He’s going to punch me. The asshole’s really going to do it.
I don’t react. I give him the chance to stop himself, to bring his hand down to his side, to realize exactly what he’s about to do, and he takes those few seconds and uses them to whiten his knuckles with a tighter fist before striking me against the jaw.
Blood fills my mouth, the metallic tang seeping to the back of my throat as he rears his arm back again. I know he’s not going to stop. I can see the manic, uncontrolled fire burning behind his eyes. He’s no longer looking at me like I’m familiar to him. I’m just the guy he needs to get through, and that addiction-fueled ignorance causes me to snap.
I move fast, slamming my fist into the side of his face and sending him falling to the floor, removing his weight off me. I scramble to my knees and strike him again, this time connecting with his nose. Blood splatters on the wood, streaks across my knuckles, and he places a hand to his face as he winces in pain.
“Come on! That’s all you got? I thought you wanted that drink,” I taunt, bringing my arm back to strike him again. A hand grabs my wrist, halts me mid-swing, and I look over my shoulder and connect with Ben seconds before he grabs under my arm and hauls me to my feet.
“What the fuck? What’s going on?” he asks, just as Ray comes walking up with a rag.
I watch as my dad takes the rag and puts it to his nose before standing up. He looks at me briefly, dropping his gaze with a disgusted shake of his head before walking through the crowd that has congregated around us.
“Hey.” Ben shoves against my chest, prompting me to look over at him. “What the hell’s wrong with you? Ray called me and said you offered to buy your dad a drink. Is that true?”
I shake my punching hand out, flexing my fingers as I watch Ray walk my dad outside. “I said I’d buy him a drink if he got past me. He didn’t.”
He frowns. “So you’re just going to start challenging your dad to fights now? You think maybe that’ll keep him from drinking? ’Cause that sounds pretty fucking stupid to me.”
I walk to the bar, ignoring Ben, and grab a couple of napkins off the counter. I hold them to my lip as he walks up to me.
“Why don’t you try talking to him? Like, actually having a conversation with him when he’s sober?”
I slowly turn my head, glare at him, and bring the napkin away from my mouth. “Oh, you mean like right now? ’Cause he is fucking sober, and he really seems to be in the mood to have a little chat with his son.” I pinch my eyes shut before focusing on the liquor bottles lined up behind the bar. “He doesn’t want to talk to me. He’s probably on his way now to another bar right now where they’ll actually serve him.”
“Actually, he’s headed to the hospital.”
Ray walks behind the bar, stopping on the other side in front of us. He takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes his forehead with it.
“Why is he going to the hospital?” I ask, bunching up the napkins before tossing them into the trashcan behind the bar. “If he told you that, he’s lying. He’s getting drunk tonight.”
Ray folds the handkerchief and runs it around the back of his neck. “Maybe, but I’m pretty sure you broke his nose. I suggested he go get it checked out, and he wasn’t all that disagreeable. He looked like shit.” His eyes fall to my mouth. “You all right?”
I feel a tinge of guilt, but quickly swallow it down when I remember the look in Dad’s eyes before he hit me. I shrug off Ray’s question.
Ray shifts his gaze between me and a spot on the bar. “Luke, you know I’m always trying to help you out, keep your dad out of trouble and everything, but I can’t have him coming in here anymore. I told him just now if I see him walking in here again, I’m calling the cops, and I don’t mean you.”
I nod. I knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time before Ray got sick of this bullshit.
“Do what you gotta do, Ray. Let him get arrested. I don’t care anymore.” I tap the bar and turn away, walking through the crowd and out the door.
“Are you going to the hospital to check on your dad?” Ben asks, joining my side in the parking lot.
I pull my keys out of my pocket. “No. I’m going to go see Tessa.”
He chuckles softly behind me as I reach my truck. “Are you sure you wanna start another fight? You might not win that one.”
I lean back against the driver’s side door, crossing my arms over my chest. “There won’t be any fighting. Me and her are good.”
He raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? We’re talking about my sister, right? Tessa Kelly?” He holds his hand out, palm down, at chest height. “About this tall, red hair, wanted nothing to do with your ass before I left the state?”
I flip him off and he laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Jesus. I was gone for two days. What the hell happened?”
“A lot, actually. Some really fucked up shit went down with that guy she met up with at the bonfire.” He studies me, waiting for me to expand on that statement. I reach up and scratch the back of my head before continuing. “So, you know I went to that stupid thing, ’cause I fucking had to. I tried to keep your sister from leaving with him, but I’m sure you can imagine how that played out.” I grip the back of my neck, squeezing to relieve some of the tension. “I was so fucking pissed. I should’ve just thrown her ass in my truck, but I just said fuck it, and I went to leave.”
A short laugh bubbles in my throat, and I see his forehead crease with confusion. I shake my head. “I couldn’t leave, man. I sat there like an asshole, because after a year, I’m still completely strung-out on her. And you know what? It’s a good fucking thing I am, because if I would’ve left, I never would’ve gotten that asshole’s tag number to run in our system.”
“He had priors? We looked him up. There was nothing on him.”
“That’s ’cause we were looking up the wrong guy. Either he gave her a fake last name, or she lied to you about it, ’cause he had domestic charges against him.” I drop my head, my eyes losing focus as I hear a faint “motherfucker” coming from Ben. “I went straight to her apartment, out of my mind, fucking praying she was there with him. He was choking her when I got there, and I almost killed him.” I look up. Ben’s eyes are filled with rage. “I wanted to kill him. If Tessa wasn’t watching me, I would’ve done worse than break that fucker’s wrist.”
Ben inhales deeply through his nose, his chest rising then falling, before he speaks. “She’s all right? She’s not hurt?”
“Her neck is sore. She has some bruises on it, but she’s fine.”
“And him? You actually broke his wrist?”
“Yeah.”
He drops his head into a sharp nod. “Good. Those assault charges will get plead down in court.”
“Yeah, but he had drugs on him too, so he could get a year for possession, maybe eighteen months with the first-degree assault added to it. He’s at least looking at some jail time.”
Ben runs a hand down his face before pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and looking at the screen. “He’s lucky. If he weren’t locked up, I’d hunt his ass down and rip him apart. I wouldn’t give a shit about my job.” He looks up at me, clutching his phone in one hand and placing his other on my shoulder. “Thanks a lot, man. You didn’t have to go to that bonfire.”