Beautiful Fiend: Chapter 36

She’s indestructible. Billie’s been going at it for two rounds and the bell just rang, signaling the beginning of the third and final round. She was crying when she came out, and I wanted to get up there and take her in my arms. To tell her that everything is going to be okay as long as we’re together. Only I couldn’t, so I watched Dickie ask her a few questions and her shake her head before starting the fight of her life. She didn’t touch the other girl’s gloves. Billie isn’t nice in the cage. She’s a destroyer.

I’ve watched every single one of Billie’s fights in the last two months. Followthefight has become my most-watched channel on YouTube. That guy has got it bad for Billie, too, since he’s always at her fights and supporting her. He’s here tonight as well. I can see him filming from just in front of the cage.

I’m further back because I don’t want her to see my face and get distracted. This is everything to her, and I won’t ruin it.

I know her fighting techniques now, and she usually bets everything on her small height and speed. She can punch someone’s lights out in less time than it takes them to realize she started moving. And she’s good at avoiding hits.

Fuck, Killer Clover doesn’t get her name out of nowhere. It’s been hard for Billie to avoid her destroying kicks. My girl can’t afford to kick her in the face since she’s too short, but she’s kneed her in the stomach enough times that Clover is forced to take a few steps back, hunched over. Billie doesn’t give her time to breathe though, seizing the occasion to punch her right in the face. Her hook is deadly, with a precision like I’ve never seen. We’re all used to underground fights on the North Shore. Nothing with rules or skills.

Billie is proof that it’s nothing to be a tough girl when it comes to making a career out of her passion. It’s all about practice and performance.

The crowd starts to cheer Billie’s name as she hits Clover with punch after punch. The reigning champion of this small-town competition is getting a run for her money.

Clover falls to the floor, and everyone goes crazy. Although as soon as Billie tries to straddle her and put her in a weak position, she rolls away and kicks her in the face. Wincing, Billie falls to the floor as well, making the whole crowd gasp.

“Fuck.” I can’t help but get a bit closer. Billie’s floor fighting isn’t as good. I remember her telling me she didn’t enjoy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training as much as Western Boxing. Mainly since she wasn’t as good at it. She explained she was too light and easy to manhandle once she wasn’t standing on her feet.

As soon as she hits the floor, Killer Clover gets her in a chokehold with her legs. Stuck between her thighs, Billie is in a compromising position. This could be the end. MMA fights have finished quickly that way, people tapping out to avoid losing consciousness.

But this means the world to her, and the fight isn’t done. Billie hits Clover repeatedly in the ribs and wherever she can reach.

A raging war cry escapes her as Billie rains punches on her opponent, her need to keep on living taking over.

I scream at the top of my lungs when Clover can’t take the punches anymore and is forced to let her go. “Yes! That’s my fucking girl!” I don’t even notice I’m telling lies as I roar into the crowd.

People are shouting; everyone is getting excited. I’m too focused on the fact that the two girls are now back to standing positions, catching their breaths, to notice I’ve made my way to the front. They exchange more punches, getting closer and closer to where I’m standing. People are screaming ‘unbeatable Billie’ so loudly. I wonder if she can hear them. She looks too focused to hear anything.

She’s crying as she keeps hitting Clover, but I don’t think she realizes. There’s rage in her eyes, and it appears like she can’t feel the pain despite her bleeding eyebrow and swollen cheek. Her face is the epitome of confidence, her body moving with accuracy. Her braided hair flies every time she moves too quickly for Clover to follow.

Billie takes a step back, avoiding a punch, her speed still incredible even though she must be exhausted. Killer Clover is getting slow and tired. Her hits are growing more sluggish.

Billie moves to the side, avoiding another punch, and hits Clover right in the nose. The latter falls against the grill of the cage right in front of me. I scream for her to keep going and her eyes flick to me, as if my voice was the only one she could hear amongst the countless others.

Her eyes widen, and I shake my head.

“Don’t lose your focus!” I shout. “End her, little bee. Fucking. End. Her.”

A small smile pulls at her lips, her eyes not leaving mine as her arm pulls back. We lose eye contact as she looks at her target for a split second. Her punch is swift, confident, unstoppable.

She hits her right in the chin with her fist, followed straight away by a deadly hit with her elbow. A general hiss takes over the room as Killer Clover’s jaw clicks to the side and she falls to the floor unconscious.

Billie takes a step back, jumping on her feet with her guard up. She doesn’t see the way we all hold our breath. She doesn’t realize or understand Clover is down, and doesn’t sense the beat of silence. It hasn’t hit her yet.

The ref is on Clover, and the next second he’s standing up again, waving his arms to announce the end of the fight.

The crowd erupts into screams. Yelling for unbeatable Billie. Dickie is in the ring the next second.

Billie doesn’t move, her mouth hanging low, her arms falling by her sides. She can’t believe it, and I fucking love her for it.

They’re so close to me that I hear everything when she stumbles back. “W-what?”

“You won, kiddo,” Dickie yells at her. “You fucking did it!”

Her knees buckle, and her trainer catches her. Her gloved hands come to her face, hiding herself as she starts crying. She lowers them only for her gaze to return to mine, and I smile widely at her.

“You did it, little bee,” I say just before beginning to move away from her. I know she doesn’t want me here. She wants me to let her go.

I wanted to see if what I did was for something. If she would finally win the fight that would get her out of here. She did it, and the best thing I can do now is to let her live the life she’s always deserved. Away from the North Shore.

So I let the crowd engulf me and disappear from her life forever.

I owe her at least that.