Sean took two smart steps toward Jacquelyn, towering over her by several inches, and gently elbowed her aside. His matter-of-fact demeanor disarmed Jacquelyn’s annoyance with this slight, if only a little. “Hey. What the f—”
“Sorry,” Sean interrupted, motioning to John. “Thought I could help with this asshole.”
Sean’s deliberate manner conveyed a calmness that seemed to unnerve John, who appeared unsure of himself as he shifted in his stance. He furrowed his brow and shook his head as he touched a hand to his reddening cheek, then rubbed his stubbly head. Bloodshot eyes assessed Sean while he stood there perplexed.
No stranger to trouble, Sean chuckled. How do I keep winding up in situations where I have to defend someone? He looked down his nose at John the driver before glancing back to Clay, who still hadn’t moved. He turned his attention back to the driver.
Keyed into Sean’s firm grasp of the situation, Jacquelyn relaxed a bit but remained poised. Knees slightly bent, she stepped to the side and turned to check on Elena, who stood frozen in the same spot. She looked down at Clay. He hadn’t moved. She then turned her attention back to Sean and John.
Sean stood silent, feet firmly planted, fists balled at his sides. He didn’t want a fight but refused to back down when provoked. His teenage years not far behind him, the memory of endless scuffles on and off the field remained. Sean had resented being labeled a troublemaker when he had, in fact, been a trouble-ender. Nevertheless, his protective instincts had cost him the only scholarship on offer. If not for the help of his older brother, he likely would have done time for the most recent incident involving loudmouth bullies and a wheelchair-bound friend.
𓂓
Jacquelyn stood ready to act as Sean stared down the driver. Time seemed to slow just a bit. A wisp of wind picked up random strands of hair hanging from her ponytail. Driven by the breeze, a dry maple leaf twitched across the road, scratching sounds akin to a rattlesnake’s warning. Mist wafted off the pavement as if the street itself exhaled the low hum of a deep breath.
Again, something shifted along the fringe of Jacquelyn’s awareness. Sensing the flicker of a familiar presence, she glanced to her side, certain she had seen motion near Elena. Nothing was there.
Despite the rising heat of the day, a chill shivered down her spine. Jacquelyn’s intuition tingled. The building breeze animated the ancient tree across the street, ends of huge branches moving in response to the argument as if they sought to protect the brave and might snatch John up at any moment in order to wring his neck in a mock public hanging, delivering the punishment that was sure to come anyway. The voiceless inhabitants of Haynesville Woods Avenue seemed alive with concern, and these noisy intruders subject to their woes.
Jacquelyn sensed but couldn’t fully comprehend the importance of the precipice she was standing upon in that moment—energies converging. The ground seemingly shifted beneath her as if the slightest movement of tectonic plates were about to alter the course of their lives. A feeling as though the energies of three worlds were about to collide, bringing with them all that stood within her, with Clay, and over John. Doubt set in. Should we make a stand? Here? Now? Should we back down?
One brief glance back to the man lying in the street, and then to her little girl, reaffirmed her determination. Absolutely. Tomorrow, she would look back and realize how reckless she had been in mismanaging her brazen temper.
As if it were a harbinger of trouble ahead, the distant wail of a siren broke the silence. Shadows seemed to creep in a little closer, pushing back the light of day.
𓂓
John stood undecided, eyes darting between Jacquelyn and Sean like he might back down.
As Sean’s adrenaline surge leveled off. A tinge of doubt crept in beneath his hasty bravado. We just needed to buy enough time for an officer to arrive. Sean was not concerned with another fight, but the consequences afterward. He had made a promise to his brother the last time. No more trouble.
Like a famished hyena stalking his prey, John picked up on the shift in Sean’s demeanor, mistaking it for fear, mistaking it for weakness. He stepped a foot forward, bouncing back and forth like he might take off any second, testing Sean. The approaching siren fueling the urgency of his situation, clouding his already inadequate judgment. John’s bouncing turned into partial lunges forward, puffing his chest, sticking out his chin, testing Sean with a hungry look on his face, grunting, teeth bared like a crazed mongrel.
Jacquelyn lowered in her stance.
Sean shook his head. “Don’t do it.”
Unfazed, John snorted. “What are you gonna do, boy?” Then he abruptly charged forward and raised his hands to shove Sean out of the way.
It looked as though Sean might have to break that promise. He rotated his hips as he took one step back to plant his right foot so that he could use his superior reach to his advantage. His left arm came up and over, pushing the driver’s hands out of the way and down, redirecting John’s forward momentum. At the same time, he cocked back his right arm and let it loose in a quick and accurate cross over the driver’s short arms. John’s eyes widened just before the punch connected with his chin.
In the same moment, Jacquelyn let loose a low kick to the back of John’s left leg. The direct hit seized his hamstring and lifted his foot. Off balance, disoriented, he crumpled to the pavement. Stunned, John leaned over on his left elbow and groaned, cradling his jaw with his right hand.
Standing over the driver, Sean looked at Jacquelyn and shrugged... just as a police cruiser arrived.
𓂓
As Officer Hines pulled up in his police cruiser, he saw a tall black guy punch a stout white man. Leaping to action, Hines jerked his short and scrawny frame from the police cruiser donning mirrored aviator sunglasses. A toothpick clenched in his teeth topped off the tough cop look. Without hesitation, he drew his weapon. “Freeze, hands up!”
Sean and Jacquelyn looked toward the officer but didn’t move.
“Ma’am, is that your child behind you?” Hines asked.
“Yes,” Jacquelyn replied. “How did—”
“Seemed like a natural assumption. Okay? Now move over to the curb and mind the girl, but do not leave.” He motioned toward Sean as he spat the toothpick out. “You. Hands up I said!”
As Jacquelyn moved to the curb, she attempted to clarify. “Wait a minute, Officer. This man tried to—”
“Ma’am, do not say another word. Move, now!” He walked up to Sean, who had raised his hands to shoulder level. Wisely, he hadn’t said anything.
“Get on your knees and lay face down, now!” Officer Hines demanded as he jabbed his gun at Sean.
Wearing an exasperated look, Jacquelyn tried to speak again. Officer Hines cut her off. “Ma’am, get over there next to your little girl unless you want to join him.”
Jacquelyn stepped up into her yard and stood next to Elena.
Sean followed the officer’s instructions.
Sensing the opportunity to impose his authority, Officer Hines sneered as he surveyed the scene.
On his hands and knees, John gathered his senses and looked over at Sean lying prostrate. He gurgled a mocking laugh, a stream of bloody saliva oozing over his lower lip. Sean did not return the gaze or reply.
Officer Hines knelt by Sean. “Move your hands behind your back so I can cuff you, and don’t fight.”
Sean complied.
“That’s right, gonna get what you deserve now, boy. I’ll see to that,” John the driver said. “You don’t know who you’re messin’ with.”
