If I Fall (GirlXGirl)

Chp. 7

She proceeded to walk around me, teasing me with my confusion as she grabbed two glasses from her cabinet along with my un-opened bottle of wine. Her eyes watched me as she set the glasses down, "Trust me, I made enough last year to hold me over for a while."

She was being secretive for reasons I didn't know, but I was genuinely curious. If she had continued to fight for the money then that meant it had to be good, and seeing that she lived here only furthered that assumption. I was curious as to how the payment method worked though, and I knew she understood that. She knew I was always full of questions.

I removed my shoes and sat cross-legged on her pullout couch, watching her pick up my bottle of wine and ask, "Would you like some?"

I nodded, "Of course I would, but pour you a glass too."

She smiled her infamous smile that made my knees weak, letting me know she was already loosening up around me. Ever since our kiss things had been slightly different, I could feel it, but I could also feel the undeniable tension between us now. I had kind of felt that before our kiss, but after it was obvious there was something insanely strong pulling us together.

She poured two glasses, climbing onto the couch and handing me one over to me. She leaned back, relaxing, "Would you like me to break down how I can afford to live here?"

I honestly was curious as to how much one could possibly make, so I nodded a silent yes.

She began, "So, from looking at all of the fights I've won I can tell you one win ranges from about three-thousand to four-thousand dollars, depending on how many people show up, bet, etcetera. I started winning at the beginning of last year, and when you win, unless you get hurt, you can fight as many times as you want."

My mind was still stuck on the three-thousand to four-thousand dollars part.

She continued, "Last year alone I won fifteen fights total, which is an estimated forty-five thousand dollars. Now that's not even including my hours I made at the gym. I'm basically still living on my winnings from last year."

Forty-five thousand dollars... I shook my head, immediately understanding why this underground fighting scene was so serious. There was a lot of money that went into the betting and the fighting, and when people lost their money that's when it usually got ugly. Leaving meant pissing off a lot of people that would either lose money or lose a reason to win more money, and you didn't want a bunch of angry fuckers chasing you.

I exhaled, "That's... a lot of money."

She nodded, "But the fight I won against Jada, yea I got over five grand for that win. I don't know why but... I'm not questioning it."

I looked down into my glass of wine, wondering if I should tell her why she had gotten so much from that win. I mean, she had a right to know and I'm sure no one else was going to tell her.

I nodded, "You got so much because it was going to be Jada's last fight."

My eyes met hers just in time to see a look of guilt fall over her like a blanket. She leaned back and shook her head, "As in like, her last win to finally get out?"

"She wanted to go pro," I continued, wondering why Drew even seemed to care. I mean Jada was considered an enemy right? I'm sure the rest of the fighters didn't sympathize one another's struggles on getting out of that death pit.

Drew shook her head, "I had no idea..."

"Would it have made a difference?" I found myself asking. I mean, Drew hadn't known Jada was my sister the night she fought her. Why exactly did it even matter that it had been Jada's last fight? Would Drew have lost on purpose? I doubted that. Not whenever her own freedom was at stake.