I remember the way my stomach would knot at the sight of them in the halls, the way they’d laugh and shove me into lockers.I fought back like hell and soon they just let their shitty attitudes out by calling me names.My dad put me in MMA, and that changed everything.
The way Bethany played nice until she asked me out and I turned her down because she has the wrong body parts.
She then made it her mission to make my life hell.
I watch them stumble to the sidewalk, still the same, and Bethany’s voice cuts through the air like a rusted blade.“Look at that.They even got the gay doctor hanging around with them now.”
My spine goes rigid before I can stop it.I’ve heard worse.I’ve heard it whispered, shouted, muttered under their breath.
I keep my face neutral.I’ve had years of practice.
Samantha, my sister, hasn’t.She has a fiery temper, just like our father, whereas I take after our mother, who is quieter.
“What did you just say about my brother?”she demands, hands on her hips, eyes blazing like hot coals.
Her voice is pure fire, and I reach out immediately, willing her to listen.“Let it go, Sam,” I tell her, hoping she hears the plea in my voice.“They’re not worth it.”
These people don’t have a conscience; if they feel like they’re entitled, then it doesn’t matter.
But Bethany keeps going.They always fucking do, but from her hiss I know my comment has pissed her off.
“Listen to your fairy doctor brother,” she says with this nasty little smile.“Run along home before you catch something.”
My blood boils, scorching through my veins like liquid metal.I clench my jaw, forcing down the rage that threatens to erupt from my throat.Every muscle in my body coils tight, ready to snap.I would never hurt a woman, but I would love to throttle her.
The atmosphere shifts with a sudden charge, like the moment before lightning strikes.My skin prickles, aware of his arrival before I even register it.I don’t need to see him to know.My body recognizes Zach’s presence before my eyes confirm it, and when I finally turn, the sight of him hits me with physical force.
Zach.
Expression carved from stone.Shoulders tense.Eyes locked on the men Bethany’s with like he’s choosing which one to break first.Tiana, Zach’s sister, whispers something to him, but he’s barely holding it together.
The women step up before I can say anything.Defending me.Fierce.Unapologetic.It hits me harder than the insults do.
Then the men start in, and I know right off that this isn’t going to end well.
“Should’ve beaten it out of you back then.”
“Everything about you screams queer.”
The words hit harder than I expected.I feel it like a flicker of pain slicing through the armor I’ve spent years building.I hate that they see it.I hate that they still have that power.
And then Zach moves.
It happens so fast I barely register it.One moment he’s standing behind Tiana, coiled tension in human form, and the next he’s a blur of controlled violence.His fist connects with the jaw of the one closest to me with a sickening crack that vibrates through the night air.The sound reminds me of broken bones in the ER.Clean, definitive, final.
He crumples, folding in on himself like a marionette with cut strings.He hits the pavement with a dull thud, blood already pooling at the corner of his mouth.
“Jesus Christ,” someone gasps.
For one suspended moment, everyone freezes, a tableau of shock and realization.Then the one with the checkered sweater lunges at Zach with a roar, and everything explodes into motion.
My body reacts before my mind catches up.Twelve-hour shift fatigue evaporates, replaced by a familiar rush of adrenaline.I sidestep Checkered Sweater’s friend who’s coming at me with clenched fists, muscle memory from years of training taking over.
“X, on your left!”Samantha shouts.
I pivot, catching a meaty fist aimed at my face.The impact jars my arm, but I use the momentum, twisting the guy’s wrist and driving my knee into his stomach.He doubles over with a satisfying wheeze.
“That’s for calling my friends whores,” I snarl, following with an uppercut that snaps his head back.
