Kid in a Locker (REWRITING)

11. The Help

Nick stumbles backwards from the impact of the blow, holding his face as he does so. A hand reaches out and touches the lockers, trying to steady himself.

"Listen, I didn't sleep with your sister." He pleads, hands in the air in surrendur.

"Save it." Romul lines up for another shot. He swings, delievering a cheap-shot to Nick's kidneys. His back arches under the touch and he bites his lip, trying to prevent himself from crying out loud.

I try to get in between them as Romul continues to send punch after punch in Nick's direction. A few times I manage to pull my brother off of him for a split second, but not for very long. He was so much bigger and heavier than me. There was no way I could fight him, not like this.

I watch the scene unfold as I scream, begging Romul to stop. To make it worse Nick wasn't even fighting back, only surrounding his head with his arms as he takes his beating. He doesn't deserve this. He has done nothing wrong.

With new found integrity, I charge forward. I go under his flying arms this time and manage to wedge myself between their two chests. I can hear Nick panting as another fist flies over me and lands on the side of his head.

"Rom, stop!" I beg, pounding my fists on his chest. I feel his eyes register me stand there and soon I feel his hands gripping my shoulders. As he grabs a handful of the sweatshirt- Nick's sweatshirt- the little bit of reserve disappears in his eyes and the last bit of his humanity drips away.

I get thrown out of the way, landing on the hard linoleum floor. The shoulder I landed on at the party meets the hard floor as well as my head. It immediately starts aching. I groan as a ringing starts in my ear, growing with each passing second.

Through my blurred vision I watch the fight go on, feeling helpless as I try to get up but fail tremendously. In the background I see a line of shadows. I rest my head back down on the cool floor, cursing the students for watching yet again and not doing anything.

"Romulus Anthony Pryce." A very stern voice shouts, capturing all of our attentions. Peter stands two feet away from Romul, his face burning red in anger. Behind him stands the principal, vice principal, guidance counselor, and the teacher that must've been the one in Peter's class before he walks out. They all look like they want to charge my brother, bouncing up and down on anxious toes. Peter holds them back. This is his fight. Everyone present knows that, can feel his authority radiating through the air

Romul stops in his tracks. He holds Nick suspended by his shirt collar. They both look over at Peter. Romul's fury dissolves just as quickly as it came and he slumps down, releasing Nick.

He runs over and helps me into a sitting position, fretting over my head. I watch his hands as they glaze over my head as they look for any obvious sign of injury. My heart cracks as I see that they are shaking like leaves on a tree.

"Stop." I whisper, grabbing his hands with my own. "Look."

I knew what was about to go down. Peter was known to explode when he's had enough. I had witnessed the power shift from Romul to Peter numerous times, and it was never pretty. Watching Romul get what he deserved was going to be exactly what Nick would need to calm down.

"Will you calm down for five fucking seconds?" Peter shouts. He motions out wide with his hand. "Will you look around? Look!"