Page 36 of Bear

“Why?” I demanded. “They’re going to hurt each other. Is that really the only solution?”

Before Rooster could say anything more, the fight began.

Justin sent his first punch flying. Bear side-stepped and deflected the blow as easily as if he batted a fly away. I expected him to retaliate with a blow of his own but he remained on his heels, circling at the edge of the cage.

Justin feinted with his left fist and caught Bear in the chin with a right hook. Bear stumbled back, hitting the fence. The crowd pressed closer, pushing against the cage, cheering him on.

“Get in there!”

“Hit him!”

“Knock him out!”

I twisted around to look up at Rooster.

“Why isn’t he fighting back?”

“He’s keeping himself in check,” Rooster replied. “Fighting in the cage isn’t quite like boxing with your buddies at the gym. He knows what he’s doing. Justin is in Bear’s territory now.”

Just as Rooster finished speaking, Justin charged, plowing into Bear.

Bear absorbed the impact of Justin’s weight, standing firm. The crowd screamed as Justin pummeled his fists into Bear’s ribs. I winced with every hit, imagining the bruises that would be covering him tomorrow.

Then Bear exploded.

The gentle hands that had held my little Maisie so many times were now wielded like war hammers. He had Justin up against the fence, hitting him again and again. I could hear the sickening muted thud of fist against skin, bones, and muscle over the noise of the room.

When Justin finally managed to find an opening to retaliate, it was a frenzied attack with none of the clean-cut and well-practiced punches he’d used earlier. He was frantic, desperate to regain the upper hand even though he knew he was losing control.

Bear remained calm amid his brutality. He knew how to hit to cause the maximum amount of damage. Sweat slicked his skin, every muscle in his body straining.

Blood stained their fists. So much blood.

Tears blurred my vision. I felt sick to my stomach. I never wanted it to come to this.

As the fight went on, Justin’s stamina began to flag. The strength of Bear’s hits never seemed to waver though. They were both a mess now, bruised and battered. Justin spat a glob of blood onto the floor. Bear’s right eye was swollen shut, his lower lip split and bleeding.

In one final attempt to regain ground, Justin swung. Wildly.

Bear caught him around the neck with one beefy arm, putting Justin in a headlock. He squeezed, slowly dragging Justin to the floor until Justin’s face turned beet red.

The referee started counting down and the crowd joined in.

“Five…four…three…”

Then Bear glanced up and somehow, he found me in the crowd, his gaze meeting mine.

His grim expression vanished, replaced by confusion flitting across his face.

The momentary distraction was all Justin needed to loosen Bear’s grip. He cracked his elbow up into Bear’s nose.

Bear’s head snapped back. To my horror, he pitched backward.

Justin scrambled into motion. He pinned Bear to the floor, beating Bear with his fists.

A scream tore from my throat. Before I realized what I was doing, I shoved my way through the crowd. I lost sight of the fight as I forged a path to the cage. When I reached the fencing, Bear and Justin grappled on the ground, the floor slick with blood.

The referee circled them, trying to pry Justin and Bear apart.

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