Cornered (2 page)

“Oh! Binh! You scared me,” Michelle said as the shadowy, hooded figure came around the side of the restaurant and stepped into the light.

“Michelle? What are you still doing here? Is everything okay?” Binh asked a little timidly. Michelle tensed when she saw that he was carrying a baseball bat.

“Um, isn’t it a little late to be heading to the batting cages?” she laughed quietly.  She held her arms close to her body, rubbing her bare biceps against the night air. Binh looked confused for a second before smiling and leaning the bat against the low brick wall where Michelle sat.

“No, the motion detector went off a minute ago, so my dad sent me out here to take a look. Why are you still here? It’s after midnight.” He came over and sat next to her on the wall.

“Oh, my ride just hasn’t gotten here yet. I called him a little while ago.”

“A little while ago? You’ve been out here for two hours! Where does this guy live?”

Michelle looked away before answering. “Well, I had to leave him a message, and he can’t always check his phone.”

“So he doesn’t even know you’re sitting out here? Wow.” Binh kicked at a rock on the sidewalk, sending it bouncing into the street. “I don’t actually have a license, but I can still take you home. I have to drive for my parents sometimes.”

“Thanks, but I’d hate for you to have to do that. It’s late, go back to bed.” She realized how condescending that sounded, the older worldly young woman ordering the little boy to go to bed, and she looked apologetically at him. Just to make sure her evening was as horrible as possible, a sheet of lightning flickered over the rooftops across the street, followed only a few seconds later by a low, threatening rumble of thunder.

“Well, you’ve managed to change my mind!” Michelle said with a broad, fake smile. Binh laughed and went back inside for the keys, leaving the bat now that he knew the coast was clear. Angry yelling from deep inside the small building attached to the back of the restaurant let Michelle know that he must have told someone where he was going.

“I’m really sorry, Binh. I appreciate you doing this,” she began as they walked around to the side alley where his parents stored an old minivan with “The Painted Phan” painted on the front doors.

“It’s no problem. I know you’re working really hard. You could make a lot of money at a different restaurant. Why do you stay with us?”

“I think I could ask you the same question, right?” Michelle hinted, hoping Binh understood that at least someone cared when his dad yelled at him or called him stupid.

“Oh, that’s just my dad and his upbringing. I really don’t let it bother me. I know he’s just terrified that if he doesn’t ride my case I won’t amount to anything.”

“Huh. So yelling at you all the time is supposed to do what? Groom you to take over the family business someday? You can learn to run a restaurant without someone yelling in your face and insulting you.”

“Oh, I’m not learning to run the restaurant. My parents would be furious if that’s all I did.”

“All you did? There’s nothing wrong with running a restaurant. Your family owns a good business, they give people jobs. They’re even bringing their culture to this part of the city. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

“They just have other plans for me, you know?” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “College, a career, stuff like that.”

“College isn’t always everything’s it’s cracked up to be, trust me on that,” Michelle started before looking away.

Binh opened his mouth to say something else but was startled, bumping clumsily into Michelle, by the sound of glass smashing against the asphalt near his feet. They both looked up to see where the glass had come from. It was too late when they heard heavy pounding footsteps that they thought to look behind them. Hands reached out of the shadow of the building to shove Binh to the ground before a dark boot kicked him solidly in the gut, making him cry out in pain and gasp for air.

“Help!” Michelle yelled, looking frantically for something to use as a weapon. Now she understood why Binh had carried that baseball bat just to look outside. “Somebody help! Please!”

“Stop your yelling, Michelle!” Daniel said in a heavily slurred voice, vapors of stale beer wafting from his putrid open mouth. “Some guy thinks he’s gonna come get a piece of what’s mine? No way!”

Daniel kicked Binh again, this time catching him in the back of his head as the kid curled in a ball. He dropped down and punched Binh, over and over, as Michelle tried desperately to pull his hand away only to have his fist catch her solidly in the cheek. He reared his arm back for another assault on her, catching Michelle across the cheekbone in the process and dropping her to the pavement before kicking at Binh one more time.

“Daniel, stop! He’s just a boy! Stop!” Michelle crawled to where Binh lay motionless, only inspiring Daniel’s anger further.

“That’s right, save your chink-assed boyfriend! No wonder you stayed here so late!”

“I stayed because you forgot to pick me up! You were supposed to be here when the restaurant closed. He was just taking me home!” Angry tears spilled down Michelle’s swollen cheek, mixing with the blood from where Daniel’s ring cut her before dripping down the front of her torn silky dress.

“Yeah, I bet he was taking you home. I’m the one who takes you home! ME!” he bellowed, staggering a little bit from the loss of balance caused by his anger. “Now get off your ass and get in the car!”

“No, Daniel! I’m not going anywhere with you! You’re drunk and you’re a jerk. Leave me alone!” Michelle cried. She still leaned protectively over Binh, whose quiet moans at least let her know he was alive. She shielded his head and torso as much as she could as Daniel advanced towards them again. A painful kick to her hip sent her sprawling over his young body, but she would take it before she let this lousy excuse for a boyfriend hurt a sweet, kind boy. She covered her head with her arms and waited for it to be over.

It had been a long day, and now, thanks to pulling a shift as the on-call driver for the garage’s after-hours tow truck, it was going to be a long rest of the night, too. Two separate calls had come in tonight, meaning he was only just now getting around to finishing his cold dinner. Lars leaned back in his chair, propped his feet on the desk, and enjoyed the quiet of the shop, practically blissful now that he’d finally finished that rebuild job that had been hanging over his head. The leftovers from the dinner of Asian take-out sat on the desk next to his steel-toed shoes.

The garage was almost eerie without the usual sound of whining impact wrenches, but just as he reached to turn on the radio for some background noise, Lars heard a scream, definitely a woman screaming, only a block or two away. He sat up straighter, listening closely for any other sounds, hoping it really was just the result of his tired brain.

When he heard more shouts followed by another scream, Lars jumped out of his chair, reaching for a long handled wrench from one of the toolboxes near the lift. He stepped outside, patting his pockets to make sure he had his keys before the door could shut.

As he crept towards the street, scanning every direction for signs of a scuffle, it took a few moments before Lars could isolate the source of the sounds. Making his way to the corner of the building while staying out of sight, he peeked around the drainpipe bolted to its side just in time to see a ragged man deliver a swift kick to a figure crouched on the ground.

That’s no way to fight,
Lars thought.
Kicking a man while he’s down is just low.

Lars lifted the wrench as he snuck up behind the attacker, but at the last minute swung it low so that instead of bashing the man over the head like he wanted to it impacted with the side of his leg, just above the knee. The fighting man went down with a loud cry, clutching at his injured leg as he rolled from side to side. He tried once to get up and looked as though he would lunge at Lars, only to crumple to the ground solidly when Lars popped him sharply in the forehead with a jab from the heel of his hand.

Lars made sure that the man wasn’t getting up any time soon before heading to the victim on the ground. He reached into a pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a flashlight, shining it in the direction of the man’s target. He was sickened to the point of rage when he saw that there were actually two people cowering on the ground, a brunette woman and a young kid.

“Don’t try to move, I’m going to get help,” Lars half-yelled, adrenaline forcing its way to his heart as he looked around the alleyway. “Just hold still.”

“Is he gone?” Michelle said in a cracked voice. She lifted her head to look past the man who had rescued them, his light still shining on Binh’s thin frame. Daniel’s agonized yells answered her question, making her wince.

“Can you stand up?” Lars asked, timidly putting a grease-stained hand under her arm to help her stand so he could see the boy.

“I think so. Just let me get my bearings for a second.”

“What happened? Who is this asshole?”

“Well, now he’s my
ex-
boyfriend. He thought I was cheating on him, and he just went crazy.”

“Wait, he thought you were cheating? With this guy? He’s just a kid!”

“I didn’t say he was smart,” she answered, wincing from the facial expression she’d made. “Can you get Binh’s parents? They own the restaurant around the corner, they’re apartment is in the back.”

Before Lars could decide whether or not he should leave the two of them with the moaning attacker still groaning on the ground nearby, two people approached, holding each other’s arms. “Binh! BINH!”

              Michelle looked up as Mr. Phan and his wife rushed at them, their cordless phone still clutched in Mrs. Phan’s hand. She threw herself down on the ground and cradled Binh’s head gently, looking around frantically to try to figure out what had happened. Mr. Phan pointed an accusing finger at Michelle.

             
“You do this! You bring that idiot to my restaurant! This all your fault!” he shouted, using his angry voice again, his hair falling over his eyes as his head shook.

             
“I’m sorry, Mr. Phan! I had no idea he would show up here at this time of night. Binh was taking me home and Daniel got the wrong idea, then...”

             
“I no care! Look at my son’s face! You fired, you no come back here. Then that idiot stay away!” He turned back to his wife and injured son, helping her lift Binh now that he was starting to come to.

             
“Wait, Mr. Phan, I can promise you that this will never happen again...” Michelle began, trying to help the couple lift their son.

             
“Here, let me help you get him inside,” Lars offered before being pushed away by Mrs. Phan.

             
“No! You two go away now!” They each took a shoulder and half-carried, half-dragged him inside, leaving Lars and Michelle to stare down at Daniel’s passed out carcass.

             
“Um, are you okay?” Lars asked, finally turning to Michelle and shining his flashlight just to the side of her face to see the bleeding bruise leaking down her cheek. He reached into his pocket for something to stop the bleeding, but came up empty handed. “The police are coming, that lady was on the phone with them when she came outside. They’re gonna need to talk to you. I’ll stay here in case this guy comes to.” Lars nudged Daniel with the toe of his shoe, getting a solid moan out of him.

             
“Thanks.” She looked away and went to sit on the curb, pulling her knees close to her body. It didn’t matter if her dress got smudged now that she was out of a job.

             
“Is there someone I can call to pick you up?” he asked, coming to sit near her while still giving her some space.

             
“No, it’s too late. I’ll just send my roommates a text. I don’t want to wake them.”

             
“Do you always do that?”

             
“Do what?”

             
“You don’t even know you’re doing it? Listen, some asshole beats your face in while you protect a kid, and then you stand there begging for your job while the blood runs down your chin. Then, after it’s all over with, you don’t wanna go waking up your roommates because they’re getting their beauty sleep or something? It must really suck having to care about everybody but yourself.”

             
Tears formed in the corners of Michelle’s eyes. She sniffled and rested her cheek—the clean one—on her knees, looking away from Lars without speaking.

             
Once the police finally arrived, Lars filled them in briefly about what he knew while an ambulance technician cleaned Michelle’s cut. She gave her statement next, and then waited as the policemen told her a squad car would come to take her home. The best moment of the evening came when they tried to handcuff Daniel, which only made him lash out and scream at her. She watched in shocked horror as the officers had to spray him with mace and listened to his profanity-riddled screams of agony.

             
“Hmm, thought I heard more screaming,” Lars said, wandering back in her direction and watching the officers wrestle Daniel into the back of a patrol car. He laughed loudly for just a second. “If he keeps this up, they’ll taze him!”

             
Michelle wrapped her arms tighter across her chest, flinching when the adhesive from the bandage on her face pulled at the skin. Lars looked at her, and immediately felt awful for chewing her out earlier.

             
“Hey, I’m really sorry about acting like a jerk earlier. I was giving you a hard time and that wasn’t fair. I don’t know your business, and I didn’t have any right. I don’t even know you’re name, who am I to judge?”

             
She nodded quickly, then said, “It’s Michelle. Michelle Vane.”

             
“And I’m Lars Michaelson. I’d say something like ‘nice to meet you,’ but that ship’s kinda sailed already. Look, I came out here to tell the cops I gotta go. The radio went off, I gotta tow a car. If they need me or anything, I’ll have to call them later. Since I’m already headed out on an official run, I can drop you off somewhere. Do you live close by?”

             
Michelle tensed at the offer. She didn’t know this guy, even if he was nice enough to take Daniel down with a wrench. She looked at him to politely refuse his offer, but the look on his face was kinder than that of anyone she’d seen in a long time. She nodded slowly, reaching down for her purse where it had fallen to the sidewalk.