Tears ran out the sides of his eyes and down through the blood smeared across his lip. I was just letting him get some punches in before I rained down the pain.” His voice cracked on every other word of the lie.

Not what I expected from someone who’d just been beaten. He moved his hands away from his face and looked up at me with the biggest most ridiculous smile, blood coating teeth that were too big for his mouth. The skinny kid was on the ground holding his bloody nose. I instantly felt better, although the need to inflict violence was always like a rat gnawing on my every thought and emotion, punching Tyler had temporarily dimmed the feeling from blaring spotlight to burning candle. The back of his head landed with a thunk against the pavement. With one punch to the bully’s pimpled jaw, I knocked him flat on his ass. I jumped in front of Tyler and cocked back my fist. I pushed aside two little girls who were cheering on the beating. Blood dripped from his nose and fell to the ground. His ribs were so visible I could count them. The boy’s ripped shirt rose up over his pale stomach revealing bruises in varying shades of purple and yellow. The littler kid grunted each time Tyler made contact. He was holding this skinny kid by the collar of his shirt, punching him in the face over and over again with his closed fist. In the center of the circle was a brute of a kid named Tyler, a dark-haired boy who always wore band logo t-shirts with the sleeves ripped off. I towered over all the other kids in my grade and could easily see over their heads. Before I knew it, I’d leapt across the sandbox and was on my way to a group of kids gathered in a circle on the far side of the yard next to the kickball field. So when I heard those words shouted from across the playground it was like my anger had made the decision before I had a chance to really think about it. I may not have been able to win in a fight against a grown man, but I was convinced I could have at least done some damage. I wanted to wail on John’s face so bad that I sat on the side of the school during recess clenching and unclenching my fists as I replayed that morning over and over again in my mind.

For letting him lay his hands on her like that. But this time, when I’d stepped in front of her, not only did she push me aside, but she defended the fucker. Moms current boyfriend had used her as a punching bag yet again. If a kid didn’t have the balls to stand up for himself, then they deserved whatever they had coming to them.īut that morning I’d made the decision to leave home for good. I’d seen some of the kids in my school bully other kids before, but I’d never felt like I should butt in. “Come on you fucking fag! You’re such a little fag pussy!”

King series by tm frazier