Page 7 of Just George

“It’s a lot, this kinda stuff,” I went on, keeping my voice low and level. “Between the ongoing pandemic and you probably being an introvert and scary-as-shit past trauma, maybe this is a bit much.”

“No, I’m––” His eyes fluttered as he leaned into my touch, swallowing hard before finding his footing. “––fine.”

I waited until I was sure his stance was solid, and then I dropped my hand and glowered at him. “So tell me, Doc, what the hell was with the penchant-for-violence comment?”

I liked the glare I immediately got in return. “I’m sorry?” He sounded affronted.

“In the car you said I had a penchant for violence.”

“Well, come on, clearly you––”

“I’ll have you know that I only shoot people when they deserve it, and when they’re attacking innocent kids, I think that qualifies, don’t you?”

“I never implied that––”

“Do you agree that saving the kids was the most important thing?”

“Yes, but as I’ve stated before, you could have shot to incapacitate the men you killed in front of the kids. You didn’t have to end their lives and scar the kids’ psyches.”

“Scar them?” I repeated, scoffing. “Really? You think they’re scarred?”

“Yes, I do,” he barked at me.

“No. They get it. They all understand what had to happen.”

“They’re children.”

“No,” I countered. “The boys were all nineteen then, twenty now, and Hannah, as she keeps reminding me, will be eighteen at the end of this month.”

“That doesn’t matter. You’ve still scarred them.”

“Scarred them? Really?”

“You disagree?”

“Do I think they’ll remember it? Sure. But scarred? Gimme a break,” I scoffed. “I saved their lives.”

“But you inflicted trauma.”

“Between trauma and life, which one do you think they would prefer?”

“That’s not the point. You had a choice.”

“I was hurt,” I explained, noting that he looked better already. Arguing with me was helping, his coloring starting to even out. “And as a result, I couldn’t do all the things I normally could. I wasn’t able to protect Hannah in the same capacity.”

“Yes, but––”

“Shooting them dead was my only option,” I apprised him. “Think about it. If those men had gotten up and come at me because I’d wounded them and not killed them, I would have put Hannah or her brother or one of the other boys in danger. I couldn’t allow that.”

He shook his head.

“I’m sorry you think it’s bloodthirsty but––”

“I think it was unnecessary,” he argued. “You’re clearly capable of––”

“Again, I was hurt,” I reiterated. “Not at full capacity. If it happened now, I would probably just blow out their kneecaps or something, because lemme tell you, that shit’ll slow ya down, but––”

“That right there,” he snapped. “That’s what I mean when I say penchant for violence. Why can’t you simply knock people out?”