Page 95 of Just Breathe

“Fight tomorrow at this new place called Misfits,” I said loud enough, hoping Aiden would hear me from the kitchen.

“Are you fucking kidding me? He teaches you a lesson and not even a week later he expects you to fight?” Nathan looked furious, making me feel like we might be on our way to getting over the shit between us. I hated that we were fighting.

“It’s a power move to show he owns you. Snaps his fingers and you’ll be there even if it kills you.” Aiden walked into the room, passing out beers to us. “You think you can handle it?”

I took a long drink of my beer. “Does it even fucking matter? I don’t have a choice.”

“How are your stitches?” Nathan asked, still looking furious.

“Fine, I think I can take them out and glue the wound just in case to minimize tearing it open again.” I lifted my shirt to show them.

“We’ll glue it and tape it up. We can do a few sparing warm-ups to see how it handles it and see what your range of motion is.” Aiden looked at my wound more closely. Other than Jane, he was the best thing I had.

“Apparently, Misfits is this new club in Monroe. This weekend is the opening. It has three different dance rooms, seven bars and even a private club for high rollers,” Nathan read off of his phone.

“Where the hell am I supposed to fight at? In the middle of the dance floor?” I rolled my eyes at this whole situation.

“I’ll ask Evan if he’s heard anything. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a casino or even a place for fights underground.” Nathan typed away on his phone, giving me even more relief about us.

“We should rest tonight. I don’t want to be surprised with Lucio tomorrow and I think we need to be very fucking cautious going into this.” Aiden looked at me and I nodded at him. He did the same with Nathan when he looked up, and he nodded as well. We all looked at each other and I knew things would eventually be alright between us. We just had to get through tomorrow night.

* * *

We arrived at Misfits earlier then we needed to be to scout the area on the outside for possible exits and where they led to. We walked up to the side entrance, knocking on the door, all of us ready for anything.

A piece of the door slid open, showing just the upper part of someone’s face. “Who the fuck are you?” the guy growled.

“Callum Mayers,” I growled back, not like the fucking attitude on this guy.

“You’re Callum Mayers?” He sounded surprised and then laughed. “Sure thing dude, let me know how that works out for you and who fucking believes you.”

“Just fucking call Lucio and tell him we aren’t being let in. We don’t have to deal with this asshole.” Nathan rolled his eyes at this guy.

I pulled my phone out, ready to make that call, when the door unlocked and swung open. This guy was actually smart enough to know they would chew him out if he didn’t let me in.

“Get the fuck in before I close this door on your ass,” he snarled at us.

“I’m sure that would be even a worse thing to do.” Nate slapped him twice on his face, showing he didn’t give a fuck if this guy did shit to us. If Lucio found out, he would be toast.

“Fuck you. Go down that hallway and you find someone to show you where to go. Now get the fuck away from me.” He tried to keep his tough bravado, but he just looked like an idiot.

We walked in silence until we found someone who could show us to a room that was just behind what they called the arena. I dropped my stuff off, wanting to check out where the hell I was going to fight. I walked into the room and realized this was more legit than I thought it was. In the middle of the room was a cage much like UFC fights. Rows of seating circled around the cage and there was a balcony of what looked like private areas to watch the fights.

Nathan walked up beside me and whistled. “Damn, this looks fucking legit.”

“Looks like Lucio is trying to move up in the world.” Aiden stood on my other side.

“This better mean more money.” I looked around for some exits. “This looks like it’s a lot more expensive than the backyard fights I’ve been doing.”

“Prepared to be disappointed. You know he’s a sneaky bastard anytime he wants to fuck you over.” Nathan checked his phone, frowning, before he looked up again. I knew he texted Jane this morning, but he still hadn’t gotten a response from her. I was also a little irritated she hadn’t responded, but relieved she was keeping her distance. We couldn’t take any chances with her, and she deserved better.

“Let’s go warm up and find out who you are fighting.” Aiden walked out, and we followed.

We spent the next hour and a half getting ready for the fight. I warmed up with jump roping, then a few drills and last with stretches. I was weak on the side of my wound, but I felt confident enough when I heard who I was fighting. Jason Bromley. I’ve seen him fight a few times in Denver, good fighter, but not as fast as I was, and once you got a good hit in, he was always too cautious.

The fight was at eleven and the closer we got to the fight, the more bass I could hear from the club portion. I jumped side to side to the rhythm of the music, rolling out my shoulders, neck, and arms. I flexed my hands opened and shut to get used to the hand wraps.

The door to the room slammed open, and in came a woman dressed in lingerie. “We are ready for you,” she purred, looking at all of us like we were a buffet. She looked just like a woman we might have shared not too long ago, but I noticed none of us looked at her that way. When she didn’t get the response she was looking for, she walked out pissy and we followed.

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