Page 15 of Dare to Dance
“Do you think fighting in a dump like this is responsible? This idea is as bad as the one I had to work for my pimp.”
“We need to eat. I just don’t know what else to do. I can’t sit around the streets, begging for money. Like you said, we can put money away.” Some days, I collected five dollars, but other days, I received nothing. I blinked away a tear. “I’ll be fine,” I lied. If I was going up against a girl twice my size, I didn’t stand a chance. Then again, the way the adrenaline was coursing through my body, I might be able to wield a good punch or two, maybe even to the point where I could knock out my opponent. I blew out a breath. I could do this. I was a ballet dancer after all. Then I broke out in hysterics.
Norma cocked her head. “What’s so funny?”
Ballet and fighting were vastly different. I didn’t know a darn thing about bobbing or weaving, but Kross had always told me that ballet and boxing were very similar. “You dance to music. I dance around boxers. Both are about footwork,” he’d said.Argh! Kross Maxwell.Since Raven was born, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Kross. Every time she smiled, it was like Kross was smiling back at me.
My laughter turned into tears. I dropped down onto the dirt floor and hugged my knees to my chest.
Norma joined me, draping her arm around me. “Hey, you don’t have to do this.”
“It’s not the fight. Well, it is sort of. Raven’s daddy boxed. All week, I’ve been thinking of him, and how I used to watch him dance around boxers in the gym at school.”
“Aw, honey. Why don’t you try and find him? You know he might be the key to getting Raven back.”
I shook my head vigorously. “Absolutely not. He can’t ever know about her.”
“He’s her father,” Norma said softly.
“I don’t want him to see me like this. Besides, he didn’t want to be bothered when I called him a thousand times. He left me like I was the scum of the earth. Besides, before I’m ready for her to meet her father, I need to have my life in order.” I would die if Kross saw me now. My skin was pallid, as though I walked among the dead. I had dirty hair and nails, and I didn’t feel pretty at all.
Tommy strutted in, looking as greasy as ever. “What’s going on? You’re not backing out, are you, Ruby?”
Norma and I jumped to our feet.
I wiped my eyes. “No.” I tried to sound sure and strong. I couldn’t keep feeling sorry for myself. I had to take control of my life, and if that meant physically fighting, then I would put everything I had into it.
“Good. Good,” he said. “The crowd is off the hook tonight.”
I could hear the voices in the distance.
“How much is the pot worth?” Norma asked.
Tommy swung his dark gaze between us.
Norma stuck her hands on her hips. “If you so much as—”
I took hold of her hand. “Tommy, I’m not doing this for three hundred dollars. I saw how that girl got her face bashed in last week. I also know you make fifteen thousand dollars on a fight.”
He grinned, but it turned into a snarl. “Eavesdropping on me? Not cool.”
“I want a thousand if I win.” I would’ve said more, but I had to be realistic with a thug like Tommy.
He pursed his lips. “I like your feistiness. But I can’t agree to that.”
“Then I’m out of here.” I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I recalled the conversation between Tommy and some man when I was hiding in the dumpster last week. The man had said, “Just make sure she shows. I’ll be taking your nuts if she doesn’t.” I wasn’t theshethe man had referenced, but I had an inkling that if I walked out, Tommy would be without a fighter, which meant he would lose money.
Norma beamed from ear to ear as we headed for the door.
“Wait,” Tommy said. “Eight hundred.”
“Higher,” Norma whispered in my ear.
“Nine hundred fifty,” I countered, tossing a look over my shoulder.
Tommy’s tone dropped. “You’re not in any position to barter.”
“You’re not in any position for me to walk out.” I wasn’t sure if that were true.
