started and every name they called Autumn. I may have been more sinner than saint, but I wasn’t like them. I vowed to never be like them again.
My first thought was to usher Autumn away. I picked her up, causing her to yelp, and put her behind me. She’d be pissed at me later, but someone had to protect her honor. I was late to the game, but I was there at the moment.
I wasn’t concerned about taking on three guys. I could fight, and I routinely took on much bigger and stronger men on the field anyway. My aim was to knock them out as quickly as possible so that they couldn’t gang up on me. I wouldn’t mind making her ex pay by giving him a slow and torturous beating, but it wasn’t likely to happen.
I went for her ex first. I clocked him in the face, and he fell backward while cradling his injured cheek. His friends lunged for me and I shoved them away. I tried to aim toward the café tables and chairs with the hope the obstacles would slow them down. Before I could focus back on her ex, he knocked the wind out of me with a blow to the stomach. It was a rookie move to bring my hands down to cradle my stomach, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to punch me in the face.
I was pissed he got a hit in, and the storm inside of me gained momentum. The coppery taste of my own blood intensified my rage. I wasn’t fighting in a controlled way any longer—I was throwing out punches like my life depended on it. I slammed my fists into each of their bodies again and again, and tried to dull my senses not to feel their hits when they retaliated. One of the guys pummeled me above my eye, and I was about ready to kill these dicks. A few of the male bowlers came over and tried to intervene, but they weren’t going to stop me from protecting what was mine.
Someone yelled about calling the cops, and her ex’s friends practically pissed their pants. They tried to make her ex leave, but he was determined to win the fight. Idiot. As they took off, I lunged toward him and pulled my fist back. The punch landed square on his nose and blood squirted out in every direction. I wasn’t satisfied with the broken nose and went in for more.
However, Autumn’s voice interrupted my plans. As quietly as she could speak, my ear was attuned to her smallest sound, and she got through to me with her first word. “The cops are on their way,” she said, her trembling voice full of fear. “We need to leave before you get arrested.”
Her eyes pleaded with me. I had scared her and it gave me pause. It was never my intention for her to see this side of me.
“You broke my nose!” her ex whined from the floor. His eyes darted away from my face and narrowed on her. “Always quick to play the victim card, Autumn. He’ll see it one day, he’ll find out you’re a liar and a whore.”
The guy had a death wish. “Don’t you look at her,” I growled at him, putting every ounce of threat I could into my voice. “Never even say her name again, unless you want another ass kicking.”
It took a lot to walk away, but I was starting to put her needs above my own. Her father was right. She was too kind and good for the people in her life. She cared for people who probably didn’t deserve it, and I was afraid to include myself as one of them.
***
Autumn drove to a convenience store while I acted like a surly patient in the passenger’s seat. By the hard braking and sharp turns she made on route, I could see how shaken up she was over the fight and the way her ex had relentlessly violated her with unfounded insults. She had ducked into the store and returned with a medical kit and a package of frozen vegetables. I was fuming—full of righteous indignation over the assholes calling her a cunt and a whore. With their words bouncing around my skull, I was beginning to regret not getting in a few more parting shots. Tension rippled up my back and found its way into my shoulders as I recalled how paralyzed I had become after the first
My first thought was to usher Autumn away. I picked her up, causing her to yelp, and put her behind me. She’d be pissed at me later, but someone had to protect her honor. I was late to the game, but I was there at the moment.
I wasn’t concerned about taking on three guys. I could fight, and I routinely took on much bigger and stronger men on the field anyway. My aim was to knock them out as quickly as possible so that they couldn’t gang up on me. I wouldn’t mind making her ex pay by giving him a slow and torturous beating, but it wasn’t likely to happen.
I went for her ex first. I clocked him in the face, and he fell backward while cradling his injured cheek. His friends lunged for me and I shoved them away. I tried to aim toward the café tables and chairs with the hope the obstacles would slow them down. Before I could focus back on her ex, he knocked the wind out of me with a blow to the stomach. It was a rookie move to bring my hands down to cradle my stomach, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to punch me in the face.
I was pissed he got a hit in, and the storm inside of me gained momentum. The coppery taste of my own blood intensified my rage. I wasn’t fighting in a controlled way any longer—I was throwing out punches like my life depended on it. I slammed my fists into each of their bodies again and again, and tried to dull my senses not to feel their hits when they retaliated. One of the guys pummeled me above my eye, and I was about ready to kill these dicks. A few of the male bowlers came over and tried to intervene, but they weren’t going to stop me from protecting what was mine.
Someone yelled about calling the cops, and her ex’s friends practically pissed their pants. They tried to make her ex leave, but he was determined to win the fight. Idiot. As they took off, I lunged toward him and pulled my fist back. The punch landed square on his nose and blood squirted out in every direction. I wasn’t satisfied with the broken nose and went in for more.
However, Autumn’s voice interrupted my plans. As quietly as she could speak, my ear was attuned to her smallest sound, and she got through to me with her first word. “The cops are on their way,” she said, her trembling voice full of fear. “We need to leave before you get arrested.”
Her eyes pleaded with me. I had scared her and it gave me pause. It was never my intention for her to see this side of me.
“You broke my nose!” her ex whined from the floor. His eyes darted away from my face and narrowed on her. “Always quick to play the victim card, Autumn. He’ll see it one day, he’ll find out you’re a liar and a whore.”
The guy had a death wish. “Don’t you look at her,” I growled at him, putting every ounce of threat I could into my voice. “Never even say her name again, unless you want another ass kicking.”
It took a lot to walk away, but I was starting to put her needs above my own. Her father was right. She was too kind and good for the people in her life. She cared for people who probably didn’t deserve it, and I was afraid to include myself as one of them.
***
Autumn drove to a convenience store while I acted like a surly patient in the passenger’s seat. By the hard braking and sharp turns she made on route, I could see how shaken up she was over the fight and the way her ex had relentlessly violated her with unfounded insults. She had ducked into the store and returned with a medical kit and a package of frozen vegetables. I was fuming—full of righteous indignation over the assholes calling her a cunt and a whore. With their words bouncing around my skull, I was beginning to regret not getting in a few more parting shots. Tension rippled up my back and found its way into my shoulders as I recalled how paralyzed I had become after the first
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