Keep From Falling (Markson Grove Series Book 1) (29 page)

Noticing my hesitation and worry, she reaches for my hands and brings them back to the buttons of her shirt. “I want this,” she says assuredly, looking deep into my eyes. She knows I’m nervous… she is too. But she wants this.

I nod and then completely unbutton her shirt, sliding it away from her body as we continue to stare into each other’s eyes, and listen to each other’s steady and unwavering breaths.

“I want this too,” I say.

She kisses me hard on the lips, pushing her body so close to mine that I let out a low moan. I feel her wanting me so intensely right now and it’s… completely perfect.

I think I might be falling in love with this girl.

Skylar

When I walk through the doors of
The Misfit Mansion
with Spencer by my side, I feel a sudden sense of calm rush over me. I had forgotten how much this place played a critical role in my sanity in the beginning years of high school. The calmness I’m feeling is amazing and I can’t be sure if it’s because I just needed time away from reality, or if my mind associates this place with memories of Parker and those memories give me a sense of tranquility.

When I became a
Misfit
, three years ago, I felt untouchable. This place gave me power and safety from the harsh light of the outside world. I used to come here so I wouldn’t have to hide anything about myself. I used to come here to cut and to fuck. I used to come here to feel loved. When you are a
Misfit
, you can do anything your heart desires without judgment. That’s the whole point.

At my first
Misfit
party, I was introduced to ecstasy. I don’t know why I even took it. I was petrified that it would kill me. Meth had killed my brother when he was fourteen, and I had no way of knowing that MDMA wouldn’t do the same to me. But now, as I am entering back into this world of drugs and debauchery for the first time in over a year, I’m completely sober. I’m not under the influence of ecstasy or any type of alcohol. Though, to be honest, with everything that’s happened tonight, I really wish that I were. I don’t have any pot on me either, but the important thing is that I don’t plan on selling myself sexually for any of those things. I’m re-entering my past as a different Skylar Hale. I’m not
The Goddess
anymore, and I’m ok with that.

I’m also not ‘
Bree’s Skylar’
anymore either, and she was the reason I stayed away from all of this for so long. Or maybe I was avoiding Parker; maybe that’s what kept me away. It’s hard to be sure. I’ve lied to myself so much about him and what happened between the two of us that I can’t even be sure why I left this life behind anymore.

I look over at Spencer. His face is serious and I realize that this can’t be easy for him either. Keeping our
Misfit
personas separate from our lives outside of the mansion has always been very important to the both of us. Tonight will mark a change in our friendship forever, and it would be a lie to say that we aren’t both worried about the outcome.

Spencer takes my hand and leads me down the stairs to the basement where I can hear a fight already in progress.

As soon as we reach the bottom of the stairs, I spot a bar in the billiard room to my left, which is relatively empty right now due to the fact that almost everyone seems to be on the other side of the basement watching the fights. I decide that getting a drink to help numb the pain in my heart couldn’t hurt before I join Spencer for the fights. I mean, getting my mind off of everything that’s happened tonight is kind of the ultimate goal, isn’t it?

“I’m going to get a drink,” I yell to him over the roar of the crowd. I point to the bar in the billiard room and he nods before letting go of my hand.

When I reach the bar, I take a seat on the stool and look at the menu overhead. One-ounce shots are all three dollars each. That’ll do, I decide, digging out a twenty-dollar bill from a zipper pocket hidden in my skirt.

“Tequila please,” I say to the bartender, handing him the bill.

“All six?” he asks, looking at the twenty.

“Ok,” I say with a shrug. I wasn’t really planning on having so many shots, but really, what’s stopping me? It’s been a pretty shitty week I’d say, I think I deserve to let loose a little bit.

He lines up six shot glasses in front of me and fills them one after another. I smile and thank him.

“You’re
The Goddess
right?” he asks, looking me up and down. Naturally someone would recognize me. I wonder if he’s someone I might have been with before.

“Yeah, I used to be,” I say, taking a shot and slamming the glass back down. I grimace at the taste but reach for the second glass and shoot that one just as quickly.

He raises his eyebrow. “So where’ve you been?”

I shoot a third shot and slam the glass on the counter. “In love,” I reply bitterly, but he doesn’t seem to take notice of the tone of my voice.

He nods knowingly. “With
The Phoenix
.”

I look up at him, completely bewildered. “Who?”

“
The Phoenix
,” he repeats, motioning toward the large room across the hall where the fights are happening. “He’s up next.”

I’m still confused. What is this guy talking about? I reach for my fourth shot and down it. “I have no clue what you mean,” I say, already beginning to feel my tongue go numb. This is going to be an amazing buzz.

He smiles curiously at me but doesn’t reply right away. He seems to be deciding if I’m being serious or not. But my genuine confusion must convince him that I have no idea what he’s talking about because he points toward the fights. “Your boy fights,” he says. “He’s fighting tonight.”

My eyes grow wide. “What?”

“I thought you were getting a drink,” Spencer says, breaking into my utter shock.

I turn around to face him. “Parker fights?” I ask, my eyes still wide in astonishment.

Spencer eyes my four empty glasses and the last two still remaining on the bar. “Six is a bit much don’t you think?”

I laugh and reach for my fifth shot, “Six is exactly enough,” I say, downing it. I slam the empty glass on the bar next to the rest and reach for my sixth but before I get a chance to grab it, Spencer snatches it up and gulps it down.

“Spenc!” I exclaim. “I paid for that.”

“I’ll pay you back,” he assures me, taking my hand and pulling me away from the bar.

“The bartender told me that Parker fights,” I say to him as he’s leading me toward the match that, judging by the sound of the exploding cheers, has just ended.

“He’s up next.”

“You brought me here to watch him fight? What the fuck, I don’t want to see that!”

Why would he do this? Does he want me to see Parker get hurt? Or maybe he wants me to see how aggressive Parker can be when cornered? If that’s the case, Spencer has absolutely no idea how much I already know that about Parker.

He shakes his head. “I didn’t know he’d be fighting tonight. He wasn’t supposed to be. He took the fight last minute.”

“Oh… well, last minute…that can’t be safe, right? I mean, how prepared can he be when he takes on a fight at the last minute?” I ask, outwardly more concerned than I really should be letting on, but I can’t help it. I don’t want to see Parker get beat up. I’ve seen it once before, and I never want to see it again.

Spencer shoots me a sly smile. “Trust me, he’s always prepared.”

If he only knew.

Spencer continues to lead me through the crowds of people, holding onto my hand tightly so that we don’t lose each other. After a few shoves from side to side and some elbows in the ribs, we finally reach the opening of the man-made circle where Mark’s sister is waiting for us.

The atmosphere is crazy. All I see are people thrusting their money at the three bookies located on the outskirts of the circle. I can’t believe the amount of people that are here to bet on fights! This is ridiculous!

“The fights were never this huge last year!” I scream at them over the roar of people.

He nods and leans into my ear. “Parker didn’t fight last year.”

I shake my head in disbelief. They are all here for Parker. Their
Phoenix
. Wow. All the times I’ve seen his face messed up and his knuckles bloody and swollen lately, I never imagined that this was the reason why.

I notice that the tequila is now beginning to enter my blood stream with a vengeance because the numbness I’d been looking forward to has now taken its full effect. I lean into Spencer’s body and he casually drapes his arm over my shoulder. I can’t believe I’m already feeling this drunk. That’s tequila for you, I should have known better.

“Shots hitting you hard, babygirl?” Spencer whispers into my ear, and I manage a small nod before closing my eyes.

After a moment, I reopen my eyes and look at the crowd of people curiously. I wonder if I can spot Parker somewhere among them. I can’t see him, but I do recognize Evan’s friend from The Loft the other night across the circle from me. He notices me noticing him and gives me a polite nod. He looks either worried or anxious about something, but I can’t be sure. A few feet away from Evan’s friend, I see Tris Gallagher handing over a wad of cash to one of the bookies. The bookie pockets the cash, writes something down on a piece of paper, and hands the paper to Tris.

A loud horn sounds and everyone scrambles out of the center of the circle to form a really solid barrier around the barely padded floor. I’m surprised at how much my stomach is filled with butterflies all of a sudden. Am I nervous about the outcome? I’ve never once watched one of these fights before, let alone watched one with a person I care about fighting in it.

A twenty-something bleached blond bombshell I’ve never seen before yells over the crowd, “You’re in for a treat tonight my beautiful Misfits!” And everyone cheers.

She stands on a desk or possibly dresser in a far off corner of the room and the crowd instantly hushes. “As all my little wagerers already know, tonight there’s been a change of plans for the main event.
The Carver
is out. But don’t worry my pretties,
The Phoenix
has graciously agreed to take his place!”

The crowd explodes into cheers and applause.

“So without further ado, it’s now time for our main event of the evening! Queensland’s very own destroyer,
The Assassin
versus Markson Grove’s number one badass,
The Phoenix
!!” she screams and everyone immediately begins to cheer. She jumps off of the dresser/desk as both fighters enter the room from adjacent hallways.

The Assassin
reaches the center of the circle first. He’s huge and ripped, and I don’t even understand how it’s allowed for him to be fighting against Parker because he’s twice his size! I glance at Spencer uneasily, but he doesn’t seem to be concerned in the least. I can’t understand why. Even if he doesn’t care about Parker, the possibility of losing a chunk of money can’t be something he’d take on lightly.

Parker makes his entrance next. Shirtless, at ease, but totally unassuming. He’s beautiful. His tattoos are more crisp and distinct than I’ve ever remembered them to be, and I see that he’s added at least ten new ones since I’ve seen him last without a shirt on. It could be the tequila in me, but I am feeling very into the idea of fucking him right now.

I suck in a sharp breath. Did I really just think that? I am way too drunk to be here.

He takes his position in the man-made ring directly across from where I am standing. If he were to look beyond his opponent he’d see me right away, but his gaze doesn’t progress passed his objective. He’s focused, and not thinking about the crowd around him at all.

The mediator stands beside them and motions for them to touch knuckles if they want to, and so they very quickly do. He then motions for them to back up away from each other again. Once they are far enough away, the mediator screams, “Go!”

Parker and
The Assassin
charge each other with concentrated determination, Parker looking to take
The Assassin
down and
The Assassin
looking to knock Parker out. Parker successfully drops
The Assassin
to the ground and slams his fist into his face, managing two solid punches before
The Assassin
digs his feet under Parker’s gut and up kicks him off. The crowd roars in excitement and I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand.

Parker hits the floor a few feet away with a loud thud. It only takes less than a second for him, however, to scramble back to his feet and charge
The Assassin
again. He punches his face once, and then a second time, pushing him back toward the crowd. He then spins around and slams his elbow right into
The Assassin
’s left eye.
The Assassin
’s eyebrow splits open, causing blood to gush down his face, but it doesn’t seem to shake him. He wipes the blood from his eye and charges Parker, tackling him to the ground effortlessly. When they hit the floor everyone screams, “OH!” in unison as if on cue. My heart jumps into my throat.

The Assassin
’s enormous fist pounds into Parker’s face three times before Parker is able to reposition himself in a way that allows him to hide his face and try to bring his legs up underneath
The Assassin
’s body.
The Assassin
pulls back, trying to give himself enough space to really put force into his next punch, but this extra space is exactly what Parker needs to free his legs and kick up, slamming the under part of his foot directly underneath
The Assassin
’s chin, making him fly up and then fall backward.