Afraid to love

Chapter 16

My immediate reaction is to freeze up, Nina's reaction is to gasp, clasping her mouth with her hand, and Daniel's reaction is to run out the door. In a moment, Daniel grasps a kid around his shirt, pulling him against the hallway wall, the kid screams, Nina and I run out into the hallway,

"You just left the envelope?" Daniel asks, the child he's holding is crying, I want to step in, it can't possibly be the kid, but Nina holds my arm, stopping me,

"You left it?" Daniel yells louder, the child is terrified,

"Y-y-yes" the boy cries,

"Who told you to do it?"

"A- a man"

"What man? When?"

"Just before, he gave me ten dollars and told me to slip it under the door" the boy sobs,

"Where is the man now?"

"He was outside before" he speaks through tears,

"What does he look like?"

"He was really big, in a blue jacket"

Daniel leaves the kid where he is and runs down the stairs, I contemplate going after Daniel, but I also feel bad for the boy. I stay with him, trying to calm him down while Nina runs after Daniel. It all happens so fast, I hear yells from downstairs, I run down, after them, to see what's happening.

Outside the building, Daniel is holding George by his blue jacket, slamming him against the door, George tries to defend himself but before he can do a thing, Daniel punches him in the gut, making his body bend forward,

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Nina and I are both yelling, running down,

"No, it's not him!" I cry, Daniel was about to send another earth shattering punch into George, but pauses at our frantic voices, he holds George up by his shirt with one arm, his other arm is extended back, ready to punch,

"That's George" Nina cries, "stop!" Daniel lowers his hand, releasing the victim. George drops onto the pavement, his arms around his midsection, he's breathing hard and coughing.

"Are you okay, George? Are you okay?" Nina drops down to her knees next to George, she's crying,

"He's the guy that left the envelope" Daniel says,

"It's Nina's boyfriend, it's not him" I say, my body shaking from the adrenaline,

"I'll sue you!" George manages to say, looking up at Daniel with hate, "I'll seriously sue you!" he repeats, Daniel takes a step towards him, like he'll punch him again. I jump in, step in front of Daniel, my body a barrier between them,

"No, Daniel, no!" I cry, he pauses, but his eyes are fixated past me, on George,

"Where's the kid?" Daniel asks, "ask the kid if this is the one who gave him the envelope"

"It's not!" Nina cries, "this is my boyfriend!"

"We'll see about that" Daniel runs back into the building, searching for the boy.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" George cries, wheezing, "he attacked me out of nowhere!" Nina and I help him stand up, George continues cursing,

"I'm calling the police" he says, reaching for his phone, I stop him, lowering his arm,

"No, George, let me explain, please"

"What is there to explain? That lunatic attacked me!"

"We just got an envelope under the door, we were told a man in a blue jacket left it, so-"