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Did my boyfriend really just lie to me when I asked him if he was part of a gang?
“Okay.” My voice seems so foreign I barely believe I’m the one who just agreed to go to a fight on the North Shore tonight.
“Give me your phone number. I’ll text you the address.”
I do and watch, numb, as he puts my number in his phone. In my head, I remember Xi’s busted knuckles and now know how he got them. The blond guy smiles brightly at me and adds, “I’m Elliot, by the way. And this is my brother, Ethan.”
I nod mindlessly, my heart squeezing painfully. “Alex.”
“We’ll see you there, Alex.”
24
ALEXANDRA
Traitor – Olivia Rodrigo
I take a deep breath as I get out of a taxi at the address Elliot sent me. I shouldn’t be here. What I should have done was calmly talk to Xi about this. But he lied to me once, saying he had work things to do tonight. What’s to stop him from lying again if I mention this to him? I have to see this for myself and confront him.
I have this bad feeling in my gut. This doom hanging over my head. I’m not a pessimist. I’ve always been a dreamer, but sometimes even I have to admit not everything in life can be fixed by singing lyrics to a Taylor Swift song. Sometimes your boyfriend turns out to be a liar and you’re left with no choice but to follow him to a warehouse on the bad side of town.
I’m too focused on the feeling of dread to take in how far I’ve made it since meeting Xi. A month ago, I was on the verge of a panic attack because I had to drive through the North Shore. Tonight I bribed a taxi driver who was refusing to drive me here.
I pause at the edge of the lot. What will I do if I find out something horrible? I feel like I tripped while walking on the edge of a cliff and Xi caught me before I fell. He’s the only thing between me and a deadly fate. What if he lets go and watches me fall?
I’m wearing a pair of black jeans and Xi’s black hoodie he gave me last week. I want to make myself as discreet as possible.
Many people are hanging out in the parking lot. Car trunks are open, blasting music outside while people drink and hang out. I’m guessing the fight hasn’t started yet. I make my way inside and settle at the back, waiting as the warehouse slowly fills up. The minutes pass, and I lose my unrestricted view of the broken-down ring in the middle of the room. It separates the space into two distinct sides, and I can also see people coming in from another entrance. I wonder what that’s about.
The first couple of people get in the ring, and I watch with wide eyes as they go at each other. Blood is spurting everywhere, and I retreat back every time I hear the disgusting sound of flesh hitting flesh. For someone who despises violence, I’m in for a treat. I’ve been on the receiving end of my father’s fists too often to support this behavior.
One of them is punched unconscious and brought off the ring.
That’s when Xi comes in. He’s topless, only in black shorts, and I squint my eyes to try and check his tattoos, but I can’t see anything from here. I’m way too far.
The fight doesn’t last long. In less than a minute, Xi has knocked the other guy out. Another one comes in, and while it takes him a bit longer, I watch with wide eyes as he wins again. A third one has the same fate.
My boyfriend, who treats me like a queen and can’t stand seeing a scratch on my knee, beats people to within an inch of their life as a hobby.
The crowd on my side doesn’t seem to be supporting him, and they throw insults at him every time he wins. On the other side of the room, the cheers resonate loudly.
After the fourth, the competition seems to end, and Xi walks off without even celebrating. As if this is nothing to him.
Like coming out from underwater, I gasp as reality hits me. Oxygen burns my lungs, and I face the truth I’ve been blindly avoiding all this time: Xi is dangerous. Xi is violent.
It doesn’t matter what he is like tome. It doesn’t take away who he really is.
I bump into some people as I go against the crowd, making my way to the ring. I want to follow where he’s going. Watching his back disappear through a door, accompanied by another girl, I go after them.
I lose them once I’m in the hallway. There are multiple doors, though I decide to ignore them, following through to the end. I take a left and stop. There are two ways to go, and I have no idea where he went.
I lost him.
You never had him.
How true. Xi is not someone I can have. After today, he feels more like an idea I fell for.
I’m about to turn around and go home when I hear voices coming from a room.
