Page 111 of Keepsake

I shook off the guilt, the mission clear in front of me. Dirt with dirt. I’d pay David out of our lives with the very thing that threatened it.

I was done messing with Paddy and the shitty people he kept around. He was greedy with no scruples. I couldn’t be involved with this shit anymore.

Finally, I had something to fight for and it was far away from the ring.

Standing to my full height, I pinned Paddy with a look. “Let’s get it over with.”

He didn’t ask me to wait until he warmed up the crowd. At this point, I gave him too much already. He left quickly, and I cracked my neck as I heard his voice calling everyone’s attention.

The fucker was loud. He had cops in his back pocket and never worried about being discovered. It was stupid. So many nights I was here, working out my frustrations and ignoring the people I got myself tangled with. Now, the reward seemed small for the risk.

The El Toro chant broke out, and I moved from the locker room. My eyes fixed on one trajectory—the ring. Paddy was still talking on the microphone, telling tales of my victories like the stupidest troubadour.

Nothing mattered in a fight. Not if you were coming from a losing streak or a winning one. Nothing defined a match except minutes you spent in the ring.

He could count all my winnings and still, only what I did today was going to mean anything.

The sound lowered down in my mind. I looked at the boy who I beat last year and found nothing memorable about him.

I couldn’t place his face, his name, or anything about him. He was just another person I beat when I was frustrated with my own life. He was a pawn in my own narrative, and I felt that so deeply I almost told him that.

Don’t define yourself by me. I don’t even remember you.

It would be tragic if it wasn’t the way of life. I closed my mouth and said nothing. With a quick move, he started.

One punch that was easy to avoid. His feet were quick, but he gave too much away.

I knew now why he had lost before. It wasn’t because I was bigger. It was because he told me all I needed to know about him at once.

He punched me first, making the crowd wince collectively. Blood streamed from my gums, but I smiled. I knew all his moves now.

My bloody smile must be terrifying because that was the moment he first flinched.

After that, my hooks connected easily. I trapped him to the side he didn’t know how to defend well, and blow after blow connected. My knuckles split again with old wounds. It was his blood, and the blood of others who were in the same place he stood now.

He moved with more agility than I liked. I ignored the blood streaming from my face and went for it.

The fight was me against me. My demons and now the demons of my sister.

The boy dropped on the canvas and I stood there victorious without the rush.

The crowd cheered El Toro.

The last time, I said.

The last time.

I moved to the ropes before Paddy attempted to hold my fist high, but when I turned emerald green eyes were all I saw.

Itwasagym.

The address David left was a gym, and something was clearly happening judging by the number of people arriving.

I shouldn’t be here. I was out of place and that was clear, but the questions burned in my mind. I needed to set him straight. I wanted him out of our lives and if he wanted money…

Willa told me to file for a restraining order, but Sofia’s letter had me wondering. Suddenly, I didn’t want to anger him. I wanted him to back off, to be uninterested. Angry people found ways to hurt us. Maybe if I gave him what he wanted, he would leave us alone.

That theory was ridiculous and proved itself wrong the second I arrived at the gym. The address could be anything. He could kill me, and Alvaro wouldn’t know any better.

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