Chapter 27

I was standing outside the doors to the changing rooms, inspecting my bruises with my fingers. I winced when I touched the dark bruise forming round my eye.

"Hey," Joey smiled and walked up to me, he handed me a wet wipe and I nodded appreciatively as I took it, wiping the blood that had formed below my nose. "Are you alright? You took a beating in there, literally."

"I've had worse," I admitted and hiss in pain when the wipe makes a cut on my skin sting.

"So when you turned up on your first day with all those bruises it's because you're skilled in fighting?" Joey wondered and I nodded.

"It was Eli then too."

"Jesus," Joey muttered. "He was brutal."

"He is good at what he does," I said stiffly, not wanting to admit it.

"So are you," Joey said. "You two fighting was like something you'd see in a film."

"But I wasn't better than him," I muttered. "He won."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure you done some damage with that kick to the balls,