I smile and stand up. Was I going to punish him? Fuck yeah.
The ref gestures to us both and ensures we’re ready.
I nod then face Ethan. Giving him a wink, I smile my wide smile and wait for the signal. My ribs are making it painful to breathe, it’s like fire lancing across my chest. I cannot fucking flinch or show it though, if I do I’m fucked.
Ethan flies across the ring at me, his face full of rage. He is all fists and feet as he tries to get inside my guard.
I think I made him mad, I won the first round by my count.
He lands a really hard punch on the bad side of my ribs before he lands one the next moment on my good side. I wince badly and lock him up, trying to drag him to the floor.
I’m pretty sure he sees the wince, but he starts to focus his punches on my good side. Thank the fucking gods of the mat, the fucker thinks I'm hurt on the good side. I slide up his body as his legs reach up, trying to get under my chin.
I have no fucking excuse for allowing him to get his god damn arms around the back of my neck. Fuck. He's trying to get a triangle choke on me and I gasp out as I try to twist out but feel my fucking ribs scream in pain.
It's a stabbing pain, and beyond him trying to sink the hold deeper, I feel like a belt has been tightened around my chest. Each breath I take seems to be shallower than the last.
I feel like I am slowly suffocating.
“Agh!” I yell to the grinning little fuck stick Ethan. I am hurt and I know it, and he is sinking it deeper as I swing my fists ineffectively into his ribs.
My vision is beginning to get a bit hazy around the edges. I start to really pull back and away, but it only enforces that I am stuck like a motherfucker.
Can't. Fucking. Breathe.
Well, shit. My legs are slowly buckling.
As the darkness swallows me, I know for a fact that this move is hard as fuck to pull off, and it really doesn't have any way of countering the hold. I don't know where he fucking learned this, but this move fucking sucks.
I can't break free and I am going to lose to this fucking pile of human shit.
No.
I slowly begin to rise, I use whatever strength in my wrecked body I have left.
I want this, I want to win.
I don't care if it kills me, I’m going to break this bitch.
I can't hear the crowd anymore or the shouting of our coaches. I hear blood in my head pounding, now or never.
Raising up, I can feel him still using my own arm to choke me, cutting off what little amount of oxygen I had in me. I slowly stand and the fading of my vision is getting worse. I can only see Ethan's face, his eyes wide as I raise him higher and higher. I am doing what all those work safety videos tell you not to do, I am lifting this fucker up with my back.
This is going to hurt in the morning.
Standing up straight, I have Ethan looking down into my eyes with pure terror. My breathing is much easier now as all his weight is on top of my shoulders. I grin for just a moment, his legs are up, over my shoulders and I now have the one break I know of that can defeat this.
Now it’s my turn.
I swing forward with all my strength as I slam his back and head hard into the mat. I pull free for a moment then dive straight for his face, swinging.
One punch. Two punches.
Now the ref is pushing me to the side and off of a completely knocked out Ethan. I think he went out when he landed, but those extra punches certainly helped.
I slump to my knees, trying to draw air into my oxygen deprived lungs.
Fuck me.
Dale comes rushing into the cage as soon as he is able to. I struggle to my feet as he rushes to me. “Chase, you need the medics?”
I shake my head and wrap an arm around my waist. I’m fucking hurting.
The next two minutes are a blur as they get me to my side of the cage while they check on Ethan. The medics come in and they quickly have Ethan assessed. He nods to them a couple of times and then with assistance from a few people, stands for the verdict.
The ref raises my hand in the air as I grunt. That fucking rib still hurts but I can breathe a bit better. I feel buzzed, I feel another surge of adrenaline. I fucking won.
“And the winner and still heavyweight champion by knockout! Chase 'the REAPERRRRR' Winters!”
I do a quick turn around and wave to the crowd as I hear my Reaper chanted over and over.
Mark, the commentator, stands next to me and begins the post-fight interview. “Wow! Chase that has to be the best ending to a fight I have ever seen! You went past the point most would tap out and kept on going.”
“Thanks, Mark. I wasn't positive I was going to win once he got me in the triangle. By the time I finally had him up and ready to slam, I don't think I was fully there.”
“That... just wow Chase, that was amazing. So this is the second fight in four months. Are you going to take a well-earned break before your next challenger?”
I get a wide smile on my face as I shake my head, “Nah, Mark. I don't think it’s going to be like that. See this was my last fight. I'm officially retiring as of let’s see... As soon as I leave the cage.”
I pat Mark on the shoulder. His mouth falls open and his eyes widen. I was serious with him though. I was done the moment my hand was raised in victory.
I leave him there as the crowd goes silent for nearly a full minute. It's almost surreal as I look around the cage and see a stunned Ethan staring at me. Fuck, everyone one around me seems at a loss except snickering Dale. Only he knew and Dad knew, I told them as soon as I made my decision.
As I walk out of the cage, I look to where my Raven is sitting. Her eyes are swollen and her cheeks are sticky from tears. She laces her hand fingers together under her chin with a look of relief on her face. Marching over to her, I stick out my hand.
The crowd is clapping and cheering now. I don’t know if it’s because I am retiring or simply because they don’t know how else to react.
Avery takes my hand and I pull her to the barrier. I stick my hands under her arms and lift her up and over it. I don't let go though, I swing her into a threshold carry and march out of the arena with her in my arms.
I lean down and whisper into her ear. “I am done waiting. You’re mine now, I don't care about anything else. I want you as mine forever.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Avery
It’s been so long since I’ve been near Chase I can’t stop touching him.
After carrying me through the cheering crowd, we’re back in his room. He’s getting checked out by the doctor. It’s the same doctor that checked out my head after I was shoved into the wall by Ethan. She seems to be a bit upset that there’s something wrong with Chase’s ribs. She wants him to go to the hospital for some x-rays. In the meantime, he tosses back some Tylenol and has words with his trainer while his minor cuts and scrapes are tended to.
I stick close to Chase.
I touch his arm when I can, and when I can’t, I place the tips of my fingers softly against his back. He seems to like having me near, making sure I’m always sitting right beside him. There’s a new heat in his eyes when he looks at me and he looks at me a lot, even when someone else wants his attention.
When his face isn’t turned towards me, I feel like he’s watching me out of the corners of his eyes. Perhaps he’s afraid I’ll run away? Or perhaps he wants me to try to so he can prove his point.
When he carried me out, he told me he’s done waiting for me and he wants me to be his forever. I squirm anxiously, waiting for everyone to leave. We need to talk. I need to know what forever means.
The fight was brutal. He looks way worse this time than after the last one. I don’t like the way he’s breathing in short, shallow breaths. I’m worried for him. After everyone is done and he’s ready to leave, instead of talking, I decide it would be better if I drove him to the hospital. He seems so tired, right now it’s just enough being with him.
The hospital confirms that Chase has fractured some ribs. There’s not much they can do for it, apparently they don’t even bandage them because it can cause complications. He’s given instructions to take it easy for a few weeks and to use Tylenol for the pain. Now that I don’t have a job, I plan to devote all my time to taking care of him until he’s better. Now that he’s retired, I wonder what he’ll do instead of training.
When we leave, I’m pretty damn confused after he tells me to drive us to my apartment.
“Are we staying at my place tonight?” I ask as I pull out of the parking lot and make the turn for Elm.
“Gods, no,” Chase says as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I can only imagine how much his ribs must hurt as the Impala seems to rattle and bump with every dip and crack in the road. “I hate your place.”
I don’t exactly love my place either so I don’t take it personal.
“Then why are we going there?” I ask, so not getting it.
I glance over at him and he grimaces, “I want to get this part over with.”
What the fuck? Did he change his mind? Is he having second thoughts? Does he now realize he’s too good for me and I don’t deserve him?
I don’t even know what to think, my mind is a jumbled, emotional mess. All I know is if I start crying now, I’m going to wreck this big noisy muscle car into something. So I try hard to keep it together. I press my lips in a tight line and bite the panic back.
When I pull into my parking lot, I slam the car into park and jump out.
“Grab all the stuff you want to keep and leave the rest,” Chase grunts as he climbs out of the car. “I’ll get Sebastian.”