The Mistake

First Fight

I just nodded and turned back to the ring in front of me.

Unlike the redhead on the other end of the ring, Nick's stance was confident. He was calm and collected as he put his mouthpiece in, staring directly at Joey, which seemed to unnerve the poor guy a little.

"Are you ready for the first fight of the annual tournament, ladies and gentlemen? Place your bets!" A loud and deep voice announced as the crowd cheered. A bell rang out, signaling the start of the fight.

Nick and the redhead stepped forward, boxing gloves up to cover their faces as they shuffled around the ring. The redhead let out a snarl and took a hard swing at Nick. He dodged it. The redhead let himself open in that moment and Nick was quick to throw in a strong counterpunch to his chest, followed by another left hook to his face. The sound of his fist connecting with his face was defeaning as the crowd cheered on. Red hair and red blood flew around as Joey stumbled back.

I was unconsciously biting on the skin around my nails by this point, watching in horror at the powerful punches they both threw.

They moved around the boxing ring again, their fists up between their faces. Nick lunged at the redhead and hit him on his chest. The redhead tumbled into the ropes as Nick threw several punches at him. Joey flinched in pain and tried to cover himself with his gloves.

He dodged out of his grip and took a blow at Nick's lower body, but he blocked it with his fists and scowled. It was clear he was growing bored of the redhead.

The look on his face was terrifying as he landed a right jab into Joey's side quickly. He hit him again twice. He stumbled back for a split second, nearly falling over.

Nick's eyes glanced over the entire audience quickly when his eyes locked on mine. His face suddenly lost the anger in them and was instead replaced by a puzzled look.

Nick's head turned sharply as he received a blow from the redhead when he was busy looking at me. I let out a startled scream and Cami cheered.

He spit out blood and growled, the fire back in his eyes. Joey tried to hit him again, but Nick dodged out of the way. Two quick, powerful jabs on Joey's jaw was enough to make him cry out in pain.

Nick drew his arm back, gathering strength and momentum and landed a rough uppercut from under Joey's jaw as his biceps strained. Joey hit the ground hard and writhed in pain as I gasped along with the rest of the crowd.

He tried to get up. It wasn't any use. He was out cold as blood seeped through his mouth and nose. Nick stood triumphantly over him, breathing hard.

The silence in the room was interrupted by the sudden uproar of the whole crowd. Everyone cheered and chanted Nick's name. A robust and brawny man walked to the stage and held Nick's hand in the air, declaring him the winner of the fight.

Nick had a malicious smirk on his face as he wiped his bruised upper brow of the blood. He turned to me and I was unsure of what he was thinking. I bet he was wondering what the hell a girl like me was doing here.

Honestly, I wondered that myself.

I felt uneasy when he held eye contact, unable to read his expression for another second until he finally turned away. Why did he seem to dislike me so much?

I could only keep staring in awe and a little bit terrified of him. This was not what I expected.

I swallowed and looked over at Cami.

"Told you he was good." She said triumphantly.

"Good?" I scoffed. "He's freaking amazing."

***