My favorite thing about these fights is that everyone who steps into the ring is here for a purpose. Frustration they need to take out. Money they need to win. A reputation they need to uphold. It’s always something that brings them here, and no one says a damn word.
“You ready?” Zayn hands me my water bottle as I swing under the rope and inside the ring.
I smirk. “Aren’t I always?”
2
DELANEY
All’s fair in love and war, or at least that’s what they say anyway. Personally, I wouldn’t know anything about that. I’m probably the only seventeen-year-old left in this town who hasn’t had a boyfriend, let alone lost their virginity. It’s not that I’m trying to avoid boys, or unsure of my sexuality, for that matter. I’ve just never found someone who makes it hard for me to focus on anything else. Because that’s how it should be, isn’t it?
Maybe I’ve read too many romance novels and have a false expectation for the reality of dating. I mean, for the sake of being honest, it’s not like the over-the-top declarations of love actually happen—except for in my best friend Savannah’s case. Her boyfriend, Grayson, really messed up before realizing his mistakes, and she made him grovel for his redemption .
Unfortunately, I’m not nearly as confident as she is. Somehow, while sharing a womb with my twin sister, Tessa, I ended up with all the angelic qualities like book-smarts and a moral compass. Tess, on the other hand, got the better personality. She’s outgoing, spontaneous, and absolutely wild. There are times that I wish I could be more like her… until she comes home in the middle of the night sporting a massive hickey, and I have to listen to our father scream at her until sunrise. Let’s just say he isn’t the biggest fan of her current boyfriend.
I’ve always been destined to be the innocent one. The one who never gets into any trouble. To say I’ve lived up to that expectation would be an understatement. I’m in the running for valedictorian. I get perfect grades. I’ve already been accepted to four different Ivy League universities. Anyone looking at my life from the outside would probably say it’s perfect, but they’d be wrong. Sometimes, I’m just itching to get out of my own skin. To be able to let loose for once. To not care what I’m doing wrong or how I could be doing better.
Writing poetry has become a secret hobby of mine—a way to let out all my pent-up emotions without doing something I may regret. I keep all my thoughts inside a leather journal, hidden away from the world. For my eyes only. Despite how much I trust my sister and my best friend, I don’t think they’d ever understand this feeling.
My bedroom door flies open, and Tessa comes in without a care in the world for my privacy. She throws herself down onto my bed and sighs.
“What if I was naked or something?” I ask.
She chuckles and rolls her eyes. “We’re twins, idiot. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“Fraternal twins, and that’s not how that works.”
Flipping over onto her stomach, she ignores my comment completely. “What are the plans for our birthday?”
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, like, are we being forced to go to some swanky restaurant for family dinner? Are Mom and Dad throwing us a party with all their friends and none of our own? What are the plans?”
“They haven’t told you?” She shakes her head. “We’re celebrating our birthday with them a week early. Apparently, Ainsley is getting an award for something, so Mom and Dad will be visiting her in Rhode Island.”
Tessa lights up like a firecracker. “Halle-fucking-lujah! Anal-beads turned out good for something after all!”
I can’t help but giggle at the nickname. “She will be livid if she finds out you call her that.”
“Don’t care.” She shrugs.
Our older sister Ainsley is the golden child of our family. One would think that would be me, but for some reason, no one can hold a candle to Daddy’s precious first born. She graduated first in her class a few years ago and earned herself a full scholarship to Brown University. The day she left was one of the best days of my and Tessa’s life. I love my sister, don’t get me wrong, but she tends to act less like a sibling and more like a parent—and that can get irritating.
“Okay, so, let me get this straight. We’re going to be turning eighteen, with this big-ass house all to ourselves?” The devious look on her face already has me on high alert.
“Tess,” I warn.
Her smile grows until she’s full on beaming at me. “We’re so throwing a party!” I go to protest, but she jumps up to cover my mouth with her hand. “Don’t say it! Come on, just live a little. Please. We are only going to turn eighteen once. And besides, do you really want to be the only freshman at college who hasn’t been to a party?”
I lick her hand, making her grimace and pull it away. “I have been to parties.”
“Oh yeah? When?”
“I go with Savannah to Jace London’s all the time.”
Tess scoffs. “Please. Those aren’t parties. They’re rich people get-togethers at best. I’m talking an actual, balls to the wall, no law left unbroken, rage until the sun comes up kind of party.”
Eyeing her carefully, I start to nod. “So, you’re looking to get our house burned down. Got it. Why didn’t you say so?”
“Ugh,” she groans. “You’re such a buzz kill. At least try coming to one before you completely rule it out.”
“I’ll pass.”
The idea of going to one of her boyfriend’s public-school parties makes me even more nauseous than the first time Savannah forced me to go to Jace’s. Tessa, however, doesn’t seem to be taking no for an answer. She juts out her bottom lip and pouts.
“This is why they call you Saint Delaney.”
Laughter bubbles out of my mouth. “No, it isn’t. Carter only calls me that because I won’t sleep with him.”
She throws her head back in frustration. “Laney, come on. Please? Just come to one. If you’re still completely against a raging birthday bash, I’ll consider throwing it somewhere else.”
“That sounds really assuring.” She doesn’t say anything—just gives me puppy dog eyes. “Ugh, fine,” I cave, and she starts to cheer. “But just one. If I don’t like it after an hour, I’m leaving.”
“Make it two and you have a deal.”
The counter offer is so typical of her. I roll my eyes. “Two it is.”
WALKING THROUGH THE HALLWAYS of the school I’ve spent the last four years at is bittersweet. On one hand, I can’t believe we’re graduating in only six short months. I don’t know what I’m going to do without this place. On the other, however, I can’t wait to get out of here. As people walk by, ignoring me like I’m invisible, it does nothing but remind me of the truth—I let high school slip through my fingers.
“Laney, there you are. Thank God,” Savannah, my best friend, says in relief. “Maybe you can talk some sense into Grayson.”