The day had finally come. The day where I’d get my ass beat in public, but still win in the end. I was on my underdog shit. But I couldn’t just roll up in there pretending to be strapped; I was damn sure Nathan was going to have people checking me at the door specifically.
So, I had to squad up. I brought Michael and Zachary as my backup. Everyone knew Michael was a big-time weed plug, and he was probably already telling people he’d be bringing his best shit to the party. Meanwhile, I brought Zachary to watch my back. I told him to carry at least two knives, just in case we needed to go full London on their asses.
If shit went real south, Michael had his blick on him so he could shoot his way out. We didn’t exactly advertise our dorm life to the rest of campus, so my plan was to drive us all there but drop Michael off a block away. That way, nobody would suspect he came with me. Then, I’d walk in with Zachary as my plus-one, since we were all allowed to bring one guest.
We pulled into the parking area, and I parked the car all the way in the back of the gate. Nathan's house was huge, which made sense. Apparently, his pops owned a massive percentage in one of the big pizza chains—Papa John's. But this was right around the time before the founder started dropping slurs like a goddamn Klansman with Tourette's.
“Yo, you got the knives on you?” I asked, turning off the ignition.
“Hell yeah, I got them on me,” Zachary said.
“Alright. Put those bitches in your shoes.”
“Why, though?”
“Just in case they want to pat you down, too,” I explained. “If you put them in your shoes, they’re not going to make you take them off. I can’t do it myself, because they’re going to expect me to try some slick shit.”
Zachary frowned. “Then why did you bring three? I only got the two.”
I pulled a basic pocket knife from my pocket, turning it over in my palm. “So they can find this one on me on purpose. That way, they’ll think I’m unarmed for the most part.”
Zachary stared at me, shaking his head. “I swear, you’re like a supervillain, dog.”
“You’re goddamn right,” I grinned, shoving the decoy knife back in my pocket. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here so I can whoop some ass.”
“Don’t you mean get your ass beat?”
“Let me have my little wins, bro.”
We walked up the massive stone steps toward the front entrance. The bass from the party was already rattling my ribs through the heavy brick walls, and the driveway was packed with expensive-looking cars.
Two big-ass security guards stood right by the door. One of them looked like a professional brick wall with a clipboard. The second I stepped up, he put his hand out, blocking the entryway.
“Hold up,” he said, his voice deep. “Arms out.”
I played along, putting my hands up and keeping my face completely blank. He stepped in and started doing a thorough pat-down. He checked my waist, my chest, and then slid his hand right over my front pocket.
He paused. He grabbed the handle of my decoy knife through the fabric.
He reached in, pulled out the cheap pocket knife, and held it up under the porch light. He gave me a smug, knowing look.
“Nice try, smart ass,” he said, tossing the knife into a black plastic bin behind him.
“My fault, boss,” I said, putting on my best innocent-kid face. “Totally forgot I even had that on me.”
He didn’t say another word. He just waved his hand and nodded toward the door, completely ignoring Zachary. He figured since he’d caught my weapon, the threat was neutralized, so he didn’t even bother patting Zach down.
We walked past him and stepped right into the crowded warmth of the house.
Simple chess,
the voice in my head grinned.
Zachary took a step next to me, walking a little stiffly on account of the two blades stuffed inside his sneakers. He leaned in and whispered, “That actually worked. You’re a maniac, Rico.”
“I told you,” I whispered back, scanning the room. “Now let’s go find our boy.”
Once we got inside, I have to admit the place was jumping. Nathan might be a rapist son of a bitch, but the motherfucker could throw one hell of a party. The liquor was flowing, and the drugs were everywhere. But unfortunately for both of us, I wasn’t here for any of that.
“Not gonna lie, Rico,” Zachary said, looking around the packed living room. “If you weren’t here to fight, we could actually enjoy ourselves.”
“You can enjoy yourself all you want,” I told him. “I’ve got a mission on my mind. And right now, it’s to beat some ass.”
“For sure. I’m gonna go indulge myself just a little bit. You think you’ll be alright?”
“Yep. If the fight starts, you’ll know exactly where to find me.”
Zachary didn’t need to be told twice. He went straight toward where the girls were crowding.
He’s a cool dude, but he stays on that Quagmire shit,
the voice in my head muttered.
Always trying to get where the action is, while we’re over here catching hard feelings for two different girls.
“Don’t call them that, me,” I thought back.
Oh, yeah, you caught major feelings. If you just listened to me some of the time, we’d probably be leagues deep in somebody's stomach right now.
“
Motherfucker, aren’t you supposed to be my dark impulses or something? What the fuck are you worrying about my love life for?”
Tsk. What is this fiction you’re living? We’re the same motherfucking person! Matter of fact, don’t you know talking to yourself is a clear sign of you going insane?
“
Bitch, that only applies when I’m talking out loud!”
Says who?!
I shook my head lightly and slapped both of my cheeks to snap myself out of it.
“Well, look who finally showed up.”
I turned around. Nathan was standing right behind me, his usual two friends hovering over his shoulders.
Damn...
the voice whispered.
Are we fucked?
“No,” I thought, narrowing my eyes. “He’s just making a power move right now. I’m not intimidated. After all, I still got a backup plan.”
“You got some nerve making me wait all night, you know that?” Nathan sneered. “Hell, most of the party is going to be over in about an hour or two, and now you’re just pulling up? Something made me think you were pussy.”
“Don’t act like you got big balls all of a sudden, Nathan,” I shot back, stepping into his space. “You’re only talking to me crazy like that because you know your bodyguard took my knife at the door. I got plenty more at home.”
“Ain’t nobody worried about one little knife or multiple of them bitches,” Nathan laughed, waving his hand. “You don’t have that gun on you no more, so I’m happy. But making a guy wait all this time just to fight you is pretty bitch-made. But seeing as you are one, I guess that tracks.”
He stepped closer, getting right within arm's reach.
“Are you ready to get your ass beat in front of everybody, Rico?”
“Oh,” I said, tilting my head. “You think knowing my name is supposed to scare me, bitch?”
“No,” Nathan smirked. “I just found out who you were because I saw there was a little video circulating on the internet from back when you were in high school. You got locked up for almost killing some senior, right? That lets me know you’re really dangerous. But it also tells me you have one very important weakness.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “You’re doing a whole lot of fucking talking, bro. And this proves one thing about you.”
“Like wh—”
I didn’t even let him finish. I just swung on him.
Trying to flex, he caught my fist. I already knew he was going to do that shit; his block was telegraphed as hell. Not being a trained fighter back then was really my biggest setback. But I didn’t care.
“You talk too fuckin' much,” I gritted.
Right after I took that swing, Nathan's boys started to lunge forward to jump me, but he held up his hand.
“No, no, no...” Nathan said, a cruel smirk spreading across his face. “He’s mine. Since he’s feeling froggy, let’s help him leap.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” I gritted.
We headed to the backyard. By the time we got out there, most of the party had followed us, surrounding the grass. He handed me some gloves and a pair of athletic shorts. We didn’t even use the octagon he had set up. We were just going to bang out right next to the pool, surrounded by at least fifty screaming people.
As I was taping up my wrists, I looked up at the crowd. My heart instantly dropped into my stomach.
You know one of those feelings, right? The kind of feeling where you feel completely betrayed. You’re hoping to God it’s not real, because you never wanted to believe this person could actually do this to you. And I had been praying to God that her new boyfriend wasn’t him.
“Jasmine?!” I breathed, my voice barely carrying over the bass. “What the fuck are you doing here?!”
Nathan looked at me, looked over at her, and then turned back to me with that stupid, smug-ass grin on his face. He walked right over to her. I could see the cold disdain in her eyes as she looked at me, like I was the one who had done something wrong.
What is he doing?!
the voice in my head roared.
Get the fuck away from her!
“
Oh, you didn’t know?” Nathan laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I thought she told you. This is my girl.”
“Jasmine, this is your man?!” I shouted, pointing at him. “This fucking monster?!”
“Monster?” Jasmine asked, crossing her arms. “Rico, you don’t even know him. He told me what you did when you saw him at the food court. You can’t just threaten people just because we used to have a thing.”
That’s a lie!
the voice went absolutely ape-shit.
That’s a fucking lie! He knows that’s a motherfucking lie!
“
What exactly did he tell you?!” I yelled, stepping toward them. “I bet he didn’t tell you what he did to—”
He didn’t even let me finish.
Nathan stepped in and caught me with a clean, straight right hand to the jaw. Even though it was a total sneak shot while my head was turned, it was a decent hit. My confidence took a hard dip. He hit me so fucking hard I stumbled back, lost my footing, and hit the concrete.
I’d never been hit that hard in my entire life.
The crowd erupted, fifty people going “Ooh!” at the exact same time.
“Come on now,” Nathan sneered, bouncing on his feet and shaking out his shoulders. “You came here to talk, or you came here to fight? Go ahead and handle your business.”
So let me get this straight,
the voice growled, my vision beginning to blur with rage.
After we confronted him yesterday, this motherfucker went home, told Jasmine what happened, made sure she knew who he was talking about, and then proceeded to lie his ass off saying we were just jealous because she’s dating him?! Oh, it is absolutely on now.
It was do-or-die time. I had to take Harvey’s lessons to the absolute fullest. Even though I’d only practiced the defensive movements a few times in my room, I had to force myself to calm down. Nathan wanted me angry so I’d swing wild and make a mistake.
I just needed to ride it out for a little bit.