What Rose Above

Twenty-Two

It was hard to tell what they were arguing about. From what I've witnessed of Nathan's temper, it could've been anything. Whatever the case, Nathan and Joel were nose to nose. And per usual, there wasn't a counselor close enough to stop it.

The group home residents were scattered across the grass; with Nathan, Joel, Yasmine, and a few other residents bunched together by the edge of the lake. Joel was closest to the water while Nathan pointed in his face. That was already a bad sign. One wrong move and the lake would swallow Joel whole. Whether that be because Nathan pushed Joel into the lake or because Joel fell into the lake himself. It was a recipe for disaster either way.

"You think you're Mr. Tough guy now, huh?" Nathan shoved Joel's chest. Joel flinched but he didn't back away. Nathan shoved Joel's chest again and spat, "Didn't learn your lesson when I bashed your nose in? What have you been saying about me to your little friends?"

"Careful, Nathan!" Yasmine barked. There was a wild, panicked look in her eyes as she looked around the lake—likely in search of a counselor. She was so frantic, she stepped forward, maybe to place herself in between them since no one else was jumping in.

Honestly, I couldn't blame her for being so concerned. What concerned me the most was the rusty, old hammer sticking out of Nathan's back pocket.

Mark reached out for her wrist. "Stay out of this." It looked like he whispered to her. She backed down and clenched her fists at her sides as if she was waiting for someone—anyone—to put an end to the madness. No one did anything though. The remaining residents merely lingered near the scene as cryptic onlookers, whispering among themselves.

"Well? Say something!" Nathan gritted his teeth.

Even though Joel remained quiet, he made it his mission to defend himself in silence. He fixed his feet so they were planted steadily against the ground. Probably to prepare for the next push Nathan gave him. All that did was piss Nathan off further.

Was being on the receiving end of Nathan's rage worth it? Ehh, I didn't think so. But it looked like Joel was trying to prove a point. And that point was: Joel wouldn't give into Nathan's bullshit anymore. That's when the situation began to escalate.

"Guess you're not going to say anything, huh?" Nathan said.

"I'm not the only one who thinks that way about you. . ." We could finally hear Joel's voice. But he spoke in such a soft tone, it was almost hard to hear him. That most certainly wasn't the best thing for Joel to say, considering Nathan's veins were pulsing in his forehead. Not only did Joel confirm that he talked shit about Nathan but that he wasn't the only one who did it.

"What the fuck did you just say!?" Nathan snapped.

I knew Nathan would throw the first punch. What I didn't know was that Joel would try and defend himself this time. He threw up his arms to block the punch. But he was a moment too late. As if that weren't alarming enough, Nathan's knee rammed into Joel's stomach causing Joel to hunch over and dry heave.

"Did you just try to hit me, you little shit!?" Nathan yelled as he pounded into Joel's stomach again. Nathan couldn't have been further from the truth. Still, the punches and kicks happened repeatedly. Joel barely had a moment to breathe.

Finally, what I feared happened—Joel was laid out on the ground as Nathan reached for the hammer. No one broke them up. No one called a counselor. Everyone looked on in shock while Nathan took the hammer to Joel's legs. With the exception of the few screams that could be heard in the background, including Yasmine's.

It was those very few screams that finally captured the attention of the counselors. I could hear whistles and an overwhelming amount of yelling for Nathan to stop. All of Joel's pain bled into me, causing my legs to shake and my chest to cave.