With the Strength of a Brick

Blood poured out of my mouth next to a pile of broken teeth and for the slightest second I couldn't remember whose they were. A quick sweep with my tongue and I felt better. I pushed myself onto my side, I hurt, bad, but not too bad, and figured I would be OK to stand. That's when I saw him. We had been so close and I didn't even realize.

I didn't think, I just acted. That's what people say, right? I think that's what I'm supposed to say, and really I think that's what I did. I saw him walking—I can't call it chasing exactly, I've seen chases I think and this didn't look like a chase. But he was walking after her and she was trying to get away. Trying, clearly, to walk faster than him, faster through the tears. And, boy, were they coming. He was yelling, what I couldn't tell. But there was this ferocity, how he was spitting out these words, such contempt. And she was crying so much. And when he grabbed her arm, well, I didn't think.

I ran down the hill to the sidewalk. I yelled at him to stop and they both turned on me, told me to shut up. That's what I don't get about girls. Clearly, I mean clearly, this girl is being bothered, clearly. Storming off down the sidewalk of campus while her idiot beau screams at her, is grabbing at her, looking this kind of violent. All I want to do is step in for a second, break it up long enough for her to get away a bit, maybe show this guy a thing or two. Although what do I know, I've never been in a fight. I'd like to think I'm scrappy but who knows? Anyway, in I come, doing the right thing I think, and she gets mad at me, too. She's telling me to shut up and go away just as much as he is. She wants to handle it herself, maybe, she doesn't want to have strangers fending for her. Or maybe she just doesn't want one more guy to deal with. Maybe that's it.

But I wasn't going to let it alone. I threw out things like What's your problem, You like to torment girls, and Calm down, bro. I got shoved a few times and shoved him back myself. I really didn't get to do anything more than that before she came at him with the brick. That shocked me, when you see actual teeth flying out of an actual mouth, and all the blood that comes with it. Only I didn't have much time for gawking. I was going to say nice job, or good going, or something, I don't know what. But before I could say much of anything she turned around and popped me one, right in the temple, and I went down. Just with her fist, but with the strength of a brick all the same. She muttered something to me, not sure what, but it probably wasn't nice.

And then faded in and out, and I came to, and I saw the blood, and the teeth. I pushed myself up off the stained pavement and looked around for her. But I didn't see her anywhere. I saw plenty of people, staring over, pointing, but I didn't see her. And when I looked down at my unconscious pal I could see what they saw. With the two of us there, with all that blood, who's to say which one was him and which one was me?