Ella
It was hard not to, but Ella couldn’t help feeling anxiety, knowing that if Felix lost tonight it would be her fault. She could hardly believe she was even in his home. If she hadn’t met him just several months ago, she’d likely be watching this at home, completely unaware of what was going on in his head, and it certainly wouldn’t be thoughts of her and her illness.
Ella had talked to her mother more than once today. She was trying to be strong—think positively—but she’d seen it in his eyes, heard it in his words, and felt it in his kisses.
Felix’s heart wasn’t in this fight.
It was what scared her the most. Last night when they’d spoken on the phone, he promised, as usual, that he’d do his best. But Ella had heard it once again. He just wasn’t feeling it. He was more concerned about going over her meds and white blood cell counts.
She’d finally managed to steer the conversation onto something she’d rather that he think about—the things they’d do when she was better. He told her he had big plans but wouldn’t tell her what. All he said was his princess would get the royal treatment.
Everyone was over now, and they’d made a party out of it. Ella had showered and gotten out of her pajamas and into a soft linen pantsuit. She knew Felix was expecting her to lie there in the middle of the room all propped up in her jammies, letting everyone wait on her.
She did sit on the chaise because he’d gone through all the trouble of bringing it down for her, but she didn’t lie down on it. Isidora, Felix’s mom, and Alessandra had stayed back with Ella as well. They ordered pizza, and Isidora made a huge pot of posole. Isidora said she never went to Felix’s fights anyway. They were too stressful.
“Even watching them on the television, I can hardly stand it,” she’d explained. “That last fight where he went down and stayed down for several minutes I thought I was gonna lose my mind.”
Ella cringed. She couldn’t even imagine having to watch that now. She’d witnessed him going down because, of course, they’d watched the big fight at her house. Even then, before she’d ever met him, it was awful seeing him go down so hard.
She overheard Hector and her brother talking. Hector was telling Memo how Noah was worried that Grecco would be even stronger this time around.
“He’s got a lot to prove and he’s angry,” he said. “Everyone wrote off that first fight as a fluke. They all agreed that if Felix had been in shape and prepared, fighting like he normally does, there was no way that fight would’ve ended like it did.”
Hector lowered his voice even as Ella pretended to be engrossed in what Nellie and Roni were talking about, but she still heard it anyway.
“Noah’s worried he’s not all there again. If Grecco did get even stronger, and we’re hearing he did, this could end badly again.”
Ella stopped listening after that, focusing only on the positive. Before she got sick, both Noah and Gio were certain Felix had this. He was in the best shape of his life, and the training was going even better than they’d hoped. Felix may’ve lost his mental focus, but he was still a hell of a fighter and in awesome shape. He could do this.
The awkwardness in the room when Athena once again stepped into the ring to belt out the national anthem was a living thing. It was a little uncomfortable but nothing Ella was worried about. Felix hadn’t mentioned she’d be singing again at his fight, but then his head had barely been there when it came to anything about this fight.
The formalities and announcements were over, and the bell rang. Isidora’s hand was immediately over her mouth and she paced. Ella wished she’d sit down. Isidora’s pacing was making her even more nervous than she already was.
Grecco got a few good ones in, bringing the crowd and Hector to their feet. “Get ’im back!” Hector said through his teeth, jabbing his fist in the air.
A few agonizing seconds later the first round was over. Hector, Memo, and her dad agreed that round could go either way. Though Ella got the feeling they were just saying that for her sake. Grecco had been by far the aggressor in that round.
The next few rounds were the same. Felix had landed a few but nothing too impressive. Then came the round that nearly stopped her heart. Grecco got in a good one that rocked Felix and had him against the ropes. He landed another one, and Felix went down but not all the way. He landed on his knee and stayed there for a moment as the ref pushed Grecco away and began to count.
“Ay Dios mio!” Isidora said as she walked out of the room.
“Get up!” Hector yelled at the screen.
“Get up, baby,” Ella whispered, her heart at her throat now, but she refused to think anything but positive thoughts. This was just a minor setback.
Felix got up and took a few steps around as the ref continued his count. When he was done, he asked Felix something and Felix nodded.
“Is that considered a knock out?” Memo asked.
“No,” her dad said immediately. “It’s a knock down and he got back up.”
“It’s a standing eight,” Hector said, his eyes still glued to the screen. “But it’s still gonna cost him two points. That’s huge. He’s got a lot to make up for now.”
Just then Felix landed one. A good one and it rattled Grecco.
“That’s it!” Hector yelled, jumping in place. “C’mon, baby!”
But just when Felix began to gain some momentum, the bell went off. Ella had never been so nervous in her life, not even during her stay in the hospital this week. She’d been too out of it to be nervous. When her mother was ill, she’d been too numb, and when Memo was going through his nightmare after killing that guy, she’d been too full of adrenaline and determination to save him to have time to feel nervous. Now she was completely nervous.
The camera and mics picked up on the conversation in Felix’s corner. “You gotta knock him out,” Noah was saying.
The commentators agreed at that point that Felix was behind. There were only three rounds left, and he really needed to win them. Inevitably, the tabloids had gotten wind of Ella being sick and the commentators spoke of that too, saying it had to be taking a toll on Felix’s mental focus.
Again the awkwardness in the room was heavy, but thankfully the bell rang and the focus was back on the fight. Felix came out on fire. Whatever else Noah and Gio had said to him must’ve worked because he immediately had Grecco against the ropes.
“Do it, baby!” Hector yelled, jabbing his fists in the air. “Knock that fucker out!”
Everyone else in the room chanted, equally enthused, and Isidora promptly left the room again.
Ella sat up straighter, hopeful that Grecco might go down because, for a moment, he seemed to lose his footing but was able to use the ropes to stay up.
“Keep hitting him!” Hector yelled, but the ref separated them. “Aw c’mon!”
The second they were able to, the boxers began again, and this time they both went at it. Each landed a few, but Felix landed some good ones. Everyone in that place was going wild just as everyone in the room was too. The only time Hector even sat he’d been at the edge of his seat, yelling his lungs out. The bell rang just as Felix landed another good one.
“Okay, he got that one,” Hector said, clapping his hands. “But I still think he needs to knock him out.”
Ella brought her hands to her mouth, lacing them tightly as she tried in vain to keep her leg from shaking nervously. Once again, Felix came out on a mission, but Grecco backed away each time Felix neared him.
“Look at him!” Hector held his hand out toward the TV, disgusted. “He’s running!”
“Why’s he doing that?” Ella asked.
“Because his corner thinks he’s got this,” Hector explained, still unable to pull his eyes away from the screen. “And they probably told him to just stay away from Felix.”
Felix ran Grecco into a corner and started pounding him.
“Yeah!” Hector jumped up and down. “Get ’im, baby! Get ’im! Knock his ass down.”
Grecco wrapped his arms around Felix, trying to slow down Felix’s momentum.
“Get him off you!” Hector yelled.
The ref separated them, and Grecco was able to get out of the corner, but Felix landed another just as Grecco began walking away, and Grecco fell on his knee.
“Yes!” Hector jumped even higher. “Finish him!”
The ref came in between them, forcing Felix away, and began counting. Grecco was slower to get up than Felix had been, but he got back up. Just like with Felix the ref asked Grecco something and he nodded.
“Finish him,” Hector said. “He’s tired now. Go at him hard.”
The ten-second warning bell rang, and the two battled it out hard, making the crowd go wild again. Felix landed the last one before the bell, making Grecco stumble.
Hector ran his hands down his face, clearly still nervous about this even though Felix had done so well in that last round.
“What do you think?” Memo asked, and Ella stared at Hector, anxious to hear his thoughts.
“I don’t know,” he said, bringing his hands to his waist and doing a little pacing himself. “He’s doing well now, but I don’t know if it’s enough. Grecco may’ve gotten a lot of those first rounds.”
The commentators announced the score, and Grecco was barely ahead. The cameras went over to Grecco’s corner where you could hear his trainers telling a very tired-looking Grecco that he had it.
“Yeah, he has it,” Hector said, shaking his head, “if his pussy ass keeps running.”
Ella couldn’t blame Hector for being pissed at that, but even the commentators agreed that playing it smart and steering clear of any of Felix’s fire would be the smartest thing to do in this last round.
“Grecco doesn’t wanna play here,” one of the commentators was saying, “not with Sanchez coming alive in these last few rounds. And look, Sanchez didn’t even wanna sit down in between rounds this time. The guy’s ready to go. Grecco better be smart here, or he may find himself in a world of trouble fast.”
The bell rang, and Felix went right to Grecco. This time Grecco didn’t back away. The battle was on, and the crowd was going wild. Ella had seen this before—both fighters coming out on fire in the last round—but it’d never been this incredibly nerve-wracking. Felix landed one that had Grecco wobbling backwards, and Felix kept swinging, landing one after another.
Ella was sure Hector was going to lose his voice. Everyone in the room with the exception of Ella, who watched clenching her chest, was cheering and hollering at the screen. Felix had Grecco cornered again landing punch after punch, but Grecco would not go down!
“Finish him!” Hector kept yelling. “Knock his pussy ass out! You got this!”
Grecco slipped and almost went down, but the ropes held him up. The ref stepped in between them just as Grecco’s knee hit the ground. He jumped up fast, but the ref still did the eight count. As soon as Felix was able to, he went at him again with a vengeance, but the bell rang ending the fight, and he’d never knocked him out.
“Damn it!” Hector said, bringing his hands to his head, and walked around in a circle, letting out a long breath.
“He got that last round too.” Ella’s dad offered.
“Yeah, he did.” Hector agreed, but he still looked worried.
The commentators were arguing their opinions. One thought Felix took it; the other said it was too little too late.
“Grecco had control of the fight the majority of the way,” one commentator said, “and Sanchez came alive only when it was clear that he was behind and desperate.”
But both agreed the judges had their work cut out for them because it’d been close. It felt like an eternity, watching both training crews in the ring now. Both sides were walking around congratulating each other as if both believed their man to be the winner. Both fighters were interacting with the cheering crowds, smiling as if they were both sure they’d won, but Ella could see it on Felix’s face. Even he wasn’t sure.
Finally, the announcer with the scorecard in his hand took the mic. “Ladies and gentleman, we go to the Budweiser scorecard. Glen Ruiz scores the bout one fourteen, one fourteen. He has it even.”
The split screen showed both fighters and their crews as the scores were being announced, and Grecco’s crew made an elaborate show of being upset about the tie. They obviously didn’t think the fight had been that close.
Ella held her breath as the announcer went on. “Jerry Hollis scores the fight one fifteen, one fourteen and Theodore Sabada scores the fight one fifteen, one fourteen.” Grecco’s side was already lifting him in the air, and Ella closed her eyes. “The winner, by majority decision, the “Pride of East Los Angeleeeeees!”
Ella’s eyes flew open. Felix, whose expression had been nothing more than pure seriousness up until that moment, started jumping up and down in the ring. Immediately, everyone in the room cheered as the announcer continued to confirm Felix as the winner and new champ regaining his title. Ella and Isidora hugged, jumping up and down until she heard Felix say her name.
“Ella!”
She turned to look at the screen, gasping when she saw the tears in his eyes as he looked straight into the camera. “This is for you baby,” he said into the announcer’s microphone. “I won for you! Remember our deal. I love you,” he said, swatting the tears away, then blew kisses at the camera. “I love you, Ella!”
Ella covered her mouth, nodding as if he could see her as his mother hugged her and kissed the side of her face. “I love you too,” she whispered, the tears streaming down her face. “Of course I remember. It’s my turn.”