Chapter 11 #2
I do feel a little silly.
Another man, this time much younger, bearded and very drunk, approaches the table.
“If you’re gonna give him money, then give me some money too, ya cunts,” he says.
“No,” Mischa says.
Hayden and Kane move closer to me.
“It’s okay,” William says, and hands the man a twenty.
“That’s not enough,” the man says, looking at the note.
“Well give it back then,” Mischa says, annoyed.
Kane pulls gently on the back of my belt from behind.
“You should probably wash your hands,” he says. “Those cards were dirty.”
I get off my stool and back away. Mischa’s eyes get big at the sight of us leaving. Hayden walks in front of me and Kane walks behind. I lock myself in the washroom, Hayden and Kane guard the door.
I clean my hands, and try not to get frustrated or claustrophobic. More than a minute or two in here feels very uncomfortable. We are away from the action, and I am safe on this side of the bar, so it should be okay to step back out.
I stand behind Hayden and Kane, who are shoulder to shoulder, watching everything unfold. The man asking for money is becoming irate. Mischa is losing his cool. I feel a sudden twitch of alarm. William reaches for his wallet to give the man more money, but Mischa is not having it.
“Don’t let this son of a bitch stand over you,” Mischa tells him.
“Son of a bitch?” the man says to Mischa. “You calling my mum a bitch?”
“No, no, not at all... I was just calling your dad a bitch.”
The man grabs Billy’s wallet and punches Mischa in the face.
Mischa pops up, and smashes his bottle over his head like we’re in the Wild West. Jesus.
What a way to escalate the whole thing. As soon as he does, the man’s friends jump in and our corner explodes into a brawl.
Mischa punches his way through bikers like a maniac—he’s a good fighter—but he’s in far more danger than he realizes.
“Hayden!” I say, as William and I lock eyes.
I know my brother is about to rip everyone in this bar limb from limb.
I shake my head, my eyes pleading with him not to.
He looks at me, and nods. He is still with it.
Mischa knocks someone out. William holds another back.
I get behind the bathroom door and hold it open a crack to watch.
A man hurls a beer bottle and hits Kane.
I watch Billy’s eyes go black and he erupts from the his corner.
Nobody even fucking touched me yet and he’s hitting guys left and right as he bulldozes his way over, smashing one into the bar.
I close the bathroom door and lock it. Then it’s quiet.
“Bee!” Kane yells to me, sounding scared, calling for help.
I open the door. All bikers are down, but my brother is still in kill mode.
Hayden and Kane back away to guard themselves, and fan out to try to tackle him.
Mischa hasn’t turned around yet, and we all scream for him not to move.
Wild-eyed, Billy grabs Mischa’s broken bottle and wields it as a weapon, grabbing the closest person to him, putting it to their throat. To Mischa’s throat.
“Mischa!” I yell. “Stay still.”
Hayden and Kane have their hands in the air. Mischa is confused, and my brother does not know where he is.
“I’m not...” Mischa starts, the sharp glass drawing a trickle of blood from his neck.
“Just shut up,” Kane tells Mischa. “Don’t move. Honey, you’re okay.”
I zero in on William. “Don’t hurt him. I’m okay, Bee.
Listen to my voice. Look at me. You’re having a flashback.
I’m okay, Honey. We’re okay. Look at me.
Listen to me. He’s just a kid, Bee. Breath in and hold it.
Don’t hurt the little boy, Bee. He’s just a kid.
Breathe and hold. Give me the bottle, Honey. Look at me. Come back to me. Bee? Bee?”
I feel the moment I catch his eye. It’s like a spell breaking.
He releases Mischa, who drops to the ground and backs right out from him.
I take the bottle and Billy grabs a pool cue and wields it like a rifle, pushing me behind him.
Mischa looks at him like he’s fucking insane, which is a fair assessment of the situation.
I reach for the syringe in my pocket, but some of the bikers are getting a second wind.
Can’t knock him out now. Billy aims his imaginary rifle at them.
I pull him out the door into the street.
On the street, I rub my hands through his hair and press his forehead to my forehead.
“Breathe,” I whisper. “I’m okay. We’re out. We’re okay. You got us out Honey Bee. Hayden and Kane are here. Look where we are! We’re in Australia. You’re taking me to...”
Mischa turns to Hayden. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Who is that?” William points his stick at Mischa’s head.
“He’s my friend,” I tell him. “He’s just a kid. Look at me.”
William drops his stick and starts babbling in a language only I understand. He says he wants to go home. I hug and kiss him and we sink to the ground. He is shaking all over. The monster is back, and we both need to run.
“It’s time to go,” I tell Kane.
Hayden shoves some candy in Billy’s mouth.
Kane hands me candy too.
“Focus, Baby,” he tells me.
They both put William’s arms over their shoulders and move him.
As we are almost at the corner, one of the maimed bikers comes out and starts yelling.
We have knocked out his front teeth so his Australian accent sounds impenetrable.
Despite this, Mischa turns back towards the man and flips him off.
Another one comes out and tells us we’re dead.
Mischa throws a rock and hits him. I want to punch Mischa out, but I’m swaying a little and getting disoriented.
He sees it, throws my arm over his shoulder and moves me.
A few blocks later we reach the hotel. Johnno and Athena cast a wary eye on us as we enter.
“Sun’s not down yet,” Mischa tells him.
We get up to the room and they pull us into the shower. They slump me down next to Billy as the water pours over us and Kane. Mischa looks at my saturated clothes.
“Thank you for your help,” Kane tells him, “but it’s time you left.”
Hayden escorts Mischa out.
“Sorry,” Billy says.
“He says he’s sorry,” I translate for Kane.
“It’s okay,” Kane tells him. “You’re not to blame, Honey.”
We don’t say anything for a long time as the water rains over us. I don’t know how long. When I can move again and I’m sure he’s stable, I leave him with Kane. It’s dark outside.
When I exit, I find Mischa sitting down against the door, and he falls back into the room when I open it.
“Hey,” he says, looking up at me from the floor.
I look down on him, consider saying hello back, but only say, “Excuse me.”
“Is William okay?” he asks.
I step over him and cross the hallway. Water drips off my clothes onto him.
“He’s still in the shower. He’ll be there a while.”
“You want to tell me what happened?” Mischa asks.
“He’s not all there.”
“That’s for sure,” Mischa raises an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry about it.”
“You saved my life,” he says.
“I hope I won’t ever need repayment.”
“I know,” he says, choosing his words very carefully. “I know what shell-shock looks like.”
“Yeah, well then you know there’s nothing for it.”
“You did everything right, Austen.”
I can feel my emotions welling.
“I should go,” I say.
“You want to have a drink with me?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to encourage you.”
“Like you said, you hate me,” he nods. “No talking. Just vodka. And maybe some Doctor Grinspoon to take the edge off?”
“If we leave this hotel it’s going to end terribly. Either you’ll try something and I’ll beat you to death, or my brother will go spare and do it for me. Let’s not tempt fate.”
“Let’s just go to the smoking patio; it’s probably empty.”
“Alright. Whatever.”