♦𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖐𝖊♦

I won, again. And I was out of that cage looking for Isaiah and Rose faster than ever.

The crowd wanted to celebrate with me, but I just wanted to see her.

I push my way through the standing area looking for them but it's got packed since I left them. She better be ok, her tiny body could probably get trampled in an instant. It worries the shit out of me how small she is.

I don't see them so I push to the back, maybe they already went to the locker room? I hear shouting before I see him and my accelerated heart speeds up more.

"Not me! I'm supposed to be let through you Asshole!" Isaiah yells. I can see him now, he's yelling at the guard, but something is wrong.

Rose isn't with him.

My legs take action before my brain processes the site in front of me, and before I know it I'm standing beside Isaiah.

"Where the fuck is she." I growl. The guard flinches at my tone. As he should.

Isaiah turns to me with a look of relief on his face. "Thank God. We got separated but this dipshit won't let me through." That didn't answer my fucking question.

I'm about to start throwing hands, my adrenaline is still pumping from the fight and if something happened to her, the fuckers' going to pay.

"Where is she?" I grit, towards Isaiah.

"She's in the locker room. But she said she was going to come out to me when I said this guy wouldn't let me through. That was a while ago, and I didn't get a response when I asked her what's taking so long." He says nervous.

For fucks sake, can anything go smoothly when Rose is involved? "Let's go."

The guard won't stop Isaiah now, he knows if he does he'll be waking up in the hospital. I'm not in the mood for anybody's shit right now, I need to make sure she's ok.

I push the locker room door open harsher than I meant to.

Shit I need to think before I do stuff like that, if she was on the other side and the door hit her... she would probably have been knocked out, and I'd hate myself forever.

But she's not there, not anywhere in this room.

"Fuck." My fist collides with a metal locker, a deafening thud filling the room. "She said she was in here! Where did she go?" Isaiah asks, panicked.

Stay calm, Blake you need to stay calm. "Are you sure she didn't pass you and go back to the main area?" I question. My voice is extra deep, signaling to everyone around that I'm not playing.

But I'm doing my best at keeping my shit together right now, at least until I find her.

"No way, I would have seen her." He says rushed.

"Then there is only one way she could have gone." I state. She must have gone outside, I can only hope that it's not because she had another attack.

I pull open the main doors and step outside. Relief filled me when I heard her sweet voice, then vanished and my body filled with fury as I heard another.

"Try me." The voice that I could listen to forever says, coldly.

"I'll ruin you! Just wait and see." I freeze for a moment, I never thought I'd see her again. The woman who walked out on me seven years ago stands in front of Rose, threatening her.

And I'm not having it.

I walk forward, each step I take feels heavy as I approach her, I never wanted to see her again. In another situation I would have turned and walked away, but she's messing with Rose and that's more important than anything else to me right now.

"No you won't, mother." I hate her, I hate that I hate her, but I do. But no matter how much I hate her, it still hurts me to see her like this.

She looks worse than before, skinnier than when she packed her bags and left. Her body fidgety, she's still using and needs a fix. Some things never change.

Her eyes have to focus on me once I place Rose behind me, she doesn't need to be involved in this. The fact that my mother would even think to go after her makes my blood boil.

"Blake!" She says surprised. "I didn't see you there." She smiles at me.

I'd have to be desperate to think that smile was filled with love though. I know the truth, she stopped loving me a long time ago.

"Leave." I have nothing to say to her. I've made my peace with what happened the night she walked out.

I continue to patch the emotional wounds that she left me with, and I probably will for the rest of my life. But they are manageable now, and I don't plan on letting her rip them back open.

"But son. I just need a moment." She whimpers out.

I feel Rose's hands on my back, they shake slightly and I'm not sure if she's trying to encourage me to talk to her, or give me strength to finish what I started. I hope it's the latter, because it's what I need right now.

"Go get Cash, Isaiah." My voice stays deep and angry. My mom's eyes light up at my sentence.

Then it clicks in my head what she came here for, money. Of course she wanted money. And she thought I was telling Isaiah to go get some to pay her off. She's in for a treat when he comes back with security instead.

"What?" Cash says wanting to get straight to the point as always.

"Ban her." I also want to get this over with as soon as possible, so Cash is the perfect match for this situation.

He takes one look at her. "Ok." He snaps a picture of her and sends it out in the group chat with text telling all the security that she's banned.

Usually there would have to be a reason why, but Cash knows I wouldn't want someone banned for no reason, and anyone could tell that somethings off with her. So he doesn't ask questions and gets the job done within seconds.

"Banned? What are you talking about? Where's my money!?" Cash has already left. He knows that I know, unless a bad fight breaks out, security doesn't deal with anything outside the building. Unless it's selling tickets and checking names for VIP.

Rose leans around my body so her head pops out for my mom to see. "That was Cash, his name is Cash. You aren't getting any money." Rose says with a bit of attitude.

My mood brightens, how one girl could make this situation a little bit enjoyable is beyond me. My mom's face turns from shock to pure rage when she registers that no money is going to end up in her greedy palms today.

Her glare is directed towards Rose, and my own anger comes back tenfold. I push Rose behind me again, not liking her being on the receiving end of such a sinister look.

"Isaiah, take Rose inside. I'll be there in just a moment." I say without taking my eyes off of my mom.

Rose's hands leave my shirt as Isaiah pulls her away from me, leaving my back feeling cold.

I wait until I can't hear their retreating footsteps anymore before I speak. "You won't touch a hair on her head." I growl out, stepping closer to her so she knows I mean business.

"You will leave and never bother her again, in any way. Do. You. Understand." The voice that comes out is intimidating, even for me. But I've come to learn that Rose brings out a side of me I never knew existed.

My mom looks ready to shit herself as she nods her head. I give her one last hard stare before tuning and heading inside to Rose.

The security won't let her back in the building, so I don't have to worry about her leaving right away. I want to create as much distance between me and that woman as possible. I had really hoped to never see her again.

When I enter the locker room my heart squeezes in my chest. Rose sits on one of the far benches with her knees pulled to her chest looking worried as hell, but when she sees me enter the worry seems to vanish.

Will she hate me for not talking to my mom? Does she think my mom deserves a second chance and I'm a dick for sending her away?

"Are you ok?" She stands to her feet and rushes over to me, her arms wrapping around my waist.

I find it hard to breathe, I was so angry before. But as soon as her arms wrap around me it's like everything that just happened melts away.

"I'm sorry." She whispers, clutching me tighter as the unnecessary words fall out of her perfect lips.

"Why?" Why would she ever feel the need to apologize for what just happened, if anything I'm the one who needs to be doing that.

"I tried to get her out of here so you wouldn't have to see her, but she wouldn't leave. I could tell it hurt you to see her." She mumbles into my shirt.

I hate that she saw that, that my mother still has the ability to hurt me with just her presence.

"Thank you." I don't really know what to say to her. My arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. She probably has no Idea how much what she did means to me.

But it also pains me to know that if she is able to understand, without really knowing the situation, that I wouldn't want to see my own mother... something must have happened within her own family too.

Most people would try to force you to have a relationship with your mom no matter what she had done. Just set boundaries, but never cut them out completely, they would say.

Rose immediately went in the other direction though, so what kind of pain has she had to suffer because of family? What kind of life did she have to live to be able to understand?

"So Dean said he'll try to find a better fighter next time." Ace grumbles as he walks in the door, only to spot Rose and I hugging and Isaiah looking overwhelmed in the corner.

"The fucks going on?" He asks, confused.

Rose pulls away from the hug and takes a step back. I'd be happy to offer Ace that fight with a good opponent right about now, I was enjoying that hug.

Fucker.

"My mom showed up." It's all I have to say for Ace to step fully into the room and shut the door behind him.

"You ok?" He asks, concerned. He knows more about my situation than Isaiah does, not that I wouldn't trust him with it. But some people just don't or can't understand some of the things that people like Ace and I have been through. I give a curt nod, even though my heart screams no.

"So what happened?" His question brings a sudden tension upon me. What did happen, before I got here, what the hell did she do or say to Rose.

"I'm not sure. Rose, can you tell me how she found you." I keep my voice level.

I'm beyond angry, but not at Rose and I'd beat myself up if she took a harsh tone as me being upset with her.

"I'm not sure. I don't think she meant to." My brows furrow at her statement. "I lost Isaiah in the crowd so I came in here like we agreed. Before I could go meet Isaiah after he said he couldn't get in, she walked in here. But she looked surprised to see me, I don't think she thought anyone was going to be in here." Rose's eyes are focused on a discolored spot on the floor, she chews her lip as she digs through her memories.

"Why would she do that?" Isaiah mumbles.

"For money. I think she was trying to steal your money, Blake." Rose's eyes slowly leave the floor making my heart ache. They scream sorrow, for me. She hurts for me, and I hate it.

My mothers inability to function as a parent shouldn't cause this beauty in front of me any discomfort.

But it does, and as much as I hate it, it also makes me admire her all the more. She reminds me of Olivia, she won't judge me based on my mom, and my mom alone.

She probably would give me a good scolding if I did something stupid though, just like Olivia. The thought warms my cold mood.

I can see it, us boys screw up and get in trouble, Olivia and Rose come rushing up to us, fuming. Grabs us by our ears (Olivia only has two hands obviosly, so when the three of us did something stupid she didn't have enough hands to haul us all off by ear), and give is a lengthy lecture on why we need to think before we act.

"I figured as much." She'll never get it from me. I spent the good part of my childhood working to pay for our rent and food when she spent all her money on drugs. I won't waste my money on her anymore. Never again.

"What did she say to you?" I ask, trying to push Rose into telling me what kind of threats or lies my mom put into her head.

"She saw us together, she wanted me to get you to give her money. And when I dragged her outside and told her to leave she tried to get me to pay her. I said no, obviously." She says, like it's no big deal.

I can tell that she's leaving stuff out, but knowing my mother I wouldn't want to relay information like that to someone either.

My fingers twitch, wanting to reach out and pull her back in for a hug. She pulled my mother out of this room and all the way outside to try and spare me pain. I really wish I knew what to say, to express how much her actions meant to me. We met only weeks ago, and she's already making me wonder how my life was enjoyable without her.

"Thank you." I say the same two words that I said earlier. Rose gives me a tight smile, she understands so much, with only knowing so little about me.

It wasn't like my mom tried to kill me, or that she physically abused me everyday. No, it was more of a slow torture. My dad left before I was born, so my mom had to work to support us.

I was only three when she started leaving me home alone, a babysitter cost too much and she didn't have any friends to leave me with. She would come home on lunch break to check on me, but those hours in between were so lonely.

I didn't have toys, or a TV or games. I would sit on the back of the couch and stare out our front window watching anything that moved.

Birds, kids, trees in the wind, clouds, people walking their dogs and my favorite, the ice cream truck.

I never got anything from it, but I would dance to the music as it passed our street.

When I was young my mom would greet me with kisses and hugs every time she walked through the door. Bring me leftover food from the diner she worked nights at, and tuck me into bed.

But as I grew older she stayed out longer, and started to distance herself from me. By the time I was six the happy greetings when she got home stopped, the leftover food from her work along with it, and she stopped saying even a simple goodnight.

She started letting little sentences slip like, 'You're such a burden.' 'He would still love me if it wasn't for you.' and my personal favorite, 'I hate you.'.

Then on my thirteenth birthday, she gave me the present of a drug addicted mother, she started to use heroin. I couldn't talk to her, she wasn't really there, just sat in her chair in the living room with needles stuck in her arm.

She lost her job weeks later, we had no money and were running low on food. I didn't know what to do. And when the eviction notice came, I had to do something before we were kicked to the streets.

So I got a job, and then another, and another on top of that, but only in the summer months when I wasn't in school. I would save as much as I could in the summer so I would only have to work one job during school to pay rent and get food.

It was a struggle, but it had to be done so I didn't dwell on it much.

Ace got into fighting shortly after he left home at sixteen, he made good money and within months I got in on the action too.

My mom left when I was seventeen, I carried on like nothing changed. I was the one who took the rent to the office already, so no one knew any difference. I was able to keep myself living alone a secret until I was of age.

I didn't want to end up in government care, but once I was eighteen I didn't need to worry about that anymore. I was making enough to afford an apartment out of the crappy neighborhood my mom picked to live in, so I moved into a nice apartment across town.

It took a little convincing since I didn't have credit or a cosigner. But I eventually found a place that let me, I just had to pay a crapload extra to move in. It was well worth it to get out of the apartment I used to share with my mom. I wanted every trace of her erased from my life. And that was going well until she showed up today.

"Oh yeah, here's your cut. Dean gave it to me when he gave me mine." Ace chucks over a stack of bills held together by rubber bands, effectively breaking me out of my thoughts. I turn to stuff it in my bag, but Rose sits next to it with her jaw nearly touching the floor.

"You got all that from one fight?" She asked, amazed. It was a pretty large stack tonight, it all depends on the night really, but most of the time I leave with a few grand. Ace and I are popular, so bets are high and abundant on us.

When we first started we made a few hundred for every fight we won, so we would fight all night until we got too tired to continue. Now I can make a few grand off one fight on a good night. Tonight was extra good I'd say by the weight of the money in my hand.

"Yeah." I say proudly, trying to impress her.

"If I wanted to... could I fight?" Tension takes over my body. No way in hell is that happening. I'd have Cash fucking ban her too before she got a chance to step into the cage.

Girl fights are rare, but when there is a girl fight it's almost always sickening to watch. They fight dirty, most bring some sort of weapon with them too, might be pointed acrylic nails or spiked rings. Like fuck I'd let her do that to herself.

"No." Ace, Isaiah and I all yell at the same time.

Her eyes widened for a second, shifting between all of us. "I was just wondering, not actually going to do it." She better not be lying.