I'd had a reasonably late night the night before so I just naturally slept in in the morning. I finally did wake up and get up and I had a quick shower. Smelling coffee I wandered down to the kitchen, intending to grab a cup before getting dressed, wrapping a towel around my wet hair as I went.
I entered the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks, taken by surprise. Instead of Melody, my flatmate, being there, there were two big men standing there. I just looked at them in shock and they looked back at me, smiling. At least, one man was smiling. The other was staring at me like a demented loon.
"Ah, Katrina, more commonly known as Kat," said the smiling man. "I'm Peter, Melody's father. We have met before. The idiot standing there is Simon, my brother and Melody's uncle."
"Ah, I didn't know anyone was here," I mumbled, somewhat confused, wondering where Melody was.
"Well, now you know. In case you're wondering Melody just nipped down to the shop to get some milk. She forgot to get it last night. Did you know that you forgot to get dressed?"
Hell and damnation! I'd totally forgotten that for some reason. The two men were treated to the sight of my face burning bright red and then they had a chance to observe my bottom as I bolted back to my bedroom.
I burst into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. It didn't slam. It bounced off something soft. Spinning around I saw that the demented loon had chased after me and was grinning so widely it was surprising his face didn't split.
"How nice," he said, reaching for me. "A bed where we can have some fun."
He shouldn't have reached. He left himself wide open to a kick in the testicles. He made a most peculiar sound and bent over at the waist. This placed his face in a nice position to receive a follow up kick, though I did turn my foot so the side of it connected. I didn't want to break my toes on his thick head.
That was all it took. Simon was a groaning heap on the floor, trying to protect his testicles and his face at the same time. I set a new record getting dressed and stormed back out to the kitchen. Peter was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of black coffee. It had to be black. Melody hadn't yet returned with the milk.
"Ah, Kat. I thought you'd be out about now. You didn't kill him did you?"
That's all he had to say?
"He was going to, to. . ." My voice broke off. I was going into shock.
"Oh, I don't think he would have forced you but he is a bit of a fool. He might have taken your little slip to be an invitation. What did you do to him?"
"I kicked him in the balls and then kicked him in the face," I said vindictively.
"How enterprising of you," said Peter. "I didn't know a kick in the balls was part of Krav Maga training."
I could feel my face going red.
"It's not," I mumbled. "I just panicked, I guess."
"Next time, if there is a next time, try not to panic. It's counter-productive. Stay calm and remember your training. I suggest you discuss what happened with your teacher and see if he has any suggestions that will help you keep calm."
His brother had tried to attack me and I'd beaten him up and all Peter had to say was a criticism of how I handled things? And what did he know about my Krav Maga, anyway. I asked him.
"How did you know I do Krav Maga training?"
"Melody told me. She says you're quite good at it."
At that point Simon came staggering into the kitchen, swearing. He was walking crouched over and it looked to me that he was going to have a couple of black eyes. It seemed my side-kick had scored high on the bridge of his nose.
"You're an idiot, Simon," snapped Peter. "Serves you right for scaring the girl. Go and sit in the car. I suspect Kat would just as soon not have you in the house."
Simon muttered something crude and departed, still hunched over.
"Don't worry about him," Peter advised me. "I'll swing past the doctor on the way home and get him checked out. He'll probably explain it was the fault of a vicious door."
I just stood there looking at him, feeling very confused. He pushed the remains of his coffee to one side and reached for my arm.
"Sit down for a few moments," he said gently. "You're going into shock. Just relax, breathe deeply, and let it all flow out."
I just let him pull me down until I was seated and he put his arms around me, holding me. I just concentrated on breathing deeply and steadily, doing a relaxation exercise. After a few moments I found myself getting it all together, relaxing even more. Then I realised where I was and my relaxation started to tense up again.
I was sitting on Peter's lap and his arms were around me. One of his hands was rubbing my back. I'll admit I was feeling safe and secure like this, but still. I started to push myself away from him, meaning to stand up, and his arms tightened around me.