Resurgent: A Divergent Story//editing

Chapter 24

- Hector -

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Tris stands in the fighting ring and calls, "First fight is Hector and Al." I look around to find Al, but she is already in the ring. I slowly walk up to Al, who looks like she is ready to fight me. Why does she look so mad? She said we could go back to the way we were before I yelled at her, right?

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- Al -

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When my mom calls the next fight, me and Hector, I go straight I the ring. I am excited to fight him, but I don't know why. I said I forgave him for the argument, but do I really?

If I do, then I don't think I will be able to date him. He is my best friend, and I when we were a 'thing' it didn't work to well.

When Hector walks into the ring, I get ready to fight, but he doesn't.

He looks at me, with his beautiful blue eyes, that make me melt on the inside, and says, "I can't fight you, Al."

I look at him, not knowing what to say. "Hector, you can't forfeit, you'll go straight to the bottom of the ranks."

"Go!" Mom yells.

I bring up my arms, and Hector does the same. I throw a punch, and hit him in the jaw. He throws a punch, but I duck under it. When I stand up, his fist hits me in the jaw. I fall to the ground, in such pain.

I grab my jaw, and stand up. I dodge another punch, and elbow him in the side. He grabs his side, and I punch him in the nose. My fist stings, and is covered in blood, but not my blood. It's blood from Hector's nose. His nose is bleeding heavily, and his jaw is red. He lunges at me, and I duck again.

Then, I hear cheers, "Go Al!" I hear Maci yell.

I kick at him, but I miss. Another fist hits my jaw, and I fall to the ground. I hear a gasp coming from either my mom or Jenna.

I stand back up and Hector tackles me to the ground, but. Because we are close to the edge of the mat, my head misses the soft cushioning of the mat, and is slammed on the concrete of the ground.

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I wake up in a bed, surrounded by all the girls, except Jenna.

"Oh my god, Al are you okay?" Claire asks.

I nod my head, but it is a lie. My head is searing, my jaw aches, and I just feel downright miserable.

"I cannot believe he tackled you like that," Jo says.

"Well, it's not like I was going to be able to tackle him," I say, and they all shrug, "How long was I out?"

"An hour or two," Maci says.

"What are the rankings?" I ask.

"Hector, then Jo, then Kevin, then me, then Jordan, then Tommy, then Maci, then you, then Jenna." Claire says, and I cover my eyes.

I'm in second to last. Both my parents and my brother were at the top of the rankings.

"Who else fought?" I ask.

"Tommy and Kevin, they both look awful," Jo says.

"And then Jenna and Jo," Claire says.

"I knocked Jenna out in the first minute," Jo says, shamefully.

"I mean, you have to do what you need to in order to win," Maci says.

We all nod. We talk for a while, and then they all leave. I close my eyes, and think.

I get that Hector had to win the fight, I would have done the same, but he didn't even come and check on me. So far, I don't think this friendship is doing so well.

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I wake up, and I see no one else is awake. I go to the bathroom, and look in the mirror.

I have a huge bruise on my face, covering most of the left side. Other than that, I'm not too hurt.

My hands are cut and bruised from punching.

I change, and go over to talk to Mom. I knock on the trainer's apartment door.

She is sitting, still in her pajamas, reading what looks like reports from the fights.

"Hi sweetie," she says when I come in. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I say, and sit across from her.

"You look better," she says, and then she turns back to her reading.

"Who pairs people up to fight, Mom?" I ask.

"Your dad, Tori and Ethan do." she says, not looking away from the papers.

Why would my dad and Tori want me to fight Hector? He is at least six inches taller than me, and is much more muscular.

"You better eat before training," Mom says, and gives me a kiss on my un-bruised cheek.

I walk out of the room, my mind still filled with thoughts.

Then, a voice calls, "Al!"

I look up to see Hector running at me. He pulls me into a hug, and I hug him back.

"Hey Hec," I say.

"God, I am so sorry." he says.

"It's fine Hec, I get it." I say, and he pulls away.

"Oh my god, your nose!" I say, his nose is definitely broken from me punching it.

"It's fine, and what about your cheek?" He asks, and I laugh. He does too.

"Wanna go get breakfast?" I ask, and he nods, and we head off to the dining hall.

We sit down at the long tables, and slowly, our group stumbles in. Jo sits on one side of me, and Hector sits on the other. We are all eating toast and bacon.

I jaw drops when Tommy walks in. The first thing I notice is his black eye. His face is covered in bruises, similar to the one on my face, and his lips are all cut. His fists are bright red, and cut all over. To my surpries, Kevin walks in and he doesn't look as awful as Tommy does. Kevin has a bruised jaw, and cut fists, but thats it.

When Kevin comes closer to the table, he squeezes between me and Hector, obviously upsetting Hector.

"How have you been Al?" Kevin asks.

"Not bad," I say, and he laughs.

"Not bad? You were knocked out for like three hours," he says.

"Actually," I say, "Only two."

He laughs again, and I smile. His smile is stunning. His perfect teeth, bright green eyes, and light brown hair make him look amazing. I must've been staring at him, because his hand waves in front of my face.

"Sorry." I say, awfully embarrassed.

"It's fine Al," he says, and he smiles again, causing butterflies in my stomach.