Chapter 21

Cause sometimes you just feel tired
You feel weak
And when you feel weak
You feel like you wanna just give up
But you gotta search within you
You gotta find that inner strength
And just pull that sh** out of you -Till I Collapse, Eminem

Seth

I warmed up by hitting the punching mitts Jacob held in front of me. Then, sipping water, I got ready to watch Jasper's fight. He was up next. There was a short intermission after his fight, and then it was my turn. They scheduled Jacob to box after me. As the Main Event, he'd fight the last fight of the night.

The boxing match turned out decent. About ten local teams showed for the event, along with some Canadian teams. The Center was packed, and just about everybody I knew attended, even some of my Forks teachers.

The air smelled of popcorn and sweat. Not a delightful combination, I know, but it was the energy coming from the hometown crowd that stood out the most. That level of excitement was powerful and contagious. They loved us, and we loved them. It always reminded me of how proud I was being a Quileute from La Push, even though, technically, I was from Forks.

Our team was doing extremely well. Over three-quarters of our guys had won, adding to the pressure to continue the trend. No fighter wanted to lose in their hometown when all their family, friends, and acquaintances showed up to cheer you on.

Jasper exited the locker room and stood near the ring, shadow boxing, while he waited. If he was anything like me, I knew he wished Emmett was there. I was sure Emmett was Jasper's main wing man during a match. Jacob was mine. When I boxed, the only person's voice I listened for was Jake's. I only heard his voice; I must have automatically tuned everyone out and listened for him to give me instructions or approval. Naturally, the coach instructed you between rounds, but it's not always easy to absorb while you're dead tired, trying to catch your breath. I'd listen for Jake to tell me I was doing all right. If I wasn't, I'd listen for him to tell me what I needed to do to win. He'd say things like; straight jabs, keep your guard up, one-two, he's putting his head down-uppercut. I made it through some tough bouts that way. Now that he wasn't around most of the year, I listened for Emmett's and Jasper's voices, but I didn't feel as confident during those bouts, yet. Since Emmett wasn't in attendance, I wondered whose voice Jazz would listen for, probably Jake's.

Jake was helping our coach in the corner. As a corner man, he couldn't speak to the fighters when he was standing beside us. All he could do was hand us water, the spit bucket, and use the towel to wipe away our sweat, or blood when it was necessary. But Jacob listened to the coaching. So if Old Ben missed a key point, Jacob stepped away from the ring-the only way he could cheer-and told us what Coach missed. This time, because Jacob's fight was so close to mine, he couldn't be in my corner. It didn't matter as long as was he was present. I wanted to show him I'd worked hard all year. Judging by his voice over the telephone a few months back, I disappointed him by getting eliminated at the state tournament. I wanted to show him that I may have lost but not because I'd been slacking.

My opponent's name was Riley, and I knew him well. We had fought each other before. Several times, actually. He was like my nemesis in the ring when I was younger. Boy, did we have some battles. He'd win one time. I'd win the next time. We went back and forth all year until he had a growth spurt and moved out of my weight class. I caught up to him now, so we were about to face each other in the ring once more.

Bella and Leah were sitting in the front row, but Renee and Mom didn't come; neither of them liked to watch us box. They always became upset, even if we were winning. Dad was working, but Charlie was standing in his sheriff's uniform at the back of the room.

Since my fight was nearing, a small amount of nervous fear bubbled inside of me. I wasn't afraid to box, just afraid to lose. I always felt nerves before a fight. I didn't care what anyone said. Everyone got nervous about losing some degree. If they said they didn't, they were lying. Boxing isn't a team sport. It's just two guys, one winner, one loser. If you lose, you suffer the loss by yourself. Nerves and fear were helpful feelings, according to Old Ben. They pushed you to fight harder, to pull every ounce of energy from your worn-out body just to win. They gave a boxer what we called heart, and a person with heart never gave up.

I headed over to the empty seat beside Bella when Jasper climbed into the ring. Earlier, I'd noticed her red top. She was wearing blue denim jeans but her top was showier than normal, sexier, I guess, and brought more color to her perfect face. In a room full of dressed down boxers, she was shining more than usual. She smiled at me when I sat down. Something about her smile calmed me. She had faith in me; it made me feel good, and I always welcomed the opportunity to impress her.

"Are you nervous for Jasper?" I asked.

"I have a few butterflies. But nowhere near what I have when Emmett's about to fight."

That made sense. Because of his muscle mass, Emmett was a heavy guy. His fights were tough because his competition was huge. When he climbed into the ring, it could go either way, but when Jasper climbed in the ring, nine times out of ten, he'd win. Jake was like that, too. I won about seven out of ten. I could be honest about that. Seven out of ten is an excellent boxer.

Jasper and his opponent met in the center of the ring. The bell chimed. They touched gloves, and it was on! We were silver gloves, so the rounds were only one and a half minutes. But it's a long one in a half minutes when you're boxing. I saw right away Jasper was more skilled than his opponent, Diego, a fighter from Riley's club. He was decent, but not quite the same boxing caliber as Jasper. It was a sure win for Jazz. As I watched on, I recalled when Jasper first started boxing.

"Please, Ben!" Jasper said.

"Not this time, kid."

We had already hit four boxing matches, but Old Ben continued to refuse to let Jasper fight. All the guys in Jasper's weight class had too many fights on Jazz. Too much experience. Like me, they'd boxed since they were eight years old. Jasper was eleven and never fought before. Coach didn't want to throw him in with a guy too skilled. A terrible loss on your first couple of matches when you're that young could determine whether you ever boxed again.

By the fifth match, Jasper was dying to get into the ring. He begged Old Ben to let him fight. So, Ben matched Jasper up with me in an exhibition bout during our annual boxing match. I was one weight class above Jasper, but we were best friends and teammates. Coach felt like he'd have some control over the bout. "Take it easy on him. Treat it as sparring session," Ben said.

"Sure, Coach." We'd sparred before; it was no problem.

We stepped into the ring together. The bell dinged, and we fought our tails off!

Throwing some mild jabs at him, I snapped his head back a few times. Then he connected me with a hard right that dazed me. I stepped up my effort, hitting him harder. He fired back just as hard. And he was fast. Man, was he fast, a natural-born talent like Jake. I couldn't let him beat me. It was his first fight, and he was lighter. How would that have looked? I leveled up again.

The crowd was going bananas at the magnificent show we were giving them. The only people in the entire Center not cheering were our families. Dad and Charlie were sitting next to each other. I'm sure that was awkward. I listened for Jake's voice, but I couldn't hear him, either. By the end, I'd turned it all the way up.

I got the win, but the fight exhausted me.

Just the opportunity to fight overjoyed Jasper. Charlie was as proud as a peacock. Jasper beamed when they took off his headgear and was still beaming after they announced me the winner. We hugged, and I said, "Dude, I planned on taking it easy on you, but you were hitting me way too hard. You made me work for that win."

"Thanks," he said, grinning. "Next time."

We never had a next time. It upset my dad that we fought each other.

"Those two kids are friends. They don't need to pound each other up like that!" he said to Old Ben.

"And the winner is... In the red corner, Jasper Swan," the commentator announced.

I stood and followed Jasper into the locker room to congratulate him. When I came back out, it was about my turn.

"Good luck," Leah said, as I walked past her and Bella to climb into the ring.

"He doesn't need luck when he's got all that skill," Bella said, smiling. "You'll win, too, Seth. I know it."

The bell rang, and Riley and I got busy. He didn't hit as hard as I remembered him hitting. Still fast, he had good moves and was making decent connections.

Jake had coached me to use the first couple of exchanges to see my opponent, so I always told my brain, look at him. Now what do you see? My brain answered; He's dropping his left hand. Jab. Jab. Body. I saw it again. Jab. Jab. Body. Every time he threw his right, his left glove went down a little, exposing his chin. Right hook, Seth! Right hook! I hit him with a couple of hard right hooks, and after that, I had his number. The first round finished. In the corner, Ben said I was doing fine, but that I needed to keep my own guards up better. The buzzer sounded for the second round. We went back to it. This time, Riley held his left up high. So, I threw a flurry of body shots. He dropped it again. I gave him two alternating jabs, followed by a clean uppercut. Jab. Jab. Hook. He backed up and swung wildly, exposing himself even more. I had him easy.

I heard the bell ring at the end of round two, and the referee yelled, "Break!"

The next thing I knew, Bella was sinking into my eyes. A feathery, white border hovered around her. She was an angel. Wow, what a dream. Hearing her whisper, "Seth," I wrapped my arms around her and drew her to me. Delicious flavored coconut seeped into my taste buds as our lips locked.

Two hard punches ramming into my chest woke me. "Seth, what are you doing?" Bella shrieked.

"Huh?" I didn't know what was happening. Bella was lingering above me, wearing an outraged, crimson scowl.

The door flung open behind her. Jacob, Quil, Embry, and Jasper straggled into the room. Bella whisked around and bolted straight for the hallway. I sat up, swinging my legs off the side of the table I was lying on, shaking myself, trying to focus and clear up my fuzzy mind.

"What happened?" Jake asked, examining my face. I noted rippled worry lines surfacing on his features. "Seth? You okay, brother?"

A sick-feeling knot formed in the pit of my stomach, causing me to ache in disappointment mixed with disbelief as I comprehended what happened. I got knocked out!