15

A wave – and my fist crashed into the face of a drunk man. He turned out to be very persistent – he just shook his head and furiously rushed at me with all possible curses. I did not expect at all that a man would behave very cheerfully in such a state, and therefore I did not have time to get away from another blow. This time, right in the nose is one of the most unpleasant sensations, when you simply lose control of the situation for a while and the first seconds are not able to fully resist.

I didn't notice anything around me anymore. I felt one thing for sure – the man grabbed me by the neck and tried to beat me on the head with his knee, while still strangling me. I protected my face as best I could. Then I decided to throw him to the ground: I put my right leg behind his legs and leaned forward with my whole body. Successfully! He immediately fell down, cracked his head on the concrete, but still held me. In any case, fortune is already on my side. I jerked with all my strength and freed myself from the strong "embrace". Then he began to hit nonstop in the eye, nose, jaw-anywhere, but only in the head.

It is not known exactly how many blows I struck, but the man was already limp and did not resist at all. In a state of aggression, I forgot that this is how you can kill a person. At the same time, someone grabbed me by the collar from behind and pulled me towards him with the words:

- Calm down, boy! Won-won…

I turned around. A tall man in a business suit was standing in front of me. Where did you come from here at all? He came up to the one with whom I was fighting a few moments ago, bent down, put his fingers on his wrist:

- Alive. And even breathing. I just lost consciousness.

Then the man came up to me.

– Take your girlfriend and get out of harm's way. We didn't have enough police here because of the banal showdowns. I don't know anything, I haven't seen anything.

He turned around and walked towards the cafe. Probably the owner of the place, and this drunk body on the ground is probably his regular customer. At least, that's what it seemed to me.

Alina ran up and looked at me sympathetically. – You're covered in blood... are you okay?" How are you feeling?

I looked at the T-shirt – not all covered in blood, but there are not a few purple spots. I touched my nose and realized that it hurts, and the blood is just from there. But the bleeding has already stopped.

– It's all right. I just missed a punch in the nose. I should have signed up for a boxing course, " I grinned and chuckled.

– You're also joking. Let's go home soon. She grabbed my arm and pulled me along. - Suddenly, this scoundrel's friends will show up now, then you will definitely not be able to cope. And there's nothing I can do to help…

- Come on. This, apparently, is a local drunk. Where did he get his friends from?

– It doesn't matter. Let's go quickly.

- Yes, I'm coming, I'm coming.

This evening once again proved that life likes to present "surprises". It would seem that they just went out for a walk, I wanted to give flowers to please Alina, but everything turned out quite differently. Alas, you can't turn back the time, so I had to put up with this development of events. It's a shame, of course, but what can I do.

At home, I changed my clothes for clean ones. Alina carefully took the bloody shorts and T-shirt to the laundry. I washed my face in the bathroom, looked at myself in the mirror – my nose was a little swollen and turned blue. In principle, this is normal on impact. It remains to hope that it is not broken, otherwise you will have to call an ambulance, because it is impossible to do something at home, unless, of course, you are a doctor.

Alina knocked on the door:

- Can I?

- Yes.

She came in and said reproachfully:

– Well, what are you standing here for? Let's go to the bed.

After her second sentence, I couldn't help but smile.

– What were you thinking about?" Alina narrowed her eyes. - Actually, you need to be laid down to rest. Is there anything cold? It is better to make, of course, a hot water bottle with ice.

- There are ice cubes in the freezer. Nothing else.

-That's something. You lie down for now, and I'll get some ice.

- OK. Then another request: bring whiskey. There is a bottle in the refrigerator. And then there's no ice without whiskey at all, " I joked and walked away from the mirror.

– Well, if you need a drink, I'll take it. That's it, go, and I'll be right there.

I nodded silently and went into the room.

Alina came with a bottle, a glass and ice. Everything as requested. In addition, she brought another small package, then sat on the edge of the bed.

– And why is this?

- I'll put ice in there. I'll tie it tight so that the water doesn't flow when the ice starts to melt. If there is no hot water bottle, at least we will do so. It should be applied every two hours for ten minutes.

I sat up on the bed and rested against the back.

– Aren't you a doctor by any chance? Where does such accurate knowledge come from?

- From the Internet. Before this incident, I didn't know what to do if my nose was broken, " she explained and prepared an alternative to a hot water bottle with ice.

I took the bottle, poured half a glass and asked for Alina:

- Save a couple of cubes for me for whiskey.

Without a word, she complied with the request and threw ice into a glass. A small sip of cold whiskey had a very good effect on the mood. I felt noticeably better.

- Alin, I'm sorry that it happened today.

– No need to apologize, you know what. It's not your fault. You'd better lie down and get some ice. Attach it as it will be more convenient for you.

- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone, " he took an ice pack and placed it on his nose.

– But it's because of me. You wanted to give me flowers, didn't you? And I'm extremely surprised, by the way. I liked the bouquet, " she smiled shyly.

- I tried my best when choosing.

– How did you get the flowers from the grocery store?

– I ordered it in advance and agreed with the saleswoman.

– This is when you came from the store empty-handed?

- Well, yes. And so it was.

– I didn't even think that you had come up with everything so interesting. You got the surprise effect.

– I was counting on it.

- Okay, you rest for now, and I'll come check on you later. Or even every two hours, as it should be, I will bring ice. If you fall asleep, it's okay. I can do everything myself. And don't worry about me. Ok?

– I'll try, – I breathed. "Maybe I'll fall asleep after the whiskey." We'll see.

Alina got out of bed, came over to me, bent down and slowly kissed me on the cheek. - Thank you for the flowers, even though everything went wrong. I left.

– You're welcome.

I looked after her with a satisfied smile. Well, at least some kind of kiss-and it's nice. It even seemed that I felt the warmth of Alina's tender lips on my cheek even after she left. How can there be such a love or something more has started happening to me?.. Maybe I should take a chance when she comes in in a couple of hours? After all, it will be the middle of the night…