A Shot At Love [MFBTY- Bizzy AMBW]

Chapter 12

Bizzy's POV:

I couldn't stay away from her even if I wanted to. She has me: heart and soul. Every day for 7 days I've visited Mo in the hospital, and for 7 days she has yet to speak a word to me. But I cherish those moments when she's asleep. That's when her true feelings are revealed. Yes, Mo sleep talks.

We hold deep, intimate conversations but when she wakes she doesn't remember. She finds comfort in my presence, though she won't admit it. Mo hates me; she hates me for abandoning her, but where the most hate for me lies is at the center of my broken promises.

If I could've foreseen this tragedy when I first laid eyes upon Mo, then I wouldn't have... oh who I am kidding? I would be with her every second of every day... OK maybe not that extreme. No one likes to feel smothered, but I'd be there whenever she needed me.

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"Mo, would you please just talk to me? I'm sorry..." I reached for her hand, but she didn't react quickly enough to pull away. As I held on, a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it. "Tell me... how do I make this right?" I whispered desperately.

For the first time in a week she looks over at me. Just as she was about to speak the door to her room opened. I recognized one of the guys as the security guard who escorted Mo away at the boxing tournament. "Hey, sweetz! Are you feeling any better?" Mo nods her head and then quickly glances at me and the hold I still have on her.

She slides her hand from my grip and wipes away the remnant of stray tears. "Ui oebue yaegihaja. (Let's talk outside.)" One of the guy's say to me. I rise from my seat and follow him out of the door. I'm aware of Mo's eyes on me, but I resist the urge to run back to her.

"Mo has told me everything that happened at the arena." I go to speak, but he holds up his hand and continues. "There are also things that I've seen during the tournament... dealings that have been recorded on tape... Do you catch my flow?"

I nod slowly, taking in everything. "So you know who started the fight?" The guy nods. "Well.... who was it?" He opened up his mouth to speak, but Veronica interrupted.

"Hey, Joon Young! How is she?" Veronica grabs a hold of my arm. "Oh, Joon-ho, I didn't know you'd be here! What a... pleasant surprise!" She forced a smile. Joon-ho only glared at her.

"My brother Dong-ho and I will be taking Mo to the airport after she's discharged this afternoon. Goodbye." He slightly bows and heads back into her room. Mo's leaving? No! I can't lose her! I have to find a way to make her stay.

"Joon Young? Hello, are you there?" I'm shaken out of my thoughts by Veronica waving her hand in my face. "Come on, let's go buy a gift for your friend."

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4 hours! That's how long it took Veronica to find a gift. It had to be perfect, she said. Girls like extravagant things, she said. If only she knew Mo wasn't like that. I just wanted to get back to Mo's side. This wasn't like Veronica, which further led me to believe that she's feeling guilty about something.

We make it back to the hospital and park behind a black BMW. The car drives off as Veronica and I make our way inside. As we get closer to the reception desk Veronica gets a text message. Her eyes go wide with fear, but then she quickly masks it. "You just missed her like 2 minutes ago." We turn around to the sound of Mo's nurse.

"Kamsahamnida!" I bow. Veronica walks ahead of me. The nurse pulls me to the side.

"I can see how much you love Monique. Don't let her go. She's one in a million." The nurse smiles and walks away. I go outside to make a phone call to JK. I see Veronica off in the distance having a heated conversation of her own. I feel bad for whoever is on the other end of the phone call.

"Hey, did Mo stop by the apartment yet?" I question JK.

He sighs into the phone. "Nah man. She hasn't been here. She won't even talk to us anymore. Why? What's wrong?"

I pull at my hair frustrated. "She's going back to the states. The hospital released her already... JK, I can't lose her."

"What did you expect to happen!" JK yells into the phone. "We told you that Veronica started it! Mo was cheering you on, we were teasing her about how you two were finally dating, when Veronica snapped. Even when she was insulting Mo, Mo kept her focus on supporting you. She supported you, and you didn't return it."

JK mumbled something to himself. "Look, I know Mo. What she needs is time to heal."

"I'm sorry for not believing you..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "...but I cannot and will not let her go. If I do, I may never see her again, and that's a chance I'm not willing to bet on." I hung up before JK could talk me out of it. He's very persuasive.

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"I called in a few favors." Veronica said from the driver's seat. "No one by the name of Monique Reid has boarded a plane within the last 4 hours. Shes still here in Korea." My happy mood rose up 70% at the news. "Let's get something to eat before we continue our search for Mo."

We park across the street from the street vendors. As we order our food and take a seat outdoors I mentally prepare myself to ask Veronica about the truth. "Did you start the fight?" She looks up at me surprised and then hangs her head.

"I'm sorry Joon Young.... I... I was forced to do it. This is bigger than me and Mo. I never wanted to do it, but they threatened my daughter!" Veronica said through tears. "My stupid husband got himself into a lot of debt with the Italian mafia and the only way to clear his debt and free my daughter was to make you lose the fight against one of their boxers.

In order to do that I had to distract you. Mo was the key. It was nothing against her. I actually think she's perfect for you." Veronica got on her knees and begged for my forgiveness. "I know I don't deserve it, but please forgive me. You know me, Joon Young! I would never put someone's life in danger."

I helped her to her feet. "If it's any consolation I told them that I wasn't gonna help them anymore at the fight. They got mad and attacked Mo. I'm so sorry! They're holding my daughter and husband hostage. I don't know what to do."

Embracing my best friend I took on her burden as my own. "I forgive you, Veronica... You should've just told me from the start though. My champion title means nothing when it comes to an innocent life."

She sobbed into my chest! "Thank you so much! I don't know how I'll ever repay you!" A commotion across the street drew our attention. News reporters were surrounding someone. Me and Veronica's phone started to buzz.

I opened the link sent to me. It was the 7 o'clock news. Mo was on the news; she looked scared. A message came through and I clicked on it. "You won the fight, but your girlfriend will lose her life."

Veronica and I looked at each and bolted across the street. We stumbled upon Dong-ho and Joon-ho unconscious in an alleyway. "I'll go call an ambulance. Get to Mo before it's too late!" Veronica yelled.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. Pushing through the crowd was impossible. It was as if they were purposefully blocking me. So I ran on the road to get to Mo. A car screeched and drove on the sidewalk crashing through vendors. Its target was directly in front. Just as the car was a couple of feet away from Mo I rammed and tackled her out of the way.

The impact to the ground hurt my arm, but I took most of the blow for Mo. We rolled around a couple of times. Once we landed I had seen blood dripping from Mo's forehead. My head was pounding and darkness overtook me.

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☆Lindsay Ellingson as "Veronica Drake"