Karmin, Maddox, and Rhys sat in the car of the parking lot of a McDonalds, munching away on their burgers and French fries.

She leaned against the backseat, shoving food in her mouth and trying to ignore the painful throbs in her body. It hurt to chew, but she was starving, so Karmin would take the pain as it came.

French fries weren't the best pain reliever, but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep trying.

Her eyes felt heavy, and the night sky made her want to fall asleep, but the headlights of passing cars and the loud chatter of groups of people were making it difficult. She couldn't wait to pass out on the spare mattress in Viola's room, but Karmin was sure that she was going to have several questions about her state right now.

Karmin tried not thinking about the fight, Nadeem, or the fear she felt because she knew she would burst into a fit of tears. Instead, readjusted in her seat as she sat up taller. The last thing she wanted to do was choke on her food. She had just survived a bone-crushing giant in the fighting ring, so death-by-burger would be a sad and embarrassing way to go. However, the movement sent waves of pain through her abdomen, causing her to groan.

Maddox swiveled his head, glancing at her. His eyes were questioning, along with concerned.

"Everything hurts," she winced, chewing her burger sadly.

Rhys turned around in his seat and said, "At least you don't have a massive indent in your head."

"I was pretty close, though," Karmin muttered.

"Yeah," Maddox agreed, not even trying to make her feel better.

"Gee, thanks," she retorted sarcastically, as she gripped her side that hurt every time she moved.

Rhys smacked him in the shoulder, talking to him through dramatic facial expressions and wide eyes. "I apologize on the behalf of my idiot best friend. He's not very good at talking to girls, especially beautiful ones such as yourself."

"What I meant was..." Maddox stuttered, a sheepish look on his face as he glanced back, "I didn't lose faith in you at all."

Karmin scoffed. "I think I did amazing, alright. You got lucky. Joseph was basically the same size as you," she remarked bitterly. She was proud of herself. "I'd like to see you fight Nadeem."

Maddox was quiet, but she could hear the stifled laughs from Rhys as his body moved in sporadic movements. "He had," he choked out, "and he got his ass beat."

Oh, really? Karmin smirked, her ego inflating when she heard those words. Her self-pride skyrocketed, and she couldn't wipe that smug grin off her face.

"That's not true," Maddox grumbled annoyedly. "I almost had him."

Rhys abruptly turned around in his seat, clutching the leather seats tightly. "I think I might have a video somewhere. I'll text it to you," he exclaimed excitedly.

A video of Maddox getting beat up? Yes, please.

"How the hell did you get a video? You're not allowed to record or take pictures," Maddox said dumbfounded.

Rhys shrugged. "I have my ways."

Maddox glared at him, shaking his head in disbelief. The three of them fell into a comfortable silence, but with the quiet, the pain doubled, and scary thoughts crept into her head. She needed to get her mind off the aching in her body and that was when she recalled the fight between Maddox and Joseph. "Hey, are you and Joseph friends or something?" she asked.

Maddox nodded. "I met him a couple of months ago when I first started."

"How is he doing after you know, you knocked him out?"

"Jo's fine, just stubborn. He refuses to tap out," he replied.

"Did you know our buddy here," Rhys said, pointing at Maddox with his thumb, "gives Jo a portion of his winning?"

Karmin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"

"Shut up, dude," Maddox mumbled embarrassedly as he played with his meal.

Rhys ignored him and continued, shooting a grin his way. "He does. He's a giver," he remarked teasingly.

"Okay..." faltered Karmin, giving Rhys a weird look.

Maddox shoved a laughing Rhys, and from the little light at the front, she could see red dusting his cheeks. "Jo runs a bookstore," he explained, "and he needs the money, so when I win, I just give him some. He offers me free books in return."

"That's sweet of you," she complimented. Karmin realized how little she knew about him. He was always surprising her.

He shrugged, focusing on the car that had just pulled into the drive-thru.

"How did you even start fighting in the first place?" Karmin asked, attempting to get some insight on him. So far, all she knew about Maddox was that he was quiet, enjoyed reading, and was one hell of a fighter.

"Rhys's uncle," he replied shortly.

"He's a driver for Judas and was able to get Maddox in," Rhys disclosed further.

She wanted to ask why he was fighting in the first place, but it wasn't her place. Although, he did know about her situation, but he probably wouldn't tell her. Her thoughts on him were interrupted when Maddox and Rhys began to fight in the front.

"Stop stealing my chicken nuggets," Maddox complained, shielding the box with his body.

"But I want some," Rhys pouted, reaching out for the food. "I already ate mine."

"Not my fault," he shrugged, making a show of biting his chicken nugget.

Rhys slumped back in his seat for a moment but suddenly lunged for the chicken nuggets. Maddox jolted in surprise, not expecting the attack. However, when he abruptly moved the box, they scattered, falling onto his lap and the floor of the car.

"Rhys, what the hell, man?" Maddox said, staring at him astounded.

Karmin's eyes flickered between the two of them. Maddox was shaking his head in disappointment while Rhys gave him a guilty smile, helping him pick up the fallen nuggets. If it was her, she would've been debating between a deathmatch or crying over the dishonored food.

"Five-second rule?" Rhys offered abashedly.

"No."

He sighed, lowering his head in defeat and opening the car door. "I'll go get some more," he sulked, but before he left, Rhys quickly looked back with another sheepish expression on his face. "I don't have any money on me."

"Why am I friends with you?" muttered Maddox as he passed him a ten-dollar bill.

"Because you love me," Rhys hollered, taking the money happily and closing the door to walk to the front door only to turn around and blow Maddox a kiss.

He rolled his eyes in return, but gently shook his head, a smile threatening to appear on his face. "Idiot," he murmured.

Karmin smiled softly at their sweet friendship. She had definitely misjudged Rhys, and Maddox was different around him. He was a lot more comfortable. He wasn't very open around her, but she hoped she could change that.

Like now, Maddox didn't say anything except for fiddling with the radio knob. The quiet was soothing at first, but then those thoughts came barreling in, and it quickly shifted to suffocating.

She was so scared. Karmin had never been in a position like that before. During her martial arts and self-defense classes, there were always rules and people who would look after her. But with this fight club, no one cared about her safety. The pain was excruciating, and she didn't know if she could keep this up longer.

But this was only her second fight. There were so many to go.

Without Maddox and his advice, she didn't know what would have happened, and that terrified her. Karmin hated relying on people, and knowing him, he wasn't going to stick around long. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried distracting herself as she counted the cars that passed by on the bustling streets, but not crying made it hurt.

Karmin didn't even realize when the tears started falling down her cheeks. She sniffled, wiping them away, the salty liquid stinging her open cuts.

"Um, are you okay?" Maddox asked awkwardly.

She opened her mouth to reply, but instead, more tears fell to the point where she couldn't control them anymore. "I was so scared," Karmin cried, putting her face in her hands.

"Where the fuck is Rhys?" he asked himself. He didn't know what to do. Maddox had never been in this position before. He patted her head lightly, stiffly saying, "Don't cry."

Karmin looked at him through glossy eyes in disbelief. So, fighting in the ring didn't scare him, but crying girls did?

"Please don't cry. I don't know what to do," Maddox said desperately. "I'm sorry, was it something I said? Do you want ice cream? I can go get some."

"No," she replied through the tears, her voice gruff. She used the sleeve of her hoodie to rub her eyes, the tears staining the material.

"Um...," he faltered, shuffling through the car and glove compartment. "Do you want to listen to some Taylor Swift? That's what my sisters do when they're sad," Maddox suggested.

Karmin shook her head, sniffling. If this was any other time, she would've been surprised to know he had sisters, but right now with the tears barreling down her face, she couldn't think about anything else except for the sheer terror she had felt just a mere hour ago.

Maddox glanced around him hopelessly, not having any other idea, to see Rhys merrily walked back to the car.

When Rhys opened the door and situated himself inside, his eyes caught Maddox who had a pure look of desperation on his face and a teary-eyed Karmin. "What the fuck, I left for one second, and you made her cry?"

"I didn't do anything," Maddox exclaimed in defense, ripping the McDonalds bag from Rhys's hands. He shuffled through it and pulled out a box, the aroma of greasy food flooding the car. He opened it quickly, holding it towards Karmin and awkwardly smiled.

"Chicken nugget?"

***

Author's Note:

Hi everyone!

So, this was a chiller chapter compared to the previous one! This chapter gave you all more insight in Maddox and Rhys's friendship which I hope you enjoyed.

I'm also slowly starting to reveal more and more of Maddox and his personality, and who he really is.

Also, I just noticed that a lot of my chapter titles consist of some sort of food, and it's funny since there probably will be more lol.

Until next time – m.k.t