“No worries. I knew what I was getting into before we went out. If Tami couldn’t scare me off, then that little display was nothing.”
“That I believe. Tami scares me.”
“You’re a big tough guy, you can handle it,” Tracy told me.
“How are you holding up?” I asked Tracy.
“Good. I needed to get out of the house. I can’t let that jerk ruin my life. I do a good-enough job of that on my own,” Tracy said, as she got a tear in her eye. “Don’t let this one get away. He’s special.”
Tracy then took off and Missy turned to me with a look of concern. I explained our history and what was going on with Bill. Missy went to find her. I made the rounds of the party and got myself a soda. I found Missy and Tracy talking in the den, but Missy waved me off and I went back to the party.
IT WAS GETTING LATE and I had to pee so bad that when I saw the line, I ran outside and went in the bushes. I wasn’t going to make it if I hadn’t. The old farmhouse only had two bathrooms for thirty girls. That’s when heard the scream that could only be Tracy’s. Somehow, Bill had gotten to her and had gotten her out the back door. Tracy wasn’t going easy. She was fighting him each step of the way. She bit his hand, which earned her punch to the stomach. She fell down and he was on top of her, screaming at her as he put his hands around her neck.
I ran for him, briefly wondering where her security was. He wasn’t messing around. Tracy was in serious trouble as he tried to strangle her. I hit him with everything I had and luckily knocked him off of Tracy. We were both shook up as we staggered to our feet.
“Damn you, Dawson. You’ve meddled in my business way too long. I’m going to beat you to death.”
There was no posturing, no taunts, we just went at it. He had me in experience and meanness. I had him in reach, quickness and size. I held my own with some of the moves Cassidy taught me until he caught me with a vicious right. My head exploded as he connected with my left eye. Blood gushed, making me half-blind. To this day, I have no idea why I didn’t go down.
Something in me snapped, and I just went nuts. Bill made the mistake of going toe-to-toe with me. We were pounding the crap out of each other. I don’t know how much longer either of us could have gone when Jim ended it. He clocked Bill from behind. I heard his jaw break. Jim is a big boy at six-five and 240 pounds. He also owed the asshole for putting him in the hospital last fall.
Bill collapsed into me, sending me down. By now, everyone was pouring out of the party. There were a couple idiots using their phone cameras. A girl’s getting choked and all they can think of is YouTube? At least someone had called the cops and an ambulance, which was good because Tracy was in trouble. Bill had done something to her neck and she was having trouble breathing. I became dizzy and threw up. The last thing I remember was the paramedic frantically working on Tracy.
I CAME TO IN THE AMBULANCE. When we reached the hospital, I saw that Bill and Tracy had arrived before me. When they moved me from the gurney to the bed, one of the cops cuffed me to the bed. Bill had been treated the same way. They weren’t taking any chances.
Tom and Mary were the first parents to arrive. They got to see Tracy just for a moment and then they rushed her to surgery. The good news was that she was coherent. They came over and checked on me. When Tom saw my face, he was concerned.
“David, we’ll get a plastic surgeon in here right away.”
The staff hustled Tom and Mary out so the doctors could work on me. They got the bleeding stopped. By then the police had the full story and came in and uncuffed me. I was sent to x-ray. I had two broken ribs. The ribs were still in place, so they just taped them. The plastic surgeon showed up to look at my face. She sewed up the cut over my eye and put a couple stitches in some smaller cuts. They were concerned about a concussion because I’d gotten dizzy, thrown up and passed out. That earned me an overnight stay.
They carted me up to a room and let my parents see me. Mom looked drawn and tired. I hustled them out as soon as I could, letting them know I was fine. Mom must have been feeling awful because she allowed Dad to take her home. Tom and Mary showed up next to give me an update on Tracy.
“How is she?” I asked.
“He fractured her hyoid bone. It’s a bone in her neck,” Tom said, pointing to a spot under his chin. “They had to do surgery to repair the damage. She’s now sleeping in a room down the hall. They say she’ll make a full recovery.”
“Thank God. I was afraid for her. I appreciate you both stopping by.”
“Your dad asked us to keep an eye on you,” Mary said.
“Can I see Missy? I feel terrible that she came to see me and then this happened.”
“No, they sent everyone home. Give me her number and I’ll let her know you’re alright,” Mary offered.
They had finally given me some painkillers for my headache. These made me sleepy. Tom and Mary saw I was all but out and left. I was soon asleep.
Sunday February 23
I WAS RELEASED EARLY the next morning. I was glad that I had insurance. The emergency room alone would break most people. I called Missy and she met us at church. Mom and I made quite the couple. She looked pale and drawn, and I looked like I’d had the shit kicked out of me. Thankfully, the congregation circled the wagons and just gave us loving comfort. Missy was impressed with how they all seemed to care.
We got home to find Greg and Angie making French toast, bacon and eggs. Missy and I went into the living room to talk. As soon as we were alone, she put me in a headlock and started to cry.
“You’re the sweetest guy. You saved your friend and then fought that guy. He scared the crap out of me when he burst into the den and dragged her out. I ran to get her security guy. When we came outside, you were tackling him. That was the most brutal thing I’ve ever seen. I was afraid he was going to kill you.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“Don’t be. I now know that I’m safe when I’m with you. Tracy told me what she did to you. If you’d protect her, I know you’d do the same for me. It breaks my heart that you don’t live closer.”
Mom called us to brunch, which saved me. I was still a little foggy with the pain meds. I had told the hospital what had happened with my back pills. They assured me that I wouldn’t be chatty with these. These weren’t nearly as much fun, but they took the edge off the pain.
Angie got Kyle up; he took one look and didn’t want anything to do with me.
“Your Uncle David is so ugly he scares babies,” Greg teased.
“Keep it up, Chuckles, and the free babysitting will come to an end,” I warned.
He knew I was joking. I wouldn’t trade my time with Kyle for anything. After brunch, Missy went back to school. I grabbed my laundry and brought it to the house. Angie felt sorry for me and offered to do it with everyone else’s. I went back up and lay down for a minute. I woke to Angie putting my clothes away.
“How long have I been asleep?” I asked her.
“It’s five o’clock now. Dinner will be ready in a little bit. Let me change your bandage before we go down.”
She took it off and found it had blood on it. She got a warm washcloth and cleaned me up. She then put on the medicated cream the plastic surgeon gave me and then put a new bandage on. I ached so I took another pain pill. I leaned on Angie all the way down the stairs because my ribs hurt.
“Shit, I’m not doing that again anytime soon,” I complained.
“Did you know your fight’s on YouTube?” Angie asked me.
“Oh, crap, did anyone call Tom?”
“Yeah, they’re working to get it taken down. Tom has been in touch with everyone.”
“I guess I do want to see it, but I don’t really if that makes sense.”