I jostle my leg impatiently while I wait my turn to enter the cage. The line is long, and there’s no rhyme or reason to the type of person waiting here. Some of them are wearing biker jackets, while others are in more casual clothing. There’s at least one Chaos brother there, as well as one of the Hellboys.
Eta Epsilon, technically, but if I don’t even call my own frat by the Greek letters, I’m not going to start for Fenrir’s.
My phone reads 8:36 p.m.
The clock is ticking, each day bringing me one step closer to having to return home for the holidays.
I would stay on campus, but my dad had made it clear that if I skipped out on Christmas break, he’d stop paying for my tuition at Dyschord. My grades are decent, but I’m not exactly scholarship material.
I might still have considered it and enrolled in New Bristol University instead, but there’s one major problem with NBU.
Pandora isn’t there.
Despite the stunt she’d pulled in the sauna—and the fact that she’s the reason I’m in such deep shit—I can’t help but orbit her like aplanet around the sun. I’ll burn if I get too close, but if I stay too far away, I’ll be frozen and empty.
I could leave her to Blaze and Asch, who are equally as obsessed with her as she is with them, but the idea of it makes something twist in my stomach.
Is this what it’s like to be in love?
That’s a thought I dismiss almost immediately. I’m not in love with Pandora Pavone. How could I be, after everything she’s responsible for? The loss of my finger, the subsequent beatdown from my father, and the impending repeat of that experience, all deter me from having any sort of deep feelings for her.
Except that’s a lie, isn’t it?
I don’t want to think about it.
My dad is pissed.
He’s going to show his displeasure in the simplest form he can think of.
With his fists.
I need to stop thinking.
I grab my phone, sending a text to Pandora.
River
I’m at the fights tonight. Want to tag along and watch me get my ass beat?
Because I’m not sure I can win in the state of mind I’m in.
It’s ironic, that I want to escape thoughts of getting one beatdown by heading out to risk another. But at least in the cage, I can fight back.
Pandora
I’m pretty sure you’ll win! Probably. Maybe.
Should I bring a first aid kit?
I snort. Maybe she should.
If my opponent is Reaper, there’s a chance I’ll lose. But with howjittery and worked up I am, I’ll probably win at least a match or two before I falter. With Pandora there, though, my pride will be on the line.
That should help me focus.
I hope.
River
