Chapter 15: Chapter 15

After parking my bike near the entrance, I trudged lazily into the warehouse, guided by Adam and the dim light of our phones. It wasn’t big and it looked pretty cozy to live in. It was easily as big as my living room back home.

A couch was pushed in the far corner, covered with sheets and under it laid a carpet and nearby sat a mini wooden coffee table that seemed to be polished not long ago. Beside the couch was a lamp stand that was alight and on the other side was a mini fridge, plugged into a socket on the foot of the wall.

Shelves and 2 other couches were placed across the room along with a counter with snacks and sachets of tea, coffee and other beverages. A few clothes were strewn here and there but aside from that, there was nothing unique about it.

Monic ran towards me in a hurry and engulfed me in a bear hug before pushing me to arm’s length to start her inspection from my head to the tip of my toes for any wounds.

“Jesus Christ, Case! You’re bleeding!” Mo exclaimed in panic as she fussed over the minor wounds I have. I tried to wave her off as she gingerly grabbed my chin to get a good look on my busted lip and the blood dripping from my temple.

“I’m fine, a little dizzy but fine.” I shrugged her concern off while I nodded at Jake. He did what he was asked to and kept my baby sister safe.

“What happened?” Mo asked softly as she guided me to the couch in a corner of the room with a tall lamp beside it that gave off a dim light, enough to illuminate its surrounding.

“Some guy wants me dead and wanted to fight so we did.” I shrugged it off like it’s an everyday thing while Adam, Zac and Jake sat on the couch. They seemed to be in shock. They looked between themselves and started talking slowly, processing the events that happened in the last hour.

Monic seemed realize our friend was missing then and looked around in confusion. “Where’s Dom?” she turned to me but I shook my head.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I told her simply. Luckily, she instantly knew better than to pry and dropped the topic.

“Do they know now?” Mo whispered in a hushed tone. Monic knows about what I do in my spare time and even though she doesn’t approve, she knows it’s better than me being depressed, wallowing in grief and isolating myself from the world. If it wasn’t for street fighting, I would be in bed, mourning for my brother and she understands that.

“Well, we didn’t exactly stop for tea and talk about it. None of us brought any China porcelain tea sets with us now, did we,” I mumbled sarcastically before shaking my head.

“You have to tell them, Case. They deserve to know what they’re getting into.” Mo whispered in a concern tone while glancing towards her boyfriend that was in a heated discussion with his friends.

I shook my head at her oblivious state. “Mo, they already know. They’re in the same community, they street fight. They know about the Underground Place, an illegal place. Sounds familiar?” I resisted the urge to flick her forehead to give the words an extra boost to sink.

After a second of silence, her eyes widened and she looked at me with her mouth shaping an ‘o’.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation and looked at her pointedly. This girl, I swear.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought me back.

“Case, we need to talk.”

Have you ever felt that feeling when your heart sinks into your stomach and your throat turns dry just because your dad is looking at you like he’s ready to kick you out of the house if you make a single wrong move? That’s what I’m feeling.

I closed my eyes and gulped silently. Looking into Monic’s eyes, I knew it wasn’t good.

I turned around slowly as my nails dug into my thighs through my jeans.

“Oh hey...” I drawled out as I avoided any eye contact. My eyes kept on looking at the ceiling, walls, floor, the couch, tiles, anything but his eyes.

“Why don’t we take a seat with the others, yeah?” I shuffled on my feet, trying to buy myself time to collect my shit that is currently scattered all over the place.

He nodded stiffly and turned towards the others with Monic and I behind him.

His back was tense and his hands were stuffed into his pockets but no one can overlook the fact that they were obviously clenched inside.

Monic grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. I tightened my hold on hers to seek some much needed comfort.

She let my hand go once we were facing the boys and we each took a seat on the carpet with our legs crossed and faced them.

“So, where should I begin?” I asked them nervously, my hand reaching back and scratching my neck awkwardly. Zac was still staring at me like I’m a dancing donkey.

“You’re Pixie,” He stated in wonder as he looked at me skeptically and with a calculating stare. I nodded in confirmation and his mouth popped open. I thought that was obvious but apparently, it wasn’t obvious enough.

“Zac,” Adam interrupted sternly before turning to me and motioned for me to go on.

“Okay,” I drawled out and took a deep breath, “I street fight and I go by Pixie.” I stated. It was the start of what I suspect to be a long speech. The words were itching to be let out and they were on the tip of my tongue but before I could continue, I was interrupted by a loud snort.

“No shit,” Zac let out, earning a sharp glare from the other two guys while Monic stifled an amused giggle. I shook my head with a humorous smile on my face.

‘The boy is something else,’ was all I thought, glad for the mood lifting effect before swallowing my nerves and continuing with my speech.

“I started street fighting at Underground Place two years ago, a month before Monic’s family decided to move out of town and a month after Dom left. We had our complications and fights after-” I hesitated for a second, trying not to squeeze my eyes shut to make the memories go away. I forced myself to keep talking before I lose my wits to finish this so called ‘well-thought’ speech.

“-after an accident that brought despair to all of us.” I finished, sighing quietly. Jake seemed like he was going to ask about the ‘accident’ but Monic’s hard glare shut him up just as quick.

I offered her a smile before proceeding. “After Monic and Dom left, I started going to the Underground Place frequently, as in everyday-frequently. I loved fighting, it was something I do in my spare time and no, I didn’t do it because of the money it supplied.

I made sure it all went to an orphanage nearby. I did it out of sheer pleasure. I love the thrill of the fight and the adrenaline it fills me. You would understand,” I gave Adam and Zac a pointed look and they both nodded in understanding.

“What I have trouble understanding is why you, a nerd, would choose the Underground Place to fight in of all places. Why didn’t you go to a smaller less dangerous place? Where there are no bulky guys.” Jake pointed out.

“And how can you be so good at it?” Zac added in, voicing that God awful question. He just had to.

“First,” I started off, ready to tick off their questions, “not all nerds are push overs.” I was once again interrupted, this time by Adam.

“Then why don’t you fight back against Maddison and Sonia?” I furrowed my eyebrows at that. Why don’t I?

If it was just Maddison, I would’ve answered it easily but Sonia? I’ve never thought about it.

“I guess, I liked the thought of keeping my identity hidden, in case anything like tonight happens, they won’t know where to find me because all they would know is my stage name and not my real one.” I answered simply, after thinking about it for a while.

Adam nodded and motioned for me to continue. Where was I? Oh right, dissing Jake for dissing the nerd population. The nerve of this guy, I seethed. I actually started liking him.

“As I was saying,” I cleared my throat, feeling it go hoarse from all the talking and I’m not even close to halfway. They have got to stop interrupting me. “Not all nerds are pushover. I wanted to be a living proof of that and also to be a living proof that a girl can indeed ‘kick ass’.” I emphasized with a quotation motion with my fingers.

“And..?” Zac trailed off, prodding for more. I looked at him, puzzled. “And what?” I asked him quizzically.

“How did you kick my ass,” he sounded miffed by admitting that I beat his ass bloody. I held in a chuckle at his expression. This guy has a huge ego and I just took a huge chunk out of it.

“I had an older brother to teach me,” silence followed and Jake broke it by asking one word.

“Had?” I nodded in confirmation and in indication to end the discussion.

“Had.”

Monic clapped her hands once, startling all of us and rubbed them together. “Who wants hot chocolate?”

***

“So...” Adam started while he walked closer towards the couch I was sitting on and I could see the wariness in his eyes as he approached me.

“So...” I trailed off awkwardly as I looked around. “Nice place, you guys got here.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “It’s kind of my go to place when I’m upset. No one knew about this place except for Jake and Zac. You guys will be safe here for the mean time.” He informed quietly as he scratched the back of his head. He seems to do that often when he’s nervous or when he’s out of words.

I chuckled silently at the cute habit and he sat next to me. We were sitting on the isolated and depressing couch. It’s cushioning was a beige colored leather and it’s really comfortable to sit on.

“Are you going to sleep?” I quirked an eyebrow at how random that question had sounded. “No, I’m not really sleepy. Why do you ask?”

His fingers traced the mouth of his mug and I sipped on mine, my eyes still fixated on his face, memorizing every detail.

He has faint freckles on his face and his nose was a bit crooked. His eyes were a lighter green when you see it in a much closer distance and they were almond shaped.

His lips were thin but not that thin that you couldn’t see them and they jut out in a slight pout when he’s thinking hard. His jaw was chiseled and you could see a subtle scruff as if he hadn’t shaved for a couple of days.

Only when he waved his hands in front of my face did I realize that I spaced out on him. I shook my head lightly and flushed scarlet.

“Sorry,” I muttered, embarrassed beyond words.

He shook his head, “It’s alright. I was just asking if you have any other siblings.”

My mood dampened at the statement and I shook my head no and cast my eyes downwards on the tiled floor. He murmured a silent ‘oh’.

After a while, he nudged me with his shoulder and pointed towards the love seat where Monic was fast asleep with Jake beside her, cuddling her from behind and draping an arm over her sleeping body, snoring loudly.

The two looked so cute together that I couldn’t suppress my smile and covered my mouth with my fingers lightly as I bit my bottom lip, trying to hold in the loud ‘aw’, threatening to come out.

Despite Jake’s loud snores, Monic kept on sleeping and didn’t even stir. She was always a heavy sleeper.

Talk about a perfect match, huh?

I turned to look at Adam only to find out he was already looking at me.

The blush on my face came back and crawled up my neck, heating up my cheeks.

The night went on and Adam started to tell me about his younger sister, Cali and his younger brother, Pio. I smiled as I listened to him talk about the pranks they played on him and how they would fight for his attention.

Even as my eyelids drooped and my head slid off my arm; the mug of hot chocolate long forgotten, the smile remained and soon, my eyes couldn’t stay open and drifted close.

The last thing I heard was Adam murmuring a good night and feeling a soft and feathery touch on my forehead before drifting off to sleep.