The man standing in front of me was massive. Like, the kind of guy who considers a missed day at the gym a tragedy. His biceps were each the size of my head; a fact I got a good comparison of when I was lifted off my feet and tossed out of the apartment and against the hallway wall, head first. The wind knocked out of me, I struggled to find which way was up - let alone how to get to my feet.
Dimly, I heard the door slam shut to my apartment. "Fuck..." I groaned, staggering to my feet. I tried the handle to no success. The asshole had locked it. I slumped against the heavy wooden door and sighed, massaging my temples trying to clear the massive headache that was building from the head injury I just sustained.
The scream that came from my apartment shook me back to reality.
Kelly was in there, with him.
Frantic rage filled my body as I started pounding on the door. I tried to think through my options, how I could get back into my own home. My keys were inside, sitting on the kitchen counter. Our windows were locked - and besides, I wasn't about to be able to scale a building up to its third floor to get to them anyway. That left the door... a door I either had to break down, or pray one of them opened on their own.
I focused on kicking the door. I had read somewhere once upon a time that the best place to strike a door you wanted to break down was near the doorknob, so that's where I got to work. With each slam of the heel of my foot, my headache cleared, and my focus sharpened.
'So, you're the one fucking with my girl, huh?'
The man's words rang through my head, and it dawned on me that I knew who this was. Who else would claim that Kelly was 'his girl' other than her sponsor? The very person she'd snubbed just earlier in the morning was now here to claim her for himself. My blood ran cold, and for a moment my assault on the door stalled, before doubling in effort.
"There is... no way... that bastard... is getting Kelly..." I grunted, switching to slamming my full weight on the door. The creaking stress of the wood was my only encouragement, and I swore to any powers that were listening that I'd go to the gym after this, if we got through this ok.
As though an answer to my prayers, the door broke - not with a simple crack, but with the force of an explosion. The thick wood burst into my apartment in large, limb-sized chunks, showering our furniture and floor space with the debris. For a moment, I wanted to yell and celebrate - how often does someone break down a solid wood door, after all - but I had a mission. I sprinted to the bedroom Kelly and I shared, looking for her when I heard voices behind me.
I doubled back out into the living room in time to watch Kelly and the man emerge from her office. She was dressed now, wearing a naughty schoolgirl outfit we had done one of our earlier photoshoots in. She looked terrified, tugging the checkered skirt as low as she could, trying to cover her front and her ass from any angle possible.