“What’s on your mind, Baby?” I asked. He didn’t look up. “Travis?”
His lashes fluttered when my voice registered and the troubled expression was replaced with a contrived smile. “Hey, Pigeon.”
“Everything okay?”
“It is now,” he said, pulling me against him.
“Okay. What’s up?” I said with a raised eyebrow and a frown, making a show of my skepticism.
“Just have a lot on my mind,” he sighed. When I waited expectantly, he continued. “This week, the fight, you being there….”
“I told you I would stay home.”
“I need you there, Pidge,” he said, flicking his cigarette to the ground. He watched it disappear into a deep footprint in the snow and then cupped his hand around mine, pulling me toward the parking lot.
“Have you talked to Trent?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m waiting for him to call me back.”
America rolled down the window and poked her head out of Shepley’s Charger. “Hurry up! It’s freaking freezing!”
Travis smiled and picked up the pace, opening the door for me to slide in. Shepley and America repeated the same conversation they’d had since she learned she would be meeting his parents while I watched Travis stare out of the window. Just as we pulled into the parking lot of the apartment, Travis’ phone rang.
“What the fuck, Trent?” he answered. “I called you four hours ago, it’s not like you’re productive at work or anything. Whatever. Listen, I need a favor. I’ve got a fight next week. I need you to go. I don’t know when it is, but when I call you, I need you there within an hour. Can you do that for me? Can you do it or not, douche bag? Because I need you to keep an eye on Pigeon. Some asshole put his hands on her last time and…yeah.” His voice lowered to a frightening tone. “I took care of it. So if I call…? Thanks, Trent.”
Travis clicked his phone shut and leaned his head against the back of the seat.
“Relieved?” Shepley asked, watching Travis in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it without him there.”
“I told you,” I began.
“Pidge, how many times do I have to say it?” he frowned.
I shook my head at his impatient tone. “I don’t understand it, though. You didn’t need me there before.”
His fingers lightly grazed my cheek. “I didn’t know you before. When you’re not there, I can’t concentrate. I’m wondering where you are, what you’re doing…if you’re there and I can see you, I can focus. I know it’s crazy, but that’s how it is.”
“And crazy is exactly the way I like it,” I smiled, leaning up to kiss his lips.
“Obviously,” America muttered under breath.
In the shadows of Keaton Hall, Travis held me tight against his side. The steam from my breath entangled with his in the cold night air, and I could hear the low conversations of those filtering in a side door a few feet away, oblivious to our presence.
Keaton was the oldest building at Eastern, and although The Circle had been held there before, I was uneasy about the venue. Adam expected a full house, and Keaton wasn’t the most spacious of basements on campus. Beams formed a grid along the aging brick walls, just one sign of the renovations taking place inside.
“This is one of the worst ideas Adam has had yet,” Travis grumbled.
“It’s too late to change it, now,” I said, looking up at the scaffolds.
Travis’ cell phone lit up and he popped it open. His face was tinged with blue against the display, and I could finally see the two worry lines between his eyebrows I already knew were there. He clicked buttons and then snapped the phone shut, gripping me tighter.
“You seem nervous tonight,” I whispered.
“I’ll feel better when Trent gets his punk ass here.”
“I’m here, you whiny little girl,” Trent said in a hushed voice. I could barely see his outline in the darkness, but his smile gleamed in the moonlight.
“How ya been, sis?” he said. He hugged me with one arm, and then playfully shoved Travis with the other.
“I’m good, Trent.”
Travis immediately relaxed, and then he led me by the hand to the back of the building.
“If the cops show and we get separated, meet me at Morgan Hall, okay?” Travis said to his brother. We stopped at an open window low to the ground, the signal that Adam was inside and waiting.
“You’re fuckin’ with me,” Trent said, staring down at the window. “Abby’s barely gonna fit through there.”
“You’ll fit,” Travis assured him, crawling down into the blackness inside. Like so many times before, I leaned down and pushed myself backwards, knowing Travis would catch me.
We waited for a few moments, and then Trent grunted as he pushed off the ledge and landed on the floor, nearly losing his balance as his feet hit the concrete.
“You’re lucky I love Abby. I wouldn’t do this shit for just anyone,” Trent grumbled, brushing off his shirt.
Travis jumped up, pulling the window closed with one quick movement. “This way,” he said, leading us through the dark.
Hallway after hallway, I gripped Travis’ hand in mine, feeling Trent pinching the fabric of my shirt. I could hear small pieces of gravel scrape the concrete and I shuffled along the floor. I felt my eyes widen, trying to adjust to the blackness of the basement, but there was no light to help them focus.
Trent sighed after the third turn. “We’re never gonna find our way out of here.”
“Just follow me out. It’ll be fine,” Travis said, irritated with Trent’s complaining.
When the hallway grew lighter, I knew we were close. When the low roar of the crowd came to a feverish pitch of numbers and names, I knew we had arrived. The room where Travis waited to be called usually had only one lantern and one chair, but with the renovations, it was full of desks and chairs and random equipment covered in white sheets.
Travis and Trent discussed strategy for the fight as I peeked outside. It was as packed and chaotic as the last fight, but with less room. Furniture covered in dusty sheets lined the edges of the walls, pushed aside to make room for the spectators.
The room was darker than usual, and I guessed that Adam wanted to be careful not to draw attention to our whereabouts. Lanterns hung from the ceilings, creating a dingy glow on the cash being held high as bets were still being called.
“Pigeon, did you hear me?” Travis said, touching my arm.
“What?” I said, blinking.
“I want you to stand by this doorway, okay? Keep hold of Trent’s arm at all times.”
“I won’t move. I promise.”
Travis smiled, his perfect dimple sinking into his cheek. “Now
I glanced to the doorway and then back to him. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Trav. Not about the fight, but…something. This place gives me the creeps.”
“We won’t be here long,” Travis assured me. Adam’s voice came over the horn, and then a pair of warm, familiar hands were on each side of my face. “I love you,” he said, as he lifted me off the floor, squeezing me to him as he kissed me. He lowered me to the ground and hooked my arm around Trent. “Don’t take your eyes off of her,” he said to his brother. “Even for a second, this place’ll get crazy once the fight starts.”
“…so let’s welcome tonight’s contender…JOHN SAVAGE!”
“I’ll guard her with my life, little brother,” Trent said, tugging on my arm. “Now go kick this guy’s ass and let’s get out of here.”
“…TRAVIS
The volume was deafening as Travis made his way through the crowd. I looked up to Trent, who had the tiniest crook of a smile on his face. Anyone else might not have noticed, but I could see the pride in his eyes.
When Travis reached the center of The Circle, I swallowed. John wasn’t much bigger, but he looked different
