Come (2)

While she was musing about where the hell that voice had come from, she didn't notice the fierce glare in Phoebe's eyes. With a growl, she launched herself at Haven, her fists flying in a blur of motion once again. Haven fought back, blocking and countering as best she could, but Phoebe's relentless assault began to take its toll.

Dispersing every thought of that voice from her mind, she focused on the task at hand. Blows rained down on Haven, each one landing with bone-crushing force. Pain surged through her body, threatening to bring her to her knees. But she refused to yield. Summoning every ounce of strength within her, she channeled it into a final, desperate surge.

In a move that seemed almost impossible, Haven twisted her body, slipping out of Phoebe's grip. With a lightning-fast combination of strikes, she managed to stun her momentarily, creating a precious window of opportunity. She mustered every ounce of her remaining strength and delivered a powerful uppercut to her chin.

Phoebe's eyes widened in disbelief as she staggered backward, her balance wavering. Haven pressed her advantage, launching a series of devastating blows, driving her toward the edge of defeat. The basement echoed with the sounds of their battle, the intensity of the fight growing with each passing second. The crowd held their breath in silence, unable to predict who would leave the room as the winner.

But Phoebe, despite her injuries, refused to go down without a fight. Summoning her last reserves of energy, she fought back with renewed ferocity. The fight hung in the balance, the outcome uncertain.

With each strike, Haven's body screamed in protest, but she refused to give up. Her muscles burned, and her vision blurred, but she drew upon an inner well of resilience she didn't know she possessed. Pushing past the pain, she summoned a final burst of strength.

Come.

In a climactic move, Haven unleashed a devastating roundhouse kick, connecting with Phoebe's temple. Time seemed to stand still as she crashed to the ground, her body finally defeated. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the heavy breathing of the two combatants and then the sudden applause that went up in the air at the victory that a newbie managed to achieve.

As she managed to jump down from the ring, she felt Gavin's arm around her shoulder guiding her to the elevator as quickly as possible. He already knew how exhausted she must be feeling considering that she wasn't able to utter a single syllable and was panting heavily.

Her eyelids were half opened as she glimpsed at the crowd cheering for her still and a few of Phoebe's friends helping her up to the nearest chairs. The doors closed on their own and she leaned back against the cold wall of the lift, finally sighing out in relief.

"She's gotten better at combat," she commented, her eyes still closed.

"Oh fuck that. How're you feeling? You look terrible Ave." she felt a hand on her forehead and gently pushed it off as her lashes parted to glance at her worried friend.

"I'm fine dummy. Just get me near my apartment through your car and I'll walk back to it since Wei's men still might be somewhere out there. I'll be okay once I rest a little in your car and drink some water." she assured twice and finally saw the frown on his face settle down into a comforting smile.

She knew she wasn't fine.

Gavin's car came with black-tinted windows which would be perfect to hide her face as she seated herself in the backseat and leaned her temple against the cool glass.

Come.

The throbbing headache that she had been disregarding up until this moment suddenly resurfaced with an intensified strength, causing her head to ache as though it were on the verge of exploding at any given second. Maybe it was because of the voice that continued to vibrate throughout her head or perhaps due to the blows she had suffered to the head from the fight.

Sleep was completely out of the question for her, as the relentless pounding in her head persisted and the haunting voice reverberated through her mind with disturbing frequency, leaving her utterly devoid of any chance for rest.

"We're here Ave," said Gavin, his soft voice making her release a tired breath that he wasn't able to hear.

"I'll call you after I get a few hours of sleep—"

"24 hours," he spoke, glancing back at her. "Don't you dare grab a single file or call me about work before that. If you feel the need to go to the hospital, call me instantly and I'll come."

She nodded absent-mindedly, grabbing the plastic bag full of medicine from his hand and bidding him goodbye in a few words. Walking through the empty, dark alleyways, she made her way to her apartment while making sure no one was following her or keeping an eye on her in her messed-up state.

As soon as she closed her door behind her, Haven wearily changed her clothes and cleaned up in the shower with her eyes half open and half closed. Tossing the required pills inside her mouth, she emptied an entire bottle of water from the tiny refrigerator in the corner of the room.

Her body shivered as she slipped between the sheets and closed her eyes, her body temperature feeling a little abnormal and her mind unable to process a single thought inside her head.

The last thing she remembered was a faint knock on the door and the voice continuing to echo inside her aching head before sleep finally overcame her.

Come.

Please come.