42

"Are you ready?" I asked, looking over at Bella, who was shoving one of the hotel towels into her gym bag.

Blowing out a deep breath, she tried to smile, but I saw the same nerves that were waging war inside of me, creeping up onto her face. "No. How about you?"

I laughed. "Of course."

"Liar," she teased, but tossed her bag on the floor and moved so that she was standing in front of me. My hands slid to her hips as her fingers slid into my hair. "I'm scared, Edward."

"Me, too," I admitted. "What if we don't win? Our program, our team — they're counting on us to win, but . . ."

"But what if we don't," Bella said, nodding. "Yeah, exactly. I mean, logically, I know they won't hate us, but . . ."

"But what if they do?" I asked.

"I don't want to let them down," she confessed. "We've fought too hard to get where we are with them."

"I know, baby, and we'll regardless if we win today or lose, our team is our family."

Bella smiled, but I could tell she wasn't as confident as I appeared to be. Truth be told, I was just as scared as she was, but I didn't want her to know that. She depended on me to be the strong one. She had spent too long trying to be strong, it was my turn to take some of the burden off her shoulders.

"Okay," I said, pushing her backward as I stood up. "We need to get moving."

"Yeah, all right," she agreed, snatching her bag off the floor and hoisting it onto her shoulder.

When Bella and I arrived in the lobby, we found the rest of the team scattered on various couches. None of them were speaking, all of them appearing just as nervous and scared as Bella and I felt. Especially Phil, who had put this team together in hope of saving his program. The thought of disappointing him, of not being enough, had me aching. I'd come to consider the man to be a brother.

Titling his head back, he spotted me and Bella and sighed. "Now that everyone's here, let's load up."

The rest of the team muttered and grumbled, but followed him through the double doors to the bus. Moe nodded and each of us, but didn't say anything. He'd been with us since day one. Bella and I settled in the first set of seats behind Moe with Phil in the seat across from us. Moe closed the doors, shifted into drive, and pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

We'd only been driving for a couple minutes when Bella started giggling, which turned into outright guffaws. Everyone turned their attention to her as she shifted in her seat.

"Um, Bella, would you like to share with the class?" Phil asked, smiling.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about that time Embry's shorts split when he was doing squats," she cackled. "His face got so red!"

Everyone burst out laughing, including Embry, who shrugged his shoulders. "Good thing I'd put underwear that morning, or you might have gotten a nice view of my ass."

"What about the time Heidi and Mags were sparring and Phil was screaming at them to move their feet. He went to grab the rings, but it snapped off and he fell on his ass," Missy snickered.

"It didn't snap," Phil scoffed, while laughing. "You unhooked it!"

"Oh, yeah, I did!" she roared, falling back against the seat. "It was worth it, though. The look on your face. . ."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he laughed, but moments later, he sighed. "I didn't think we'd make it this far," he admitted, shame creeping over his features. "When everyone walked into the gym that first morning, I thought I had made a mistake by keeping the program going. Everyone was so different, so untrusting. And here I was asking you to save my job," he muttered, turning and looking at everyone. "Each and every one of you should be proud of what you've done this year."

"But if we don't win today . . ." Missy trailed off. "I don't want to go back to Florida."

"You won't," Bella said, standing up and kneeling in her seat so she was facing everyone. "I don't know if we'll be able to save our program. Let's be honest, the odds are stacked against us. There are other teams here that are stronger, faster, better, but they don't have the fire, the desire, the need, to win that we do. Regardless if one of us comes home with the win, or if our Nationals are over by the end of today, we did something people said was impossible: we made it to the tournament. And I don't know about you, but I plan on making some bitches taste the mat."

I laughed and shifted so that I was facing everyone, too. Sliding my arm around Bella's waist, I grinned. "Let's go in there and show them what it takes to be a Bruin."

With a chorus of 'yes' and 'let's do it', we filed off the bus and started our trek into the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Just like the day before, hundreds of people were milling around the lobby of the building. Part of them were our competitors, all of whom looked just as nervous as we felt, while the others were spectators waiting to watch us fight for our lives — figuratively, of course.

It wasn't until Bella gasped and pulled away from me that I saw the people crowded against one of the windows. Nolan and Corrine, Elizabeth and Ed, Carlisle, Esme, Charlie, Renee, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rose — all of whom had huge smiles on their faces.

"What are you doing here?" Bella wailed, throwing herself in her parents' waiting arms. "I've missed you so much."

"We missed you, too," Corrine cried. Though I knew my parents were anxiously waiting to hug both me and Bella, they would wait and let Bella have a chance to connect with her mom and dad. The road to forgiveness hadn't been an easy one, but they'd finally gotten there.

"And of course we came," Nolan whimpered, titling Bella's head back gently. "You're fighting for a National Championship, sweetheart. Where else would we be?"

"I just . . ." Bella bit the inside of her lip and shrugged her shoulders as she stepped backward. "I didn't think you'd want to come back. You know, to Arizona."

"Well, it's not easy," Corrine admitted. "But you needed us."

Bella smiled. "I do. I'm really nervous."

"Duh," Carlisle scoffed, bumping her with his shoulder. "I'd be surprised if you weren't nervous. This is only the biggest moment of your career."

"Gee, thanks, asshole," Bella groused, pushing him away. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You're annoying," Emmett blurted out.

"And loud," Jasper said with a smirk and a wink. "Bet you didn't know that."

"Pssh," Renee scoffed. "Like either of you should talk."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Emmett and Jasper asked, turning toward their older sister.

"Oh, you know . . ." Renee laughed as she turned to Bella. "You ready?"

Bella inhaled a sharp breath. "I don't know. There are a lot of good fighters here today."

"That's true," Nolan admitted, sliding his arm around Bella's shoulder. "But they don't have what you do, sweetheart."

"And what's that?" Bella asked, almost melting into her father's arms.

"Passion. From the time you were a little girl, you wanted to be in that ring. Use that passion, that desire, and kick their asses," he explained with a laugh. "Like you do with Carlisle."

"She does not kick my ass," Carlisle tried to insist, but when everyone started laughing, he said, "Whatever."

"Not to interrupt," Phil said, placing his hands on mine and Bella's backs, "but it's time to win a National Championship."

Bella and I took a deep breath as we bid our families goodbye and followed Phil and the rest of our team to the Colosseum floor, where four rings had been set up. Two for the boys and two for the girls. With only thirty-six fighters, it wouldn't take long before the field was narrowed and we were fighting for the crown. I hoped, at least.

As usual, we settled in one of the corners and began loosening up. The tension was thick and unnerving. Maggie and Missy were jittery, startling at every sound, while Benjamin appeared to be shaking. I wanted to reassure them that we'd be okay, but how could I when I wasn't confident that we'd survive? This tournament was more than about a gold trophy; our lively hood was at stake and we all knew it.

"Everyone ready?" Phil asked, squatting next to Missy, who leaned her head against his leg. He placed his hand on the back of her head, silently reassuring his sister that everything was all right.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Bella said, standing up. "I, um, I didn't want to get attached to any of you. I . . . I don't handle change well, and leaving my brothers was the hardest thing I had ever done. Even with Edward with me." Bella laughed, and then sighed. "Coming to UCLA, fighting for our program, fighting for our place to belong — it's given me purpose. I love each of you so much, and I know that regardless if we win or not, we're family. But since we're here, let's go out there and show those motherfucking bitches that we're the best of the best."

"I thought you were going to get through an entire speech without cursing," Liam snickered, standing up. "But I'm ready."

"Me too," Benjamin declared.

Bree, Heidi, Maggie, and Missy echoed his sentiment as they scrambled to their feet.

"I'm ready to kick some ass," Embry said, smiling. "Bruins, baby."

"Bruins!" Demetri boasted, slinging his arm around Riley, who buckled under the man's weight, but nodded his agreement.

"I may not be able to fight," Tia said with an air of regret, "but I'll be screaming as loud as I can. Kick ass for me, for my chance to come back next season and show them that I'm not done yet."

"We will," I told her, standing up and placing my hand on the top of her back. "As my beautiful wife said, we're family and family never quit on each other."

"No, we don't," Bella murmured, and I knew shew as thinking about her parents and how hard they'd fought to stay a part of her life. Blowing out a heavy breath, she put a smile on her face. "Let's go!"

As we settled around our rings, the stands had filled with fans; people wearing their school colors, waving college pennants, cheering and chanting for their teams. In the section behind our benches, hundreds of our classmates had gathered wearing blue and gold, their faces painted, signs with our names in big, bold letters. They had traveled to support us, the underdogs.

"Embry, Riley, you're up in rings one and two," Phil stated, gesturing to the first two rings. "Mags, Missy, rings three and four are yours. Now remember —"

"Elbows in, feet moving, eyes on the prize," we said together.

"Phil," I said, drawing his attention to me, "we've got this."

Smiling, he simply nodded and moved out of the way, giving us the go ahead to fight.

—LO—

I wish I could say that we were successful, that each of us climbed into the ring and won, but that would be a lie. Neither Embry, Riley, Maggie, nor Missy made it past the first rounds. They put up valiant efforts, but fell apart in the third rounds, losing by a collective five points. Demetri, Heidi, and Bree made it to the third rounds before being knocked out, leaving only me, Bella, and Liam. Nothing like a bit of pressure.

"I'm going to be sick," Liam grumbled, pacing back and forth in front of us. He was shaking his arms out, trying to stay loose as he prepared to battle once more. Only four men and four women remained in contention for the top honor, and I was proud to say that two of the six men were from UCLA, shocking everyone I was sure. We weren't supposed to last this long, make to the big show, yet here we were.

"Dude, I'm about to nut-punch you if you don't chill the fuck out," Bella snarled, and looking over at her, I saw her trying to focus on the two women fighting before us. Tanya had proven to be a vicious competitor, taking everyone who stepped into the ring with her out by the second round. The poor girl who fought her now, was curled up against the rings, the sounds of her cries for help echoing over everyone, yet the referee appeared not to want to intervene. I knew Bella was trying to find Tanya's weakness, the one part of her technique that Bella could take advantage of.

"Sorry," Liam muttered, though I knew he wasn't really sorry. One match stood between him and the championship, between him and the prize. The problem was, only one match kept me from the same prize. And while I loved the man like a brother, I wouldn't hesitate to take it from him.

I wanted to win.

"Whatever." Bella finally tore her eyes away from Tanya and looked at him. "Look, you know what to do, so stop being a pussy and get your nerves under control and get it done."

"Have I told you lately that you're a real bitch?" Liam snarled, but he grabbed his boxing gloves and began shoving his hands inside.

"Three matches ago," Bella snickered, waved him off. "You're ready, Liam."

"I hope so," he muttered, but I wasn't sure Bella heard him as she turned her attention back to Tanya, who had finally been pulled off the bloodied girl in the corner. With a smirk thrown back at Bella, Tanya pulled the rings apart and stepped out.

"So that's it," Bella said to herself.

"What's what?" I asked, causing her to look at me.

"I know what her weakness is," she declared.

"And?" I prompted.

"She's cocky."

I waited for more, but Bella didn't offer more of an explanation. I wasn't sure how cockiness could be a weakness, but trusted that Bella knew how to exploit such a trait. Now, all we had to do is wait.