The Fighter (AU/Punk)
Chapter 14
Liam's POV
I shower and quickly scrub the dried blood off my body. Not my blood. His.
No matter how much I piss Harry off sometimes, he always forgives me. He doesn't have a choice, he knows how valuable I am. I've got a very special set of skills that are priceless to Harry. I throw on a baseball shirt and jeans and slip into some tennis shoes. My phone buzzing in my back pocket distracts me and I can feel the urgency of the call.
"Hello," I say politely, pressing the cool glass to my ear.
"Did you take care of it?" Harry's gruff voice says.
"Yes," I answer vaguely. I don't want to give the details and Harry doesn't want to hear them.
"Meeting today at 2," Harry says bluntly and hangs up the phone without another word.
So he's still a little mad at me.
My stomach grumbles hungrily. Make breakfast or walk to the bakery? Decisions decisions. I grab my wallet and keys and shove then in my pocket before heading downstairs.
"Headed down Liam?" Jessica says, holding the elevator door for me.
"You bet," I say as the doors close resoundingly.
We stand in silence for a moment before Jessica speaks up. "How are things?" She asks and fidgets uncomfortably.
"Pretty good,'' I say and she tucks a strand of dark hair behind her ears.
"That's good," she says softly.
"And yourself?" I ask politely.
"Fine," she mutters and the door dings open on the first floor. She practically leaps off the elevator and heads toward the garage instead of the main entrance.
That was awkward.
I walk outside into the warm air, it's a lovely day. A group across the street catches my eye. One man is laying on the ground, another laying next to him while two other block my view of presumably another person. Must be some gang stuff. But it's the morning for goodness sake! Someone is bound to see them, the police drive by every once and a while. What are these idiots doing?!
I jog across the street and the man crouching on the ground looks up at me, his face paling.
"L-Liam," he stutters. Someone's heard of my reputation I take it. One of the standing guys turns to look at me, his dark skin reddening when he sees me. But he isn't what caught my eye. The person he's blocking, Sage. Her bare stomach glistens with swear and I can see the toned muscles of her stomach. The tight compression pants she wears highlight her thighs and muscular calves. Damn she's in good shape. Her long blonde hair is tied into a tight ponytail and sweat mats the loose strands to her neck and forehead.
Her bright eyes meet mine and I see a sense of urgency in them. The other guy looks at her menacingly. I don't like it. I automatically feel urgency to protect her. I step in front of her but the guy doesn't even seem to register my presence.
"Right hand," Sage whispers only loud enough for me to hear. I glance at the mans right hand. A knife glints in the sunlight. Oh hell no.
I keep my focus on the guy in front of me as he stares at Sage over my shoulder.
"What do we do Liam?" She whispers again. To my surprise, there's no fear in her voice, just a steely resolution.
"I'll get him, you get the other one," I mutter over my shoulder, not taking my eyes off the man.
"Go," she says and I immediately leap into action. I punch him in the face and he stumbles backwards. I grab his right wrist and twist until he drops the knife, crying out in pain. I feel a fist connect with my jaw as he tries to defend himself. Fuck that was a good hit. The sharp sensation hurts but not enough to get me down. I twist his wrist until I hear a satisfying crack and the man screams loudly, falling to the ground.
"Next time I won't go so easy on you," I spit as he clutches his wrist on the ground.
I quickly turn my attention to Sage as she stands over the other guy. She has the knife in her hand and it's got a bit of blood on it. I scan her entire body, checking for injuries. She seems unscathed minus a fading bruise on her side and cheek, but those aren't anything to worry about because they're clearly from a previous fight. For the first time I notice a tattoo of a feather curving down her side. That's interesting, I didn't know she had a tattoo. My mind wanders to where others might be...
Sage turns to face me with wide eyes. "You okay?" She asks and scans me to check for injuries.
"Yeah I'm fine, just a sore jaw is all," I say and my gaze is drawn to her left arm where a dark red line stains her skin. "But you're not," I say and walk quickly over to her. The guy on the ground in front of her groans in pain.
She glances at her arm and her face pales. "Oh jeez."
I grab her arm gently and inspect the wound. It's a vertical cut on the outside of her forearm, starting at her wrist and ending a bit below her elbow. The wound is deep but not fatal, but it is producing a lot of blood. The blood drips onto the sidewalk and Sage stares at the wound with wide eyes and a pale face.
"Come on," I say gently. I pry the knife out of her right hand, the blood on it must be hers. I pull her across the street and into my building. The wound might need stitches. Actually scratch that, it needs stitches. It must hurt like hell but she hasn't even teared up.
"I'm going to need stitches aren't i?" She asks, her voice thin and strained.
"I think so," I admit honestly. The blood is dripping off her arm and all over the floor. I need to put pressure on it now. I rip off my shirt and press it to the wound firmly.
Sage inhales sharply and before I know it she's falling to the ground, her eyes fluttering closed.
"Shit," I mutter and catch her in my arms before she hits the ground. I carry her bridal style to the elevator. Her head rolls limply against my bare chest. I can't put pressure on the wound with her in my arms but the shirt sticks to her arm because of the blood.
I hit the button to my floor with my foot and wait nervously as it rises. I really need her to wake up...
I get off the elevator and shirt her weight to one of my arms so that I can open the door to my apartment. After a moment of struggling I finally get it and set her gently on the couch before pulling out my phone and dialing a number by heart.
I shower and quickly scrub the dried blood off my body. Not my blood. His.
No matter how much I piss Harry off sometimes, he always forgives me. He doesn't have a choice, he knows how valuable I am. I've got a very special set of skills that are priceless to Harry. I throw on a baseball shirt and jeans and slip into some tennis shoes. My phone buzzing in my back pocket distracts me and I can feel the urgency of the call.
"Hello," I say politely, pressing the cool glass to my ear.
"Did you take care of it?" Harry's gruff voice says.
"Yes," I answer vaguely. I don't want to give the details and Harry doesn't want to hear them.
"Meeting today at 2," Harry says bluntly and hangs up the phone without another word.
So he's still a little mad at me.
My stomach grumbles hungrily. Make breakfast or walk to the bakery? Decisions decisions. I grab my wallet and keys and shove then in my pocket before heading downstairs.
"Headed down Liam?" Jessica says, holding the elevator door for me.
"You bet," I say as the doors close resoundingly.
We stand in silence for a moment before Jessica speaks up. "How are things?" She asks and fidgets uncomfortably.
"Pretty good,'' I say and she tucks a strand of dark hair behind her ears.
"That's good," she says softly.
"And yourself?" I ask politely.
"Fine," she mutters and the door dings open on the first floor. She practically leaps off the elevator and heads toward the garage instead of the main entrance.
That was awkward.
I walk outside into the warm air, it's a lovely day. A group across the street catches my eye. One man is laying on the ground, another laying next to him while two other block my view of presumably another person. Must be some gang stuff. But it's the morning for goodness sake! Someone is bound to see them, the police drive by every once and a while. What are these idiots doing?!
I jog across the street and the man crouching on the ground looks up at me, his face paling.
"L-Liam," he stutters. Someone's heard of my reputation I take it. One of the standing guys turns to look at me, his dark skin reddening when he sees me. But he isn't what caught my eye. The person he's blocking, Sage. Her bare stomach glistens with swear and I can see the toned muscles of her stomach. The tight compression pants she wears highlight her thighs and muscular calves. Damn she's in good shape. Her long blonde hair is tied into a tight ponytail and sweat mats the loose strands to her neck and forehead.
Her bright eyes meet mine and I see a sense of urgency in them. The other guy looks at her menacingly. I don't like it. I automatically feel urgency to protect her. I step in front of her but the guy doesn't even seem to register my presence.
"Right hand," Sage whispers only loud enough for me to hear. I glance at the mans right hand. A knife glints in the sunlight. Oh hell no.
I keep my focus on the guy in front of me as he stares at Sage over my shoulder.
"What do we do Liam?" She whispers again. To my surprise, there's no fear in her voice, just a steely resolution.
"I'll get him, you get the other one," I mutter over my shoulder, not taking my eyes off the man.
"Go," she says and I immediately leap into action. I punch him in the face and he stumbles backwards. I grab his right wrist and twist until he drops the knife, crying out in pain. I feel a fist connect with my jaw as he tries to defend himself. Fuck that was a good hit. The sharp sensation hurts but not enough to get me down. I twist his wrist until I hear a satisfying crack and the man screams loudly, falling to the ground.
"Next time I won't go so easy on you," I spit as he clutches his wrist on the ground.
I quickly turn my attention to Sage as she stands over the other guy. She has the knife in her hand and it's got a bit of blood on it. I scan her entire body, checking for injuries. She seems unscathed minus a fading bruise on her side and cheek, but those aren't anything to worry about because they're clearly from a previous fight. For the first time I notice a tattoo of a feather curving down her side. That's interesting, I didn't know she had a tattoo. My mind wanders to where others might be...
Sage turns to face me with wide eyes. "You okay?" She asks and scans me to check for injuries.
"Yeah I'm fine, just a sore jaw is all," I say and my gaze is drawn to her left arm where a dark red line stains her skin. "But you're not," I say and walk quickly over to her. The guy on the ground in front of her groans in pain.
She glances at her arm and her face pales. "Oh jeez."
I grab her arm gently and inspect the wound. It's a vertical cut on the outside of her forearm, starting at her wrist and ending a bit below her elbow. The wound is deep but not fatal, but it is producing a lot of blood. The blood drips onto the sidewalk and Sage stares at the wound with wide eyes and a pale face.
"Come on," I say gently. I pry the knife out of her right hand, the blood on it must be hers. I pull her across the street and into my building. The wound might need stitches. Actually scratch that, it needs stitches. It must hurt like hell but she hasn't even teared up.
"I'm going to need stitches aren't i?" She asks, her voice thin and strained.
"I think so," I admit honestly. The blood is dripping off her arm and all over the floor. I need to put pressure on it now. I rip off my shirt and press it to the wound firmly.
Sage inhales sharply and before I know it she's falling to the ground, her eyes fluttering closed.
"Shit," I mutter and catch her in my arms before she hits the ground. I carry her bridal style to the elevator. Her head rolls limply against my bare chest. I can't put pressure on the wound with her in my arms but the shirt sticks to her arm because of the blood.
I hit the button to my floor with my foot and wait nervously as it rises. I really need her to wake up...
I get off the elevator and shirt her weight to one of my arms so that I can open the door to my apartment. After a moment of struggling I finally get it and set her gently on the couch before pulling out my phone and dialing a number by heart.
I guess you won't update any time soon, or at all.. am I right? I just want to say that it's an amazing and unusual story and it definitely deserves a proper ending.. but I understand that you are busy.. it's a shame, though..
4/12/15