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A Puncher's Chance - Chapter 6 - A Gift For A Friend
By: RampageSports Date: May 26, 2015, 10:07 pm
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A Puncher's Chance - Chapter 6 - A Gift For A Friend
I found Danni in her office, angrily shuffling things with no
obvious goal.
"You want to tell me what that was about?" I asked.
"I thought I just did," she snapped.
I advanced a few steps into the room.
"So, that's it? I'm not allowed to set foot on the training
floor without your say-so?"
"Like I said... you can do whatever you want. Clearly, you're
going to, anyway."
"I really don't know what you're so p*ssed off about. It wasn't
even sparring. Just a little workout. All I really wanted to
do was talk to her."
She stopped and glared at me.
"Talk? You can talk anywhere. Nobody goes in the cage to
talk."
"That's bullsh*t. You know how these women think. If I just
started talking, she wouldn't have listened to a word I said. I
just wanted to make her feel comfortable."
"Oh, so now you're a psychologist, too?"
"No. I just thought..."
"If you're so worried about making people comfortable, why don't
you worry about my comfort once in a while?"
"I thought I WAS!"
"Well, it's not working."
I rubbed my face in frustration.
"What the f*ck do you want from me, Danni? Am I just supposed
to sit here with my thumb up my ass all day?"
"That would be better than this."
"Better than what, Danni? What is it that I did so wrong?"
"Nothing," she answered. "Just forget it."
"I don't want to forget it. I want to know what it is I have to
do."
She just stood there, silently staring at her desk and shaking
her head.
It didn't take a genius to figure out this traced back to the
day of my fight with Emma. Long story short, Emma had been
slowly coming apart due to a whole host of issues, some of which
were my fault. As a result, she she lashed out and made me the
focal point for everything she had going on. I was unwilling to
shunt her aside and continue to let her dissolve, so I pushed
back the best way I knew how... with my fists.
I hated what we'd done, and I hated myself for the way I'd
handled everything. Though it had worked out in the end, we
nearly destroyed each other in the process.
Lucky for us, Danni had stayed around that night... even though
I'd asked her to leave. On top of that, she also asked Dr.
Patricia Leone, head of the RSI medical staff, to stay as well.
It turned out I was hurt much worse than I'd ever imagined. So
much so that Danni's actions and forethought had unquestionably
saved my life. Her reward was the memory of what she'd seen
that day... including a prolonged period when she thought I was
dead.
The physical damage Emma and I had done to each other was
horrific, but it was the emotional damage I'd inflicted on Danni
that really kept me up at night.
I had promised her then that something like that would never
happen again. Though we never really spoke of it after, I never
forgot that promise, and I believe I've kept it. I was getting
the impression Danni felt otherwise.
"I know I f*cked up with Emma," I said, "but how long am I going
to be punished for it? I've been careful. I play it safe. And
you're still on my ass about it. So, how do I make it stop?"
"You can't," she said softly.
She raised her eyes to mine, and I suddenly noticed that tears
were softly running down her cheeks. The sight stopped me in my
tracks, and hollowed out the pit of my stomach.
Despite her obvious emotional state, her voice remained strong.
"When I see the lights on in there after everyone is gone... do
you know what goes through my mind? Do you have any idea what I
imagine is behind that door?"
I stood there with my head canted and my mouth half open, but no
words came.
I simply did not know what to say.
"I can't get those images out of my head," she whispered.
I swallowed hard and managed to find my voice.
"I didn't know."
Danni sank into her chair and let her head drop into her hands.
"How could you?" she said. "I never told you."
"I don't take chances like that, anymore. I promised you I
wouldn't."
"It doesn't matter," she said softly. "I know it's crazy. I
know that's not what I'm going to find. But, it just doesn't
matter."
She absently picked up a piece of paper from her desk, moved it
a few inches and put it back down.
"I check that light every night, terrified that I'll find it on.
When I do, I panic. I literally run through the door."
I dropped into her guest chair and shook my head.
Most people give their friends gifts to show that they care. I
give mine post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Jesus," I muttered.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I know you're trying."
"I'm the one who should be sorry," I said. "I'm the one who did
this. The question now is, what do we do about it?"
"You could stop doing it," she suggested.
"I think we both know that I can't," I replied.
She smiled.
"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it."
I laughed a little at that, then rubbed at my face, again.
Then, I had an idea.
"What if I took the surprise out of it?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if I told you when I was going to do stuff like that?"
She wrinkled her nose.
"You sure? I know how you like to operate under the radar."
I shook my head.
"Not if it's hurting you. In fact, I'll go a step further.
You're free to join in whenever you like."
She still didn't believe I meant it.
"Now that I know how it's bothering you," I continued, "I would
much prefer you be there."
"No," she said. "I don't want you doing this just to make me
feel better."
"Well, then do it to make me feel better."
She blew out some air as she mulled it over.
"That wouldn't ruin the Richelle mystique?"
The what?
"I don't know what that is, but I do know there's nothing I can
do alone that we couldn't do better together."
A little excitement crept into my voice as I thought about what
I was saying. The idea of working with Danni on these things
was suddenly very appealing. Even when a situation called for
me to spend a little one on one time with one of the girls, I'd
be better off if I could talk things out with Danni before I did
it.
I was actually wondering why I hadn't thought of it, before.
Meanwhile, she continued to study me, looking for signs I was
just saying what she wanted to hear.
"You're serious," she concluded.
"Absolutely," I replied. "Actually, I think it would be fun.
We make a good team everywhere else. Why not this?"
She thought a little more, then said, "It sounds good to me.
And, I think it will help. A lot."
"Good," I said. "Then, it's settled."
"Not quite."
"Damn," I said. "Thought we had it."
She ignored me.
"What about what Trish told you? About staying out of the
cage?"
Now, I was in real trouble.
In the aftermath of the fight with Emma, Danni pointed out that
I still seemed to have a craving for physical contact of the
destructive kind. That had led her to question why I didn't
just resume my competitive career.
In response, I told her Dr. Leone had warned me that I needed to
stop. Though the statement was technically true, I may have
allowed Danni to read more into it than there actually was.
I had my reasons... reasons I was not prepared to get into.
But, in light of what we'd just discussed, I realized I'd better
clear up a few things.
"Your understanding of that situation may be slightly
exaggerated," I said.
She eyed me suspiciously.
"Do tell," she replied.
"Trish definitely told me that, if I didn't knock it off, I was
going to end up dead. But, she was talking about the illegal
stuff."
"And that part about how badly your body had been damaged?"
"I actually didn't say that," I replied. "You did."
She brought her hands together in front of her and began to rub
them together in what I would consider to be a menacing manner.
I inched my way across the seat cushion so that I was that much
closer to the door.
"I noticed you didn't disagree."
"You wanted me to join the UMMA," I said. "I wanted to dissuade
you from such thoughts, so it's possible I may not have done as
much as I could have to clarify the situation for you."
The rubbing continued in earnest.
"So," she said, "if I may ask, what is your current physical
condition?"
"I'm fit as a fiddle."
She nodded and gave a thin-lipped smile.
"So, your body is not broken down from years of fighting?"
"No, it is not."
"No serious, fight-induced medical conditions?"
"Nope."
"No injuries?"
"No. Not yet, anyway."
"Hmmm... good answer."
We were quiet for moment, as she let me wonder exactly what was
coming. She let me off easy, though. Without taking her eyes
from me, she balled up a piece of paper from her desk and tossed
it at me. Being the good sport I am, I let it bounce off my
head. It seemed the least I could do.
"Idiot," she said.
I didn't respond, since it was hard to argue with the accuracy
of the statement.
"Why would you let me think you were dying?" she asked.
"Actually, I specifically..."
"Shut up."
"Yes, ma'am," I said, hanging my head in mock shame.
"Do you realize how much I've worried about what you said?" she
asked.
"No, I didn't," I said as I turned serious. "If I had, I would
never have let you believe it."
"Why did you?" she asked. "Just because you don't want to fight
again?"
"At the time, it seemed better than telling you I have reasons
that I wasn't going to give you."
She nodded.
"Reasons you're still not going to give me."
"Yes," I said. "I'm sorry."
She paused a moment, then nodded again and said, "Okay."
The ease with which she accepted my secrecy made me feel even
worse about the way she'd silently suffered over it.
Speaking of which...
"Now, I think it's my turn to yell at you for a change," I said.
"Oh?"
"You shouldn't have kept this from me."
She blew out another sigh.
"I know," she said. "It just seemed so stupid."
"Actually, it's kinda sweet," I said with a smile.
"Don't start getting sappy on me."
"Sorry," I said, holding my hands up apologetically.
I kept going, anyway, though.
"I know I said this before, but it bears repeating," I said.
"I'm not used to this. I've always been a solo act. I work on
my own, doing what I think is best. I'm not used to others
worrying about me."
"Well, get used to it," she said, "because I can't seem to
stop."
I smiled.
"I'll work on it," I answered.
We were quiet for another moment, before Danni got back to how
this conversation had started.
"So," she said, "you need some help with Brittany?"
"No," I said. "I did what I wanted to do. I'll leave it to you
and Steph to get her ready for the team event."
"Gee, thanks."
"My pleasure."
We sat around for a while longer, just chatting. I was happy
she'd told me what was happening, even though it made me feel
even worse about what had happened with Emma. At least, now I
knew, and I felt like we were a little stronger... a little bit
closer... because of it.
It was a good thing, too. Because neither of us knew at that
moment that disaster was going to strike RSI again at the team
event.
Disaster from a very unlikely source.
[hr]
Character Reference
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Richelle_100x120.jpg
Name: Richelle Winterfeld
Nickname(s):
Background: Owner of the RSI stable, former underground fighter
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Danni_100x120.jpg
Name: Danneel Harris
Nickname(s): Danni
Background: RSI stable leader, reigning DEF welterweight
champion
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Stephanie_100x120.jpg
Name: Stephanie McMahon
Nickname(s): Steph
Background: RSI's fighter development coordinator, reigning SCQ
super heavyweight champion
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Brittany_100x120.jpg
Name: Brittany Tacy
Nickname(s):
Background: FAC lightweight contender
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Emma_100x120.jpg
Name: Emma Watson
Nickname(s):
Background: Reigning FAC featherweight champion, training
partner and romantic partner of Tiffany Mulheron
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Trish_100x120.jpg
Name: Dr. Patricia Leone
Nickname(s): Trish
Background: Head of the RSI medical staff
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