Page 53 of Dare to Dance
“Come on, Ruby,” Norma shouted. “She’s tiring.”
Only one way to win—knock her out. I came around with my other elbow and caught the left side of her jaw. When her head swung right, I immediately followed with a swift and hard punch directly to her nose. She shook her head like a dog shaking off water. Then she brought a hand up to her face, wiped the blood, then smiled as though she was enjoying herself. I felt as if I’d just swallowed a handful of rocks. This woman wasn’t going down.
I retreated to catch my breath. As soon as I did, Vickie launched her large body at me like a diver in the Olympics. I wanted to laugh because she made the same move she had when I’d told her to fuck off that first night. I danced to my left. She stumbled before righting herself. She came at me, throwing a fist to my gut.
Air left my lungs as I shuffled backward.
“Stay upright,” Kross said.
I blew out a breath. But before I could orient myself, she landed a blow to my ear. The pain brought tears to my eyes along with a blinding anger. Screw control. I went wild, attacking her with all the energy I had left in me. She blocked her face as I delivered punch after punch to her gut and anywhere else on her body. My breathing was all over the place, but I wasn’t stopping.
Vickie shuffled two steps back, giving me the opportunity to gain control of myself. But I couldn’t lose the momentum. If the audience was hooting and hollering, I barely heard them, especially with the ringing in my left ear. Then for some reason, my ballet training came to mind. I did a pique turn. Normally, in ballet, I would step onto a full point. Instead, I lifted my right leg as high as my limber body would allow me. Then with all the power in my leg, I kicked out, my foot connecting with the side of Vickie’s head.
She listed to one side then another, her eyes going wide as gravity took control. She fell. Her head hit the hard dirt-covered floor with a resounding crack followed by a whoosh.
The room fell silent.
Vickie didn’t move. I squeezed my eyes shut as dizziness crept in. I began to sway to one side when strong hands caught me.
“I’m here,” Kross whispered in my ear as he cocooned me in his arms.
At that moment, pain began to take over my body.
Whispers hummed in the distance.
A hand touched my back. “Ruby, you did great,” Norma said.
I didn’t feel so great.
“Is Vickie dead?” someone asked.
Horror settled in my veins as I pushed off Kross. “Dead?” I sucked in all the smoky, dank air I could. When my lungs expanded, bile rose to settle in my throat. Oh, God. If I killed her, I was certainly going to jail. My life was over. I would never see my daughter again.
A crowd formed around Vickie.
“Norma, hold onto Ruby,” Kross said as he pushed the men out of the way.
The spectators moved but not far. The men I could see standing over Vickie wore concerned expressions.
Please let her be okay.I couldn’t be charged with murder. “I’m so going to jail.”
“Shh,” Norma said. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
Kross lowered to his knees near Vickie’s head. Dillon was tapping on Vickie’s face, and Tommy was on his haunches, sweat dripping down his temple.
Kross opened one of Vickie’s eyelids, then the other. He moved his fingers down to her neck. He checked her as though he was a skilled doctor or trained in CPR. “She’s got a pulse.” His shoulders slumped as he sat back on his heels.
A huge exhale zipped around the room as though a large gust of wind had blown through the dingy basement. I hung my head, celebrating with everyone.
“That creepy Trent is looking at us,” Norma whispered in my ear.
Wincing in pain, I searched the crowd. Trent was standing at the opposite end of the ring behind Vickie, leering in my direction.
“Again, yuk.” Norma shuddered. “He reminds me of my pimp.”
I broke eye contact with the man and went over to Vickie. Her chest rose softly. Mine didn’t. I took in another humungous breath. Fighting was definitely off my list of career options. Legal or not, I didn’t want to worry that I would hurt someone, or worse, kill someone. Not to mention, the pain. My entire body felt as if I’d been run over by a tractor-trailer, not once but ten times.
Kross popped to his feet then pulled me to him so fast, I grunted. I wanted to tell him not to hug me so tightly, but I would endure any amount of pain to be in his arms. He smelled like heaven and felt like home. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be with him. Suddenly, I wanted to bawl like a baby and tell him about Raven. I wanted, no,neededhim to rescue me from a life that had gotten out of control. A life that had taken the wrong path. But I couldn’t feel sorry for myself. I’d made my choices. As my mom had always said, “Your decisions in life will make you who you are.” Those were her words as she was carted off in handcuffs.
