There's a Trick to it, You Do it or You Die

I hit the ground hard, my eye hurting. I start pushing myself off of the ground, but Paulie grabs me by the hair and lifts my head up and brings his fist into my cheek. I feel hair get ripped out as I hit the ground again, and Paulie says something, but I can't hear him. I roll onto my back, and look up at him. He gets ready to kick me, but I manage to roll out of the way and stand up. I manage to block the next couple of punches that he throws at me, but he gets a good hit in, his right hook connecting with my nose.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" He yells, getting ready to hit me again. I duck down, and he punches the wall hard, and yells in pain. I punch him in the stomach and he doubles over, and I stumble down the hall. I see Zoey walk out of the back bedroom.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asks, walking towards me. I'm about to answer her when Paulie grabs me by the collar of my shirt, pulling me down hard onto my back. "What the fuck are you doing?!" She screams at Paulie. "Get the hell away from him!"

"You break up with me, then the next day you've already hooked up with someone else? You fucking bitch!" He screams, moving towards her. I manage to pull myself off the ground and position myself between Zoey and Paulie. "Get the fuck out of my way!" He screams. He starts walking again, and I manage to shove him backwards, my entire body hurting after I do it. He runs at me, and puts his entire body weight into tackling me. I scream in pain when I hit the ground, my back not being able to support his body weight on top of me. I hear Zoey yell, but that's about it. I black out.

When I wake up, I'm in the back of Zoey's car, lying in the backseat. I try to get up, but I quickly give up. We pull up to a red light, and Zoey looks back at me.

"Are you okay?" She asks, her voice shaking.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I lie, trying to pull myself up again. She puts her hand on my chest lightly, and pushes me down slowly.

"Don't get up," she says. "Wait till we're at Jared's before you even try to get up."

"What happened?" I ask, looking down at my shirt. The collar is ripped, and a few bloodstains are on it.

"The guy from the apartment next door happened," she says, stepping on the gas. The car lurches forward and I moan in pain a little. "Are you sure you're okay? We can go to the hospital or something, I don't mind."

"No, I'm fine," I lie again. "Let's just get to Jared's. What do you mean the 'guy from next door happened'?"

"Well, he was outside smoking, and Paulie left the door to his patio open, so he could hear all the screaming. Thank God Paulie doesn't lock his door, like thirty seconds after you blacked out the guy was in the apartment, pulling Paulie off of you."

"I'll have to send him a pack of smokes as a thank you," I mutter under my breath.

"I gave him the pack that was in your pocket," she says laughing a little. I try to laugh, but it hurts too much so I stop. The last five minutes of the drive happen in silence, and I eventually pass out again.

I wake up on Jared's couch, my eye freezing cold and hurting. I move the Ziploc bag of ice off of my eye and look around the apartment. I hear Zoey and Ash outside talking, and see Jared on the other couch, playing with his laptop.

"How long have I been asleep?" I ask, pulling myself up, despite the back pain.

"Only an hour or two." He says, closing his laptop. "You okay?" He asks.

"My back just hurts like a bitch," I say. "It'll get better."

"How'd it go with Zoey?" He asks. I smile like an idiot, despite the pain. He smiles back, and heads into the kitchen.