Page 50 of If You Fight

Chapter Sixteen

Serena

“What time is it? Why didn’t you wake me up?

I sat up in bed, still trying to shake the sleep from my head. How long had I been asleep?

Ryder opened the curtains and pointed to the darkness outside. “It’s around seven, Rip Van Winkle.”

“That’s Miss Van Winkle, thank you. Why does it look like you were going to leave without even saying goodbye?”

A sheepish look crossed his face, and then he smiled. “You looked so peaceful lying there, so I figured I’d just let you sleep and see you when I got back.”

My head clear of the nap I’d taken, I understood what he meant. I didn’t like it.

“I want to go with you tonight, Ryder.”

He shook his head and winced like he was in pain. “No way. I don’t want you anywhere near that place, Serena. That’s no place for someone like you. I’ll see you when I get back. We can have a late dinner and relax together.”

I swung my legs off the bed and walked over to hug him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pressed my cheek to his chest and heard his heart beating wildly. “I’ve seen seedy places before, honey. I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

Gently pushing me away, he held me at arm’s length and shook his head again. “It’s dank and nasty, but it’s not what it looks like that worries me. I don’t want you around the kind of people who go to these things. Just stay here and wait for me.”

“Why? What kind of people are we talking about? My father goes to these fights, right? I can’t imagine him in any place where I couldn’t fit in. I’ll be fine.”

Ryder frowned and knitted his brows in worry. Cradling my face with his rough hands, he sighed. “You have no idea what your father’s like, Serena. Trust me. This isn’t the kind of thing you should be around. The crowds get ugly. Between the drinking and the drugs and the fights, it’s no place for someone like you.”

I covered his hands with mine and leaned my cheek into his palm. “I’m not some China doll you have to worry will break easily. I can handle this. I promise.”

He stared down at me, doubt filling his green eyes. “Not this. Please just trust me. Not this.”

“You’re scaring me, Ryder. What’s this about? Why don’t you want me to be there for you?”

Backing away, he turned away from me and said in a low voice, “I don’t want you to see me like that, Serena. It’s not how I want you to think of me.”

I slid my arms around him and leaned against his back. So much larger than me, he made me feel small, but his strength made me feel brave.

“You don’t have to worry about how I’ll think of you because you’re fighting. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’ll be the proudest person in that building watching you, win or lose. It won’t matter to me.”

Turning in my hold, he pulled me close and hugged me tightly to him. “Please, Serena. Don’t do this. Stay here and wait for me. I don’t want to fight about this with you.”

I looked up and saw real concern written all over his face and his frown deepening. I didn’t know what was worrying him, the fight or something else, but I hated seeing him like that.

“Okay, I’ll stay here. I don’t have to go. I’m feeling a little sleepy anyway, so I’ll just wait here until you get back.”

He smiled and nodded, but the worry never left his eyes. “Good. I won’t be gone long, and when I get back we can watch some TV in bed, okay?”

“Okay.” I kissed him lightly on the lips. “Do you want me to have anything for you when you get back?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Just you here waiting for me is all I need.”

I knew he hadn’t told me the whole truth about what would happen in the fight that night. The day before I heard my father discussing it as I passed his office on my way to the kitchen in the main house and the way he was talking about it, Ryder would need a whole lot more than just me after this fight.

For the past three weeks, Ryder had known it too, but he’d done his best to hide the truth from me. He wanted me to think this wasn’t going to be much more than two men dancing around a ring for a few minutes while they threw jabs at one another, but I’d done a little research and knew underground fighting wasn’t like that at all.

I loved him for trying to shelter me from the awful truth of what he would endure that night, but I knew better than to think just seeing my smiling face when he returned would be enough. I just hoped and prayed he wouldn’t need much more than a hot bath to soak his sore body in and an ice pack or two.

Ryder slipped a black t-shirt over his head and turned to face me. With a forced smile, he said, “Wish me luck.”

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