Stranger
How do I always end up in this situation, ever since the first day of freshman year. Work, school, work, school. The only thing that has changed is my ability to add an extra thing in there.
School, work, gym. On repeat.
I pull my bag off my shoulders and shove it in the locker, sighing at my reflection in the mirror lined with pink stickers propped up in my locker. I am a senior in high-school with literally nothing going for myself except what? My brother’s legacy? My brother’s popularity that he left behind when he went on to university?
You can’t always get what you want with a reputation of being in a family like mine. All I want is to be the first woman in my family to go to a prestigious university, I mean not one woman in my family has actually gone to college for more than a day. Let alone a prestigious university.
The only down side of this life decision that i’ve been trying to put in motion since the first day of middle school, all I have been trying to do is make the money I need to get into university. I’m not extremely smart like Reid or do a million clubs, play an instrument, and any or all sports like Wren. The closest thing I got to sports is running away from my problems or my feelings.
I hate thinking about the future now and what it in-tells, Wren and Reid will probably be off at different prestigious schools. Wren playing a sport and Reid excelling in some academic department or another.
I roll my eyes walking out of the work dressing room only time will tell, but I seem to be running out of time.
---The end of Senior Year---
Wren runs up jumping on my back “we- little miss, are going out tonight.” I laugh and hold on to her thighs letting her have a piggy back ride to the broken down car Nico left me when he left for college “where are we going?” I ask curiously. My anxiety is already starting to eat away at my stomach “my cousin Xander invited us out.” I put her down at my car and she stands taller than I, if only I had her height “Xander, the super hot cousin you are always talking about but I am pretty sure is just in your imagination?” I look up at her and she rolls her eyes “He is real and he invited us out so we-” she points at her chest then points her long acrylic nail at my chest “are going out and you can not protest I texted your mom already.” She pulls out her phone to show me the texts.
Please mom... Why... You know I love my bedroom...
I stare in the mirror playing with my hair that Wren did, she has been teaching me tons of new things since the last party Nico threw when he was back from uni for the holidays.
“Xander is really excited to meet you.” She beams pulling her dress up over her thighs and setting it into place over her chest “why?” I ask putting on some lip gloss.
“He saw your pictures and I think he might be interested.” She waggles her eyebrows at me and my stomach drops, I have never had a boyfriend. Let alone have a guy interested in me.
I pull into the parking spot Wren pointed out to me, she unbuckles and climbs out of my car. I follow her quickly taking in the surroundings we are in a parking lot filled with super cars and fancy bikes the only thing near us is a rundown old building that looks empty and abandoned “don’t you dare tell me this is the place.” My heels scrape across the gravel parking lot as she indeed pulls me towards the rusty gross building in this abandoned part of the city “Xander works here, don’t worry we are safe.”
I have a weird feeling that her last sentence is very, very wrong. Every warning bell in my body signals for me to run as far away from here as I can get, as I turn back towards my car as the door opens to the building opens and the loud thumping music escapes into the silence of the night around us, echoing in the parking lot as the ornange lights from inside illuminate the surroundings. The man that opened the door is a little taller than Wren with matching messy blond curls and bright blue eyes, he is definitely a good looking guy, not exactly my type but I could always admire a handsome man. “Come in little cousin.” His lips quirk up and he shows us a hundred watt smile, his teeth are perfectly straight and extremely white “Xander, this is Poppy- Poppy this is Xander.” She smiles motioning to us both, I take in his body and he is extremely buff but in a subtle way.
“So Poppy, are you ready to see into the underworld.” His smile reminds me of a wolf, and I am willingly walking into his den.
Walking down the dark hallway Xander stops at a door “see you out there, beautiful.” He winks and Wren rolls her eyes “what a fucking flirt.” She chuckles as she sees the pink dusting my cheeks. She walks us further down the hallway with her hand in mine.
We get to the end of the hallway with a large male watching over the hall we just came from nodding at Wren.
The large room is loud with cheers as Wren has my wrist tightly in her grasp, pulling me through the mid-sized crowd that are cheering and rowdy, they are all so impressively dressed in expensive clothes and jewelry that I’ve only ever seen on ads and in the window of the high end shopping malls near the restaurant I work at. I spot Xander standing shirtless in the middle in a small rink, he moved so fluidly like he wasn't human. I can't help but watch his body as he prepares to fight.
The bell sounds and both men advance forward “Xander is a boxer?” I question and Wren shakes her head, my eyes follow his body and his bare knuckles reach the taller males jaw and a bone crunching sound resonates through the building.
My whole body freezes, every hair on my body stands on edge but just like watching a car wreck my eyes can’t stray away from the scene unfolding in front of me.
Underground Bare Knuckle boxing...
