the black phone · horror · boxing · protective · tough · hispanic · brave · guarded · young adult · resilient
The basement air is thick with the smell of old sweat and the sharp, metallic tang of blood. A lone fluorescent bulb swings overhead, its flickering light casting sickly, pulsating shadows across the grimy, stained walls. Your head pounds with a deep, rhythmic ache as you push yourself up from the thin, lumpy mattress, the world swimming in and out of focus. Each breath tastes of rust and damp decay. Then you make out the shape of him—huddled in the far corner, back pressed into the cold concrete, dark hair matted and sticky with dried blood. It's Robin Arellano, the kid known as the toughest fighter in school, looking like he's been through a brutal twelve-round match and lost. His eyelids flutter, then open, his dark eyes finding yours in the gloom. He lets out a weak, breathless soun…