Fight For You by Kayla Bain-Vrba Page B

given up! We're never going to leave this place—because of you!"
    "I'm happy ," Cherry retorted. "Not that you would understand that. I've been dancing my ass off for years; I'm taking a break ."
    "No. A break is skipping a fight or two. You haven't even practiced in weeks!"
    "So what?" Cherry stepped closer, refusing to back down. "I don't want to fight. I've saved enough money to live on for a while. What's the point of putting our lives in danger if we don't get to enjoy the prize?"
    "The prize is getting out of here! The prize is Valeria! We won't get to enjoy it because you've given up!"
    Cherry glared at her, jaw clenched. "Get away from me."
    Berlin glared in return, bit back a retort about never getting away, and then simply left the room.
    *~*~*
    They still weren't speaking the next morning, and Berlin left for the arena alone.
    She was distracted, she reasoned; that was why it happened. That and the fact that Mae, the girl she was fighting, still held a grudge about Berlin humiliating her with defeat years before.
    She wasn't entirely sure how it happened, but one moment Mae squeezed her powerful legs tight around Berlin's chest, and the next, her chest exploded in agony. She lay on the ground, barely able to breathe, not sure she wasn't dying, and wondered where Cherry was. Two fighters—she couldn't make out their faces—lifted her, and she cried out in pain.
    "She needs a doctor," one of them said.
    "No," Berlin said, barely able to hear herself over the roaring in her ears. "Take me to Cherry."
    *~*~*
    Cherry gasped when Amee and Mriah laid Berlin on her bed, followed quickly by a doctor. She gaped, barely comprehending as Mriah told her that Mae had tried to squeeze the life out of Berlin. And then Cherry was left alone with Berlin, the doctor, and the horror of what had happened.
    Cherry held Berlin's hand as the doctor wrapped her ribs tightly to hold them in place. She was right there the entire time, but part of her was far away. Over and over she played the fight in her mind, imagining all the ways it could have gone even worse. Berlin could have died—she almost had and there was no guarantee her injuries weren't worse than they looked. Cherry could have lost her forever … and it was entirely her fault. If she hadn't grown complacent about leaving, if she hadn't given up, Berlin wouldn't have been in the arena at all; she would have been in Valeria, happy and safe.  
    Berlin had almost died because of Cherry's stupidity.
    How could she have let herself get to that point? Only a few months before, getting out of The Zone had been the most important thing to her. When had that changed? Yes, Berlin had made her happy, had made her life about something more. But how could she have let herself believe that just because The Zone had become bearable that she was happy?
    "There doesn't seem to be any internal bleeding," the doctor announced, abruptly pulling Cherry out of her thoughts. "I'll check in tomorrow to be sure. Three of her ribs are broken and there's a fair amount of bruising. No fights any time soon. I'll leave these to help manage the pain."
    "Thank you," Cherry said distractedly. She took the pill bottle he offered but only had eyes for Berlin; she barely noticed when the doctor left.
    Berlin looked horrible. She was paler than Cherry had ever seen her, her skin ashen and clammy. Her face was tight with pain, and just the sight of her filled Cherry with guilt.
    "I'm sorry," she whispered, gently brushing a few stray red hairs out of Berlin's face. "I'm so sorry, Berlin. This is all my fault."
    Berlin's eyebrows drew together, but when she spoke, her voice was tight and weak. "What are you talking about?"
    "I gave up, just like you said I did. For the first time, life here was tolerable and I let myself believe I would be happy here. We would be in Valeria by now if I hadn't given up." There were tears in her eyes but she refused to give in to them. "We're going to get out of here," she