53

Bella and I stood up, turning so that we were facing each other. Tension surrounded us as I leaned in and kissed her, silently telling her how much I loved her, how much I believed in her. Bella brought her hand up to my face, stroking my cheek for a second before she dropped it and followed her oldest brother down the cement steps to the main floor. I sat back down in my seat, placing my elbows on my knees and prepared to watch my Bella fight in the hardest match of her career.

From the other side of the arena, I saw her parents leaning forward in much the same way, knowing as much as I did that this was going to be hard for Bella. Part of me wondered if she needed them to be down there next to her but I wasn't sure if she was truly ready for that yet. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Esme sitting next to me, smiling.

"Who knew when I uprooted you from D.C. that months later, we would be here in Vegas, getting ready to watch your girlfriend fight," she commented.

"Or that your boyfriend would be my trainer," I chuckled.

"No shit," She snorted, looping her arm in with mine. "Edward, thank you for coming with me," she said, quietly. "I don't think I would have made this move on my own."

"You would have," I murmured, smiling. "You're the best sister, Esme, but you are an even better friend."

"Ugh, you're so sappy when you are in love," she giggled. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. "I was wrong about her."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When we first moved here and you befriended Bella, I though that she was going to hurt you. I thought she was dangerous and out of control. I was wrong," said Esme. "She's really an amazing girl, Edward."

"I know she is," I smiled. "I thought Carlisle was a jackass. Still do most of the time."

"He was," admitted Esme, "but when you are worried about your family, you make a lot of mistakes, Edward. He was only worried about her."

"I know," I murmured.

"He likes you," she said, leaning toward me. "A lot, even if he won't admit it. He admires you for how you've stuck with her through everything."

"Sticking with her was the easiest decision I ever had to make," I commented.

"Sometimes, I forget that you are only eighteen," she sighed, shaking her head. "You act much older."

"Oh," I muttered.

"That's not a bad thing, Edward," she smiled. "It just means that you are more mature than most kids your age."

"I had to be," I said. "Only way to prevent myself from getting my heart broken every time we had to move."

"I suppose that's true," murmured Esme. "But you won't have to worry about that now."

"Yeah?" I asked. "Why not?"

"This time when you move, you will have Bella with you," smiled Esme. "I'm sure that you two can handle anything that comes at you."

"But you won't be there this time," I mumbled, feeling my ears turning red.

"I will be if you need me, little brother," she whispered.

Esme and I turned our attention back down to the ring where Bella was standing, getting ready to face her final competitor of the tournament. Seeing them inside the ring, made the differences in their stature much more noticeable. The other girl had a good twenty pounds on Bella and stood a good foot over her. The arena became eerily quiet as the referee climbed into the ring.

"Welcome to the final match in the Women's Division of the Las Vegas Invitational Boxing Tournament." The arena was filled with loud cheers and screams. "After weeding the field down, we have our final two competitors. First, we have Jane Marks, from Salt Lake City, Utah. She will be facing, Isabella Cullen, from Forks, Washington."

At the mention of Bella's name, the arena fell eerily quiet again. Bella turned and looked up at me, smiling around her mouth piece. I mouthed that I loved her before she turned back and faced her opponent again. They were called to the middle of the ring, where the referee went over the rules and told them to have a clean match. They bumped gloves before heading over to their corners.

If felt like everyone was holding their breath as the judges rang the bell, starting off the match. Neither Jane nor Bella made the first step toward each other. It was clear that they were both trying to get a feel for the other person. Jane finally took a step toward Bella, tucking her elbows in and trying to hit her with a left jab. Bella, however, was expecting it and blocked, countering with a left hook. Jane wasn't expecting that and took the hit directly on her jaw. It didn't even phase her at all.

Bella skirted around Jane, being careful not to let herself get trapped in a corner or against the ropes. If she did that, she may not be able to get Jane off of her. Jane seemed to be working hard to get Bella against the ropes, though, and was showing her aggravation quite openly. The tension between them was getting insane as they moved through the first round and into the second.

After a minute to get a drink and calm down a bit, Jane and Bella came out at each other again. This time, Jane came out on the offensive. She hit Bella with a left jab, right hook combo. Bella wasn't able to block these but she did manage to counter with her own right roundhouse, haymaker combo that sent Jane stumbling back a few steps. Jane recovered quickly and came back at Bella, throwing her gloves hands around wildly. It was obvious that she wasn't used to anyone giving her any kind of trouble in the ring. Bella was doing her best to keep the girl off of her but Jane was using her body weight. When the second round ended, Jane had managed to get a few more hits than Bella did. This was going to be a close match.

By the time the third and final round started, both Jane and Bella were showing signs of fatigue and I was getting antsy. I made my way down the cement steps and started pacing back and forth, watching Bella and Jane duke it out. While Jane was still throwing a powerful punch, she was getting weaker. I could tell by the look on Bella's face that she knew it, too. As Jane threw a roundhouse at her, Bella ducked and moved behind her, hitting her with jab to Jane's ribs. The larger girl cried out around her mouthpiece and fell to the ground. Bella wasted no time as she pounced on her, throwing her fists into her, digging deep and taking the girl out. Jane was trying to push Bella off of her but she wasn't having it. She had get as many points as she could if she wanted to win this match.

The judges rang the bell and the referee pushed Bella off Jane. She stumbled into her corner and looked back at me, her eyes finding me immediately. Her chest was heaving as she panted and gasped for air. I could see her arms shaking as the adrenalin soared through her body. Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper were immediately at her side, pulling off her gloves and headgear but her eyes were locked onto mine. She was beautiful.

"The winner of the Women's division of the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament is…." The referee trailed off as he looked between Jane and Bella, who had tore her eyes off of me and looked over at him. "Isabella Cullen!"

The arena exploded with screams and cheers for Bella. Jane jumped out of the ring, storming off as her trainer chased after her. Apparently, she didn't think she had lost the match and wasn't very happy about losing. Bella, on the other hand, had a huge smile on her face as she climbed out of the ring and ran over to me, jumping in my arms and wrapping her feet around me. In that moment, I was home.

"Baby, you did so fucking good," I murmured, holding her as tight as I could. "So fucking good."

Burying her face in the side of my neck, Bella's shoulders shock as she cried. "I can't believe I actually won. I didn't think I was going to be able to pull it out. She was so good."

"But you did, Baby," I soothed, rubbing her back. From over her shoulder, I could see her brothers watching her, halfway smiling and halfway frowning. Bella leaned back just enough to look me right in the eye.

"Kick his ass, Baby," she smiled. "I'll be right here, cheering for you."

I leaned in and kissed her before setting her back down on her feet. Bella settled on the bench behind me as Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, and Ed taped my hands and got my gloves on. Neither Carlisle nor Ed were saying anything but Emmett and Jasper were spouting off all sorts of needless advice. Everything from taking my time, to letting my opponent do all the work. Shit that I had been told over and over and over again. Even though I knew all of this, I knew that it was important for them to tell it to me. This was their ways of telling me that they accepted me into the family.

"You're ready for this," said Carlisle, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Just trust your instincts and you will be just fine."

"Ok," I muttered, nervously as I looked at the floor.

"Hey, look at me," ordered Carlisle, squatting down in front of me. I shifted my eyes up to his. "That day that you and Esme came into my gym, I saw the look in your eye. You are a natural fighter, you have a gift. Ignore all the shit around you and focus on taking that kid out. He has nothing on you."

"You didn't want to train me," I said.

"I didn't want my sister to get hurt, there is a difference, kid," snorted Carlisle. He shook his head, sighing softly. "Edward, believe in yourself. Believe that you can climb into the ring and kick this kid's ass because you can."

"If I can't?" I asked.

Carlisle smiled. "Then I will still be proud of you," he said. "As will everyone else."

"Even if we do give you shit about Bella winning hers," added Emmett.

I laughed, loudly. Leave it to Emmett. "Ok, ok, I've got this," I chuckled, standing up. Turning, I looked back at Bella and smiled.

"Kick his ass, Baby," she smiled.

I took a deep breath as I turned and climbed into the ring, preparing to face the boy that stood across from me. Standing on the other side of the ring was my opponent, Felix Wilson. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with dark brown hair and even darker eyes. He was rolling his neck, trying to loosen up before our match. His trainer was standing next to him, whispering furiously at him. Felix was nodding his head, eyes focused on the floor in front of him. There was no doubt in my mind that he was ready to go in there and fight this out like men. This truly was going to be the hardest fight of my life.

The referee climbed in and ordered the two of us to the middle. My legs felt like they were made of lead as I stumbled over awkwardly. The noise level inside the arena was deafening but I couldn't really hear it. It was an odd feeling to be so disconnected to the jibes and cheers around me. My focus had to be on the person I was going to be fighting in the matter of thirty seconds and not the crowd around us. The referee motioned for us to bump gloves, which we did.

"Good luck," muttered Felix, from around his mouth piece.

"You, too," I mumbled, feeling foolish for even attempting to speak with the plastic in my mouth but he was offering me a gesture of goodwill and I couldn't be rude. I had been raised better than that. I moved back into my corner and waited for the judges to ring the bell and start the match.

"Welcome to the final match in the Men's Division of the Las Vegas Invitational Boxing Tournament," announced the referee, his voice echoing in the large arena. "After a grueling few days, we've narrowed our field down to two, Felix Wilson, from Lamar, Colorado, and Edward Masen, from Forks, Washington."

As everyone cheered for us, I noticed that Phil Dwyer was sitting up in the bleachers, watching me and Felix as we prepared to battle for the championship. Nothing like a little bit of pressure on top of an already stressful and nerve racking moment. The referee looked between me and Felix once more before stepping back. The judges rang the bell and our match officially started.

Felix took a couple of small steps toward me, not giving up much space as we started our dance. I kept my arms tucked in to my side, protecting myself as much as I could. I knew that when he did strike, he was going to come at me hard and fast. For most of the first round, we merely threw baby taps at each other. Felix started with a left hook and I followed with a right jab. Neither of our punches were full forced or even made the other think twice.

It wasn't about making us feel them but testing the water and seeing how the other was going to react. Just as I expected him to, he was being conservative and holding back, just like I was. He was smart and disciplined. This was going to be much harder than I thought. As the first round ended, I moved back into my corner and spit out my mouth piece and gulped the water my father was pouring into my mouth.

"Ok, you need to pick it up," said Carlisle. "He's not to make the first move so you are going to have to do it. Stay off the ropes and keep moving. Be aggressive. Watch for his left hook, it's going to sting like a bitch if it connects."

"I know," I muttered, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."

Once I had my mouthpiece back in and the judges rang the bell, I charged out of my corner like a bull. Felix's eyes widen, clearly not expecting me to rush at him so quickly. As shocked as he was as I hit him with my right roundhouse/left uppercut combo, he quickly recovered and blocked the later, groaning from the first hit. Clearly, he didn't expect me to his as hard as I did, either.

I took no mercy on him as I continued to throw my gloves at him, going to with a right jab, left hook, left roundhouse, right uppercut. Felix was quick and managed to block about half of what I threw at him. He was barely sweating, or struggling for air even though my body felt like it was on fire and my lungs hurt from three days of fighting to get to this moment. Felix pushed me back into the ropes, throwing his own jab/hook combo at me just before the bell rang, ending the second round. I stumbled over to my corner, spitting out my mouth piece and gasping for air.

"Deep breath, Edward," ordered Carlisle. "You're doing great. Just great."

"It…hurts," I gasped, putting my arms above my head. "He's barely sweating and I am barely able to move."

"You can do this," he said again. "You got tons of points in that round."

"I don't know," I muttered. Suddenly, Carlisle was pushed out of the way and Bella was standing in front of me. She reached up and cupped my face in her hands, bringing her forehead to rest on the top of my headgear.

"You can do this, Edward," she whispered. "You didn't give up on me when I pushed you away. You didn't give up on me when my brothers gave us shit or when I was breaking down. Don't you dare stop fighting now. Find a way to go back over there and kick his ass. He has nothing on you, Baby, nothing. You own his ass. Make sure he knows that."

I closed my eyes and nodded my head, silently telling her that I would do whatever it took to do this. Somehow, someway I was going to win this match. I knew I could do it because Bella believed in me. She leaned in and kissed me, murmuring once again that she loved me. I popped my mouthpiece back in and turned once more to face Felix Wilson.

The bell rang, starting the third round and I, once again, went on the offensive. Of course, so did Felix. He blocked my first attempt and countered with a right hook, clocking me in my already bruised and tender jaw. I stifled my groan of pain and tightened my arms even more into my side as I forced him into the corner. It was almost like something clicked inside because one moment, I was barely able to move and the next, I found myself attacking him with everything I had. Over and over I slammed my gloves into his torso, arms, and head.

As good as I was giving it, Felix was giving it back to me just as hard. There were times when I couldn't tell whose gloves where mine and whose were his. All I really knew was that I had to keep hitting him, getting as much on him as I could. If I gave him even an inch, I was toast. Just when I thought I was done for, that I had nothing left in me to throw at him, the bell rang, ending out match. Felix patted my shoulder with his glove before heading over to his corner.

I stumbled over to mine, ignoring my father, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper as I climbed out of the ring, spitting my mouthpiece out onto the floor. Bella stood up as I came up to her, pulling her into my arms, and holding her as tightly as I could. It didn't matter to me if I won or not, all that mattered was that I had Bella in my arms.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "I wouldn't have been here if you hadn't of loved me."

"Yes, you would have," I murmured. "Baby, you let me love you."

"We're the lucky ones, aren't we?" she asked. "Finding each other just when we needed the other."

"Yes, Baby, we're the lucky ones," I smiled.

Thank you for all the reviews. This is the last chapter for this one, but there is a sequel titled The Lucky Ones that i hope to have started soon.