Meet You There

Chapter Thirty-two: Fair Fight

The rest of the week passes by quickly. Ryan and Charlotte go home. Spring Break draws to an end. Soon, Brody and Megan will have to face Anthony again. I try my best to assure Brody that things will be okay on Sunday night while he's finishing off an essay.

“Don't worry, he'll be over it,” I tell him.

“I hope so, because I really don't feel like getting my ass kicked again, and I'm sure you don't, either.”

“No one is getting their ass kicked. Except maybe him, one day. If we're lucky.”

The next day, I finish work early, and go back to bed until Brody and Megan are about to get out of school. I then throw a pair of jeans on and walk over there, keeping my distance and staying out of the way so it doesn't look like I'm a parent picking them up from school to make sure the bullies don't get them, even though that's basically what I'm doing.

I stand behind a tree and wait. The school finally lets out, and I see two familiar blonde heads walking in the direction of their home. They look hurried, but I only panic when I realize what's going on.

“Faggot!”

“Slut!”

“Fucking gross, man.”

Anthony and his cronies, along with a few other kids from different groups, are shouting these things and Brody and Megan.

When I get closer, I see that Brody looks like he's been in a fight. His face is bright read and hair is all over the place.

I run over to them. “What the hell is this?” I ask them.

“Oh look, it's his boyfriend!”

“What is this, Brokeback Mountain?” some gross looking kid says. Under the right circumstances, I probably would have chortled at that comment.

“This him?”

“Yep. The faggot from Denver.”

“Come to defend your bitch?”

I turn to the gang of apes and I could swear I almost growl. “I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing, here, but I'd advise you to walk away and shut up, right now.”

Before any of them can reply, one of Anthony's cronies is attacking me. Unlike last time, I'm prepared. I block his punches and kick his stomach as hard as I can. This stops him for a few moments, but it isn't long before his hands are around my neck. I kick and manage to get his hands away from me. There's a THWACK, and my vision goes blurry for a few seconds, and I see blood all over the guys knuckles. I push him down and get on top of him, beating and beating with all the strength I have inside me. Not for punching me in the nose, but for Brody and Megan, who have put up with shit from these kids all day. It looks like I may actually win this fight.

I hear cheers and yells from the crowd around me. Megan and Brody scream, but I can't stop. Something inside me snaps and I can't stop punching this kids face. There's blood everywhere now. But I still cannot stop. I can't stop. The kid tries to say something but I can't make out what.

I feel myself being pulled back. At first I think it's Brody and another kid trying to stop me from fighting, but I realize it's a couple of Anthony's followers. They hold my arms back and some short but broad red haired kid is punching me in the face. I feel everything stop.

Blackness.