Fighting For Life (published)

Before I change my mind- Aiden's POV

Aiden's POV-

To say that I was impressed was a vast understatement. I, along with all of the other elite fighters, had been subjected to Brandon's powerful punches multiple times. It took years for even me to be able to withstand one of those punches without him winning in a TKO. For a little girl such as Aubry to be able to get back up and be coherent enough to last five more minutes with him was absolutely remarkable.

The girl obviously had no previous fighting experience. Her punches were a testament to that. However, she had excellent instincts and already knew how to watch footwork. She really had potential. Plus, she simply had a raw desire to fight. I could see it in her eyes... she needed this.

It was crazy for me to train her. I mean, I had never trained anyone before. Sure, I helped out at the gym. Maybe I even corrected form and gave pointers every once in a while. But that is completely and totally different than taking on someone to train to fight at The Underground.

The Underground was a completely different beast on its own. We had a few of our elite fighters that participated in the pool there, but we all trained together. I certainly was not the one guiding and shaping them. I didn't train.

This girl was something else though... I wasn't sure what it was, probably the desperation, but I just knew I needed to help her. She was annoying and in way over her head, but I knew she needed help. For some reason, I just had to help her.

"Let's get started!" I called out behind me. I did not wait for her to catch up to me as I led the way to a start up practice dummy. She had a lot to learn.

"First things first, the rules... You will be here to practice and train on time, the way I tell you to, okay?" She nodded, though it was hesitant. "You will do as I say with no arguments or questions..." She frowned at that one. "I am trying to help you; I won't do something to hurt you." She nodded again. "I will take ten percent of your earnings." She frowned and I could see the hesitation in the nod. I suddenly felt bad. I could see that the money was clearly the reason why she was resorting to The Underground. I found myself sighing deeply. I was already making too many exceptions with the damn girl. "However, if you absolutely need the money right now... I suppose I'll wait until you can afford it." Her eyes lit up at my clarification and she thanked me profusely. "And lastly, You will not talk to me at school. Ever." She nodded again with a frown.

"Alright take off your sweater and let's get started," she looked at me with wide eyes as I said that.

"L-let me go grab a shirt from my bag real-"

I cut her off briskly, I didn't have time for this... "Why? You have one on. Or at least a sports bra, I see it right there." I stated pointing to her chest that was clearly covered with an undergarment.

"Well it's a sports bra but I-"

I cut her off again, I didn't have time or the patience to argue with the girl. "Look, the sweater with the too-long arms will slow you down. I seen it during your fight. Just take the damn sweater off. You remember my rules? Are we already having issues?"

She hung her head in defeat and slowly, very slowly, took off her sweater. As she did that, I began setting up to teach her the fundamentals of a punch. We had a very long way to go.

I didn't notice the silence for a few moments. What I did notice, however, was everyone's eyes towards us. I turned and looked at Aubry questioningly. What I saw, was not what I had expected. She was standing there with her head down, and heaving breaths too quickly under the scrutiny. Her sweater was off her body, and I could immediately see why she wanted to keep her sweater on.

Damn, and I thought her face was in bad shape... It was nothing compared to the rest of her body. There were bruises covering all of her torso and her sides disappearing under her bra. The worst of the bruises were extremely deep black and purple at her ribs, there was no way that those weren't broken. Then, just to top it all off, blood was still dripping from a decent sized cut under one of her collarbones.

I felt sick as I took in the damage to her body. Just to think... she was that injured all while fighting Brandon for eight minutes. She was one tough girl to be able to endure all of that pain. I was as speechless as everyone else.

Without think about what I was doing, I quickly stripped off my shirt and threw it on her head. I didn't think, I just acted. I didn't want people seeing her like that, just as I knew she didn't want people seeing her like that. Note to self... I need to start listening.

"What is everyone looking at?! Get back to work!" I yelled intimidatingly at everyone. They need to mind their own business. Everyone adverted their gaze away quickly at the sound of my angry voice. I stood there for a moment and looked intimidatingly at anyone who dared to look our way again.

"Okay... so first, I'm going to teach you how to hold your fist correctly..." I began our lesson off and acted as if nothing had happened. The girl obviously didn't want to talk about it. It was really none of my business, no matter how much I wondered about it and how much those bruises haunted me... if she wanted me to know then she would have explained it to me.

We worked on fundamentals until the clock hit nine o' clock... closing time. Most of the people in gym had already went home. "Okay, it's time to call it a night." I stated.

She nodded quickly. She looked at her fist once again to make sure it was positioned right, and threw one last punch at the bag.

Brandon and I both train in the morning here from five-thirty to seven-thirty. So, be here then. Do not be late."

She nodded wordlessly and removed my shirt to give it back to me. "...A-and tomorrow wear a tank top or a t-shirt. Just wear something without the oversized arms... okay?"

"Okay," she paused before continuing. "T-thank you for that, by the way. I really appreciate it," she said, not meeting my eyes.

We both walked outside. It was pretty dark out as we walked out. I turned to lock the doors with my key, she actually stopped to wait on me as I did so.

Out of nowhere, Brandon came up behind us sneakily. "BOO!" He yelled.

She ducked behind me quickly, shaking and bracing for impact.

Brandon's eyes widened at her reaction and his laughter died down. "Aubry... I-"

She quickly cut him off, "I...S-s-sorry." Her voice was shaky and she looked embarrassed. "I'll -um- See y'all tomorrow!" She called out while walking down the street briskly.

"Idiot." I said hitting his arm as we watched her walk away. "Get in the car."

"She's going to be okay, right? Walking home in the dark?" Brandon asked.

"I would assume so... I mean, we're plenty away from the bad part of town." I shrugged, "she didn't even hesitate to do it... I'd assume that she does that a lot."

Brandon nodded in agreement. "Did you see all of those bruises?" He asked after a minute.

I nodded in response.

"Someone messed her up." He stated. "Who do you think did that to her?"

"I don't know she didn't say anything to me," I shook my head. "I don't know if I've ever seen anything that bad." I sighed, remembering, "except...-" I stopped talking abruptly.

Brandon gave me a sympathetic look, he remembered too.

"I wonder what your mom made for dinner?" He asked changing the subject quickly.

I was grateful for that distraction. Still, I just couldn't get the thought of someone hurting Aubry out of my mind. It made me sick to my stomach thinking about it. 

A/N:

So what do y'all think? Are you liking Aiden's POV? Don't forget to vote and comment! Also share with your friends since I don't have many of my own to share with lol! As always constructive criticism welcome! As well as pointing out spelling or typo errors!
-KAF