“We have plans tonight”. That statement was the kiss of death that my best friend Belle delivered to me this afternoon. Maybe if I had looked up from the case I was summarizing for my boss I would have noticed the worry on her face. Maybe if I wasn't having a mild panic attack from the details and pictures of the domestic violence case in front of me, I would have seen worry. Who was I kidding?! Belle may be my best friend, but she gave no fucks when she thought she was doing me a favor. Which is exactly what she thought she was doing when she dragged me to an MMA fight. 

“Scarlette, it's not that bad. You used to love these fights. Hell, you used to want to go to these events all the time!” Belle yells at me over the crowd going ape shit when one man starts gushing blood from who knows where. The smell of copper is overwhelming my senses. Thankfully my gag reflex is in check. Yuck! 

I look back to Belle. Her eyes and face tell me everything going on in her mind. She really wants me to try to have a good time and embrace the experience. We have been best friends since high school. The students and staff at our high school labeled us the “ass kickers”. Why? Because we were constantly fighting. No, not because we liked hurting people and got off on it, but because we hated people getting bullied. So, we would step in and make sure these bullies understood where their place was, under our feet. I am sure you can understand Belle’s words of encouragement now. She is right, before him I loved watching the fights. I have so much respect for the women and men who get into that octagon and use their brains and brawn to entertain the fans. The conditioning, dedication, and heart these fighters show is nothing short of amazing. 

But now, violence scares me. It reminds me of a time when I couldn't escape the violence. When I realized that there were stronger people out there than myself. He showed me that violence can control. It can make the strongest person you know into the weakest person you couldn't begin to imagine. 

Sighing, I decided to try and enjoy this. Belle isn't being mean, she is trying to get me back to the person I once was. That's what best friends do. "OK. You're right. But did it have to be standing room only?" Seriously, I had beer spilled on my Chuck's, I've been jostled countless times and it's hotter than hell with all the bodies pressed together. I'm all of 5'2! Most people can't even see me unless they are looking down. 

Belle laughs and pulls me in for a hug. Which surprises me. It is a rare occasion when either one of us shows physical affection towards the other. Especially me, I'm as prickly as a cactus. "Sorry. Madden wanted to be here but he had to work. Just keep watching the fights." 

After 3 fights I'm starting to get comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I'm still putting my hands over my eyes and watching through my fingers yelling "oh fuck" and "oh shit" a lot. But still comfortable. Then the lights go out, Avenged Sevenfold’s "Bat Country" comes blaring through the speakers and everyone goes fucking nuts. People are moving towards one direction and I get bumped around like a pinball. Out of self preservation I start moving with the crowd to avoid getting knocked to the ground. 

Then I see him. A man over 6 feet with his head bobbing to the song, walking through the crowd towards the cage. His muscles twitch with every movement. Once he goes through the motions of getting checked and greased, he hops into the cage. The lights go out again (I really wish they would stop doing that) Duckwrth & Shaboozey’s “Start a Riot” pounds through the arena and his opponent walks out. This man looks about the same height but leaner. I’m assuming he is more of a submission guy where the first guy seemed to have a boxer build. When the second guy gets in the ring he is way more eccentric. Taunting the first guy and playing to the crowd. From what I hear from the crowd, these men have an even number of supporters. 

The round starts with both men exploding towards the other. You can hear the clash of their bodies hitting. Both are fighting with their fist and I immediately put my hands over my eyes again when the bigger guy lands a huge fist to the face of the leaner guy. I get pushed from the back, hard, and stumble into the guy in front of me. 

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry.” I say to the guy I crashed into. When he turns around I can see how intoxicated he is. The glazed eyes that sweep lazily down my body is a dead give away. 

“It’s all good,” he says. I can smell the beer on his breath. 

I attempt to step back but he grabs my arm. “Where are you going? You have pretty hair”. He then touches my dark brown hair. I'm frozen, the panic is seeping into my bones. Memories from a long time ago assault my brain. Oh shit. He leans close and smells my hair. “You smell like cotton candy”. This guy is towering over me. It sucks to be as short as me, everyone towers over you. 

 "Scarlett! Scarlett, I'm coming!" I look towards Belle’s voice. She is pushing people to get to me but she is too far away. My breathing speeds up, my heart is beating fast and hard against my chest, my ears are starting to ring. How is this happening? Why is this happening? Do something Scarlett! The guy's hand tightens on my arm, sending a pinching sensation up my bicep, letting me know I am not going anywhere. Then, "No one is going to save you," the guy says with glee. Like a switch, the ringing stops, the surrounding noise fades out and I can feel this inferno inside me. It's like I'm becoming a different person. My body is on some form of autopilot that I was not aware of.  My lip twitches and I say, "Good. That means no one is going to save you from me". 

The heel of my right hand comes up hard under his chin and I hear his teeth crack. He stumbles back but doesn't let go of me, but I have distance between him and I now. I cock back my right elbow and send my whole shoulder into the punch. Sharp pain shoots up my arm and I feel the skin of my knuckles split open. "Hey! Hey, get off her! Mother fucker, let her go!" I hear a guy yelling but he sounds too far away. 

Finally, the guy's grip slips off my arm. I’m looking around frantically for Belle. I see her making headway towards me but now there is a group of people surrounding me, staring at me like I have lost my mind. Everything looks dense, like all these people are a solid wall that I can't get through. Shit. Before I can take a step towards Belle I'm grabbed around the waist and lifted. It feels like a damn anaconda has a hold of me. I squeal, literally squeal. Again, my body takes over. I throw an elbow backwards toward the person grabbing me. More pain shoots through me. "Fuck!" The person roars. But they don't let me go. Big firm hands grab my wrist so they are clasped in front of me near my waist. I look behind me and see the big fighter. What the fuck?! Wasn't he just in the cage? Our eyes clash, his a calm blue, like a waveless ocean and I am sure mine look as crazy as I feel. Before I can drown in the waters of this man's eyes, the drunk dude is back up. "You fucking bitch!" Uh oh, he is pissed and coming right for me. I have no arms to use, so I lift my feet using my abdominal muscles and plant both of them flat against the drunk dude's chest and let out a cry as I use all my strength to push. Well, the drunk guy went down but so were we. Do you know the Fall Out Boy song "Sugar, We’re Going Down"? Yeah, that's all I can think as I start seeing the roof of the arena we are in. 

Big fighter lands with a grunt. His grip loosens on me and I scramble to roll off him. I find myself straddling his hips and looking down at the most beautiful, scary person I've ever laid eyes on. He has a gash above his eyebrow that is leaking blood, one cheek is swollen and is changing colors by the second. But that's not all, this guy looks like someone who just walked out of a magazine (maybe he has). Those ocean eyes and dark eyebrows, his golden tanned skin, all of it has me wrapped up for a minute. Even the fact that we match in characteristics. I look down at my hands that are planted on his very muscular chest (Wow!) and notice the colors blending into each other. My dark brown hair is close to his face and looks like an extension of his own hair. It’s weird that I am noticing these things at this moment. Not the time Scarlett! Then the craziest thing happens, I start laughing like a damn hyena. Seriously, my whole body shaking, tears streaming down my face, type of laughing. The big fighter looks at me with a soft smile and brings his hand to my cheek. The first touch freezes me and my eyes widen, then electricity zings throughout my body, and warmth floods me like the sun. 

I start to push off the big fighter but before I can get my legs under me hands are grabbing me. Fear lances through me and I let out a yelp. I look around to find security guards pulling at me and I start trying to yank myself free. "Scarlett! Let her go, assholes!" Belle is next to me trying to push the men off me but it's the arm I feel around my waist again that ends it all. 

"Let her go guys. Get that mother fucker on the ground who was hurting her. I've got her." The security guards listen and head to the dunk guy who is still laying on the ground. When they lift the drunk guy up, I see the blood dripping from his head. He must have hit his head when I kicked him to the ground. At that moment, the whole situation crashed down on me. My body starts shaking again, my stomach is turning and my legs are jelly. No, no, no, no, no. I start swaying but the big fighter has a hold of me. Belle must see I am on the verge of a full blown panic attack because she gently pulls the big fighter's arm away from my waist and pulls my shoulders into her body. 

“Thanks Mr. Wolf, but I got it from here” Belle let’s the big fighter know. I guess his last name is Wolf. Huh, funny. 

A strange look crosses Mr. Wolf’s face that I can’t understand since my head is all swimmy. Then he looks at me. I have read in books that a person can look through you to your soul, but I have never experienced it myself. Until this moment, I didn't really believe it was possible. But he was doing it. I felt stripped from my flesh when he looked at me, that I had to look away. 

“It’s Kane and I would prefer walking her to the locker room myself. I just threw away a fight to rescue her and she threw an elbow at my head.” Kane is serious but I can hear a smile when he mentioned the elbow. Me on the other hand couldn't help but wince from the reminder. Not because of embarrassment, but because I can still feel the pain in my elbow. Kane gently touches my waist again and I look up. “Is that OK with you Scarlett?” 

I frown. How did he know my name? “Your friend here wouldn't stop yelling it. Her yelling is what caught my attention in the cage” he informs me as if he is reading my mind. Makes sense. I nod my head to let him know I don't care who is around as long as I can sit down and process what just happened.