Authors: Kylie Hillman
Tags: #Australia, #Family, #Contemporary, #Romance, #New Adult, #MMA
Brawl
BRAWL
Copyright © 2016 Kylie Hillman
Published by Kylie Hillman
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
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Published:
Kylie Hillman 2016
Cover Design:
Judi Perkins at
Concierge Designs
Images in Manuscript:
Shutterstock
Cover Images:
Judi Perkins at
Concierge Designs
Proofreading by:
Philena Heaney-Allen
Editing by:
Jo Jarvis
DEDICATION
To Aunty Jo and Uncle Dean
The pair of you have been there for me and my family every step of the way.
Your love is unconditional and that is rare in this world.
You are my parents in every sense of the word. Physical. Mental. And emotional.
I thank my lucky stars for your love, grace, and support every day.
Music is my main source of inspiration. When I write my stories, I have a specific Spotify playlist that I listen to which fits the emotions of my characters.
Feel free to follow Brawl’s playlist:
Spotify:
http://spoti.fi/1TJ25L5
H
atred.
It’s the strongest of emotions—stronger than even love. To have hatred for someone means that you once loved them. To now hate them, well, that means that they’ve hurt you to an extent that forgiveness is impossible...and we all know that being hurt by someone you love is the biggest betrayal of them all.
I’m filled with hatred.
It pulses through me; visceral and visible for everyone to see. It’s branded on my soul, polluting any happiness that might sneak up on me, forcing me to shut out anyone who dares to pry back my protective armor.
He’s as fucked-up as I am.
Angry at the world, a snarling, savage beast, who wreaks destruction with his fists and annihilates with his nasty tongue. I should run a mile like the rest of them, yet I can’t. What’s left of his humanity calls to mine, desperately seeking someone who understands; someone who can withstand the carnage he creates.
He says he doesn’t want me.
Then why can’t he keep his hands off me?
I refuse to let anyone get close to me ever again.
So why can’t I make myself walk away?
Gabbi
“C
ome on Cooper. It’s nearly eight... get out of bed or you’re gonna be late for school.” I yell at my youngest brother. Ignoring my head that’s pounding from lack of sleep as I stumble into his bedroom, I nudge his bed with my foot to rouse him and he grumbles his annoyance.
As usual, I’m on morning duty while our mother sleeps off the excesses of her late night. I use the term mother loosely. She hasn’t filled that position for the past three years, and I don’t expect a miraculous return to form from her any time soon. It was well past three when I heard her stumble through the front door this morning.
It wouldn’t bother me so much but it’s my first day of freedom since I finished my final high school exam yesterday. In a normal reality, I should be the one with the hangover and no intention of getting up until well after noon. Not dragging my tired brother out of bed, and dealing with my own matching fatigue from our late night last night.
“If you don’t move right now, you’re going to have to walk to school. Zali didn’t come home last night, so I’m it and I have shit to do today. Get a move on, bucko.”
“All right, Gabbi,” my eight-year-old brother groans, acting as if I’ve asked him to single-handedly arrange world peace. I feel guilty when I see his red rimmed eyes, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I had to take him to work with me last night since neither our mother or sister were home to watch him. “I’m coming. Jeez.”
After quickly ironing Cooper’s uniform while he showers, and making some toast for both of us to eat in the car, we make it out of the door on time. Even with the noisiness of our departure, our mother hasn’t stirred from her prone position on the couch. I slam the front door shut behind us, grinning when I hear her whining about the racket. Clenching my fists, I resist the urge to tell her to shut the fuck up.
After dropping Cooper off at school, I give our sixteen-year-old sister, Zali, a quick call while I’m still parked to make sure she’s made it to her school. I’m assuming that she slept at her dumbass boyfriend’s house last night because her bedroom was still empty when I looked in this morning. A normal state-of-affairs in our home lately. Our mother wouldn’t know where the fuck any of us are, and with just over a year between us, it’s hard for me to tell her what to do, like I can Cooper.
“Only one more exam to go and then you’ve got eight weeks off before grade twelve starts.” I tell her, in an attempt to cheer her up. She sounds pissed. About what, I wouldn’t have a fucking clue. All I know is I need to calm her down so I can hit her with the favor I need tonight.
“Oh, wow eight weeks of looking after Coop while Mom gets trashed every night and Dad continues his disappearing act. You’re so lucky to be heading off to art school, away from all this shit.” The vehemence in her tone makes it clear that I haven’t a hope in hell of getting her to agree. I table my begging for later.
“You know, I’m still around until March, so chill the fuck out. Concentrate on your exam, not Mom’s crap.”
“Whatever,” she mumbles. “Are you still going to pick me up after my exam? I want to look for a job today.”
Pulling my phone from my ear, I check the time. I’ve got grocery shopping to do and bills to pay. If I hurry, I’ll just have time before I need to head to her school and pick her up. “I’ll be there at half past twelve. We’ll head to the gym first and speak to my boss. He’s looking for a trainee.” I laugh, wishing I could see the look that’s going to cover her face at my next comment. “But, ya know, if all else fails, there’s always Macca’s or KFC.”
“Shut up, Gab,” she bites back in shrill voice. “Pick me up at twelve thirty. Don’t be late.”
A wide grin curls my lips when my phone beeps in my ear, indicating that she ended the call in a huff. I shouldn’t antagonize her, but I can’t help it. Fucking with Zali seems to be the only thing worth smiling about in my life most of the time.
***
P
osting my completed acceptance package back to the art school that I’ve been accepted into next year, I mentally tick that job off my to-do list before heading to the supermarket to grab some groceries. Past experience tells me that our mother won’t get off the couch in time to buy anything before we get home, and God forbid, she actually cooks something for dinner for us. Most of the household duties have fallen to me since our parents divorced three years ago, and as much as it pisses me off, I just get on with it.
Someone has to because we’d starve if we waited for her to give a shit.
Stupid bitch couldn’t give two fucks about us—as long as we stay out of her hair so she can sleep off her latest hangover, she’s happy. We’re basically housemates that she tolerates. And that’s only because dear old Dad’s new wife doesn’t want us near his brand new family and she’d be fucked without his generous child support.
“Ouch. Fucking hell, watch where you’re going,” I grit my teeth when tears well in my eyes from the stinging pain. Lips pressed together so I don’t explode and rip into this dickhead with my lethal tongue, I look down and check out the back of my ankle that he’s just driven his shopping cart into. Sure enough, the skin’s broken and blood is forming.
“Look what you’ve done. Moron.”
I’m about to walk away before I punch him, my shoulders shaking and my ankle throbbing, when he speaks up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. Let me have a look...”
Before I can stop him, he’s knelt down and is fussing over my ankle. I look at the top of his dark brown head and then run my eyes down the rest of him. He’s fucking hot—that much I can tell—and my anger subsides a little, deciding to let my overactive libido take center stage. I haven’t been laid for two weeks. Final exams, babysitting Cooper, and work all getting in the way, so my pussy is more-than-happy to see an attractive male kneeling in front of me.
Settle down, girl, I mentally chastise my pulsing clit.
Play it cool.
The supermarket isn’t my usual hunting ground. I prefer to do my picking up at my favorite club since it’s much easier to get a no-strings-attached fuck in a place where everyone is there with the sole intention of getting laid.
“I’m okay,” I proclaim when his warm fingers wrap around my ankle so he can lift it for closer inspection. Sparks shoot up my leg in a direct line for my pussy, making me halt my protest. When he looks up at me with warm, green eyes that ooze interest, I pull out my I’m-down-to-fuck smile. Widening my amber eyes, I rake my gaze over his face. I’m instantly rewarded when a flush of desire colors his cheeks and his thumb strokes my ankle. He looks to be a couple years older than me, and he’s oozing that “bad boy” appeal that I like. Wearing distressed jeans with a chain hanging from the pocket, and a tight Harley-Davidson T-shirt, he’s muscled, tattooed, and sporting a closely shaven head that leaves a thin layer of dark, brown hair covering his scalp. In other words, he’s pure fucking perfection, and his expression lets me know that he’s up for anything I might offer.