Knocked Out: A Red, Hot and BOOM! Story (3 page)

He had 6 ½ hours to try to figure out his next step. What would he do after this last paycheck? At least they’d have food and a roof over their head for the next month, but after that, then what?

All these questions swirled in his head as he took off his hoodie revealing a gray t-shirt that

outlined his narrowed waist and broad shoulders. He walked over to the cupboard and grabbed a cup...

He poured himself some lukewarm coffee that his mother left in the coffee pot and sat down in the family room. In front of him were stacks of bills. He was disgusted as he began to leaf through them.
Water
bill, electric & gas bill, cable, phone…mortgage.
But the one letter that disturbed him was from his attorney.
Fucking Tamara, what now? Haven’t you done enough?

He knew he should have thrown it out the minute he saw it, but instead he decided to open and

read it. It was a request from his ex-wife petitioning for sole custody of Everly due to a recent stint in rehab. She was set to marry her longtime boyfriend in the fall and figured it was time to get to know her daughter.

It took everything in him not to go and pick up Everly and fly out on the next plane to some

nameless, small town where Tamara could never find them. It was the last thing he needed in a day that was already one of the worst he had ever had. Before last year, Tamara never had an interest in Everly.

He didn’t understand the sudden push for custody. Kids cramped her party style. For him, his little girl was the best thing to have ever happened to him. As Tamara drove deeper into drugs, their little girl was the one thing that saved him from going over the brink. She was his light when things were darkest.

His blue eyes were heavy from thought. As he drifted off to sleep, a tap on the shoulder startled him.

“Daddy? Daddy?” Whispered the faint, female voice.

Half-groggy, Evan opened his eyes and teased. “Not now...”

The little girl with the long brown hair, standing in front of him wearing a pair of jeans and white t-shirt jumped onto his lap and yelled “Yes, now!”

He hugged her and laughed. “I suppose so. What’s up Ev? Did you have a good day?”

His daughter gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat back up. “Yeah, it was good. I beat my friend Lindsay at Flappy Birds during lunch.”

Evan’s eyes rose. “Oh yeah, what was the score?”

Everly’s blue eyes danced as she proudly stated. “213!”

Her father was stunned. “Shut up. 213? I can barely get 10 on that thing.”

Everly began to laugh. “Yep. 213. Let’s face it Dad, you’re not a video game type and that’s ok.”

Evan smiled. “It is, huh?”

Everly nodded her head in response. “Yep. You barely can use the DVR or use the toaster.

Thank god you have me around.” She giggled.

“I am baby. I am.” He told her as he drew her into another hug for several minutes before she sat back up. “Did you have a good day?” his daughter asked

Evan took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “Unfortunately, no. But you’re making it a better

one.”

Everly’s smile turned into a frown. “I’m sorry, Daddy. You don’t deserve a bad day.”

He shrugged. “It happens baby. It is what it is.”

“Did someone bother you? You need me to put someone in an armbar for ya?”

His eyebrows raised in shock. He shouldn’t be surprised she knew what that was considering

where he came from. “No armbars, Miss Thang, Daddy lost his job today.”

She was playing with the ends of his shirt when she said. “Again? I’m sorry Dad. It’ll be okay.”

“What will be okay?” Edna Bates said as she wandered into the family room while she put her

hair into a ponytail. In her mid-sixties, Edna looked more like she could be in her early fifties. She was a striking petite woman with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes that looked at her son with curiosity. “What’s going on? You’re home early.” She asked, placing the car keys down on the table.

“I got let go today.” He told her.

The news deflated her as she plopped down next to him. “Well, sorry, you lost your job, but I’m

not surprised. That place has seen better days. It’d be better if they closed it down all together and let this town move on with the rest of the world.”

“True, but the money was good. We were just getting back on our feet.” He told her.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. “We will be fine. Always are, always will be. We won’t be

broke. I have my savings.” She reassured him.

Evan looked at her with disapproval. “No, I don’t want to you to keep going into your savings

account. It’s your money. I can’t keep depending on you.” He said while his daughter placed her head against his chest.

“Evan, it’s our money. A lot of it is money you gave me and your father once upon a time. It’s

my pleasure to give it back and help you.” Edna told him.

“I gave that money to the two of you so that you wouldn’t ever have to worry about working

again.” He said.

“And I’m not working, am I? If your father were still alive, he’d be telling you the same thing.

Stop worrying.

“Ma, come on. You know as well as I do that we have a lot to worry about. We’re two months

behind in the mortgage and Everly’s tuition is coming up.” Evan said.

“Well, you could go back to Marlowe’s and beg for your job back.” Edna proposed.

Evan snickered. “I don’t think so.”

“Why? It’s one of the best clubs in town. And you were getting good money as a bouncer.”

“Been there, done that. Want to be able to tuck this one into bed at night.” He explained.

“Well, what about security for that rapper friend of yours. The one you trained with at Tucker

Gray’s gym, Rounders?”

“Ma, again the travel. I can’t be away from Everly that long. That guy’s on tour for months on

end. You’d be lucky if you saw me here once a month.”

“There is an MMA match I heard your cousin, Mike talking about going on at Mason’s Bar.

Payout’s $5000.”

“Out of practice.” He told her as he dismissed it.

“Bullshit. You’re out of the house and into the gym by 5 a.m. every day.” She told him.

Evan played with Everly’s hair. “To workout, not to fight.”

“Fighting is what you do. Not this 9-5 shit. It’s in your blood. ” Edna reminded him.

“Was Ma… The word is
was.
That was five years ago. “

“Your dad and I were so proud of you. I still am. But I had to admit, it made my heart proud to

know my son was one of the top fighters in the country.”

“And then more important things happened.” He reminded her.

“Sure did. My granddaughter is wonderful. We all love her. She should be your priority. But the Octagon is where you belong.”

“Mom-, “he said as she interrupted him.

“Mom nothing. Take the fight. Kick those local’s asses and see how you feel afterwards. $5000 g

is hard to turn down.” Edna retorted.

“It is a few mortgage payments and a couple of legal bills.” Evan said

Edna rolled her eyes at the mention of the legal bills. “What does the witch want now?” She

asked.

Evan picked up Everly and placed her down on the floor. “Baby, why don’t you go to your room

and play that new video game I got for you.”

“Okay, Daddy.” She said and ran off.

“Thanks ma, for talking shit about my daughter’s mother in front of her.” Evan said.

“I could have said worse about that bitch. What’s Tamara’s problem now?” His mother asked as she placed her feet on the table.

“She wants to have a relationship with Everly, so she’s filed a petition for sole custody. ” Evan explained.

“That’s not happening!” Edna screamed.

A dull pain throbbed from his temples. He placed his fingers on each his side of his head and

began to massage it. “You’re preaching to the choir. I guess I have to go to court and explain why I think Tamara is an unfit mother-Again.”

“Unreal. You don’t need this now.” Edna said.

“That’s Tamara.” He told her.

“You gotta go back to the Octagon, Evan. I understand your wanting to be there for your daughter, but you have to do what you have to do.”

“There are other choices.” He told her.

“You were born to fight. From the times you were All-American in high school to your first day

in the Cage, there was a fire in your eyes that no one could extinguish. The way you connected with the crowd and held them in the palm of your hands was a beautiful thing to see. They cheered for you when you won, and cried when you stepped down. You were a star. You
can
burn bright again.. Don’t take the fight for me, do it for Everly. She will love you regardless of what job you have.”

Just when I thought I was out, I’m pulled back in.

“
When and where is this fight?” he asked his mother.

“Why are we here?” Hayley asked Tucker as the two of them walked into the bar a couple of days

after their successful training camp.

The bar, called Mason’s was a small dive on the outskirts of town. Full of wooden paneling, the

building, was full of photographs depicting boxing’s and MMA’s past, present and future.

The place smelled strong of stale beer and sweat. On one side there was a pool table and

dartboard, and on the other side was a stage with small dance floor. The two walked past the stage, pool table and bar and headed towards the back of the building. Connected to the bar by a makeshift

breezeway, an old warehouse emerged. Her curiosity ended when she saw an Octagon that sat smack dab in the middle of the building.

“What the hell?” she turned to Tucker.

Tucker let out a huge a belly laughed. “An old friend informed me about a prodigal son is coming home this evening.”

Hayley looked around the warehouse. Gradually, the locals began to fill the warehouse to

capacity. She and Tucker made their way down to ringside and people watched.

The Octagon was a perfect masterpiece of steel. Its mat had the bar’s colors of red and black on the floor framed in around a black chain link gate. Multi colored lights surrounded the sides of the Octagon along with a state of the art sound system in the back for entrances. Hayley couldn’t help but be floored at the minor spectacle continuing to unfold in front of her eyes. Suddenly, a slender man walked over to Tucker and sat down next to him, extending his hand. “You made it!” the man said to Tucker.

Tucker grinned from ear to ear. “I did my man. Great to see you. How are you?” He asked.

“Good. Good.” The young man said while taking a quick glance at the packed house. “I have a

feeling we’re about to get a full house.”

“It is usually like this?” Tucker asked.

“Depends on who’s fighting. There was hardly anyone here until they heard a ‘certain person’

blew through two locals earlier. Now, everyone is coming out of the woodwork for this main event.”

Hayley’s eyes narrowed as Tucker turned to her. “Hayley, allow me to introduce to you to one of

my former students. This is Michael Bates. Michael, this is Hayley Monroe from Contact Sports.”

Michael was a tall man with light brown hair and brown eyes; his thin build wasn’t the typical

look of an MMA fighter, but his strong grip as he shook her hand changed Hayley’s mind quickly..

“You’re a producer, right? You doing that MMA show?” Michael asked.

Hayley smiled warmly at the man. “Yes, I am. I’m the producer of the Next Great Hope.”

Michael snickered. “Well, you won’t have to look far. He’s here”

“Aren’t you confident?” Hayley said.

“Nah, just speaking the truth. You’ll see what I’m talking about.” Michael explained.

“I’m looking forward to it, Michael.”

“Ms. Monroe, welcome to what the locals called ‘Hells Gate.” Michael told her. “I promise that

you won’t be disappointed in the prospect I have for you. He’s a former undefeated star. In fact, he was one of the top contenders for years until he left the business.”

“Really? Why did he leave?” Hayley asked.

“That’s his story to tell. But if there were anyone that deserved this shot at a second chance, it’s my cousin, Evan.”

“I agree.” Tucker said.

“I’m going to go. He’s up next.” Michael said. “Tucker, you missed some pretty good prospects

for Rounders earlier. Evan destroyed them. ”

“How good was he?” Tucker asked.

“It’s as if he never left the cage. No rust on him.” Michael beamed

“ You serious?” Tucker said with his eyebrows raised.

“Our boy took out the last one with a superkick so perfect that the guy was out cold. You would

have been proud. ”

Tucker let out a huge laugh. “That’s my boy. Evan was one of my best students. He was a

prodigy. He can talk; his moves were fluid, and the ladies like him.”

“They don’t call him the enigma for nothing. Enjoy the fight.” Michael said as he got up and

left.

“Jesus. What a story!” Hayley said.

“Michael’s a good guy.” Tucker said.

Suddenly, the lights went down in the warehouse. The rowdy crowd that could be heard from the

front of the bar had made their way towards the darkened cage where now a single spotlight shined bright.

A shadowed figure began to walk with the beat of the Apocalyptica song, “Not Strong Enough’’

towards the Octagon. He wore a silk black hooded robe with white trim and matching trunks.

The crowd leapt to his feet as he continued to walk into the Octagon. Hayley was intrigued while she observed the audience’s response to the hooded man. He stood in silence with his head partially down as the music continued to play.

In a deep voice, the announcer made his announcement.

“Good evening. Welcome to tonight’s main event at Hell’s Gate!”

The crowd roared as the figure continued to stand in the center of the cage. His hands, taped in black were crossed in front of him. The single spotlight began to turn into a multi-colored light show as the chorus of the hit song played.