Chapter 12
Summer's POV
The man's face went from red to white. He looked at the crowd, at the phones filming, at me with my phone raised.
"Fine," he muttered, digging into his pockets. "Fine."
He pulled out a crumpled twenty and threw it on the ground. "There."
"Medical expenses," I said coldly. "That burn needs treatment. Five hundred dollars."
"Five hundred—are you insane?"
"Call it pain and suffering." I stepped closer. "You're not leaving until you pay."
The crowd watched, some nodding agreement. The drunk man looked around for support and found none.
"I don't have five hundred bucks."
"Then transfer it. Venmo. Cash App. Whatever." I paused, pulling my phone higher. "Or I call the police. Assault, destruction of property, public intoxication—take your pick."
His bloodshot eyes narrowed. Something ugly twisted across his face, and before I could process what was happening, he lunged forward with his arm raised.
Time slowed. I saw his fist coming toward me, saw Lily's wide terrified eyes behind Kieran, and pure instinct took over. I threw myself in front of the little girl, arms spread wide, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for the impact—
A sickening thud. A howl of pain.
But not mine.
I opened my eyes to find Kieran standing between me and the drunk man, his good left fist buried in the man's gut. The drunk doubled over, wheezing, and the crowd erupted in angry shouts.
"He tried to hit a girl!"
"Someone call the cops!"
"What kind of man—"
Kieran didn't move, didn't lower his fist. His face was carved from ice, but his shoulders were heaving. Behind him, I could feel Lily trembling against my legs where I'd shielded her.
"You good?" Kieran asked without turning around, his voice deadly calm.
I couldn't speak. Could only nod, then realize he couldn't see me. "Yes," I whispered.
He pulled his phone from his pocket with his burned hand—I saw him wince—and held it up so the drunk man could see the screen. The emergency call timer was already running. 911 dispatch was on the line.
"Officers are on their way," Kieran said flatly. "You tried to assault a minor. In front of witnesses. With video evidence."
The drunk man's face went gray. He straightened up, clutching his stomach, backing away.
"You—you're both crazy," he spat. "This is entrapment. I'll remember your faces. Both of you. You better watch your backs—"
"Yeah, you do that," someone from the crowd called. "We got your face too, buddy."
The man turned and stumbled away down the street, throwing one last venomous look over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.
The crowd began to disperse, and I stood there shaking as the adrenaline drained away. Kieran was still on the phone with dispatch, explaining calmly that the situation had de-escalated, that the man had fled, that no immediate assistance was needed but yes, they'd like to file a report.
Then he hung up and turned to look at me.
He was still holding Lily with one arm, his burned hand tucked against his side, his face blank. But his eyes—they were looking at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"You stepped in front of her," he said quietly.
"I thought he was going to hit her." My voice cracked. "I just—I couldn't—"
"She was behind me. He was coming for you."
The realization hit me like cold water. I'd been so focused on protecting Lily, on some instinctive need to keep her safe, that I hadn't even registered the actual threat. My hands started shaking harder.
"Your arm," I said, voice breaking. "You need the hospital—I can drive you—"
"Why did you do that?" His voice was flat but confused underneath. "Why did you help?"
"Because it was wrong," I said, tears blurring my vision. "Because he hurt you and someone needed to—"
I couldn't finish. The tears were coming too fast.
"You're crying," Kieran said, bewildered. "Why are you crying?"
"I don't know," I lied, wiping my face.
"Summer!" Maya's voice cut through. She was out of the car, picking her way across the street in heels. "Summer, sweetheart, what on earth—"
She stopped when she saw Kieran, taking in his burned arm, the little girl. I saw the calculation in her eyes.
"Oh my. Summer, we should go now. This isn't our concern."
"Not our concern?" I turned to stare at her. "He's hurt. He needs medical attention."
"I'm sure the restaurant will handle it. Workers' compensation and all that."
"They won't do anything." I pulled out my wallet, yanking out five hundred dollars in hundreds. "Here. For the hospital. For whatever you need."
I held the money out to Kieran. He looked at it, then at me, and something flickered across his face.
"I don't need your money," he said quietly.
"Kieran, please—"
"I said I don't need it." His voice was harder now. "Thank you for helping. But I don't need your charity."
He turned away, still holding Lily, and pushed through the restaurant's back door. It swung shut, leaving me standing there with my fistful of useless money.
Maya's hand closed on my elbow. "Come on, Summer. We're leaving."
I let her pull me back to the car, my legs moving on autopilot.
Maya drove in silence before finally speaking. "That was very dramatic, Summer."
"He was hurt."
"And you made quite a scene." Her voice had an edge. "Why him? Why that particular boy?"
"He's my classmate. We sit together."
She was quiet for a moment. "You have to be careful, Summer. These kinds of situations can be complicated. That boy, his circumstances—it's not your responsibility."
"I was just trying to help."
"And that's kind of you. But boys from backgrounds like that can get the wrong idea. Start to expect things." She glanced at me. "I know you're going through changes. But you have to remember who you are."
"I know who I am," I said quietly.
"Good." Maya said, "Then you know that getting involved with boys like that never ends well."