Fight for You

His lips felt like static electricity. They were warm and tingling against mine, dangerous but I wanted them closer. It made a warmth coil through my body on this particular chilly night. Summer was leaving and giving way to October. It was only a matter of time before the leaves fell, but if I had his mouth, I knew I’d stay warm. That initial first kiss sets everything, doesn’t it? It felt like the current rolled through the coils and I’m made of metal. It was hot but soft, warm but controlled; it was bliss. And when his hand moved to the back of my neck to keep my mouth on his, parting my lips with his, a delicious shiver ran through my whole body, setting that current on a livewire.

“Rixon!” Spencer yelled almost desperately.

His mouth ripped off mine in aggression as I turned to look over my shoulder at Spencer getting shoved to the ground, the wind knocking out of him as he hit the gravel hard. Rixon moved quickly, stepping around me, to cover me, as Spencer shuffled against the rocks to get back to his feet. He wiped his mouth of the blood on his lip, but I couldn’t focus on him as I shot my gaze to the burly man cracking his knuckles.

He was thick arms and broad shoulders and dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail against the back of his neck. He was tall, his legs long and his torso muscular enough to press against the polyester of his shirt. His grin was wide, malicious as he pushed his hand over the smooth of his hair.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” his voice was raspy in the kind of way that cigarettes affect it after a few years of carcinogens stroking your vocal cords.

Rixon visibly tensed, his body going rigid in front of me as he snatched his hand behind him to grip my wrist tightly. I almost yelped in pain, but no noise could form in my throat. Something about this scene told me that speaking was the last thing that I should be doing.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Kory?” Rixon yelled in such wrath that I cringed.

Kory chuckled as he stomped at Spencer, who finally stood beside me, wiping his mouth again. “I heard there was a party.”

“You’re on our turf and you know it.” Rixon growled as he stepped forward, his hold on my wrist the only thing keeping him from throwing himself toward Kory. “Leave now and we won’t do this tonight.”

“That’s a cute little plaything you have behind you.” Kory grinned as he looked at me over Rixon’s shoulder, lifting his hand to wave mockingly.

“I said, leave.”

He let off a breathy chuckle as he winked at me. “Does she taste as good as she looks?”

“You motherfucker!” Rixon yelled, stepping forward and ripped his hand off my wrist. “I fucking said leave. Get off our fucking charter or I swear to god.”

“Is that who you swear to? Last time I heard, you weren’t President. Who are you to command and bark orders, little VP?” Kory raised his eyebrow as he flicked his eyes over me again. “You gotta go and call big brother for permission to touch your dick, let alone throw a punch at me.”

“Spencer? What happened to you?”

We all looked up to look over at Nora crossing her arms over her chest and looking around at us all before letting a twinge of fear touch her voice, “What’s going on?”

“You’re just in time, sweet cheeks!” Kory laughed playfully and lunged for Nora, grabbing her and pulling her up against his side, “We’re having our own party out here!”

“Hey!” I screamed and threw my shoulder into Rixon to get past him, but he snatched his arms around my waist and closed me into his chest. “Let her go!”

As Rixon ripped me back, Spencer shot forward, charging Kory as he yelled and slammed his fist in his cheek. It knocked Kory back and Nora screeched in surprise, pushing away from Kory to run to me. I gripped her into me and she grabbed on like a lifeline. Spencer started beating down on Kory’s face, his fist like an automatic slingshot, but his hand shot to Spencer’s throat and threw him back.

Nora and I were frozen. They say you have a fight or flight instinct instilled in your being. In situations whether metaphorical or literal, you will either fight to save yourself, or you’ll run to save yourself. This pertains to relationships, family drama, unwelcomed conversations, bar fights, and sledding. Both of us were blocked in unsure instincts, whether to run or to stand our ground, but we did nothing. I didn’t know if it was because we knew the boys would take care of it, or if we didn’t know what would happen to them if we didn’t leave.

When Spencer’s back slammed into the trunk of the tree, Rixon lunged forward and dodged a furious fist coming right towards his jaw and grabbed it. “Get them the fuck out of here, Spence!”

Spencer shook his head as he rubbed the back of his head, looking at us as we watched him wide-eyed at the blood on his fingers. Rixon grunted out loudly as a loud crunch sounded on skin. I turned my head quick enough to see Kory retract his fist from Rixon’s eye.

“Spencer!” he screamed hard enough to shake his body as he shoved his foot into Kory’s lower abdomen to propel him backwards. Kory shot back at him and Rixon slid around in a semi-circle so that Kory couldn’t touch him. “Go!”

Spencer shook his head quickly, grabbing onto a wrist from each of us before pushing us forward, shoving us into sprints. He hung back and watched Rixon, Nora grabbing my hand to pull me along after her. Rixon was pushed to the side, and in the movement, pushed Spencer after us with a grunt ripping out of his throat. Forced to leave his side, Spencer pumped himself into a hard run and pushed his hands against our backs so that we ran harder.

I didn’t know why we were running, legs striding wider as he put as much distance between the warehouse and us as we could in a twenty second time span. Nora was the first to fall back, though, her breaths coming in labored and huffing as she doubled over.

“Wait!” she screamed, pushing her hand through her hair. “Why are we running? What happened back there, Spence?”

Spencer stopped running a few feet from us, throwing his head back and shoving his hands in his hair. He straightened as we tried to catch our breaths. That flight instinct was suddenly very strong, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins as I flicked my eyes back and forth between the warehouse and Spencer. He shook his head, ignoring her question as he paced in a circle and looked at the building longingly.

“Don’t leave us here.” I said threateningly, his turned his eyes to mine sharply. “Don’t run back there. He’ll be alright, won’t he?”

“I…” his voice trailed off as he stomped his foot hard on the ground and let out a harsh profanity. “I don’t know. That guy is twenty-three and he’s been doing this shit longer than either of us has. Rixon knows how to carry his own, though. He can take care of himself. Griff taught us well.”

“Who’s Griff?”

“Griffin. Rixon’s older brother, Griffin, taught us how to fight when we were fifteen years old and he’s been teaching us since then.”

“What was that guy talking about before? What was Rixon talking about with all that shit about turf and charters and Presidents?” I asked, spouting off question after question. I needed answers before my mind spun a web towards the worst.

Spencer lifted a hand to silence me and pressed his fingers to his forehead. “You ask a lot of questions, you know that? Stop. Stop talking. I can’t answer these questions. It’s not for me to answer them. All you need to know is that guy is bad fucking news. If you ever see him, or anyone with him, don’t trust them. Alright?”

Nora and I agreed at the same time, nodding and I took stabilizing breath and wondered who could answer my questions then. I looked down at Rixon’s leather jacket and realized that I would see him again, after all. He’d demonstrated earlier how much his leather jacket meant to him and said, albeit flirtatiously, that he’d hunt me down to get it back. I looked back at the structure once more before having my focus stolen away by Nora and Spencer talking, again.

“So, the warehouse was a bust.” Spencer huffed, “You guys want to go to another party? It’s not even ten yet.”

“Yes! Get me out of here.” Nora barked excitedly.

I hung back as she moved up to Spencer’s side and pressed her hand against his arm, looking over at me when I didn’t move. “I don’t think I’m going to go with this time.”

“Ember,” Nora said with disappointment too thick in her voice.

I shook my head and just looked at McArthur hall before looking back at her. “I’ve had enough fun for one night. Go, have fun, party it out with Spencer. I’ll just see you tonight when you get home.”

She looked at Spencer and smiled, that coy kind of smile that always puts a shit-eating grin on a guy’s face as she walked slowly back to me and hugged me. She shimmied against me, giving Spencer a little show as she whispered and in a singsong voice, “Don’t wait up for me.”

I just laughed and shook my head, patting her back. “Alright. Be safe. Don’t do something too stupid.”

And just like that, her and Spencer were linking arms and walking off towards the football field, laughing boisterously and roaming their hands up and down each other’s back. I shook my head and laughed, my breath coming out in white gusts as I pulled his jacket tighter around me. When I pushed my fingers in his pockets, I found a pack of Marlboros Reds, a lighter, and a phone. I didn’t take it out of his pocket, I didn’t snoop. I thought about it, but then I thought about how childish and Suzie High School that would have been of me. I just pushed his belongings into the fabric of his pockets so that my hands could fit comfortably.

As I walked over the grass beyond the hall, I couldn’t help but drop my head back and stare at the moon. The early autumn feel made it bigger, paler, and more beautiful. It was full and the sky was bare, stars like specks in the expanse of navy blue. New beginnings were on their way.

I grinned at the thought as I hopped up the steps and pulled the side entrance open after swiping my card and dragging myself up to the second floor. Once I had finally climbed tiredly and closed the door behind me, I dropped my key on my desk and laid his jacket over the back of the chair, reaching over to turn on the light.

I suddenly didn’t know what to do with my night. Part of me wished I went with to the other party for the distraction, part of me was glad to be alone. Another part of me, though, was overbearingly worried about Rixon. It wasn’t like I could reach him, to make sure he was okay, that he didn’t end up in the hospital, or even worse: that he wasn’t laying frozen and bloody and unable to move on the asphalt. I shuddered at the thought, the mental image, and pushed it away eagerly as I pulled my shirt off to change into a tank top and sweatpants.

As I settled in the corner of my bed with the book I was currently reading, legs crossed and finding my page, I found that I was unable to focus. Rixon, and his wellbeing, corrupted my thoughts in a way that I couldn’t push it away by sinking into an alternate reality of literature worlds far away from this one. I tried, of course, because sitting there thinking about it in an intensity that I was wasn’t going to make the night sail by any faster. In fact, it probably would have made minutes feel longer than hours ever could be.

I didn’t know how long I had been reading, but I knew I had only progressed ten pages from where I originally began. It was the chime of an unfamiliar ringtone that shocked me out of my pointless attempt at reading as a distraction. I couldn’t place the song that played, though I couldn’t see how I could because it was just an intense guitar intro that played. I was caught between getting up and answering it or leaving it because it wasn’t my phone. I bit my lip.

Curiosity won me, getting up and reaching into his pocket. I looked at the screen, the green telephone symbol shaking back and forth, just begging to be answered. I did nothing, though. When it ended, it began again, the same number calling chaotically. When it ended and instantly began again, I finally snatched it off my desk and slid the bar across.

“H-Hello?”

“Oh, thank god!” Rixon sighed heavily with relief, “I wasn’t sure you would answer. Sorry for calling excessively, I just needed to make sure that my phone didn’t fall out of my pocket.”

I laughed breathlessly, tucking my hair behind my ear, “Yep, it’s still right here, safe in my room.”

“And you?”

“Huh?”

“You’re safe in your room, too?” he said hopefully, the grin wide on the other end of the line.

I nodded only to remember that he couldn’t see me, whispering with a wide grin. “Yes, Rixon. I’m safe in my room, too.”

“Alright, good. I can come by to gather my things, right?”

“Yes, you can.”

He chuckled and shifted the phone to his other ear and pulled away to mumble something. It was then that I could hear the heavy thumping music in the background, letting me know that he was still at the warehouse. The shuffling on his end continued before he pressed it to his ear again. “Ember?”

“Still here, Rix.”

“Okay, good. Yeah, I’ll be by in a few minutes to grab my things.”

I nodded, “Okay.” And then, three beeps letting me know the call ended.

I looked down at myself, shooting my hands to my hair before grabbing a hoodie and zipping it up to my navel. Looking around the room, I suddenly felt embarrassed. There were clothes all around the floor. They were Nora’s, but if he was stepping inside this room, I couldn’t let it look like an explosion of fabrics and food wrappers of all variations. I hurriedly tidied the room and put things back in order, throwing out the trash and taking the trash bag to the garbage can out in the hallway.

I made it back into my room and was able to make both mine and Nora’s beds before there was a soft tapping at the door. I tucked my hair behind my ear and took a large breath before padding over and opening the door to him leaning against the doorjamb.

I laughed at the image and leaned against the door. “Can I help you?”

“I think you have something that belongs to me.” He grinned, looking over my shoulder to see my room before shifting his eyes back to mine. I knew it was a good idea to clean up.

“Oh?” I grinned coyly almost, moving my hand inside my pocket as I flattened my palm against the door. “I’m not too sure I do.”

He laughed and stepped closer so that his breath was only a few inches away, leaning towards me, and capturing my eyes again. “Can I come inside?”

I nodded breathlessly. I had never met someone who had the power to knock even the slightest bit of oxygen from my lungs like I had never known air before. Rixon did it effortlessly, though, like he had always known the right things to say to me and just how to say them. It was like he had known long before I even did all the ways to stand and lean towards me and how soft and raspy to make his voice just to make me blushing and flustered naturally.

When I stepped aside, he came in. I ushered him over towards the desk where his belongings laid waiting for him. He pulled his jacket on and pocketed his phone after picking it up from the desk. I turned my head to grin when he ignored any notification that could have been on the device and just stuffed it into his pocket almost carelessly. He turned back around to face me as I moved my hands to my pocket.

“Did you find everything to your liking?”

“Well,” he began with a wide grin, “Nothing seems to be missing. So, I would say that it was a success on all ends.”

I nodded and pulled my hair over my shoulder. In the better lighting of my room, I could see it clearly now. There were gashes and cuts and dark red marks that would surely bruise within the hour. I couldn’t stop the gasp as I looked at the dried blood against his eye or how swollen the left half of his lower lip was. Against his collarbone, a dark reddish purple blotch was seen and ready to bruise, and along his jaw was another blotchy red mark bruising over. He didn’t look like he was in pain, but there was no way that he couldn’t be. He was holding it together and keeping the emotions at bay like he had done when he first met me earlier tonight. I was beginning to see that Rixon didn’t show emotion very well in a situation that he couldn’t gauge the overall emotion beforehand.

“Oh my god,” I breathed, “Are you alright?”

He shrugged and pulled his jacket on, his eyes cringing closed at the stiffness and pain he felt in his muscles. “I’ve been through worse.”

I clamped my mouth shut, looking away at that declaration. If this wasn’t even the worst of it, then how much worse could it get? I’d never been in any kind of fight in all my nineteen years. If he was only twenty and this wasn’t the worst he’d been dealt, then what was?

“What happened tonight?”

“What do you mean, what happened?” he lifted his eyes to look at me, his eyebrow arching up in disbelief.

At the look he gave me, I had to look away, break the contact they held of me because I couldn’t take that look of scrutiny. He looked at me like I didn’t watch him threaten a man’s life, like the things he said to him were normal things to yell at someone, like he didn’t lunge this man and come back with souvenirs in the form of spilt blood and bruises. I felt like I was owed answers.

“I… I watched you jump at him, Rix. I watched you throw your punches and I watched him throw his own. I heard the way you were talking and none of it makes sense to me. I just want to understand what the hell happened back there.”

“Yeah, well, have you ever thought, Ember, that you’re not supposed to understand everything in this world?”

His conviction hurt me, causing me to turn my cheek away and grip the back of my neck. I didn’t say anything in reply because it was his business and he shouldn’t feel obligated to tell me if he didn’t want me to know. But, I couldn’t hide the hurt and the overall feeling of disappointment I felt from his lack of trust in me.

I knew I sounded crazy in thought. I had only known him for a few hours, at best. He shouldn’t have instilled a whole bottle of trust in me yet, but he felt so right. Everything about him felt right. Not a single ounce of him didn’t feel right, even after he drew fists on a man nearly twice his size and three years older, even after he warded me off with clipped tones.

So, for now, I let it go.

He sighed and shook his head, walking towards the door and grabbing the handle. I expected him to rip it open, to slam it shut, and to walk out of the room. I expected that to be the last I would see of Rixon.
He surprised me, though.

He, with his hand on the knob still, turned and looked at me. I stared at him silently, watching him from my rooted spot. “Do you want to go for a walk with me?”

I didn’t answer. I was still shocked that he wasn’t walking out of McArthur hall and back to his, wherever his was. He wasn’t leaving, and instead, was asking me to go with him. It felt right. I wished I could explain this sense of rightfulness that he exuded, but I couldn’t. So, I just nodded and slipped my slippers on and walked up to him where he opened the door for me.

As we walked down the hall, that soft touch returned to my lower back, and still, I blushed.