I stalk through the halls beneath Sean's bar into the changing rooms, as soon as I enter I feel all eyes on me. Great. Without paying attention to anyone I walk over to a bench and start changing for the upcoming fight. As I'm doing my wraps I see a pair of footsteps enter my field of vision, I don't even need to look up to know it's Dean. I continue wrapping the old black cloth around my wrists not interested in entertaining him. Can't you fuck off already? He coughs as if to draw my attention, but once again, I pay him no mind as I stand up and walk past him not even looking at him as I grumble.

'Piss off Dean. If you want to spread more baseless rumors, be my guest, but don't bother me with them.'

I hear him growl in frustration behind me as I head out. I walk to one of the speedballs in the gym to warm up, I put in my earplugs and put on some music before I start punching. *Thud, thud thud.* I focus on controlling my breathing, Dean's mere presence is enough to get me riled up and I don't need that right now. I need to focus, goddammit. *Thud, thud thud!* I roll my shoulders in order to relax more and continue my assault on the speedball at a rapid pace. *Thud, thud,   slam!* Within a few minutes, I find my rhythm balancing between my feet. *Thud, thud thud!* My mind drifts back to my conversation with Kizzy earlier today. If you could call it a conversation... *Thud, thud,   slam!* She tried for hours to get me to speak about what is going on with Luca. I didn't say a word, but quite honestly I didn't know what to tell her. What is going on between us? *Thud, slam slam!* Kizzy nearly got a heart attack when she opened the door that night and Luca was standing there to return the bag I'd forgotten at his house earlier. Ever since she's been asking me questions trying to pry some answers out of me. *Thud, slam slam!* My mind has been a fucking mess since I met Luca. But ever since that dinner, it's gotten even worse. So much happened in a few hours time and I'm still trying to process through it all. *Slam, pow pow!* He has a knack for getting things out of me against my will. First our conversation in the garden and later the one upstairs... *Pow, pow pow!* The words he told me back then are still clearly in my mind. "I am serious about getting to know you and I know that if I want to earn your trust I need to be honest as well, so I'm doing just that." I snort. What a whole lot of bull! *Pow, p-pow!* He says one thing and does the exact opposite. *Pow, p-pow!* "Since when do we discuss business when there are outsiders here?" His words are contradicting his actions, not that I wanted to know the business side of the Whitfields in the first place. *Slam, pow pow!* But there was something else why he snapped like that, I saw it in his eyes. *Pow, p-pow!* I don't care. I tell myself. Even if he got on his knees to apologize, or that he pulled a gun on his dad in order to defend me... *Pow~* My hand slips from the speedball and my fist scrapes against the wall as I lose my balance.

'Fuck!'

I swear as I shake my hand and get up straight. For fuck's sake! I need to get him out of my mind, he's distracting me way too much! I pull out my earplugs while catching my breath, dropping down on a bench to check in my hand when I notice Mark coming over. He obviously saw what happened just now since the worry on his face is indispensable. I unwrap my left hand and flex my muscles a couple of times. Luckily it's only scraped a little, nothing's sprained or broken.

'It's not like you to miscalculate like that, you alright?'

'It's nothing, I'm just a little distracted.'

'That's also not like you...'

'And what am I like exactly?!'

I snap back at him irritated and he throws his hands in the air in surrender as he says.

'Geez, you know what? Forget I asked.'

'Mark~'

'It doesn't matter Karma. Let's just ...start over, alright?'

Before he gives me the time to react, he turns his back to me for a second. Quickly turning around again giving me a short wave as I drag a hand through my hair.

'Hey, Stone. Good to see you're entering tonight's fight, I'm rooting for you. I'm gonna go warm up. Give me a call if you need anything or if you have some free time on your hands, alright?'

He smiles softly, although I can't help but notice the defeat in his eyes because I'm not willing to confide in him. It's better this way. He waves at me again and walks away without another word. Great, now he's upset with me too. I sigh softly and grab a little jar of petroleum jelly out of my bag. I rub some of it on my scraped hand before wrapping it back up again. Can this day get any worse? I grumble walking back over to one of the punching bags, my mind still drifting all over the place as I continue my warm-up until the fights start. *Thud, thud thud.* Trying to find my focus and deleting everything else that's going on in my mind I continue slamming my fists into the punching bag in several combinations. *Thud thud,   slam!*

***

With heavy breaths I continue to follow my opponent's movements, her body shakes and one of her eyes start to twitch from the pain. She's hurting from the damage I've inflicted so far, she's starting to lose her focus. An uncontrolled swing comes directed at me but I dodge it easily. I duck down and turn once she's flying past me, landing a painful blow in her ribs. *Pow!* She staggers as I turn back in her direction, she's nearly done. I think to myself as I grit my teeth. Because of my extensive warm up my hand is giving me more problems than I'm willing to admit. I stretch both of my hands quickly a couple of times, so she doesn't notice my painful one and get back into a fighting stance. Like hell I'd lose, I'm used to far more pain than this.

We walk around each other in silence, following each other's movements cautiously. Come on. I mumble while I'm in an upright stance as she hoovers around me semi-crouched, preventing me from a good opening until the referee rings the bell... *CLINK!* Indicating that the second round is over.

We both head back to opposite corners of the ring and I grab a bottle of water gulping down half of the contents at once. It's the first time in a long time that it takes me longer than two rounds to win and I'm frustrated by it. She's putting up a good fight, I'll give her that. There is a burning sensation in my chest and my breathing is uncontrolled. She's trying to wear me out, I need to finish this, fast. I close my eyes trying to cancel out all of the noise coming from the onlookers around us and take a deep breath trying to steady my ragged breathing. I know why I've been so distracted. During the fight, the only thing I could fucking think about was bloody Luca Whitfield. I can feel his eyes digging holes in my back, I don't even need to look up to know where he's at. His eyes have been following me throughout the entire fight, I just know... I turn around, quickly redoing my wraps as I look over at my opponent. She's in a far worse state than me, gulping in some air as if someone's just choked her. She's bleeding from the corner of her mouth, where I punched her earlier, and spits a mingling of saliva and blood next to her into a tray as her coach barks some instructions in her ear. I stretch out my neck to both sides before heading back to the middle of the ring. If she thinks she is on the winning hand, she's dead wrong. The referee ushers her to come back as well and she walks back slowly, trying very hard not to show she's limping a little on the right side. Even if that damn mafia boy is occupying my bloody mind, you stand no fucking chance. I grumble to myself as one of the ring girls walks by holding a board before the bell rings for the third round to start. *CLINK!* You're mine.

I use a southpaw stance giving her the illusion of an opening for a straight right-handed blow. She picks the bate and comes at me immediately. Wrong move. Within a split second, I hop back to the side a little, and before she even manages to land a blow I heave my left fist into the air making half a loop as I turn my wrist to the outside and slam right into the side of her jaw with an overhand punch. *Slam!* She immediately falls to the ground, her eyes rolling to the back of her head from the instant pain. I would've preferred not to use this punch until the WMC had started because the ones that really paid attention will know I'm two-handed by now, dammit. But what's done is done, I needed to end this fight quickly. She tries to get up for a second and I raise my hands in a fighting stance in case she actually does, but she falls back down immediately. Knocked out. The bell sounds as proof the fight has ended while the voice of the referee echoes through the venue.

'Knock out! Karma Smokin' Stone WINS! And she has put up yet another mind-blowing fight!'

The crowd goes ecstatic as he lifts my fist in the air. I smile wickedly, still trying to catch my breath as the public continues to cheer for my victory. A grunt beneath my feet makes me look down and I see my opponent has woken up, making me bend down to help her up. A little unsteady on her feet she turns to me and smiles mockingly.

'I thought I had you for a minute.'

'That was your biggest mistake. Because you thought you'd won already, you slipped up and walked right into my trap without thinking.'

'Your right, I was stupid to think I could win from a machine like you.'

I grin at her sideways and tell her in a hushed tone.

'Don't belittle yourself, I am no machine and it's been quite some time since it took me several rounds to win from a woman.'

She smiles through the pain and heads back to the changing rooms. In a few years, she'll be a force to be reckoned with. I shake hands with the referee and I turn to head back as well when I see Luca from the corner of my eye. He's leaning over one of the top balconies with a cheeky smile plastered on his face. Dumb ass. It's your fucking fault it took me this long to win, so don't go standing there with that happy-go-lucky face of yours. I growl to myself as I walk out of the venue and back toward the gym area. I need to up my game.

***

*Pow, pow pow!* It's been hours since the fights ended and I'm still going at it like there is no tomorrow. *Pow, pow pow!* I've been huddled up at the gym practicing several combinations one after the other with little to no breaks at all. *Pow pow,   slam!* All of the others have left already, including Mark. *Thud, thud thud!* I noticed him watching me some time ago, but he didn't interrupt or say anything before leaving, which is probably a good thing. *Pow pow,   slam!* The music coming from the bar downstairs has also died down, so most people must've left there as well. *Pow, p-pow!* I need to get my stamina up. Ever since prison, that's my biggest flaw when I'm in the ring. *Pow, p-pow!* Telling myself that I continue slamming my fists into the punching bag. *Pow,   t-thud!* It's bullshit though... It's true that jail and lack of training have made my stamina go down quite a bit. But that's not the real problem, and you know it. *Pow, thud thud!* 

Sweat is dripping all over my body, while I hop from one foot to the other. *Thud, p-pow!* My breathing ragged but I pay it no mind and continue torturing myself, not in the mood to quit. *Pow, p-pow!* I need to get past this, past him! *P-Pow,   SLAM!* I drive my leg into the punching bag still frustrated with myself. Even after hours, I'm still thinking about it. Goddammit! *Pow pow,    slam!*  I hear the door of the gym click open. Instantly all of the hairs on my body stand on end. Even though I got a hoodie on there's no question in my mind who just walked in. *Pow, thud thud!* Out of breath and not even bothered to turn around I growl in between my punches.

'Fuck off, Luca. *Pow* I'm not *P-Pow!*    ...in the mood!'

*P-Pow,    slam!* I hear the door close again, but even though there is a deathly silence hovering in the room apart from my movements, the hairs on the back of my neck are a clear indication he's still there. *Pow, p-pow!* Just fucking go already! I grumble to myself as I continue at a rapid pace. *Thud, pow pow!* I changed after the fight in a green cropped top, a pair of black sweatpants, my old stained white cloth wraps, and a black hoodie. *Pow,   t-thud!* The hoodie was more of an afterthought so I could train without being distracted by what was happening around me, but at this moment it helps little to bloody nothing. *Pow pow,   slam!* After a few minutes, he finally decides to open his mouth and says.

'Are you ever gonna quit? Or are you going to keep at it until you collapse from exhaustion?'

A growl-like sound escapes my throat along with my jagged breaths. *P-Pow,   slam!* Frustrated I rasp in between hits.

'Probably... *Pow* the *Pow*   ...latter. *Slam!*'

The mere thought of his eyes glued on my back make a whole wave of emotions break loose throughout my system, emotions I'm not able to detangle. *Pow, p-pow!* It feels like my complete system is failing as all my thoughts collapse into one another. *P-Pow, p-pow,    slam!* I increase speed, only in the hope that it'll calm me down somehow. Goddammit, will you just leave?! *T-Thud, p-pow!* Because if you don't, I might just burst! I don't understand anything that's happening to me anymore... *Thud,   pow~*

All strength suddenly leaves my body as Luca's arms wrap around me from the back. His strong muscles holding me tight and all will to fight inside of me instantly dies, my arms dropping down death next to my side. W-What?! I jump in shock, trying to struggle my way out of his grasp while I gasp for air. Shit. Drowned from all of my energy, though I'm not sure whether it's from the fighting or having Luca's arms wrapped around me, I'm struggling to take deep breaths. With my hands leaning on my knees I look up at Luca.

'Talk to me, Karma... You can't go on like this.'

He says as he bends down to my level and takes my left hand in his, carefully examining it. Blood has been soaking through the old white fabric for some time now, the pain is only a numb sting by now so I paid it no mind. Luca, on the other hand, throws me a disapproving look as he cautiously starts to unwrap my bindings. Not having the strength or energy left to fight him anymore, I let him continue his examination of the wounds around my knuckles. Eventually, he mutters slightly annoyed.

'I can tape the cuts after they're cleaned, it doesn't need stitching.'

'I'm used to this, I'll be fine.'

I tell him as I withdraw my hand, to which he grits his teeth looking even more frustrated. He glances up at me and his eyes delve into mine, his gaze strong as if to look into the depths of my soul as he snaps furiously.

'It's not something to be proud of, Karma! Just bloody tell me what's going on and let me help you. You can trust me, goddammit!'

His words bring out another wave of emotions I can't comprehend. This is what I wanted to hear and at the same time, it's everything I didn't want to hear... Because I know I'm gonna crack, I can't hold all of this in anymore... Even though I hate it he's the only one I can, and strangely enough want to, talk to about this. He wants to continue his rant but I cut him short and shout.

'FINE!'

His eyes waver and he straightens up a little, standing right in front of me. He looks at me quizzically waiting for me to say something else.

'Fine I'll talk! But first~'

I mutter while turning towards the closed door, yelling at the top of my lungs.

'Micah, bloody go home will ya! I'm not going to fucking kill him!   ...I think.'

The last part I mutter under my breath so only Luca can hear and he grins a little as he barks to the door while never losing eye contact with me.

'It's fine, Micah. You can go.'

'Call me if you need anything.'

We hear Micah mumble back before he leaves. Without waiting for another second Luca drags me to one of the benches close by and sits me down. He sighs while looking over my hands once more before he says.

'I believe Sean said there should be a first aid kit in the changing rooms, right?'

'Yeah, it's in the first locker on the right.'

'I'll go get it, wait here for a sec...'

He mumbles already turning around, heading for the changing rooms. Within a minute he comes strolling back with the first aid kit, a bottle of water, and a clean towel in hand. He sits down beside me and lays the towel on his leg before he takes my hand, placing it on the towel so he can take a closer look. As he opens the first aid kit and picks up a piece of cotton wool and some disinfectant but I stop him and I say pointing to another bottle.

'Don't mind using some cotton, just pour some of that pure alcohol right on it.'

'It'll hurt like a bitch. You realize that, right?'

He says lifting an eyebrow. I manage to chuckle at the sight of his worried face and usher him to just get along with it. He twists off the cap and holds my hand a little to the side. Clasping my fingers a little he holds my hand in a fairly strange way avoiding the cuts on top while glancing over at me as if to make sure I'm alright with it.

'I'm a badass, it's nothing, believe me.'

I mutter honestly, which only seems to hurt him more as he nods gritting his teeth in the meantime. He quickly pours some of the alcohol along the cuts and I clench my jaw a little at the stinging burning sensation. Luca withdraws the bottle and looks back at me his eyes wavering as he mutters.

'You shouldn't be immune to something like this, I'm sorry.'

It takes a few seconds before I understand what he means by that. The emotion and the pain in his eyes make me freeze like a statue. I've never seen someone look at me like that. It's not pity, it's just raw despair that's visible in his eyes. He's suffering because he knows how much I must've been hurting. The fact that he understands it makes me feel naked and vulnerable in front of him. I'm sure he's hurting somewhere inside too. Sometimes he has this certain look in his eyes, the same one I know I have when I'm remembered of my past. That's why I know. Even though we both don't know the story of the other, we see and know each other's pain. Does that even make sense? Just as I'm about to open my mouth Luca says in a low voice as he dabs the wound dry with the clean ends of the towel.

'You hurt your hand prior to the fight. Still, you won the fight. So why are you making your injury worse by going at it training like a maniac all of a sudden?'

'Mark told you.'

I tell him coldly. Somehow imagining the two of them in the same room irritates me. He lifts an eyebrow and growls under his breath.

'Yes, he came to see me. Not sure if I'm happy about that or not. He asked me if I could make sure you were okay. He said you were acting strangely, but you told him to back off. He saw that you hurt your hand before the fight and was concerned because he saw you training afterward. What is he to you anyway?'

I lift my head slightly confused at the jealous tone lingering in his vocal cords. What Mark is to me? I open my mouth suddenly feeling nervous while I utter not sure what to say myself.

'I've known him for a c-couple of years, we spar sometimes, t-that's about it.'

'He's your ex.'

It doesn't even sound like a question, but nevertheless, I shriek opposed.

'He isn't a fucking ex!'

'But you had sex? Didn't you?'

H-How?! For some reason, I freeze completely. It's true and I'm not ashamed, but... I just don't want to talk to Luca about it. His eyes stare me down for an answer and I stammer trying to avoid his gaze.

'Yes, w-we had sex. I-I'm not a bloody saint! I-It was just a one-time thing, we never were together.'

He snorts biting his lip, obviously not satisfied with my answer. He looks bloody handsome whenever he does that... I grumble to myself looking him over. He's wearing his signature leather jacket with a black shirt that perfectly hugs his abs. A pair of black pants that work well with the pair of boots that seem to be his favorite which resembles my own. His eyes bore a hole in me as I slowly examen him trying to burn the sight in my memory. His messy dark brown hair, it drowns me in every time. It's mesmerizing to me that I'd so much like to slide my fingers through it every time I look at him. His strong jawbone and light stubble, along with the look he's giving me make him look even sexier. Unintentionally I bite my bottom lip as I continue to study his features. Bloody hell, why did they make you so damn ...hot?! I ask myself frustrated, clamping my eyes shut for a moment before I utter.

'I don't know what's happening to me, Luca...'

As I open my eyes again I see him cock his head a little, looking worried as he ushers me to continue. I gulp not sure where to begin, or where I'm even going with this. In the meantime, Luca starts wrapping my hand with some bandage, already done closing the wounds with tape. My body shivers and I close my eyes again at the feeling of his fingertips sliding along my hand, I take a deep breath and start mumbling.

'It always comes down to you.
Ever since that bloody dinner at your house, I can't get you out of my fucking mind. You're opening Pandora's box and it's not a good idea, Luca...'

His fingers stop for a split second, before continuing to wrap the cloth around my hand. I dare not open my eyes, because I know I won't be able to continue if I do.

'You and your family are digging up memories and emotions I'm not sure I'm able to handle. Every time I'm around you my mind gets all jumbled. You're making me experience things and emotions I've never felt before and I don't know how to handle it. I so badly want to trust you, give you all of me and tell you about the hell I've been through ...but I'm deathly afraid it'll destroy me if I do.'

My voice dies down and a tear rolls down my cheek. Shit. I feel Luca's rough fingertip softly wiping away the salty liquid and my body immediately leans into his touch. Even if I'm deathly afraid, I still crave your touch. I lean my face back a little enjoying the contact. I can't believe I just said that all aloud...

'Wanna know what I think?'

He whispers softly, cupping my face and I nod slowly opening my eyes. My breath gets stuck in my throat once my eyes lock with his. Only an inch away from me he smiles as he starts whispering lovingly.

'I think you are the most mesmerizing woman I've ever met.
I don't know what happened to you, what hurt you so badly that you've lost faith altogether. Only thinking about it drives me fucking crazy. It pains me to see you like that and I want nothing more than to erase or at least numb the pain that's hiding inside of you. I don't want you to force yourself to tell me about your past, I want you to do it at your own pace.'

The feeling of his touch on my skin hypnotizes me as he continues in a raspy voice.

'The first time we met you asked me why I was so interested in you and I told you I'd give you an answer once I've figured it out. I have figured it out, Karma. The fact is that I'm madly falling in love with you. I think you're bloody gorgeous even when you're covered in dirt and sweat. I like the fact that every time I see you, you manage to surprise me. I think you're sexy as hell and you're riling me up without even bloody noticing it!'

His declaration makes my eyes start to shake and I feel the heat creep up all the way from my toes to my ears. He's, falling in love    ...with me? I think as my heart starts to beat so loudly I'm afraid he'll hear.

'I don't give a shit about pandora's box, I want to explore a thousand more things with you... So it'd be a very nice thing to do if you wouldn't back out on me.'

I've lowered my gaze for some time now, too ashamed to look him right in the eye. I want nothing more than to throw myself at him, right here and now. I clamp my legs together trying to ignore the pulsing sensation spreading down there. This is a bloody bad idea, Karma! At a loss for words, I'm unable to say anything as I feel his gaze on my lips while his fingers are still softly caressing the line of my jaw. You'll regret this! I try telling myself, but the need for him to continue exploring me is taking over and I clamp my eyes even tighter together when his fingers travel from my jaw to my neck. Shit, I'm done for... I think as I throw away what's left of my sanity and give into temptation. This is your goddamn fault, Luca Whitfield! I swear silently as I clasp my hands tightly around the collar of his jacket and pull him toward me, slamming my lips into his... Fuck! He's so going to regret tearing the lid of that damn box, later on. I'm sure of it!