The Neighbour ✔️

CHAPTER THREE

~

A R T H U R
earlier that day

~

I dodge, jumping to the side and blocking his punch with my wrist, throwing an upper cut to his stomach. My last opponent of the evening, James, falls back, the rope catching him from fall out. I stand up properly, holding my fists out in front of me, ready for his next move. I smirk as I see him trying to see straight and figure out where I am.

He runs forwards, falling side-to-side, and I launch my fist into his mouth, feeling his teeth break under my knuckle. James collapses against the floor and I back away.

The crowd cheers, excited by my win. I place my hands in the air as I walk to my corner, collapsing against my stole and grabbing my water.

"God, you're good, you." Ricky chuckles with his cigarette hanging out of his mouth whilst pouring cold water over my face.

"I have to be if I wanna pay my bills." I reply, making him smirk. I stand back up and walk toward James, wanting to see if he's willing to get back up or not.

Terry, our referee, looks down at him, checking on before looking at me and shaking his head. "He's down."

I smirk and celebrate my win, before leaving the ring to head to the changing rooms before any one stupid and drunk enough from the crowd thinks they're big enough to try me on.

After changing, I head to Ricky's dingy office, dropping my bag on the floor and looking up at him.

"Have I told you how bloody good you are?" He chuckles, counting cash.

"Yeah, yeah," I reply, pulling my jumper over my head, "just give me my winnings so I can get home."

"Alright, kid, here." He hands me an envelope with my cash in and stands up, shaking my hand. "It's been a pleasure. I'll let you heal up and see you next week."

I nod, throwing the envelope of cash into my rucksack and swinging it onto my back. "Cya." I mumble, running a hand through my hair.

"Where you rushing off to anyway?" Ricky asks, crossing his arms. "You got a girl?"

Weirdly, the new girl next door flashes into my mind for a split second. "Hilarious." I reply sarcastically, my eyebrow twitching. "I just want some sleep." I add as I grab the door and leave, walking out into the alleyway and to my bike. I placed my middle finger onto the corner of my lip, tapping slightly, wincing at the pain. Damn he had a good right hook. I shake my head, push my hair back and then pull on my helmet, ready to leave.

My favourite thing after work is the drive home. The cool air running over my body, the quieter roads (usually), and depending on the time of year, the sunrise. Work was longer than usual last night, but Ricky gave me a couple more opponents than he usually does. Bastard trying to get as much as he can. Usually I'm out at 11pm, back by 6. I desperately need sleep.

As I pull up to my park space, pull off my helmet and notice a familiar blonde sat in her car. She's looking down at something, probably pretending she wasn't looking at me. I'm not dumb, I know she stares. I watch her for a moment, and see that compared to yesterday, she's looking reserved, ready to take on the world. I couldn't help but think of the short shorts she was wearing last night when I bumped into her. I bite my bottom lip, but soon let it fall free as I accidentally catch my fresh cut between my teeth. Fuck, that hurt.