"Who is she?" Mack asked. I didn't answer his question, but my gaze was on her. I looked away when she peeked at me. Mack watched Ava and her friends looking at me.

Her beautiful eyes are now filled with rage and sadness. 'Is she upset that I didn't talk to her?' I glanced at her as she passed by the table. Her friends are behind her. I sighed, knowing I would have to watch her from afar.

"Bro, are you going tell me about that girl? Why was she looking at you like that?" Mack asked, turning around and looking at her...

I don't have to answer him. I watched as she got into the car and looked at me once before the car drove away. I rolled my lower lip into my mouth as memories of the evening hit my mind. Her oval-shaped face glimpsed at me with the same curious eyes that I had seen growing up.

I remember the first time I saw her. The day when Vincent took me home, she was in the living room playing house with Caleb and Axel. I don't remember much of her at the beginning of my stay at their home.

But I know she used to play with the boys as she didn't have any friends at home. I never tried to have a conversation with her but saw her grow up with us. I lived with Vincent and his family for almost five years before I decided to move out of their home.

I got a small apartment for myself. Vincent was supportive and he understood me. His parents never treated me as an outsider. I felt at home when I was with them. Ava was scared of me, I could say that. Knowing she was scared of me, I never disturbed her or made an effort to talk.

I smiled as I remember her spending most of the time in the dining area. She used to do her homework, projects and stick the photographs in her scrapbook on the dining table. Celeb and Axel used to talk with her over there, but as soon as she used to see me, she used to run away.

I never understood why she used to run away or why she was so scared of me. I― I had a crush on her... Pushing the nervousness away, I tried to talk with her but it never worked out. The minute I entered the room, she scooped away and locked herself in another room.

I would be lying if I said I was okay with that. As the years passed, she grew up in a beautiful... Pretty girl with rosy cheeks. As she didn't have friends, she used to spend most of her time in the house.

I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable in my presence or lock herself in her room when I was present. I didn't feel it was right, so most of the time I used to stay out or in the gym. Saving up enough money, I moved out and rented a small apartment.

I haven't seen her in all these years. There were times when I thought of seeing her but I couldn't because we both belonged to two different worlds.

There wasn't a day when I forgot about her. I remember her every day, but as the days passed, I became busy with my life. The life hustle is real and it kept me busy for a long time. The night when I saw Ava among the crowd. I couldn't believe it but as I kept staring at her, I confirmed that it was 'Ava'

I felt everything freeze for a minute before it hit me. I was upset and angry when I saw Ava in that shady place. The people... The things that happen in the darkness. She doesn't belong there and she shouldn't be there in that cruel place.

I looked at Mack who stood up from the chair as he got a phone call. I looked at the pizza on my plate as I thought of Ava. I was not going to ask her about her being in a shady place. She is a grown-up woman but sometimes people tend to end up in a dangerous place because of ignorance.

I don't want her to visit any kind of shady places without knowing how cruel and dangerous they are. She must have thought it cool to be in an abandoned stadium and to watch a couple of illegal matches. She doesn't have any idea of what the men and women would be doing if they liked something that didn't belong to that particular place.

Ava is a bright, colourful and lively flower in the garden. She doesn't know how beautiful and pure she is. And how everyone sees her. The other side of the world is too dark for her.

'You belong to that other side of the world.'

I exhale and look at the sky. All my life, it was dark until Vincent came running into my life and pulled me out of the darkness. He took me into his world. It was hard... It was hard to get habituated to everything. It was too beautiful and comfortable to be true.

From a boy living in the slums to being picked up and raised in a good household. I believe I'm one lucky bastard to be able to have proper food and a room to sleep peacefully in. I'm always grateful to have Vincent in my life.

Without him, I would have been somewhere― Lost. So I decided not to cross my line and didn't want to bring Ava into this dark world of mine. I pushed all the feelings away and moved out of their home. It was hard to make ends meet, but at least I worked for it from an early age and was able to feed myself.

I worked in a local gym for a living. I saw how people are trained and soon Conor, the person who owns the gym, trained me.

He is a great guy. He taught me mixed martial arts. I took my anger out in the boxing ring. He isn't any old man, he is the same age as me but four years older than me. I started going underground fighting. Slowly with time, I became a part of it. That adrenaline rush I get in my veins when I'm in the boxing circle became a big part of my life.

When the opponent punches me, it fuels my anger. I take out all my pent-up anger on them. The anger of being a no-one, the anger of being alone in this cold world, the anger of not having a family, the anger of not knowing my own parents, the anger that my own parents abandoned. Everything that broke me up.

Somewhere, there is a slight pain and itch whenever I see my friends with their families. I never show up to any kind of family functions and events that Axel and Celeb throw. It's heartbreak to see them gather together to celebrate something or the other.

That heartbreak you feel when you realise that there is no one in this world who would worry about you. It doesn't even matter if I die tonight. After all, I'm a no-one.

*

"Are you going to fight him down?" Conner asked. I turned my head towards him and gave him a quick nod before standing up.

"Don't take much time, his breathing is labour. He is nervous."

I didn't reply but observed my opponent. He looked nervous and his eyes were flickering. He doesn't have proper stability on his feet.

If you don't have the proper mind and knowledge about the opponent's move in the ring, you can't do anything. You need to think smartly before you take action in the boxing ring. Act smart with a hard jab or hook.

Use the technique and the fight is yours. I wasn't surprised by the people cheering for me. I'm habituated to it, it doesn't surprise me anymore. If you are a good fighter and know how to fight, you are their favourite. Then someone fights way better than you, then someone becomes their favourite.

That is how everything works out. You don't know when you are someone's favourite or not. It changes with a single snap of your finger. You don't have to keep hopes on the people who cheer for you today because tomorrow they may not. Hope makes you weak when you don't find it the next day.

It's better not to swoop away from the cheering of people. Concentrate on your fight and your mission of the day. Surprise yourself day by day and you see yourself in a better place someday.

*

"Relax your muscles, they are tense," Conner said, touching my back muscles. My lower lip got a cut and my jaw pains a little.

"I think I need to take a break to relax," I said, holding the ice pack close to my jaw where it hurts.

"Hmm, help the juniors. They make me yell all the time. I can't deal with their laziness and arrogance," Conner said, going over to his locker.

"You are leaving?"

"Hmm, got some work to do." He threw the gym keys to me.

"By the way, Mack told me that you were awestruck seeing a girl. Is that true man?" Conner asks amusedly. I roll my eyes and don't tell him anything. I leaned back on the bench, closing my eyes.

"Okay... Okay... Don't tell me anything. Just look after those asswipes for me. They are lazy shits," Conner says, leaving the private room with his bag.

I get comfortable and hold the ice pack closer to my jaw. My body hurts and I feel tiredness taking over my body. Soon I felt my eyes dropping and my head becoming heavy. Not trying to stay awake, I fell asleep.

*

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