phoenix

Tony POV

TONY POV

When I found Seraphina six years ago, she was a very angry and broken young girl. I used to see her hanging around the underground fighting scene always watching and learning. She was living off the streets at the time and she was living in abandoned houses, and she was thin as a stick. I know that she was not eating a lot and you could tell. I saw her one night and she was watching the fight, and when I went and stood next to her I asked her if she was hungry? She looked at me and she said no and she turned to watch the fight. I put my hand on her shoulder and she gripped my hand and she flipped me over. I was not expecting her to do this considering she was small, thin and looked weak. But I should know better then to judge a book by its cover. I looked up and she can tell that I was surprised, I laughed, and I told her damn you are a quick kid and tough. She reached down and gave me her hand; I took it and I told her with the right training she can be better. She looked at me and said what do you mean, and I told her that I am a coach and I train some of these fighters that you are watching. She looked at me like she was skeptical of what I was saying. I told her if she wants to learn more then come and talk to me at the gym and I gave her my card.  I asked her again if she was hungry and she put her head down like she was fighting her personal thoughts and she looked up and she nodded her head. I told her to come on then and I took her to a burger joint and I told her to order whatever she wants. For her being a small girl man, she could put away food like no one’s business. I asked her where she came from and she shut down and I could tell that it would be very hard for her to trust anyone. I asked her how long has she been on the streets, and she said two years now and that she has been staying in abandoned houses. I told her that I have an extra room if she wants it and she said I don’t have any money and I told her don’t worry about it and she was weary of my wanting to help her out. I don’t blame her because this city can be pretty f****d up. I told her that the extra room is at the gym and it is locked up during the nights. She said okay that would be cool, and she would check it out. I gave her some money so that she could get her things that she needed for herself. She didn’t want to take it at first, but I told her that I insist that she takes it. She said thank you and I told her that my name is Tony and she said that her name is Seraphina and she said thank you for helping her. She was rough around the edges but inside her heart still managed to be soft. These streets can either make you are break you and thankfully it did not break her.

I took her to the gym and showed her the room and she was happy with it, there was a refrigerator with some food and drinks in there so she should be good. I showed her the locker room that also had showers in there. She had a big smile when I turned to look at her and I could tell that she was happy. This reminded me that it is the little things that matter most, and I am glad that I could make her happy. It took Seraphina at least a year to confide in me, but when you have serious trust issues like she does then whatever you do, don’t ever lose her trust. I love this kid like she is my own daughter and I would protect her with my life. Seraphina does not like anyone in her personal space, and she really doesn’t like being around people unless she is beating them down, then that is a different story. She has this drive in her that is strong and powerful, the fire in her veins is something that I have never seen before. All my fighters go by a stage name in the ring and when I was trying to figure hers out, I could only think of one name and that was Phoenix. With everything that she has been through she should have died or want to at least give up, but she didn’t. She rose up from the ashes of her past and fought to stay alive and not give up. So, this name is rightfully hers and she earned it. When I told her what her new stage name was and why I picked it for her she loved it and hugged me for the first time.  I know the drive behind her determination, and it scares me that she trains so hard and its because she has every intention of finding the men who killed her parents and I can’t blame her for it. I would probably be the same way, but I look at her has my own daughter and I want to protect her from any harm. I told her that it has happened so many years ago and that they are probably gone. She is determined to prove me wrong and she still looks for them and is waiting for the day to take her revenge.

Six years has passed, and she is one of my best fighters in the underground world and I could not be any prouder than what I am of her. I have a new fighter that has transferred from another gym and he is coming in today and I want him to train with Seraphina. I have heard good things about him, and I think that him working with Seraphina would be good for her. He has been through a similar situation as Seraphina and I am hoping they can become close friends or maybe more. I have been sick, and I have not told Seraphina yet because I don’t want to worry her. I haven’t told anyone that I am sick, but I plan on leaving my gym to Seraphina. I know that she will keep it running but she is going to need someone strong by her side. I did a background check on Luciano before him coming here. I know all of his secrets the one’s he doesn’t want anyone to know. I have my own personal connections with the underground fighting scene. I know that his family was killed in a car explosion and that he is the heir to the Italian Mafia. So, I know that when he is ready to take his place, he would be able to protect her. They both are strong and have a good head on their shoulders. I let Seraphina know ahead of time that I am going to have her training with the  new guy coming into the gym. He had transferred because the other gym had problems. When I was talking with Luciano, I knew that she had arrived because I could hear the guys doing cat calls and whistling at her. Luciano turned around to see what all the commotion was about but he couldn’t see her yet. They know that she hates that s**t and she headed to the locker room. As soon as she stepped back out from the locker room, they started it again and it made me pissed off because they know I don’t like that s**t either. She yelled at them to shut the f**k up or that she was going to kick their ass. She has never taken them up on their flirting and she never flirted with them back. She treated them just like brothers and has even kicked a few of their asses if they crossed the line. When she walked up to me, I told her Seraphina this is Luciano, and I watched both of their expressions and I knew that he liked her, and her expression was something to see because her cheeks turned red. She has never showed that expression ever and when he had extended his hand out to her she just kept staring up at him. I had to nudge her with my elbow so she could shake his hand.

So, I could see that there was some chemistry there and that was a plus in my book. I walked away and left them to it, but I kept watching from the corner of my eye. I could see her flirting with him, and I actually felt bad for the poor kid because he was definitely going to have his hands full with her. Just as long as he doesn’t hurt her then he will be okay. They were both flirting with each other back and forth and when they got into the ring and she was watching him take off his shirt she had this look on her face and she didn’t even realize that he had already got into the ring and was standing in front of her. I was a little worried that he distracted her this way. But then she shook her head a little and when she smiled and then her face was wiped clean of any expression f**k that’s it! I laughed when I seen that she knocked Luciano on his ass. I told him that I can see that she knocked you on your ass already Luciano and I think that even he was surprised by the speed of how she took him down. He is tall compared to her, but she is quick. She helped him and then he ended up flipping her over and he was trying to pin her down, but she pulled her legs out from under him and wrapped them around his head. She applied pressure and I yelled at everyone to get back to training now. I heard some grumbling from them and then after a while I heard her yell at Luciano, and she stalked her way out of the ring and ran to the locker room and I heard a loud bang coming from out of there. f**k she is pissed right now, and I was wondering what the hell did this kid do now? So much for first impressions, I am hoping that this kid makes it right with her.

I walked into the locker room and I asked Seraphina if she was okay and she said yeah that she is. I asked her what happened, and she said that she just needed to cool down and she said that she is feeling something in her head and heart. I told her that it is okay to feel those emotions Seraphina. I told her that she is still young and that I could tell that there is some chemistry between her and Luciano. She said that she can’t afford to have these weaknesses and to be vulnerable like this especially before a fight. I told her that not every man is the same Seraphina. Her shoulders slumped down, and I know that she is fighting the attraction that she has for Luciano and she said that she just doesn’t want to get hurt again. She said that she doesn’t want to be left alone. I know that she is used to taking care of herself and how independent she is, but she has to let someone else in now. I told her I am always there for her and she pulled away from me and asked me to give her a moment alone. I told her if she needs me that I am here for her and she said thanks. When I left the locker room to walk out, I bumped into Luciano and I know that he heard our conversation. I told him that if he hurts her that he will answer to me. Maybe it was good that he heard our conversation and he will know how fragile she really is under her tough exterior. When he walked in, I heard him apologize to her and at first, she still sounded pissed and then after awhile things got quiet and when I peaked in I seen him holding her and then her hands wrapped around his waist. This made me feel good and I began to hope for the best for them both. Afterwards they both came out and you could see the difference between them, and they trained together for the next three hours and they were talking with each other and I could hear them talking about her next upcoming fight.  I could see the concern in his face when she told him who she was going to fight. I was even concerned about her as well, but I didn’t want to show her that I was worried because then she will be upset with me as well. I heard her tell Luciano that she could handle herself and just to stay out of her way. Luciano came up to me after Seraphina walked back to the locker room and he came to talk to me, and he asked are you seriously going to let her fight that f*****g animal? I told him that I don’t want that fight to happen anymore then he does but his name was picked from the cards. He told me that last fighter was his friend and he is still in a coma because of the Punisher. I told him that if I pull her out of the fight then that would go on as one of her losses and that would piss her off even more. He said that he is going to be there with her at the fight. I told him okay just to make sure to train hard with her and he said okay. I told him that I seen them hugging in the locker room and that he is the first person to ever get that close to her and he asked that she has really been hurt in the past huh? He asked what happened and I told him that it is not my story to share but if he wants to know then to ask her. But I did tell him if you want to know her story then he has to be willing to share his past as well. His head snapped up quick and I turned around after clapping my hand on his back and told him good luck. But please take care of her she needs it. He just nodded his head.