Surviving Gangster's Love

Drunken Brawl

I was not expecting anyone, the sudden door bell caught me off guard. I peeped through the peep hole while my heart beat was rising. It was a mix of anticipation and fear. It was Katy on the other side of the door and I caught myself feeling disappointed for a second. The moment she entered the house, Katy started being as nosy as she had always been.

"Why was Austin away for such a long time? Why was his ever active account showing no activities latley? Were we in a fight? What was that panicky call about and who pulled such a prank?" She had an unending list of questions.

I could feel an incoming headache. I wanted to fight with her and blame her for introducing Austin to me, for suggesting the marriage. I wanted to rant but that meant telling her all about Mr Xi and the situation I was in. It would do nothing but make her worried, plus, it was very complicated what I felt about the whole situation. There was no way to explain it without revealing myself in the process. It was easier to set aside her questions and distract her with one thing she could never reject.

I suggested talking over beer and fried chicken. There was no way Katy could reject that proposal. It was like a cheat code to her. I told her it'd been too long since I stepped out and ate out, that it would give me a change of atmosphere, which was partially true. I sort of needed the change. The silence of the house which I cherished so much earlier was starting to press on me for the past few days. I needed to stay away from myself for a while.

We headed out, but not before Katy rejected my outfits multiple times and made me wear what she wanted me to wear.

"Let's make it a girls night out! It has been so long since we did that." I had always liked Katy's enthusiasm. She made me forget things for a while. She was so full of energy and so accommodating. It surprised me often, our friendship. How was such a lively and bright girl with someone like me? It always baffled me.

We went to The Old Lama. It was where we had tried beer for the first time publicly after coming of age. We were pretty regular there in our university days, but not so much past one year. I started working as a full-time writer just after graduation and took a break from my part-time teaching job at the community college. While Katy had started working at her parents's buissnes full time. So our beer outings were down to once a while in a month or two.

We were both wearing oversized black sweatshirts with a panda on them and denim shorts, because Katy wanted to relive our university days. It had been just one year since we passed through, yet Katy would keep talking about it as if it was ages ago. We sat in the corner seats near the glass walls overlooking the highway outside. The owner recognized us. Katy would always engage in small talk with her. She was a bulky woman with a golden heart. It is rare to come across people like her. She had very warm, smiling eyes. I had never seen anyone talking to that woman and not having a smile on their face. There was something about her. One would feel safe around her.

I remember feeling grateful for the outing even before we had placed our orders. The old familiarity with the place relaxed my tensed nerves. Before I knew, we had downed several jugs of beer and had two servings of fried chicken already. Katy was prattling on about being sad that I did not confided in her even after so many years of friendship. She was a bit tipsy already. Then we decided to go all the way with drinks. Mostly I am cautious about how much I drink in a public space, but I let myself go that day. Maybe it was because of all the pressure I have been feeling for the last week.

I don't remember what all we downed. All I remember is that there were a few cocktails and shots mixed in there and we were sloshed to the boot. I was enjoying the trademark jazz of the place which was playing in the background. Katy and I were having a full-blown serious conversation about something insignificant, like the colors of cars passing on the highway or something of that sort. We were having fun but then some i***t decided to ruin our time. Some man sent a drink over to Katy with a note asking for a dance.

If there was one default in Katy, it was her air-headedness when it came to men. She would get swayed by the smallest of gestures and efforts. She wore her heart not on her sleeve but on her finger-tips. She was an incorrigible romantic and would always wear rose-tinted glasses every time she met a man. Which eventually she would have to take down, but not before she got herself fooled.

I knew the evening was finished the moment I saw that pink cocktail being placed on our table. Of course, Katy went ahead to dance with the man. The Old Lama was a sort of unconventional eating place. It had a nice alcohol collection but there wasn't a bar. They had roadside snacky things on their menu, but they also had a little wooden dance floor in the centre of the place, decorated with fairy lights and warm colors. It was no club, it had a very soft and romantic feeling to it. They would also often have live jazz performances. It was like a hidden gem. I was grateful for it not being that famous.

I was observing Katy snaking along with the man. He was kind of good looking, just the type Katy liked. I had a feeling I was going to go back home alone as the 'girl's night out' seemed to be over. I enjoyed the atmosphere, it made me feel as if I was back in time. It was how most of our girl's night out ended. But this man turned out to be a real piece of s**t, he started grabbing Katy and it seemed she was uncomfortable. Not like people don't make out with random strangers, but something about him had put Katy off. She turned to give me a look and I understood.

I made my way to the dance floor and that was when I realized I was much more drunk than I thought I was. My steps were not falling straight. I went to them and took Katy's hand, asking the man to let her go. He was as drunk as it gets and his anger flared at being objected. I remember being pushed and the next moment I was grazing the floor. It took me multiple attempts to get back on my feet. I was also angry at this point , or maybe it was all the frustration I already had inside me. The next thing I know is that I was in a brawl with the man.

I had gabbed his hair and we were both on the floor. Later, Katy told me that I was trying some of my Karate moves in my drunken state. Aiming his pressure points as I was struggling to keep my balance. I doubt I would have come out of it unharmed if he was not as drunk as I was. It was complete chaos and the owner was trying to stop us. Someone called the police and the next thing I was sitting in the police station with a punch wound in my left eye.

The owner had taken our side and the CCTV had proved that he had grabbed Katy and tried to assault her. Later, he was the one to push me first. So we were there just to give our statements and report the man for assault. The alcohol was still buzzing in my system when the officer was warning me against getting violent like that again. I remember finding the whole situation kind of funny, as I had never been in the police station before and now was being warned for getting into a brawl. While I was kidnapped just a few days ago, in the middle of the road and nobody even flinched.

As Katy and I dragged our sorry asses out of the police station, I saw a pair of eyes that made me shudder. Mr Xi was standing right outside, leaning on a car, with his arms crossed. Katy was apologizing to me for getting us into a mess, but I could not care less about it. I would have told her she shouldn't be sorry as it was not her fault that there were roaches like that roaming around us, but my mind was completely zoned out. I was standing frozen, looking at Mr Xi, until Baldie came into my vision of sight. He was telling me that he would drop my friend off and that I should get into the car with Mr Xi. But, I just could not move from where I was standing, as if I was glued.

Then I saw Mr Xi walking towards me.