Page 133 of Embriagado

I refused to back down.

Not to him.

Not to anyone.

And especially not to fucking Ariyan, who was still there, looking at me from a crowd of faceless men.

My jaw twitched, and I bit hard on the mouthguard, my vision going red with anger right before I went into my attack. With jabs and blows, I pressured him until he was pushed against the cage. He tried protecting his face for no use, as I came onto him hard. Blood splattered with each hit, and as the sound of my fist colliding with his skin reached my ears, I only went harder and harder until he collapsed, face-first, as he hit the canvas.

I was rigid, fucking livid as every part of me throbbed with the need to keep on hitting the bastard. But no. I wasn’t like them, like those scavengers who came here for a bloody show. I was better than this guy, passed out on the floor. From those masked men and from⁠—

Where is he?

My blood froze after I failed to spot him in the crowd. When did he leave?

Just because you fight for me doesn’t make you any less disgusting in my eyes.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Why did I keep remembering his words? Why couldn’t he give me a fucking break?

My pulse quickened, and my skin turned cold, and needing to be out of here, I quickly found myself in the back room, packing my shit to go home. I thought tonight would make me feel better, but if anything, it only made it worse.

Not in the mood to face people, I refused to be checked by anyone despite the state of my hands, and decided to treat myself. Only I did a shitty job. The skin around my knuckles was completely peeled off, and sanitizing the wounds made it burn like hell.

“Shit.” I flinched after trying to wrap clean bandages around my hands.

“Need any help?”

My jaw tensed at the sound of his voice.

“No,” I hissed, my back facing him. I didn’t even hear him walk inside the room.

“Are you sure? It looks like you do.”

“Fuck off.”

“What did I say about swearing?”

Ignoring him, I continued wrapping the bandages. It was a task I could normally do in my sleep, but now, it seemed nearly impossible. Either it was the pain or the fact that I could feel his stare digging holes in my back, but one of the two made my hands shake, and I struggled like some fucking rookie.

Finally done, I grabbed my bag from the floor and tossed it over my shoulder. As I turned to walk away, I sure as fuck made sure not to look at him.

“Mr. Rivas.”

I reached to open the door.

“You fought well.”

I stopped, my fingers hovering over the handle.

“Don’t you mean, I fought well for a rabid dog?”

The atmosphere in the room turned thick until he cut it off with a snort.