Nick?
Holy shit.
I turned the vacuum cleaner off.
“Oh my God. What the heck?” I asked.
“You tell me!” Tommy demanded, his eyes on fire.
Nick struggled, holding an envelope in his hand, “I already said; it’s a delivery. From her Dad.”
He was trying to struggle away from Tommy but he didn’t have the strength. Tommy was bigger, stronger, crazier, and angrier.
“Fuckin’ punk,” Tommy spat, and dragged him into his office, “Tia, now.”
I followed.
Tommy threw Nick against the wall in his office, “You little fuckin’ punk. What the fuck? You have the nerve to step foot on my property? To get to Tia? What did you think you were gonna do?” Tommy folded his arms across his chest and leveled a killer dirty look on Nick.
“I just have a letter for her, from her Dad. It’s my job, man.” He held the envelope out. Tommy snatched it from his hand and threw it in the direction of the desk. It landed on the floor. Nick was slumped against the wall. He reached to his utility belt for the signature thingamajig. As if one of us was gonna stop right now and sign for the envelope.
Nick looked up at me. His lip was bleeding.
“Did you hit him, Tommy?”
“Did I?” Tommy looked incensed and glared at me like I was stupid, “You keepin’ shit from me, Tia?”
I did a double take, “Huh?”
He stormed toward me, “How many other packages has this little fuck delivered?”
“Wh-what?” I was shocked at the accusation in his words, his tone, his eyes.
His eyes were scary. I backed up and my back hit the wall.
He eyed me warily and then spun and picked Nick up off the floor by clenching his shirt at his chest and threw him against the wall again. And then he punched Nick in the face.
I screeched.
Marley started barking.
“Get him outta here!” Tommy hollered.
I grabbed my puppy’s collar and pulled him out of the room and shut the door behind him.
Marley kept barking from the other side of the door.
Tommy kept punching. He was punching Nick like he was a heavy bag. Over and over and over.
“Tommy! Stop it!”
He ignored me.
“What the fuck, man? How many times you been here?”
“This is the s-second time.”
Tommy glared at me, lip curled, like I was a piece of dirt.