One girl. One new town. And one hell of a well-kept secret.
That's all it took to turn Erinne's life into a living nightmare.
... or so she thought.
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Sixteen year-old Genevieve Erinne Layne has had the pleasure of living a foolproof normal life...
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One look at my opponent and I was already internally screaming. I was not about to hit Erinne. I wouldn't ever do that to her.
I made eye contact with Mr. Ruby, who nodded at me intently. He wanted me to win, but I was planning otherwise.
A loud ding rang in the room. Then Erinne punched my gut, and then my jaw. I staggered, but I didn't fight back.
"What's wrong?" she teased. "Afraid to hit a girl?"
"No," I said, dodging her left hook.
"Then what is it?" She threw a right hook and I dodged again.
"I'm not about to hit Mr. Layne's child. You don't understand what he'd do to me if I did."
"Aww, so you're afraid?" She punched my gut, and this time I didn't have enough time to dodge.
I knew she wanted me to get angry. I knew she wanted me to fight back. But I didn't.
I'd allowed her to make me a personal punching bag. Still, I wasn't too happy about it.
"Why—won't—you—hit—me!" Erinne shouted, punching me in the face as she took a step closer each time.
Blood was forming in my mouth. I could practically smell it each time Erinne's fists neared me.
"I won't," I whispered. "Never."
Erinne groaned in desperation. She put her fist against the bottom of my chin and looked at me. Just then I'd noticed the scary look in her eyes.
"Last chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth, or else you'll see heaven on your way back to earth."
I sighed. "I refuse to hit you, but I need the money. It's- It's for the eatery."
Erinne gasped. She backed away from me and put both her hands up in defeat. The glint in her eyes changed—she seemed sad in such a way it made me feel sad. It practically coerced me to make her feel better in the middle of an arena.
Then the audience began to boo. I heard one scream, "We want entertainment! We want-" he was cut off by, what I guessed was, Via's scary throat punch.
