Like several times before, Karmin stood in the changing room, threatening the universe.

"Do you have some sort of personal vendetta against me?" she hissed at the ceiling. "I don't understand what beef you have with me. I'm a good person. I volunteer with old people, I get good grades, and I never put empty cartons back into the fridge. You better hope I win, or I swear I'll..." faltered Karmin, unsure what to say next. "I don't know what I'll do. You're an entity, so I can't exactly beat you up."

Karmin sighed, sitting down on the bench with her head in her hands. She could hear the faint roaring of the crowd outside, like a warning sound telling her to run while she had the chance. She had considered it. Running. But Ares would find her and her family. There was no way she was getting out of this except for entering the ring.

She couldn't have the repeat of events from last week. Although she wasn't fully healed, she was strong enough. It didn't hurt as much when she moved, but she was sure that was going to change after this.

Her hands refused to stop shaking, and her breaths were getting shallower with the ticking of the clock. Her heart was palpitating sporadically as if someone was beating on it with a drum. She was already sweating, and her stomach ached from anxiety and fear.

Karmin snapped her head to the door when it swung open, revealing Maddox. The memories from last night resurfaced. The kiss. Running away from the guard. The awkward ride back home.

In the moment, she was excited and content. She felt safe and reassured. She thought it was the first step to a relationship that was more than friends. That's what she wanted, but the silent, tense drive home meant something else.

Karmin didn't know how to start the conversation with her lips tingling from the kiss and her mind buzzing from the high. Maddox was just as quiet as he tapped his fingertips on the steering wheel. Not one word was said, except for the awkward goodbye when he dropped her off.

The entire night, she couldn't sleep, the fight now a worry in the back of her head, replaced by Maddox. A rush of questions bombarded her, a restful night now impossible.

Why didn't I say something? Anything. Did he like me back? I mean, he had too, or why else did he kiss me? Does he regret it?

Those questions arose once again as she stared at him. More specifically, his lips that she wanted on hers again.

"They're ready," Maddox said, looking at his feet with his hands in his pockets.

Karmin nodded, feeling sick from the tension between them. She hated feeling this way. She stepped forward, her legs as heavy as lead.

Should I say something?

She couldn't enter this ring with her mind clouded. She couldn't be worried about him, and the kiss as she fought Ares. She needed to get it off her chest.

So, she stopped in her steps just a foot away from him. "I want to talk about last night," Karmin blurted before she could convince herself not to.

"Can we do that after your fight?" he asked quietly, finally glancing up at her.

She shook her head firmly. "No. I don't like the weird tension between us."

"Okay," he sighed.

"We kissed," stated Karmin, obviously.

"We did," Maddox mumbled, folding his arms across his hoodie.

Her heart beat against her chest frantically as she pulled at her fingers nervously. "I think it was –"

"A mistake," he completed for her.

Karmin snapped her head up, her eyes meeting his. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

"A mistake," he repeated, showing no sense of emotion. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

She felt her heart shatter in pieces like a mirror breaking into unrecognizable pieces. Her hopes were too high, almost sky-high. Now she was falling without a parachute into this black hole of disappointment and heartbreak.

"Yeah, yeah," she stammered. "That's it. A mistake."

Maddox nodded. "We weren't in the right state of mind with this whole fight thing going on," he added, stepping aside for her to walk through the door.

"Uh-huh. We can just forget about it."

The kiss was seared into my mind. Forgetting was an impossible task.

Tears filled her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. Not now. Instead, she exhaled sharply and pushed back her shoulders. Karmin walked out of the room, her system flooded with the shouting of the crowd. People patted her on the back encouraging her and in the corner of her eye, she could see Viola and Rhys by the edge of the ring.

There was no time to cry. Her boy problems could wait.

She felt exhausted, emotionally. She didn't want to be here. But she couldn't afford these types of thoughts. Not with the most important fight of her life just seconds away.

Karmin slipped under the ring with ease, meeting the referee who stood in the center with his vintage microphone. She shook away her doubts, attempting to control her breathing. She shook the thoughts about Maddox away, but they were stubborn. Instead, she focused her eyes on the man that would determine her fate tonight. Ares entered the ring, emanating power and strength. The entire crowd went silent with his arrival, some too scared to make eye contact with him.

The voice of the referee boomed through the room. "Tonight, we have a special guest! Ares Reign, yes, the man himself, is here to fight against our very own Karmin Desai!"

Her heart rate went out of control with his calculating gaze. His stare was deadly, almost killer. He could wither freshly bloomed flowers with that look. Ares knew he was untouchable. It was as if he knew that only one of them would be leaving the ring conscious, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be her.

Karmin gulped nervously but put her hands up as she slowly walked to the center of the ring. Once the bell rang, her nerves rose higher and higher. She was usually self-assured about her skills, but it slowly began to dissipate the longer she stood under his stare.

Ares was the first to make the move with a jab to her face. She sidestepped swiftly and carefully and turned on her tippy toes gently. He chuckled deeply as if this was a fun game.

Maybe this was a fun past-time activity to him, but to Karmin, it was life or death.

She didn't let her gaze waver as she bounced lightly on her toes, awaiting his next move. She was too scared to go to him, but he didn't move this time around. Instead, he motioned for her to come as if inviting her to her own death. And she obliged.

With gritted teeth, she kicked herself forward and struck. She jabbed her fist forward, but he blocked it swiftly with his forearms. However, she didn't let that discourage her when she kicked him in the knees. His legs shook, so she took the chance to aim a hit on his temple, but that didn't work when he hooked her arm, restraining it.

He used all his force to punch her in the stomach, her insides curling in pain. She wheezed when he did it once more, and feeling reckless, she threw all her weight into him. Karmin tackled him into the poles of the ring, him grunting due to the contact.

Ares attempted to push her off him, but she gathered all her might to make a few quick jabs in his lower body. That didn't last too long when he struck down his fist into the back of her neck. Her grip loosened, so he shoved her away. She stumbled back, and before she had the chance to balance herself, he sucker-punched her in the chin.

Her head snapped upwards to the ceiling from the force, and then came the kick to her face. Pain was now a constant stimulus as Ares went from one hit to the next. From her jaw to her back to her ribs, he didn't stop.

Karmin tried to swing at him, but he caught it, twisting her arm to her back. He pulled it at a painful angle where she cried out in pain. It felt as if he was ripping her arm out of its socket, and the more, she screamed, the farther he twisted her arm up her spine.

"Let go!" she cried out.

"Whatever you say," shrugged Ares and let her go.

Karmin quickly hugged her arm to her chest, rubbing it. She glanced over at him to be greeted by his incoming fist. He punched her in the temple like she was trying to do before. She fell to the ground, landing on her back, clutching her head.

This wasn't going very well. Her entire body burned, and it felt sticky from the blood making its way out of her veins into the outside world. The floor was looking pretty comfortable from down here, but if she didn't get on her feet, she wasn't walking out of this club.

Giving up seemed so easy. She could easily put an end to this. She had done it before, saving herself from more painful hits. That's what Ares wanted, though, and she wasn't about to give him that.

Get up! I need you to get up!

So, she did. She pushed herself off the floor, her arms shaking in exhaustion. Karmin stumbled again, but she didn't let that rattle her. With one foot in front of the other, she stumbled up to her feet. Using her bleeding hand, she wiped away the tears that rolled down her bruised cheeks and the blood that was beginning to dry. Her hair came undone from her ponytail, strands falling onto her face and matted with sweat. Her teeth were stained with red, and her taste buds were overcome with the thick metallic flavor of blood.

Ares looked over her at surprise with a sense of respect. She noticed how he watched her carelessly as she breathed in and out. He stayed in his spot, almost smiling at her.

And that infuriated her.

Letting out a low scream, Karmin lunged at him. Unlike her usual careful and gentle movements, she was like an enraged animal, swinging and jabbing. With one punch came another, the adrenaline birthed from her anger taking over.

Maybe it was from his condescending smile or her talk with Maddox. She didn't know, but in that moment, she didn't care. The only thing that mattered was taking Ares down.

His eyes widened as she stepped left and right, putting up his arms to avoid her vicious attacks. Her heavy fists landed on his face and then his rib cage in excruciating patterns.

Karmin kneed him in the abdomen, forcing him to bend over in pain. She seized his leg and brought it down to her knee. A sickening crack was audible as she drove an elbow down onto his spine. He grunted, falling onto his stomach with a loud thud.

She tiredly flipped him over onto his back, settling herself on top of him. She swung her fist back and aimed, her knuckles tearing against his skin. Her fists began to ache with a soaring pain, and she punched him again and again. His face began to bleed and swell as he tried to fight back, but nothing he did worked. Until he spoke.

"I bet your Dad would love this," he choked out through a mouthful of blood.

Karmin froze, her arm in mid-air. "What did you say?" she whispered.

Ares smirked, lifting his head. "What would he say when he finds out his daughter is hurting people to heal him?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" she cried out.

"He would be so disappointed in you. So terrified," he mocked. "I mean, look at your friends over there," he nodded to the crowd.

She turned her head to see Viola crying into Rhys's arms, who looked scared out of his mind. Beside him, Maddox had his hands on his head, his face scrunched into fear. She locked eyes with him, and all she could see were the same green eyes that rejected her not too long ago.

Ares was right, though. Her Dad would never approve of what she was doing. Her best friend was in tears, and she was probably going to be traumatized for years because of her. The boy she liked didn't like her back, and that kiss was going to ruin their friendship because of her.

Everything was her fault.

So, it didn't matter when she was thrown off Ares with a single punch. It didn't matter when he dragged her by her shirt to the ends of the fighting ring. His words pierced through her, and suddenly, she couldn't fight anymore. She didn't want to.

Ares gripped the back of her head, and whispered, "It was an honor fighting you," and then slammed her head into the metal pole.

Her face exploded with pain, and her mind went fuzzy. Blood gushed out of her nose as the metal ripped at her skin. She didn't even have the energy to cry out in pain. Instead, intrusive thoughts filled her.

My Dad would hate me.

Ares pulled her head back again, giving her a moment to breathe. She looked over at Maddox, who was screaming at someone. The referee? But she couldn't hear him. All she noticed were his spring-coloured eyes.

He said it was a mistake.

Ares slammed her head into the pole once more, and she began to see black.

He regretted kissing me.

With one more hit, the world started to disappear a little by little. The roaring of the crowd seemed distant and long ago. The lights flickered on and off, and she felt herself sink into the black hole.

And then she crippled to the floor with nothing but his beautiful sunlit green eyes haunting her and one thought pounding in her mind.

Breathtaking. That's what I was going to say.

***

Author's Note:

Hi!!

Ugh, this chapter was so hard to write, especially the beginning of the fight! I hoped it turned out alright!

Soooo, I know you guys are probably pissed off about the whole 'kiss was a mistake' thing. I... I felt like I needed more drama. Lol, like the dying father and deathly fights weren't enough.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on the chapter and the fight! Things are about to get tense! BTW, we only have about 15 chapters left to go!

Until next time – m.k.t