so there's that too, I thought to myself. I think that's worth more than a couple of plants that'll die in a few weeks.
I heard a door behind me open, and I turned around as fast as I could. Brian exited Macy's hospital room and slammed the door behind him. The two police officers went on alert, their hands lingering around their Tasers.
“I'm sorry, I didn't realize how light the door was,” Brian said in a rush.
“Either way, the exit's that way, son,” one of the officers told Brian. He raised a finger and pointed down the hallway past my group.
“Yeah, alright,” he mumbled.
Brian's eyes bored into mine the entire time he walked toward us. I stared right back into his, not afraid for a second.
“You're gonna regret thinking you’re better than me, Kane,” Brian said as he walked by, making sure to stay quiet so the officers didn't hear him.
“And you're gonna regret thinking you were good enough for Macy,” I spat back at him.
“The hell you say?” he all but shouted at me, stopping in his tracks. His chest was puffed and arms flexed, ready for a fight.
“Hey!” the officers shouted as they walked over to us. They grabbed Brian by the arms. “Let's go, punk.” And with that, they escorted Brian out of the hospital.
I made sure to give a little wave to him before he disappeared around the corner. It wouldn't be long until Brian Turner would no longer be a problem.
A HAPPY ACCIDENT
I WALKED out of the Burger Shack, a sack full of food in one hand, and a holder of drinks in the other. I walked down the street just a few blocks away from the hospital, breathing in the fresh summer air. I needed to cool down after my confrontation with Brian, so I volunteered to go get burgers for everybody while the rest of the guys helped Macy pack. The streets were unusually quiet for the summertime in Ebon, but that was becoming more and more the norm thanks to Richter. Me, on the other hand, I walked with a little extra skip in my step, enjoying the beautiful day. I looked forward to seeing Macy again, even though I’d only been away from her for half an hour.
As I passed by a small alleyway just a black away from the hospital, though, my day took a turn for the worse. “Hey, dickhead!” I heard someone call from within the alley. I turned my head to the right to see who it was, and there stood Brian Turner with a face that said he was pissed and ready to raise hell.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “What is it, Brian?” I asked.
“Come here,” he said.
“And why would I do that?” I asked him.
Brian walked toward me, grabbed me by my shirt, and threw me into the alley. The drinks and burgers flew out of my hands, and all over the alley. I hit the ground and rolled a couple of times, before stopping face-up, staring at the sky. “Oh, ow!” I shouted, doing a bad job of making it seem like I was in pain, even though I felt nothing at all.
Brian walked over to me and pulled me up by my shirt. He pushed me up against the brick wall on one side of the alley. “You listen to me and you listen good: Stay the hell away from Macy. She’s mine, you prick,” Brain shouted at me.
“Uh, well, I don’t know about that. You can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with, and you also can’t tell me who I can and can’t be in love with. Especially when that person is in love with me,” I said. I didn’t know if Macy really was “in love” with me, but I knew that’d sure make Brian mad.
Brian punched me in my gut, and I almost forgot to double over in faux-pain.
“She’s not in love with you!” Brian shouted. “She loves me, alright? Now, you’re going to stay away from her!”
My blood began to boil. Brian had always been a nuisance to me my whole life, and I was tired of it.
He punched me in the stomach again, except this time I did nothing. He didn’t seem to notice, though.
“Are you join to leave her alone?” he yelled at me.
I was seething with anger. I couldn’t believe