Page 71 of Fighting for You
“Make a move then.” I’m baiting him, urging him to lash out, rain his fury on me, closed fist after closed fist. If he could only land a hit, I want the pain—I want to hurt so I can stop thinking about how I hate myself more and more every day. Hate what I did to Margot. Hate how cruel I was to Tiffany. Hate that I couldn’t let myself have something good.
I could have been selfish. I even hate myself for that too. I could have gone against every warning blaring in my mind. Iknew all along Margot was too good for me, but I could have ignored it. At least I would have been happier then. I wouldn’t feel like an addict going through withdrawal, constantly checking my phone to see if maybe, just maybe, she’d offer another hit by reaching out.
But I wasn’t selfish. It’s the one decent thing I can say about the whole ordeal. I let her go. Forced her away. I may have hurt her in the process, but I did the hard thing. I’d like to think I’m a better man for it, but I’m not.
Colton barrels toward me again, his arm already twitching at his side. I see the move before he makes it and clock him in the gut where he leasts expects it. As he starts to go down, I uppercut him in the jaw, almost knocking his gritted teeth out of his head. Then, for good measure, I take my fist and go for the knockout. Right in his temple. The same place he scarred me all those years ago.
When I walked away, Colton was out cold. I didn’t offer to help—I didn’t even give him a second glance. I walked away to the sound of his body colliding with the ground and the wet sound of blood splattering around him.
I’m sitting on a bale of hay on the other side of The Pit, away from the crowd, in the shadows where I doubt anyone can see me. The last blow I landed definitely fucked up my hand. Wincing, I pull the wrap from the skin, biting the inside of my cheek at the sting. My knuckles are bloodied, bruised, and already swelling, the split open spots stick to the wrap as I pull it away. “Fuck!” I hiss as quietly as possible. I don’t need anyonewalking over to talk to me or ask me what’s wrong. I’ve kept my distance from everyone at The Pit recently.
Grabbing the water bottle sitting beside me, I pour some over the cuts, cleaning them as best I can. I take a swig from it, swishing and spitting the water out to get the taste of blood out of my mouth before drenching my head with the rest of it. I’ll clean my hands up more when I get home. Fuck, my eyebrow too. I’d forgotten about it, but the water mixed with sweat dripping down my face lights the area up with a sharp burn.
I need to piss, then I’ll go check in with Hayes, see how much cash I won. As I’m unzipping my pants near the treeline, about to pull out my dick, someone whistles from the crowd followed by, “You can doctor me up any day, baby.” I can’t place the voice, but I hate the catcalling. It answers my question about how badly I hurt Colton though since someone is here to patch him up.
I have no idea who Hayes called since Becca stopped showing. But I quickly do my business and rezip my pants before heading that way. If I didn’t need to pick up my winnings from Hayes before leaving for the night, I wouldn’t be going anywhere near Colton. Hayes has been on my ass for disappearing before Christmas though, and being on his bad side isn’t on my bingo card.
As I stride past the fighting ring, I hear whispers about the “hot doctor lady.” Whoever it is, Hayes has everyone riled up over her. I hope he knows what he’s doing. Becca was different. She was claimed. Everyone knew not to touch her or fuck with her.
Voices float out from inside the trailer. I pull the handle and swing the door open, ready to pull Hayes away, touch base, and leave. But my eyes land on the curly-haired woman standing over Colton, her hands touching his face as she examines his injuries. I can’t speak. I can’t even move. I just stand therewatching as she gives him all of her attention. She’ssmiling. I fucking lose it.
“What,” I pause, my eyes never leaving the side of her head, “the fuck?” She turns at the sound of my voice, her gaze finding mine. I swear her pupils blow wide as she sees me.
Before she has a chance to say anything, Hayes is pushing me back outside, slamming the door behind him. Fueled by the lingering adrenaline from the fight, my fury floods me. I want to thrash, throw fists at anything in my way.
He puts his hands on my shoulders, the weight of them reeling me back in. I take a deep breath, but I don’t release it, not yet. I need to hold it there until my lungs burn, try to calm myself. Hayes yells to Kori, “Go keep an eye on them while I take care of this.”
This. Me. While he takes care of me. That’s what he means.
I follow Kori with my eyes, watch as she walks toward the trailer, pulls the door open giving me another glimpse of the woman I love inside.
Love? Oh,fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Calm the fuck down, he’s a prick, but I won’t let anything happen to Margot. I wanted to talk to you about her anyway.”
I bring my focus back to Hayes, the realization I just had is shoved back for me to deal with another time. “Talk to me about Margot?” I grit out.
He releases his hold, his arms falling to his side. “I asked her to help out until I can find some permanent help. She’s going to be on-call in case anyone needs medical attention,” he says casually,toocasually. “I need you to keep an eye on her.”
I almost lose my shit.
“You fucking what?” I seethe. “You’ve got to be kidding me. She could lose her license, her fucking career! Why would you involve her in this shit?”
I’m exposing myself, I know I am. I don’t even care. I don’t give a fuck if Hayes figures it out. I don’t care if saying any of this outs me.
His expression turns stony, and he closes the distance between us so our chests are touching. I feel his heavy breaths as he says, “This is none of your business, Grant. If you think I haven’t considered the negative impacts this could have on her, you can fuck right off. She’s—”
I cut him off. For the first time in our friendship, I don’t back down. “That’s where you’re wrong,Mason,” I spit. His eyes are trained on mine, bouncing back and forth between them like he’s trying to figure out where I’m going with this. “She is my fucking business, and I won’t let you or anyone else fuck shit up for her. She deserves better.”
It’s hypocritical coming from me. And if he knew the things I’ve done and said where Margot is concerned, I’d be six feet under already. But I’ve stunned him into silence because he has no idea where any of this is coming from.
I storm off before he puts it all together, rushing toward the trailer. As I pull the door open, Colton’s laughing, and Margot’s smiling. Again. She turns around this time, and her whole demeanor changes when she sees me. Her eyes go cold, her smile fades into a scowl. Kori slips outside, and I briefly hear her hauling Hayes off before he can charge in.
“Margot—” I start, but she puts her hand up to silence me.
“No. I’m with a patient. A patient whose injuries you caused, apparently. You can sit in the corner until I’m done,” she says, her voice stern, cold. It shouldn’t make my dick twitch.
Fuck me, I’m so gone for this woman.
