“My ex, and Austin—” She started crying hysterically. It was useless trying to talk to her and I kept moving through the crowd.

Sirens whirred through the air as Austin got his arms around one of their necks and brought them to the ground. Kael was shoving a guy with a bloody nose toward the crowd. They started to scatter, except Austin and the guy he was wrestling in the grass. One by one, the trucks pulled away, Katie with them. I locked eyes with her as she climbed inside the cab of one of the trucks. This had everything to do with her and there she went, driving away from the storm.

I yelled Austin’s name as she passed. Begging him to stop, to get up and get in the fucking truck! Kael grabbed Austin by the waist and tossed him to the side. He propped himself up on his elbow, sitting up, ready to go back at it.

“Austin, STOP!” I screamed again, desperate to connect with him, to snap him out of this before it was too late. If he got arrested again, he would be fucked. The siren cut off and the voices got louder. There was a small group of onlookers left outside now, mostly neighbors yelling and arguing all at once; it was complete chaos.

Everything happened so fast.

The MPs rushed out of their cars, heading straight for us. I screamed as they got closer, and I realized they were going for Kael. I tried to run toward him as my brother was shoved to the ground. An elbow or fist was flying toward my face, so I lifted my hands up to block myself and heard Kael’s voice booming.

“Not her!” His voice shook me.

When I couldn’t see him anymore, I panicked. I didn’t even know if I had been hit or not.

“I was breaking it up! I don’t have a weapon!” I heard Kael’s voice again and my eyes found him.

I was no longer thinking about shielding myself. The only thing on my mind when I saw an MP reach for his black baton was Kael. The officer’s focus was on him as the other two officers approached. Kael was on the ground and about to be blindsided, as the officers got closer. His leg!

He would have direct contact with Kael and Kael wasn’t the violent one here.

Another scream rang through the air; it was a woman’s voice.

The officers turned to me. I looked at Kael again, then for Austin, who had found his way to the Bronco. He managed somehow to lift his drunk ass up inside and lie down. Hiding from it all.