Hi everyone, thanks for reading this far, and thank you LadyHazardous for the follow :3. Hope this chapter doesn't dissapoint.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saints Row or any of it's related material. Original characters and ideas are my intellectual property.
We'd been traveling for miles until we got to a blocked off road. A crowd of people were gathered around it, pick-up trucks were lined up at the starting line. Our group made our way there and waited with the other wrestlers. An announcer stood at the start.
"So where do we fight?" I whispered to Angel.
"On the trucks. A pair from each team goes against each other until one team or man is left standing."
"So two fight in the back and two fight in the cab?"
"While someone's driving."
"Wow, this is gonna be interesting."
Mike walked up behind us. "Serena and Angel are in the green car," he nodded toward the last car in the lineup, "going up against Mad Mangler and his medic."
"That's not too bad," I stated.
Mike laughed joylessly. "Let me know how that turns out."
We started walking toward the car. Angel hopped in the cab, and Mad Mangler climbed in on the other side. I stood in front while the announcer made his way down the line. He came in front of our car. "In the last car is Mad Mangler versus Angel de la Muerte, and Blue Demon versus The Candy Striper!"
The Candy Striper? I'm gonna kill Mike for naming me that. I turned stiffly and got in the driver's seat, praying no one saw me blush in embarrassment. The Blue Demon got in the car and slammed the door. He snorted, "This will be too easy."
I answered by slamming on the gas. The car started gunning down the road. A few wrestlers were already thrown out of their cars, forcing me to swerve around them.
Demon got his arm around my throat, making my head and neck spasm. I started throwing elbows, slamming into his face.
"I'll destroy you, little girl," he growled and tightened his grip, making my head and chest burn like fire. He grabbed onto the wheel and tried to jerk it from me, making me body-slam into him. He crashed into the passenger door. I used my left leg on the pedals and started kicking him violently with the right.
A loud crack sounded from the back. I looked to see Mangler looming over Angel. Demon growled and pushed himself up, hooking his hand into the door handle. I raised my leg one last time. "Sorry." The final lash sent him tumbling out of the car and into the guardrail.
Another crack sounded. I swerved the car to the right, sending Mad Mangler flying off the side. Angel roared and threw his hands up, making me grin. He saw me and returned it. I stopped as the car crossed the finish line.
I jumped out of the car and helped Angel climb out. He gestured to the crowd, making them scream in excitement. I blew them a kiss to add to it, it egged them on even more. Angel put his hand on my back and led us toward Mike and Killbane.
"That was awesome," I breathed.
"Glad you had fun," Mike stated, "but you have to train for the real fights."
"Well let's go," I shrugged. We made our way through the crowd and back to the car.
"That was awesome," Killbane commented.
It made me smile. "Thanks."
Our trip back to the hotel was fast. When we got to the lobby, I started to head to my room, but Angel grabbed my arm. "I'm going to train you, remember?"
"Wait, now?" I yanked back.
"Yes, now," he replied as he yanked me toward the hotel's gym. There was a roll of duct tape laying at the other end of the mat on the floor.
I stepped onto it with Angel following. We assumed fighting stance.
Angel charged and crouched to grab me around the waist. I stepped out of the way and stuck my leg out, sending him falling.
I sprinted to him, jumped, and crashed my legs into his head.
He pushed up and grabbed the duct tape. I tried scooting back before he got my legs pinned under his. He started wrapping tape around my legs until they were bound together.
I writhed under him, trying to keep away. My arms kept whipping around, punching him in the face and keeping out of his grip. They got pinned in his grip, then by duct tape.
He hefted me over his shoulders and carried me towards the pool. I writhed around, "What the fuck are you doing?!"
He threw me off him, sending me flying into the water. My screams escaped in bubbles as I sank deeper and deeper with my legs kicking around uselessly. The walls of the pool swirled around me. Angel crouched at the surface and stuck his hand in the water. Chlorine stun my throat, adding to the burning feeling in my chest. My lungs would explode if I stayed down here any longer. I swung my arms toward his hand and let him grab me. He lifted me onto the pool deck.
"Why did you just try to kill me?" I yelled.
"If I tried to kill you, I wouldn't have offered my hand," Angel reasoned.
I hacked up some water I swallowed, adding to the raw feeling in my throat. "So why did you do that?"
"I told you to not trust your enemies, so I needed to show you how to trust your team."
"Yeah I should trust the guy who threw me in the pool," I wiped my mouth and stood up, "and I think I could've figured out how to trust."
He shook his head, then stared at me firmly, "You wouldn't've, not with your personality. You would rather die than ask for help."
"True enough," I sighed, "but that was pretty fucking demented."
"You've survived worse."
"Also true," I sighed. My dad would do shit like that to me and Matt. Whenever we went to the beach, we would learn to swim by him throwing us off the dock and seeing what happened. One time, he threw Matt and he didn't come back up. I had to get him, and thank God I was so studious in first aid, or he would've died. "I guess stuff like this made me want to be a doctor."
"To help people?"
"Yeah, I wanted to be someone giving help instead of asking for it."
He smiled a little bit, "That's really cool."
I grinned back, "Thanks."
We walked to our room and got onto our beds. Angel's phone buzzed in his bag, so I reached in and threw it to him.
"Yeah?" He answered. A long string of dialogue sounded. "Yeah Dad, we won." Another pause. "No Dad, we don't get to Tijuana for a few more matches." The voice picked up and started yelling over the phone, making Angel hold it away from his ear. "Dad, I can't get there because I can't get there!" I could hear Spanish curse words from five feet away. "Dad, I'm making less money here than at the hacienda so it's not that." His dad kept yelling. "I'm not trying to keep away from you!"
The line clicked off. Angel huffed and threw it into his bag, then turned on his side away from me. "Fucking daddy issues," he grumbled.
"So he thinks you're trying to get away?" I asked.
He sighed, "Yeah. Ever since I started wrestling professionally, he's convinced I'm never coming back."
"I know you would. You wouldn't be the type of guy to abandon his family."
He turned back to me. "Thanks," he smiled, "I know you wouldn't abandon yours either."
"No I wouldn't, Matt's pretty much all I have."
"So your mom and dad aren't around?"
"My dad is, but my mom died when I was a kid."
"Sorry," he said quickly, trying to get away from the subject, "so did your dad react the same way mine did?"
"I don't know." Guilt from leaving Matt settled in my mind, making me pick up my phone, "I hope Matt's okay."
"He'll be alright, you've only been gone a day."
The line buzzed until it clicked. "Hello?" Matt whispered.
"Matt, are you alright."
"Yeah," he coughed, "I'm okay."
"So Dad hasn't hit you?"
"Not more than usual. Are you okay, you sound worried?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Bruises I hadn't noticed before decided just then to start aching. I rubbed at them and chirped away. "I won my first match."
"I knew you would, you have a good team. Have you trained yet?"
I snorted, "Yeah, I've trained."
"Good."
Matt's voice picked up, then started yelling, mixed in with slamming and banging. "Matt!" I screamed before it all stopped.
"Serena," my dad growled.
"Stop hurting Matt!" Panic started to overtake me, if he hurt Matt I'd never forgive myself."
"I'll hurt him as I damn well please. He needs to toughen up anyway, stop being such a pussy," he slurred, drunk already.
I hissed, "Why are you calling?"
"I'm calling to let you know that if I ever see your slutty ass in my house again, I'll kill you and the man whore you ran off with." Matt was groaning in the background and was cut off with a boom. "Shut up!" He yelled, then sighed , "Why did you run off, Serena. What did I do to deserve this?"
Anger stabbed itself through my mind, my heart, making everything a bloody red. "You beat us, that's why. You demeaned us, you tortured us, you abused us. I will be coming back for Matt and you will not see either of us again."
The air hung with tension for a few brief moments. "Is that so?" A gun cocked, "Be a good girl and come back, or Matt gets his head blown off."
"Sis!" Matt screamed in the background.
Dread filled my mind, bringing all my thoughts to a dreadful numbness, leaving only defeat to crumble what was left. "Don't hurt him," I sighed, "I'll come back."
Angel ripped the phone out of my hand. His voice chilled my blood, "This is the man your daughter ran off with. If you hurt her little brother, I will find you and put you through everything you've done to them," his voice picked up," How I finish you will earn me the name Angel de la Muerte!"
Silence followed his outburst, ending with the line clicking off. Tears started to run down my face, "He's dead…" Dad would kill him now, just to spite me, I know he would.
Angel lifted his hand toward me, "Serena I-"
"You killed him!" I screamed and slashed at his hand, "he's going to die now because of you!" I had to bury my hands into the bed to keep myself up, "He'll kill him."
He scooted forward a little bit and wrapped his arms around my waist. I let myself fall forward and sob into his chest. "He won't kill him, he needs him as leverage so he can get you back. It's what abusers do."
"That's true," I said softly, "he'll keep trying, like yours."
He scoffed, "For once, my dad isn't the worst one in the world."
"Yeah," I wiped my face, "it's kinda hard to top that."
He grinned, "Wanna get a drink?"
"Sure."
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