Lace Up. (Ongoing)

Chapter 9

So, before you go
Was there something I could've said
To make your heart beat better?
If only I'd have known you had a storm to weather
***

"Everyone, you have five minutes left to place your bets!" The announcer in the dark, grungy backroom of the gym announced over the speaker.

I rocked back and forth on my toes and cracked my neck side to side, trying to loosen up my muscles. Sebastian came up behind me and rubbed my shoulders.

"You got this ace. You can kick any of these guys asses with your eyes closed. I have faith in you," he said before kissing me on the top of my head.

I smile at him as I sit down for him to wrap my hands. "Are Em and D in the office?" I ask as he starts to wrap me up.

"Yeah, Tiff is up there with them. She was so excited to see them," he smiles.

I hugged him around the middle when he was done with my hands and sighed as I let him go. I stepped back away from him and started to braid my hair up.

"Fighters to your places. All bets are final!"

I stood up and cracked my neck again as I headed for the mat. I looked to the other side and took in my challenger. Tyler Jacobs. I'd beaten him numerous times. He smirked at me and glanced at my body before winking.

"Alright, alright! Everyone quiet down for a moment!" Rick the announcer said.

"So, fighters. You know the rules, which are none. This wouldn't be the Underground if we had rules! Now, let's get fighting!" He said as the bell rang to signal our fight.

I didn't move from my spot. I watched as Tyler moved closer to me and tried to take a swing at me, but I moved quickly, dodging his punch. As he went to throw another, I threw an uppercut to his jaw, knocking him back slightly. As he came forward again, he landed a blow to my cheek before grabbing ahold of my braid. He pulled me close to him and landed another blow to my back. Landing another punch to my ear, I could feel the blood start to ooze from it.

I groaned as I shoved myself off of him, turning and moving as he tried to land another blow. When he got close, I kneed him in his balls and elbowed his back. As he stumbled, I landed a kick to his side and another punch to his face. He doubled over for a minute which gave me time to land two blows to his temple and jaw, knocking him out cold.

I wiped my face as Rick came forward. "We have a winner! Olivia 'the bullet' Castanello! You can all meet Johnny at the window for your winnings!"

The crowd dispersed so I could walk my way to the bench as I looked around for Sebastian. He was nowhere to be seen but as my eyes roamed the back room of the gym, they landed on a pair of blue eyes leaning against the back wall.

I quickly walked towards Jameson, pushing past people as they congratulated me. I nodded my appreciations but kept my eyes on him. He was watching me the entire time.

As I came closer to him, he stepped forward away from the wall, eyeing me up.

"You have some blood there," he said, pointing to my ear. I wiped my ear and saw the blood on my fingers.  He quickly grabbed the towel out of my hand and held it to the side of my head, staring into my eyes.

I heard fast footsteps approaching as I continued to stare at this beautiful man in front of me. I was quickly thrown to my side as a pair of arms were around my neck. I laughed as I stumbled slightly as Amelia threw her weight onto me.

"Livi!" she shouted over the announcer who had taken his spot to announce the next fight.

I smiled down at her as I wrapped my arms around her. I looked around for Donovan just as I saw him and Tiffany enter the back room, Donovan not taking his eyes off of Jameson. He narrowed his gaze at him and muttered under his breath. I shook my head at him and laughed slightly.

He came up to me and wrapped his arms around Amelia and I and whispered, "I'm proud of you Liv, but what the fuck is he doing here?"

"Donovan," I warned, staring at him as he sighed and shook his head.

I let the twins go and told them to go grab their things that we needed to head home. As they left me alone again with Jameson, I stared at the ground, shuffling my feet back and forth before daring to take a peek at him. He was staring down at me, smirking slightly, still holding the bloody towel in his hands.

"Well, I should be going. Thanks for um,. the help with my ear," I said quietly, hoping he'd hear me.

"It's not a problem Olivia," he smiled at me, handing back my towel.

I nodded my head and turned to head towards the bench to get my bag. I looked for Sebastian through the throngs of people and saw his blonde hair as he was leaning against the window where the bookie was. I smiled at him as I walked up to him to collect my winnings.

"Hey Liv," he smiled at me as he folded his own winnings from his bets and put it in his pocket. He handed me my winnings and congratulated me on another great win. I waved good bye to him and hugged Tiff before the twins and I walked out into the cold.

As we approached our neighborhood, I glanced around at the surroundings to make sure we were safe as the sky was starting to darken. Amelia and Donovan were walking a few steps in front of me, talking and laughing about something that happened in school. As we came to our house, I watched them both stop in their tracks and glance back to me. I moved to the front of them and looked at the man that was sitting on our front steps, smoking a cigar, holding his gun.

I quickly shoved them behind me, trying to keep them out of sight, especially Amelia. Ivan was staring at us, menacingly, as he put out his cigar and tapped his gun slightly.

"Ah, Olivia, so good to see you again," he sneered at me. His eyes then moved to Amelia and a smirk crept up on his face. I quickly moved in front of her, feeling her shake slightly in fear behind me. Donovan was seething with rage next to her, I could feel it radiating off of him.

"It appears that your father doesn't have my money, again," he spits onto the ground. "Now, how do you think he can repay me?" he stares at me with piercing, dark eyes and a devilish smirk on his face.

He stands there pretending to think for a minute, as he looks at me and then Amelia. Pointing his gun at me, he speaks again.

"Olivia, it's time for Amelia to assist in repaying for your fathers debts," he smiles wickedly, boring his eyes into me.

My fists and jaw clench as I try to contain my sudden rage.

"Tsk, tsk Olivia. You know I don't like to wait," he says, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as he takes a slow menacing step towards me.

I attempt to shove Amelia and Donovan discreetly further behind me but I am unsuccessful. Luckily, they both understand my intentions as Ivan steps closer to me. As he steps in front of me, he runs a hand down my still braided hair and yanks it so my face is right up next to his. Before I can react, he hits me across the face, causing blood to start pooling in my mouth.

He put the end of his cigarette into his mouth and took a long drag as he eyes me up. I looked at him, eyebrow raised, watching curiously as he stared at me.

"Give up yet Olivia?" he sputtered my name out like it was a swear word.

"Not on your life..." I spit out the blood in my mouth and stared at him, bracing for impact.