Chapter 3

                                    

                                          


                          
The rest of my week went by quickly, my mother didn't try anything after the burning incident but I was still cautious about it. Mrs. Addington would be babysitting my siblings tonight as I had to go work and tomorrow when I was going to the party. 
                          
Mrs. Addington was a woman around her sixties who loved kids, I met her while shopping when she offered to look after them while I didn't have time. They've been going to her house now a little over a year, mrs. Addington was one of the only people who knew about my situation at home.
                          
Right now I was in my car driving my siblings to her house. I parked my car right in front of her house, and got out. I picked up Elija who started blabbing to me as the twins took their bags and rang the doorbell.
                          
"Hi mrs. Addington!" the twins squealed when she opened the door. She laughed as she gave them a big hug. "Oh, please. Like I said a hundred times before, call me Carol." she let the twins in and then turned to me.
                          
"Thank you so much for taking them, mrs. Addington." I said as I handed her Elija. "No problem dear, I enjoy this as much as they do." she winked at me. "And like I said to the twins, it's Carol." she added.
                          
"Well, I have to go. It shouldn't be too late, call me if there are any problems. Thank you again!" I said. Carol waved me goodbye and got inside as I drove off. The ride to work was about a good 20 minutes. I drove to a more deserted part of town. I parked my car in an underground parking lot and walked to the elevator.
                          
I pushed the button for the second floor as the doors of the elevator slowly closed. Once they opened again and I was face to face with two men in tight business suits.
                          
"ID please." one of the men said without looking. I held my ID up and he nodded. The two men moved aside so I could pass. I went straight to the main office, I knocked about 3 times before entering. 
                          
"Hey, mrs. G. Who am I fighting tonight?" I asked the strict looking lady behind her desk. "Alexa! Good to see you again." she grinned at me. "Please, just Lexa. So who's the lucky victim?" I asked with a smirk on my face. She took out an envelope and pulled a picture out. "His name is Rocco. Known as one of the better fighters, but not the best." she said, winking at me. "How much?" I asked curtly. 
                          
"7.000" I nodded. Most of the time I got about 5.000. I know illegal fighting is dangerous and not to forget illegal but I really needed the money to pay for everything, and this was my best option. "Let's do it."
                          
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The fight was about to start and the presenter got in the ring. "Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the dark arena, today we have two strong fighters. Let's start with our star guest tonight; ROCCO!" the crowd cheered as Rocco stepped into the ring and cracked his knuckles. "And second, the lady who wears her blood like a trophy; RAVEN!" the crowd went wild as I stepped into the ring with a big smirk on my face.
                          
We got into positions as the presenter explained briefly about the fight. My eyes scanned over Rocco's body searching for any weaknesses. I found a light bruise just above his ribs, bingo. The bell rang signaling the start of the fight. We circled each other for a couple of seconds before Rocco went for the punch, I dodged it quickly punching him in the gut. Rocco let out a huff before turning around and punching me right in the face.
                          
I tasted a metal liquid in my mouth realising it was blood, but I didn't flinch. I just grinned before punching him in the ribs, where the bruise was slightly visible. I kicked him in the knee and he fell down on his knees. I tried punching him again but he punched my knee,causing me to fall down as well. He sat on top of me and punched me hard. I turned us around again so I was on top of him.
                          
I gave him a few good punches, I even heard my fingers crack, before he gave up.
                          
I stuck my hand in the air, happy with my victory before getting off him. I breathed heavily as the presenter walked over to me and held my hand in the air, signaling I won. I looked around in the crowd meeting some mysterious brown eyes. I blinked for a second and when I looked back up, the eyes were gone.
                          
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"Your money will be deposited into your account." My boss, mrs. G explained to me. My fingers turned out to be broken, I had a huge bruise on my jaw but I won so that was great.
                          
"Okay, cool. Well I have to go, see you in a few weeks." I said before leaving her office.
                          
I got in the elevator and went to floor -1, where my car was parked. During the ride to Carol's I listened to some music and sang along. I got out of the car and walked over to the front door. It was about eight pm so I just rang the doorbell. Carol opened it and I smiled. "Hi, Carol." 
                          
"What happened to your face?" Carol asked with a shocked expression. "Oh, errr. I fell down the stairs at work." I lied.
                          
Carol looked at me with an are-you-serious expression before letting me in. "I might be old, but I'm not stupid. Let's get you cleaned up." She took out a first aid kid and wrapped my knuckles in some bandages.
                          
"The girls were sweet, as always. We played some games, made some drawings and watched a movie. They ate dinner with some dessert as well. Elija played and ate a bit as well before falling asleep." she told me while taking care of the bruise on my cheek.
                          
"Thank you so much. For everything." We went downstairs and saw the twins watching television, with Elija asleep in between them. I gathered all their things and cleaned up the toys.
                          
"Come on girls, it's time to go home." I told the girls as I picked Elija up. They each gave Carol a big hug and I thanked her one last time before we left.
                          
Once we arrived home I put the girls in bed and readed them one last story. Elija was asleep in his crib when I went to bed. I fell asleep pretty quickly but those mysterious eyes kept reappearing in my dreams.