Micah had never been hit so hard in all his life. The pain in his jaw and his thumping heart were the only things he could focus on, the nightlamps in the parking lot blurry and swaying with his unsteady vision. A moment later he realized the out-of-the-blue blow had knocked his glasses clean off his face. Fingertips pressed to his lips and he saw blood on them when he pulled them away. Micah strained to see his assailant, an older man in a meticulously kept peacoat.
"Wh-what the hell, man?"
Micah nearly shrieked when the man grabbed his collar to hoist him to his feet, hands up to show his defenselessness.
"I don't have any money. Take my watch, bro!"
"I'm not your fucking 'bro'."
The man took a step forward and shoved Micah back against the brick wall of Princeton-Plainsboro, keeping a firm hold on the shirt material.
"And this isn't about a watch."
The step forward brought the man into the light and though blurry, Micah recognized him better though his initial fear at being jumped on his way to his car changed into a worried confusion.
"Look, if this is about the guitar I said I would retune it, free of charge."
"What was that bullshit, before?"
Micah winced.
"Just a jam session, man! It was nothing, I swear."
He jerked forward with a little gasp when he felt the blow to his stomach, a clean hit aimed with purpose and bad intent.
"Nothing my arse. Why do you think I bought your shitty little guitar to begin with, so you could flirt with her and ask her out?"
Micah forced himself to answer, not wanting to push the other man's irritation further. Even under the heavy accent, he could tell how angry he was and so he gasped his words out.
"I'm sorry, look…I'm sor-"
His still tender stomach was in no condition to take another blow and he buckled after a hard, fast knee connected. Micah worried briefly if he was going to pee blood in the morning but before he could answer himself he felt the fist holding his collar tighten again and readied himself to be hoisted back to his feet.
Chase leaned in to be face to face with him, anger shining brightly in his vivid blues. For as handsome as he was he could be just as fierce.
"Listen to me because I'm saying this one time and one time only. Stay away from Chi Park. If I see you so much as breathe in the same room as her…"
Micah lifted his arms to duck and cover behind them, nodding quickly.
"I get it, it's cool! I get it!"
"Good."
Chase let the boy drop and delivered another swift, clean blow to his stomach with a kick from his football days back home. Afterwards, he composed himself while straightening the collar of his coat with a deep exhale before turning to quietly walk back to the car idling in the aisle of the parking garage.
Taub quirked a brow from the passenger's seat, smirking in amusement.
"Was that really necessary?"