He hit
the mat flat on his back.
The crowd made a collective sound.
Not cheering now.
Confusion.
Derek rolled instantly and jumped up.
His face had gone red.
“Lucky.”
I wiped the blood from my lip.
“Probably.”
He attacked again.
This time he stopped trying to impress anyone.
No flashy combinations.
No spinning kick.
He came to hurt me.
That was his second mistake.
His first had been calling me.
His third would be believing I wanted to beat him.
I didn’t.
I wanted
him to expose himself.
There is a difference.
Three days earlier, I had been sitting in my kitchen when everything started.
At least, that was when I thought it started.
The voice note playing from Claire’s phone had filled the room.
