“Pussy-ass bitch,” Noah said, yet again.
I rolled my eyes at the same time I rolled my neck. “So you said.”
“Little bitch.”
“Huh, sounds like you heard a new word there, sunshine.” I straightened, then circled my shoulders, loosening the joints. “Don’t overuse it, though, you’ll wear it out. Might have to go back to the dictionary...” I grinned. “Or school.”
His glare was so hard, his eyes narrowed to slits, his bushy brows physically touching in the center. “College kid thinks he knows it all,” he rushed out. “Well, you don’t know jack shit, bitch.”
I snorted loudly. “There you go again with that word, Noah. Seriously, it’s getting lame.”
“Ready!” Josh bellowed, standing on his wooden box, his arms out to the side. “It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, folks! Get your papers out, cos this is gonna be one helluva night!” He rang the bell in his hand, his arm waving up and down.
Noah roared, spit flying from his mouth, and his round face beet red. I stood my ground, letting him come to me within the white spray-painted circle. It was already spattered with the previous fights’ blood, waiting for a fresh flow to fall and decorate the ground.
He barreled toward me, his fists high, and his mouth open.
Big mistake.
I stepped to the side as he reached me, lifting my hands and sending a fast jab to his jaw. Over the cheers and taunts, his jaw clicked, and he dropped to the ground.
He held his face in his hands, blood dripping between his fingers, turning his yellow wraps orange as crimson mixed in with the bright fabric.
“My jaw!” he sputtered, looking at me over his shoulder. I shrugged, then bounced from foot to foot. He pushed his mouth closed, his eyes screwing shut as he did, pain lacing his features.
Slowly standing, he held his hands up again. This time, guarding his face. We hopped in the circle, him watching for an opening, and me checking for signs of weakness.
That’s when I saw it. It was small, but it was there, and that was all I wanted to focus on. My weaknesses had been exploited for too long, and I’d never allow that to happen again. Broken bones, slashed skin, made no difference to me. I’d taken a beating over and over when I was down, broken, bloodied, but I always got up.
Noah threw a punch, I dodged, throwing my hand to push his fist to the side. I knocked it outward, opening him up. My head snapped to the side when a fucking hammer smashed into the side of my cheek, a punch I didn’t fucking see coming.
“Ha, fucking pussy!’ he bellowed as I shook my head to clear it. “Not so fucking tough now, huh?” He snarled, his nose turning up as he spat,” Bitch.”
That repetitive word was getting on my fucking nerves, and if I beat the shit out of him just for that, then so be it.
I lifted my hands again, clenching my fists. I wasn’t going to leave myself open again. Stupid fucking mistake. I was getting cocky, and I had to turn that shit off.
“Quinn. Just cos he’s got the brain of a gnat doesn’t mean he can’t fight smart.” Josh said from the side, his voice directly over my shoulder. “Chin down, eyes up, that’s the way we like to fuck shit up!”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said behind my hands. “Just keep your eyes on the fuckers who came with him.” They were hovering too close to the circle, hands going in their pockets, acting shady as fuck.
Distraction?
Before I could finish my thoughts, a foot slammed into my chest, knocking me backward, my shoulders crashing against the ground with my entire weight on top of them.
“Dirty bastard!” Josh roared. “Quinn, fucking ace this ass-wipe.”
I clutched my stomach, the wind knocked out of me. I couldn’t breathe, my lungs were burning, my heartbeat erratic. “Fuck,” I groaned.
A huge shadow loomed over me, Noah’s wild and bloodied face coming into view before he threw himself on top of me, crushing me further into the dirt. Fists rained down on my head, my face, and my ribs. Pain fired through my torso, bruises already forming under the skin, blood vessels bursting with the impact of each heavy blow.
One of his hands fisted my hair, so I forced my chin to my chest, stopping Noah from banging my head against the floor as he tried to knock me out cold. He wasn’t getting to wail on me when I couldn’t defend myself.
“Bitch! Bitch!” he yelled, his saliva dripping down onto me every time he opened his dislodged mouth.
“Quinn, fuck!” Josh shrieked. “Get the fuck up!”
“Come on, Quinn!” female voices came from the sides, the familiar sounds of college girls surrounding me.
“Get up and smash him to fucking pieces!” Miley screamed. “Tear his fucking head off!”
Yeah, I’d let him have his fun, and now it was time to unleash the rage inside of me. The simmering volcano was bubbling, boiling, the lava rising, further and further, until I shot out my hand, blocking him, then close my fingers around his wrist with my vice-like grip.
I forced my head up a little more, forcing him to look me in the eye. “You’ve had your fun, little man,” I growled.
Before he could react, I let my head fall back, then threw it forward as fast as I could, connecting with his nose. Liquid spurted up like a sprinkler, red coating some of the people around us. The crowd cheered, chanting my name as well as Noah’s posse shouting his.
Noah blinked fast, caught off guard, his fingers loosening in my hair. I grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him to the side, rolling over and straddling him like he’d done to me.
“How do you like me now?” I spat, raising my right hand. “Bitch!” I aimed downward, hitting my mark with perfect accuracy. His holler was music to my ears, a sweet symphony of pain and blood-curdling screams as I shattered his bridge, his eyes swelling more and more with every passing second.
I continued to rain punch after punch with just one hand, my shoulder burning from exertion, my thighs shaking from gripping him tight as he struggled to break free.
He couldn’t protect himself anymore, his arms going limp as he hit my sides, my head, anywhere he could, but I was beyond feeling them.
“Stop,” Noah begged. “No more.”
My hand paused an inch away from his face, his ability to scrunch up in defense gone with the swelling.
“You’re so fucking done,” I ground out, then pushed off his sweaty chest to help myself up. I turned around and took a few steps toward Josh.
His eyes bulged, but he wasn’t looking at me.
I spun just in time to see Noah coming at me, both hands clasped in the air, ready to throw a hit from the back. I parried, sending an uppercut into his solar plexus, knuckles, and gut colliding with monumental force, and he folded. I pressed a hand to his back, pulling my other hand out of his bent-over torso.
He hit the ground with a sharp thud, sucking in air like he was suffocating.
I crouched down, pressing my palm to the back of his sweaty, closely-cropped head. “If you need to take cheap shots to win, Noah, then you’re not a fighter,” I said next to his ear, then shoved his head down when I said, “You’re a fucking coward.”
And I knew one of the biggest out there. Once upon a time, I’d called him Dad.