“He’ll win,” she says with confidence. Reaching over, she covers my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Xavier’s been waiting for this day his entire life. Fighting isn’t all that’s in his blood. One day he’s going to be the best in the world, like his father. Just wait and see.”
Xavier
“All right, let’s go, people!” Jude orders with a clap of his hands. “It’s showtime.”
Shit.
While I may be standing on them, my legs have gone paralyzed and refuse to move.
“You all, ah, go on, and I’ll catch up,” I tell them.
“The crowd’s getting restless,” Jude explains. “We need to –”
“Just give us a goddamn second!” my dad interrupts with his usual bluntness.
“Fine, Jax!” Jude huffs, throwing his arms up. “We’ll wait for you at the tunnel but make it fast!” he says before he heads out with Macy, the coaches and trainers.
“Got a case of the nerves?” he asks me when we’re alone.
“I’m not sure if it’s nerves or what,” I admit as I pace back and forth in the changing room. “I don’t want to fucking lose!”
“Then don’t!”
“What if I embarrass myself?” I ask him.
“You won’t.”
“How do you know? I’m not you, Dad!” I remind him.
“No, you’re not,” he agrees with a sigh as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re better than me.”
“That’s ridiculous and you know it,” I remark with a chuckle.
“I may have been good back in my day,” Dad says. “But you and your sister…well, I think both of you could’ve easily taken my championship belt.”
“That’s what all fathers are supposed to say. You would be a shitty one if you told us we sucked and not to waste our time.”
“You think I wouldn’t have told you that if I thought it were true?” he asks. “You know I don’t say shit I don’t mean. The only reason I didn’t talk you out of law school was because I assumed it was what you wanted. I also knew how happy it made your mother when she realized you inherited some of her brains, so I couldn’t take that away from her. That was my mistake. You belong in the cage. You’re not only stronger than I was, but you’re ten times smarter. You’ll know what your opponent is thinking before they do, and they won’t stand a chance.”
“You really believe that?”
“I do,” he says. “You just need to have confidence in yourself.” Stomping over to the door, he jerks it open and says, “Now get your ass out there and prove me right!”
“Yes, sir,” I agree.
I’ve been so scared of letting down everyone who believes in me that I forgot to believe in myself.
I can do this. I can be an amazing fighter, not because my family, Cass and the coaches say so, but because deep down it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Win or lose, tonight is going to be a night I’ll never forget.
“Finally!” Jude says from the front of the tunnel when we approach before he gives the thumbs up to one of the officials.
A second later, the familiar strums of a guitar fill the arena, the beginning of Sick Puppies’ “You’re Going Down.” It was my dad’s walkout song thirty years ago. Macy’s always used it, and I wanted to continue the Malone tradition to honor him.
“I thought you said you wanted a Rage Against the Machine song!” Dad says from beside me.
“I lied!” I tell him. “But if you cry, I’m changing it next time!”
“Fuck you!” he chuckles even though he looks away to wipe at his eyes.
And that’s when it finally hits me that there will be a next time. This isn’t the only chance I’ll ever get to fight. Even if I lose or get hurt, I’ll come right back. And no one can stop me.
“Ready?” Jude asks.
“I’m ready!” I shout over the music because I am.
I step out into the dark arena with the rock song blaring. As soon as the spotlight lands on me, the packed crowd roars so loudly they drown out the Sick Puppies.
Throwing my arms up has them cheering louder as I stroll confidently toward the referee. Jude hands me my mouthpiece that I shove into place for official examination before I’m allowed into the cage.
Once my song ends, another begins. Maybe I’m just being optimistic, but it doesn’t sound like the crowd gives Vinny Rivera half the applause they gave me.
Vinny slowly struts down to the cage where he’s patted down and let inside before they shut and lock the door.
The asshole smirks across the canvas at me, like he thinks I’m a joke. I can’t wait to prove him wrong.
“Fighting out of the red corner,” the announcer starts. “Weighing in at two-hundred and twenty-eight pounds, and making his IFC debut, Xavier ‘The Lawman’ Malone!”
After flexing my biceps for the fans, I shadow box to keep my muscles warm while the announcer introduces Vinny.
“Fighting out of the blue corner, weighing in at two-hundred and forty-seven pounds with an IFC record of only two losses, and six wins, three by submission, Vinny Rivera!”
The ref steps in between us and says, “I want a clean fight, no dirty hits, and you’ve got three rounds to win by submission, knockout, or points. Are you ready?”
Both of us nod our agreement, and then it’s on.
I come out of my corner with my right arm extended, ready to touch gloves and then get down to work. Unfortunately for me, Vinny had a much different plan that didn’t involve any shows of good sportsmanship. As I approach him, he briefly lifts his arm, but as soon as I’m close, he hurls himself forward, collapsing against my midsection and using his weight advantage to drag me down to the canvas.
I end up sitting on my ass with Vinny’s head in my lap, his arms wrapped around my waist. He uses his legs to drive himself forward and try to mount me, while my
