Touch Me (You & Me 2)

“Ben!” Katherine shouted his name, but he was consumed by rage and couldn’t stop.

He kept swinging, hitting Tim in the face, blood pouring from his nose. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. He’d never felt so murderous in his life.

“Ben, stop, that’s enough,” Katherine ordered, her hand reaching out and touching his arm.

He stopped, mid-swing and looked at her. She shook her head.

“Come near her again you piece of shit and I will kill you,” he seethed.

He slowly got off the man, walking backwards, his chest heaving with his rapid breathing.

“It’s okay,” Katherine’s calm voice cut through the haze of red he was seeing.

He looked at her. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”

“You were on the ground,” he mumbled.

“Talia was pulling me, and Tim was pulling me. I lost my balance and Talia and I fell. I’m okay, really. Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

He nodded his head. “Good. Why is he here?”

Talia moved next to Katherine. “The cops are on their way.”

Katherine nodded. “He wanted me to leave with him,” she said with a sigh.

Talia looked at Ben’s eye. “I’m going to grab some ice. Stay put, Tyson,” she joked, walking away.

Ben looked past Katherine to where Tim was still lying on the ground. He hoped he stayed that way. He hoped he’d broken a rib or something at the very least.

“Come on,” Katherine said, gently pulling his arm.

“I’m keeping an eye on him,” he grumbled.

Katherine smiled. “He isn’t going anywhere. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

He nodded his head and turned to follow her out towards the front of the store. Talia handed him a bag of ice, instructing him to hold it to his face. He didn’t feel anything and doubted he would even have a black eye.

He felt it before he heard it. Tim exploded from the kitchen, barreling into his back and knocking him to the ground. He managed to push Katherine away before his knees hit the hard tile floor.

“Tim!” she screamed the name a second before Ben’s face slammed into the ground.

That was going to leave a mark.

Ben was not about to let the man get the upper hand. He used the strength in his legs to bump Tim from his back, rolling at the same time and managing to straddle him, punching him in the jaw as he righted himself. His vision was blurred, but he knew where his target was and kept swinging.

“Stop!” Katherine was shouting.

He couldn’t stop. The man had gotten up after the first round. He was going to stay down the second time. Tim managed to hit him in the gut before slamming his fist into his side, taking a shot at his kidneys.

Air gushed out of his lungs as the sharp pain rolled over him.

“Grab him!” he heard a male voice shout.

Seconds later, he was being lifted off Tim and thrown back on the ground, his arms wrenched behind his back.

“No! Stop! You have it all wrong,” Katherine pleaded.