Part II of the story about a young man who gets into a street fight. He takes a beating and now must face the consequences at home.

Before his eyes even opened, he could feel the pain surging through his body. The tightness in his chest that hit him when he sat up was enough to cause him to lay back down. Glancing down he first noticed he wasn’t on asphalt, but instead it was the old leather den couch. Dang! Nathen knew that someone had taken him home, and more importantly he knew that soon he would have to face the speech that awaited him once he walked into his father’s office.

Slowly he managed to get himself propped up on his elbows to survey himself. First thing he saw was the white medical wrapping around his abdomen. He hoped it wasn’t anything too serious that would restrict his freedom while he recovers at home. Swinging his legs out and planting them on the floor, he gently applied some weight on them, glad to not feel any pain or hear a snap. Good job test to see if your own legs are broken.

Slowly pulling himself to his feet Nathen rolled his neck, to the sound of his neck bones popping. As his neck loosened it helped him to feel a little more relaxed. Sighing, he moved to the armchair next to him to grab a hoodie
that had been placed there. As he reached for it he heard footsteps coming into the room.

“I see you up from your slumber, took you long enough.”

Nathen glanced at the doorway to see Taina, his bodyguard, standing there, arms crossed with an angered look on her face. Crap!

“Hey Taina, sorry if my being unconscious ruined your lunch break.” Nathen was about to fire off another sarcastic line but she cut him off with a raised hand and her own sarcastic jab.

“Try dinner, idiota” She smirked at him as she turned on her heel and waved to him over her shoulder. “Come on, your father wants to chew you out before I do. Depending on how it goes, I may even be kind.” Taking only a
second, she glanced over her shoulder and looked him up and down. Once she had determined that he didn’t look too bad she started to walk away.

“You know I barely understand Portuguese, babaca” Nathen called out to her as he made his way out of the den following after Taina, the one person he would have preferred not to anger and keep on his good side.