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Chapter 35
Wyatt
It’s not fair that I can’t stop thinking about her. And I don’t want to. Not after what they did together. I sit with Bryce, Pierce, and Justin at the dining hall, but I have to. I have to stay in the loop. If I cut them off, I’ll screw my family. My feelings and pride have to come second to my family’s survival.
Now that Bryce knows that I work on the weekends, I have larger concerns than crushing on someone, but I can’t stop thinking about Astrid. They had to have tricked her, but it pains me that she did that with them. I have to focus, or I’m going to get thrashed in the ring tonight.
I keep wrapping my hand while I wait for my fight to start. The guy I’m fighting doesn’t bother to train, and I saw him out front, buying beer for some girls. He had product in his hair and was walking around bare-chested, showing off his tattoos. He was bragging how the fight was going to be over in a minute. I scoff. He thinks I’m a pushover because of the mask, but his handle is Chainsaw.
I look at the piece of thin fabric in my hands and wonder if I should even bother. Bryce knows it’s me. But I’ll wear it anyway.
Nova steps into the changing room. She glances at me but keeps walking. I want to talk to her and ask her about Astrid, but we don’t really speak. Nothing’s wrong between us. We just don’t get many opportunities. I’m either fighting, or she’s just not around. I look at her, and she’s leaning against a locker, lost in thought. Come to think of it, does she even fight?
“So, when am I going to see you fight?” I ask her.
Nova presses her lips together in disgust. “Not here. The rich boys want the girls to fight sexy. They want a bitch-slapping contest and T&A. No girl from Weymouth is going to do that. He’s pissed over what Astrid and Erin pulled.” She looks at me and scoffs. “They actually fought. He’s going to have to recruit some of those Stonehaven girls if he wants to see that action.”
Nova doesn’t know where I go to school. I laugh it off. “I heard Stonehaven girls don’t fight like that either.”
“Well, neither do we,” she replies. “You need help with your mask?”
I shrug and hand it to her. “The last fight, I almost lost when it slipped down over my eyes. I have to be careful I don’t get punched in the face and blinded. I must look like a dork.”
“No, you don’t.” Nova slips the mask over my eyes and firmly but gently ties it in place. She peeks around my shoulder and checks her handiwork, tugging it down so I can see perfectly. It must look all right because it earns a smile. She sits down beside me while I wait.
“So, Astrid doesn’t fight anymore?” I try to sound casual.
“Not since Bryce stole her money,” she replies.
“What?” I stare at her, and she raises an eyebrow like I should know.
“Seriously, that shocks you?” Nova shifts her weight so she’s not sitting near me.
“I didn’t know.” Frowning, I pull off that stupid mask. “You mean he didn’t pay her for that fight?”
Nova gives me a look that would make Einstein feel stupid. “He lied at her new school and told someone in the main office she stole from him. They searched her room, found all her money, and gave it all to him.” Nova scoffs louder this time. “I won’t sit with him anymore.”
My shoulders sag as I think about all the shit that’s been happening to Astrid, and I blamed her. “I hate Stonehaven,” I mutter.
“She can’t afford lies,” replies Nova. “Her mother’s sick. Astrid needs every dollar, and the girls aren’t getting booked.” Nova’s eyes flash as she kicks one of the lockers, and the metal vibrates. “People don’t know that I fight. They think I’m decoration. Derick used to be my cousin. Now, I’m his.”
Fuck. Astrid had money from her fight and her bets, and now it’s gone. She had to have earned a couple of thousand. She can’t afford to lose it. I couldn’t afford it, not now. My body tenses up as my teeth clench. I hold out my hand, and I’m shaking with rage. I watch my hand move on its own, as if it wants to grab someone and shake the shit out of them.
“Are you okay?” Nova looks worried as she edges farther away.
I put my hand down and grab my mask, tying it on myself. “I don’t like hearing that shit.”
Nova nods. “I feel sorry for your opponent tonight.”
She shouldn’t feel sorry for him. He’s not the one I want. I glance up at the catwalk, where Bryce is perched with Justin and Pierce. They speak to me at school but ignore me here. Bryce spots me walking along the wall and makes eye contact. He looks smug, sitting on his white couch with some girl pawing him. Some girl he won’t give two shits about after he’s done with her.
He doesn’t give a shit about anyone, but he gives a shit about his money. The boy has more money than the school, but if he loses a dollar… he’ll flip out like he’s lost a million.
Smirking, I shake my head. I may not lose Bryce a million tonight, but it’s going to hurt like I did.
I can beat this guy Chainsaw who’s eyeing me like I’m a waste of his talents. He can lift more than me, but he has no form. One well-timed punch, and he’ll go down. Derick does his spiel before I jump into the ring. Chainsaw and I start nice and easy with a few punches back and forth. I let him get a few in, and then I give him a scare. Let him know it’s not that easy. Nova doesn’t know it, but the girls aren’t the only ones expected to give a show.
“Tear him up.”
