Laced Steel - M.J. Fields Page 0,18

eyes, imagining they are the lenses to a camera, my eyelids the shutter, as I snap them shut, hoping to ingrain his form in my memory. When I open them, I see him standing, unmoving in the corner closest to us, glaring in my direction.

What. The. Fuck.

His blue eyes narrow, his jaw ticks, and his nostrils flare … at me.

When the bell rings, his angry eyes shift to my left, and when I turn to trail them, I expect him to be looking at his girl. He’s not. He’s now shooting daggers at Harrison, who purses his lips in what I know now as his signature antagonistic smirk and raises his rocks glass.

I look back at Tobias, who points at him, and read his lips over the roar of the crowd. “You’re next.”

I slink down in the seat and see him look back at me, eyes narrowed as his lips twitch.

Out of my peripheral, I see Patrick, the chill one of the bunch, lean forward, elbows on his knees. I look over and see he’s glaring at Tobias. He lifts his hand, points a finger into his chest, and says loudly, “How about me?”

I can’t even look up to see Tobias’s reaction. All I can think is: what have I done?

When the fight begins, I keep my eyes lowered as I try to figure out how to fix the damage I may have just caused.

I hear three loud, fast hits, and then a thud. The crowd roars, and I look up to see Ranger on one knee.

“Get up!” Brisa screams as she jumps up from the couch. “Get up and kick his ass!”

Both their heads swing toward us. I have no idea how they heard her over the crowd, but I assume it’s to do with proximity. We are closest to them.

Tobias’s angry yet brilliant eyes are trained on me when, all of the sudden, Ranger pops up and undercuts him.

“Nooooooo!” I yell as Tobias’s head snaps sideways, and he stumbles back.

His unfocused eyes land on mine, and he shakes his head before charging toward Ranger.

I watch as Ranger lands three jabs in a row before covering my eyes and waiting for the sound of a body hitting the mat. Peering through my fingers, I watch as the two men exchange violent blow after violent blow to the head, the ribs, the stomach. Both are bleeding and both unrelenting. Unable to stomach it anymore, I look down and watch their feet—one covered in white, one in red—as they dance around the ring, both awkward and heavy-footed.

A bell rings, and I look up as the ref splits them apart and sends them to their corners.

I see Tobias standing alone, watching Ranger’s people care for his wounds and squirt water into his mouth.

Angry, I look toward Harrison. “Is anyone going to assist him?”

He shrugs and shakes his head.

I look at Dee and give her a questioning look. She rolls her eyes at me and looks away.

Finally, I look at Patrick. “He needs somebody!”

“This isn’t my thing, Truth, nor is it yours.”

I jump up from my seat and walk to the ropes, staring at him, around him, searching for the missing people who surely stand in his corner. I look back and point toward his friends. “Why are you just sitting there?”

No one answers.

Fuckers.

Patrick and Brisa stand at my sides when the bell rings. Hands gripping the velvet rope, I watch as Tobias comes out swinging. Strike after strike, blow after blow lands on Ranger’s face, head, ribs. Their bodies lock together in what I assume is Ranger’s desperate attempt to slow the assault. Ranger then locks a leg behind Tobias’s, tripping him up, and they fall to the ground. They fight for leverage, throwing painful punches, rolling on the ground.

“Why aren’t they breaking them apart!” I yell at Patrick, eyes still peeled on the scene before me.

“It’s underground fighting, Truth. They don’t stop till one of them taps out or is knocked out.”

I hold my hand over my chest, stopping my heart from its inevitable escape.

They continue grappling until the bell rings, and the ref pulls Ranger off Tobias.

“Isn’t this wrong? He’s clearly older and more experienced than some senior in high school!”

Patrick grips my shoulder and pulls me into his side. “This is their thing, T. You gotta let them do it.”

Round after round, I watch as two men fight, blood and sweat coating their skin, and tears fill my eyes.

I feel Patrick wrap his arm around me and pull me