Demon's Destiny

Chapter Eleven

I help Leah give out the free cookies, which has drawn a large crowd in the bakery. They're shaped like little snowmen, which I think is adorable. There's only a little time left until Christmas and Leah wanted to give our customers a little treat. When people saw the free cookie sign they almost broke down the doors at opening time. Leah's wife, Kristy, is helping out today since the crowd is so big. Chris has been giving me space, but he does send sad looks at me every so often. I ignore them, still angry about what happened at the Fair.

Dee decided to stop by and so did Mia, so they ended up hitting it off immediately. This scares me, being that they are almost exactly alike and I've already dealt with Mia my whole life, I can't handle two of her. I can swear Dominic looks smug at the fact that I'm probably going to be stuck with Dee now, too.

When It's finally time for my lunch break I take a seat next to Dominic in the coffee nook.

"Our sisters are teaming up against us," I tell him, sending a pointed look towards them chatting on the other side of the room, clutching their sides with laughter.

"I can see. If this gets any worse we'll have to move across the country."

"Are you gonna eat that," I say, pointing at the cookie across from him. He slides it my way and I devour it in less than half a second. I would be embarrassed but Dominic doesn't seem to mind me pigging out.

"I can't believe you aren't eating these. I should have Leah send me the recipe."

"From what your sister's told me, I don't want you anywhere near my kitchen," Dominic says.

"What did she tell you! I only ever set something on fire once, and wasn't even my fault," I say, defensive. Ever since I accidentally started a grease fire, Mia swears I shouldn't be within two feet of a flame. Dominic ignores me, clearly not believing a word.

"I should make some tonight, just to prove you wrong."

"I won't be there tonight," Dominic responds. I'm a little disappointed, used to spending my days watching romance movies on the couch with Rocky and Dominic.

"Why," I pout.

"I have a fight tonight," My heart drops in my chest a little. I've been so busy living in la-la land with Dominic that I've forgotten that he has a whole life of his own. A criminal one at that.

"Can I go?" I ask with pleading eyes. I don't know the ins and outs of underground boxing but one thing I do know is that it's dangerous. I couldn't sleep tonight knowing that Dominic might be getting hurt.

"Absolutely not," Dominic says, jaw tightening. I remember Dee telling me to stand my ground to get my way with Dominic but I want to try another approach. I try to pull off the best puppy dog look I can, eyes wide and pouting lips. Dominic shifts a little in his seat but doesn't give in.

"Please?" I pout. Dominic runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Fine! But you don't leave my side or do anything I don't tell you to do," Dominic gives in. I squeal like a girl and clap my hands together, earning some strange stares from customers. I guess Dee was wrong about how to get my way with Dominic.

Dominic drives me home from the Bookshop, and I'm excited the whole way home. I really want to see this side of Dominic life. Even though his fight is later tonight I start getting ready as soon as we get home. I don't want to dress up too much, it's an underground fighting ring and I doubt many people will be dressed to the nines. I decide on a pair of dark wash jeans and an old band tee, putting my hair in a messy bun on my head. Dominic rolls his eyes when he sees me.

"We're not leaving until hours from now," He tells me. I plop down on the couch beside him.

"I just want to be prepared," I say. He mutters something along the lines of 'I should've never agreed to this' and goes back to watching his sports. That's one thing about Dominic, Although he lets me watch whatever cheesy stuff I want on most days, he won't change the channel for anything when a game is on. I guess he deserves it, sitting through all my girly romance movies. The rest of the day, I sit tucked into Dominic's side, while he focuses intently on the game. Even though It's pretty boring and I have absolutely no idea what anyone is saying, It's nice to just be near Dominic. I know these feelings are wrong. They'll only get me hurt and I shouldn't indulge in them but I just can't help it, I've never been attracted to anyone the way I am to Dominic. Chris never even gave me these feelings.

When it's finally time to leave, I follow Dominic outside to the car, Nervousness kicking in. I'm silent the whole ride, imagining what seeing Dominic fight will be like. I don't want to see him get hurt and I have never been a fan of violence.

Dominic and I arrive at what looks to be an abandoned warehouse. Dominic comes around to open my door and I nervously follow him to the building. As soon as he knocks, A huge bald man opens the door, He gives Dominic a nod and we walk in. I hear the muffled sounds of a huge crowd as he leads me down a dark hallway. When he opens the double doors, the sound is amplified by a thousand. I've always been nervous and claustrophobic in large crowds. A group of men, one of them I recognize to be Ace, meet us there and lead us through the crazy crowd. I rub my sweaty palms against my shirt, ignoring all the eyes on us. Dominic said there would be a lot of people but I didn't know it would be to this magnitude. There are hundreds of people and you can't even get anywhere without bumping into a body.

"Dominic! I fucking love you!" I hear someone scream. I look up in surprise only to meet eyes with a gorgeous girl with silky black hair. She sneers at me, the clear question of what I'm doing with Dominic on her face. In fact, many people look at me that way and I know I look like a sour thumb, the short chubby girl in a room full of people who could be models. I wish I listened to Dominic and stayed home. I don't belong here and I don't belong in his world.

They lead us to a part of the room sectioned out from the crowd, where only a few people stand. As we break through the crowd I notice that in the middle there are two men already fighting. I'm amazed at the sight, they throw punches like they want to kill one another.

"Oh my god," I gasp when one of them throws a sickening punch, some of the other guy's teeth clattering to the concrete floor.

"It looks bad but most of these guys are used to it," Dominic comforts me.

"What if that happens to you?" I ask, worried. Seeing Dominic get hurt would kill me.

"I won't let it. I promise," He tells me. "I have to go get warmed up. There's going to be three more matches before I come out. Stay right here. If you need anything, call Ace."

Before I can wish him luck, Dominic leaves, going around the crowd and out through a door which is blocked off from the crowd.

"Is that your man?" A voice asks from behind me. She has long dyed red hair that is in two french braids, and pale skin covered in tattoos. She too is in the sectioned off area and I assume she knows one of the fighters.

"Oh no! We're just uh..." I trail off, not really knowing what we are.

"The 'no labels' type, huh," She says, giving me a knowing look. "I've dealt with one of those before. That's my man over there, in the black shorts." She points him out and he's the one who knocked the guy's teeth out.

"Do you come here a lot?" I ask.

"Yeah. You have to get used to all the groupies. Not a lot of girls can handle being with a man who gets all that attention," My heart drops the harsh reality. Every girl in here would probably kill to spend one night in Dominic's bed. I can't compete with that.

"I'm Terry, by the way,"

"I'm Sephie," I tell her.

After a while, I get used to the fighting happening before me. I'm no longer scared but fascinated by the technique and how focused the fighters are on defeating each other.

I'm not prepared, though, when Dominic comes out. His dark hair is put back in a ponytail and he's in dark blue boxing shorts. Everyone screams his name, even louder than when the other fighters were making an appearance. His opponent is shorter than him, but buffer, with thick muscles and veiny arms and his hair is in a buzzcut. His eyes are intent on Dominic, sharp and intense.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the undefeated Demon!" The announcer yells to the crowd. They go crazy, there screams so loud it's deafening.

My heart pounds fearfully in my chest as I watch Dominic make his way to his opponent.