Page 45 of Bruised Hearts

“Okay,” I said willing to try anything. “But what does it matter? Fight is over. I lost.”

“What do I always say?”

“The fight ain’t over until the bell rings in twelve.”

“Exactly. So why the fuck you acting like this mufucka already won? You know what to do, and I know you know because I taught you. Let’s go.” Standing up, I waited for the bell to ring. For the first time all night, I didn’t have to think about what I was doing. I tucked my elbows to my chest, gloves over my face, and got in my stance that felt natural.

Tricky swung, but I blocked it. The next one landed, but I countered with one of my own. It wasn’t clean, but it was more than I had been giving before now. She threw a right, left, and a jab, but I came back with a clean right hook that landed. For the first time tonight, the crowd erupted on my behalf, and the smile that Tricky wore all night, had disappeared. The rest of the round went about the same. She continued to hit me, but the effect wasn’t the same. They weren’t fazing me as much. The last hit I gave knocked her back. Not by much, but I saw it. The bell rang, and I turned toward my corner. I wasn’t smiling, but I damn sure wasn’t dragging myself across the mat in pieces. Landon climbed back in when I sat down.

“How did that feel?”

“Better than the other nine rounds.” Pippy was working my shoulders and rubbing Vaseline over my face, while Landon told me what to do next.

“She wants your head,” he said like he had come up with something profound.

“You think? She’s been trying to knock that mufucka off all night.”

“Exactly.” He crouched in front of me while I looked at him for answers. “She wants the knockout so bad, she not protecting nothing else.” My eyes trailed over to Tricky.

“Her body.”

“Now you acting like you was trained by me. This round, I only want you to attack the body. Nothing else.”

“What if I see an opening?”

“What the fuck I just say?”

“Only attack the body.” Landon rubbed my burn scar before standing up. I’m sure it was out of habit, but it sent a chill down my body. Getting off the stool, I opened my mouth so they could put my guard in. The bell rang, and I went toward the middle. Tricky’s first punch landed on my shoulder damn near spinning me around. Grimacing, I put my hands up and threw a jab at her side. When that one connected, I immediately followed up with another one.

She continued to swing at my head, occasionally landing some. I was trying to block, and get her body at the same time. For a while, it wasn’t working. Until it did. Taking a chance, I let my guard down and threw a power right hook. Her eyes widened, letting me know she felt that shit. I threw two more jabs to the same side, before countering with a left hook to her other side.

That one cost me though. She came back with an uppercut that would have sent me to the moon in the earlier rounds. We were now going blow for blow. For every hit I gave, she sent back. My entire body hurt, but he was right. It wasn’t over, so I intended to give her everything I had. Mustering up all my strength, I sent a shot into her ribs that rocked her back. That one hurt her. She felt it, and I saw it. The bell rang, and now I walked off with new confidence. Reality was, I wasn’t winning this fight, but at least I can preserve some of my dignity. When I walked back to the corner, Landon was smiling this time.

“Did you see that?” I asked excitedly as I sat down.

“What’s our next move? She needs to go for the knockout. That’s our only chance,” I agreed with Fixer.

“Not yet. We got two rounds left to do this shit right. You gotta make her work.” I looked at Landon like he had lost it.

“She been working on my ass all night.”

“And until now, that’s been a stroll in the fucking park. She’s been having her way with you the entire fight. So, what that tell you?” He waited for me to understand.

“She’s not tired.”

“Exactly. You don’t have enough to knock her out right now, but if you do what I’m telling you, you will. What’s our game plan?”

“Attack the body.”

“Keep her on the ropes and go to work. No matter how much she tries to move you to the middle, circle her back to the ropes. You can take it. Hell, you’ve been taking it. She’s been hitting you with everything she has, and you still standing. You just gotta take it for a lil while longer. Trust me. Attack the body, and tire her out. That’s the plan.” I nodded in understanding.

“Don’t be scared to rest your body on her either. The ref going to break it up, but the damage will be done. Put all your weight on her ass,” Fixer was finally on board with Landon’s plan.

“Okay.” They exited the ring, and I stood up. Yeah, my shit felt like it was falling off the bone, but I had made it this far. Gearing up, I made my way to the middle when the bell rang. Before I could do anything, she caught me with a right hook to the temple. My legs wobbled, but I fought to stay upright. You just gotta take it for a lil while longer. Trust me.

27- Ariyah “Nova” Stevens

I kept replaying Landon’s words in my head, as I backed up to the ropes. Tricky was hitting me with combos left and right, but I needed to get her in the right position. She thought she had me, and the bitch wasn’t wrong because all her hits were landing, but it’s what we wanted. Turning swiftly when she threw her next jab, she fell into the ropes. Not wasting any time, I began attacking her body. I threw as many as I could before she turned around. Using my arms, I held her in the ropes resting my body on her. The ref broke it up, but as soon as he pulled me back, I sent some more hits to her body. Rushing in, I threw a few more before laying against her again. Tricky was fighting hard to get me off her.