my best friend since we were young, and one of the few people I truly trusted. If anyone would understand why I participate in the beach fights, it's her.

I hug her one more time. "Hey you know what I meant. Thanks for coming again, as always."

"Of course, someone has to make sure you're all right, and celebrate with you." She smiles back at me. "Come on, let's get back to the beach house so you can take your mask off and change before we celebrate for real!"

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The beach house we usually stay at for fights looks like a trailer. It's small, painted a yellow color that has faded over the years and half hidden behind an old oak tree, but it's got a clear view of the beach. It's all we can afford and there's no reason to rent a large house for one night anyway.