Convincing You I'm Me

Chapter 26: Flash Back

I reattached my head gear in the ring, squishing my mouth brace across my teeth. I was pumped up, adrenaline cursed through my bloodstream like a laser beam. I bounced left and right, while my manager stood outside the ring with sharp, determined eyes.

"You got this," he said. "One more knockout and you're in victory, my friend."

I punched my fists through the air, giving out staggered breaths. 

"Just think about that contract," he instructed. "You're almost in the international sports league. But don't get cocky. Arrogance will bring you down."

I continued punching the air and then the referee blew his whistle and the crowd screamed in excitement. I turned, wiping the last bits of blood that trickled down my nose. The opponent was good, very good, no one could call it.

My opponent, Jordan, was a giant build of a man. He was a few years older than me and we were placed in the same weight group. His eyes contained dark, green circles--a result from my blows, they were starting to bruise already. 

This was the last round, the last chance. I could smell my future laid out in front of me, eagerly waiting for my reach. Jordan squared up to me politely, his blue boxing gloves touched my red ones through the air as we started with a mutual 'good luck.'

We waited for a few moments and then the whistle blew again and the crowd squealed louder than I had ever heard them. We circled each other for a second and then he made the first move, jabbing his blue glove at my face, I ducked under his arm, turning on my axis and I got him right at the side of his jaw. Spit flew from his mouth, tainted with a bit of blood. That got him angry. That got his blood pressure rising. 

Good. I needed him angry. Anger is a distraction, not a motivation.

He came for me, quick and heavy--with pants so loud that I had him right where I wanted him. He swung for my face and I bashed my right arm into his dominant left, adding pressure onto it so that his boxing glove moved sideways across the air, just past my head. I pushed my left shoulder back and punched him straight in the nose, hearing the dreadful crunch that made him take steps backward in a daze.

Usually, they would take a few moments out for a hit like that, but not Jordan. Jordan was what the boxing world liked to call 'Nut Skull.'

I underestimated him. His anger was bursting out of his eyes like fireworks, a thousand times worse than before. He ran for me and directed punch after punch, before I had time to cover my face with my gloves he had directed a powerful blow to the side of my head. I felt my ears ring as I fell to the floor, the screams from the crowd became a cluster of annoying, squeaky chimes that made my vision blurry.

Something was wrong, something was very wrong. I pushed myself up using my trembling biceps and I saw my manager yelling at me from the side of the ring, banging his hand against it, but I couldn't hear what he was shouting. I couldn't hear anything but buzzing. I was going to lose if I didn't get my act together, it would be over. To my complete surprise; a pale, frosty face with bright blue eyes and a statue-turning smile lit up my mind. She took over it. 

It had been six months since we had broken up, since we last saw or spoke to each other. After three and a half years, her mother finally got she wanted, she finally put a wedge between us. I don't know what made me think of her, I hadn't in a long time, but I blinked to myself as I heard her voice in my head, screaming at me to get up. 

Suddenly, the buzzing subsided, and the motivational screams from the crowd could be heard once again. He was behind me, I felt it. His shadow crawled closer and I plunged myself from the floor, I swung my body around and my glove collided with his face with every ounce of strength I contained. Jordan's eyes closed and he fell backward, his back slamming into the ring. The crowd fell silent as the referee leaned over him, and then slammed his hand down beside Jordan's unconscious body.