Note: This story is dedicated to anyone who was bullied in school. I hate violence but it is sometimes necessary to keep one free. This story is only fiction. That means I made it up. No characters are real, I made them up also. Special thanks to my Mystery fact checker for all the encouragement and help. Practice safe sex and enjoy the story.
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I was sitting with my lawyer at the defense table in the county courtroom. I looked up as the jury was about to be called in. My lawyer said I could be looking at several years in prison if I was convicted of the crime I was accused of. I did do it but had no choice. Yes I got a little carried away but what would you have done in my place. I guess I had better start at the beginning to explain.
I should give a little back ground so you know why I sit here today. My wife Carrie and I married later in life. She was 32 and I was 34. Carrie was always a blonde looker and I fell for her the first time I met her. After a few rough months we started to date seriously and finally married the next year. We had both been in a few relationships and I thought that being older and having been around the block a few times it would work out great. It did for the first three years or so.
Carrie didn't work and stayed at home. We talked about having kids and she seemed to like not working so I didn't press it. Financially we were doing well and I was looking forward to starting a family. I didn't want her to start a career and then have to stop to raise a family.
Carrie was always happy and outgoing, that was the problem. Most men thought she was coming on to them and I almost got in a few fights because of it. Sometimes I think Carrie would start something just to get me going, but it never worked. I hated to fight and always tried to avoid a confrontation with anyone. I always tried to turn the other cheek. That was my problem until two months ago. I would always walk away from a fight or a personal challenge.
Stay with me because I am not a wimp like it appears but I was following my dad's advice he gave me when I was younger.
I was always good at school until we moved to my current city another state away from my old one. I had to leave my teachers, friends and everything I liked about my old town behind me. I was in 8th grade and the new school was large and dangerous. I tried not to tell my dad so he wouldn't feel bad about moving (he had no choice financially). My mom had died two years earlier and Dad was still getting over it.
Well the school had what I would call the alpha male bully in charge. His name was Tommy Billinger and he had it in for me from the first day. I was just leaving school my first day when a big guy caught me before I could get on the bus. At first I didn't see him and when I was pushed to the ground I was looking up at a 6'2" monster. Well that is what he looked like to me. I was a small at 5'3" at the time. I now stand about 5'7".
He towered over me on the ground and even had two friends next to him a few inches shorter. They ordered me to stand up and to give them my back pack and any money I had. I slowly stood up and it was the most afraid I have ever been in my life. At that moment I pissed my pants from being so scared. Looking back it probably stopped me from getting a beating by these school thugs.
"What is your name wimp?" Tommy asked me with malice in his voice.
"Peterrrrrr... Huckelbyyyyy..." I answered with real fear.
"Well Peter you just got a new name at school. Your name from now on will be 'Pissy Pete'. Hey everyone look at Pissy Pete. He just wet his pants like a baby." Tommy told the increasing crowd around me.
I looked around and everyone was laughing at me. I was so horrified that I ran home and didn't even get on the bus. From that day on Tommy never left me alone. He was a junior in school so I had to put up with him until he graduated a year later. My life was hell for those first two years. No girl would date me because I was 'Pissy Pete' and no matter what I did that name stuck with me.
School was something I used to dread. I would be picked on, pushed around, beaten up once in a while and generally abused (I thought I was a good guy but you couldn't tell by the treatment I was receiving at school). I prayed for the day when Tommy would graduate. The entire time at school I never saw Tommy show me or anyone else he picked on any compassion. He would enjoy the terror he inflicted on people and was getting real good at it.
After Tommy graduated, school settled down and by my senior year only a few asshole were calling me Pissy Pete. I graduated with honors and was valedictorian of my class. I went to a good college and became a design engineer.
I tried to tell my dad at that time about the problem and he said he would go to the school and take care of it. That's all I need I thought 'Daddy coming to my rescue'. I knew it wouldn't help and would probably cause me even more trouble. I suggested I would try it a few more days and see if the teasing stopped.
He accepted this and I lied when he ask me again a few days later how school was going. School was shitty at best.
Well after my first two months at my new school I had a really crappy day. By the time I got home I was so wound up I could be dangerous. My smaller and only brother took something of mine. To this day I don't even remember what it was. All I knew was he was in the line of fire. We started to argue with my dad sitting in the next room.
Well all the bullying and problems in my life came to a head. I pushed my brother against the wall and aimed my fist at his head. He just ducked aside at the very last second and I hit the wall with my fist. We lived in an older house and the walls were made of plaster with wood slats behind it.
I put a three foot hole in the wall and even broke two of the boards were my little brother's head had just been. Well dad came in the room and went crazy when he saw the damage. My brother was crying and he was yelling "you could have killed your brother, in your room right now, you are grounded!"
For the next two months I was grounded and still being bullied at school. Those were the two longest months of my life. My dad showed me that my temper could get me in trouble and maybe kill someone. I knew deep down if I had hit my brother I could well have killed him. That lesson has stayed with me to this day. That is why I would rather walk away than fight.
Well now that I have given you the background on my life I will explain what started happening about three months ago.
I usually call home before lunch so Carrie has it ready for me. I forgot to call her today. It is a twenty minute drive each way and this helps me since my lunch time is only one hour. I showed up at my regular time for lunch. As I walked in the door Carrie was on her hands and knees scrubbing our living room rug. There were size 13 foot prints of mud on our rug. The tracks looked like they went from our front door right to our back bedroom.
"Carrie!!! Who made the big mess on our new rug?" I asked her.
"Leo (our building superintendent) hired a new guy who was checking the smoke alarms. He came in with dirty feet and didn't wipe them off." she answered me back. The answer almost sounded rehearsed.
"Ok but I am going to bitch at Leo the first chance I get. We have white rugs if he doesn't know it." I replied back.
'Don't worry about it Peter, I will talk with him. Let me handle everything." she told me. After that I ate lunch and didn't think any more about it.
Later that week I saw Leo coming out of one of the other apartment buildings. I called him over to talk to me.
"Leo, how the hell are you doing? It has been a while since we talked." I told him. We talked about some sports and the general weather and suddenly remembered what I wanted to see him about.
"Hey Leo the other day your new guy came in to check the smoke alarms in my apartment and tracked mud from his shoes all over my nice white rug." I informed him.
"First of all he is NOT my NEW GUY!" Leo told me with more than a little annoyance in his voice. Sorry Pete... (he paused for a second to keep his temper in check) but this guy has already gotten to me and I usually don't let anything bother me. But this guy does. His name is Tom ... something, it begins with a B ... I don't remember. Corporate hired him after I was telling them I needed more help. He was to be my part time man doing the things I needed done." Leo informed me again.
"Well this asshole comes in the first day thinking he was MY boss. He started telling me my schedule and his as well as how things were going to work around here." Leo kept telling me. "I informed him in no uncertain term of his place here and he didn't like it in the least. He had wild eyes like he could turn on you at any minute. I was going to give him his walking papers right then but he still had that look in his eye. I think if I fired him then he would have beaten me up or even worse. I am going to let corporate know and have them fire him. He is a really big guy who is supposed to be good with a wrench. If you ask me he is a grade A asshole from the word go." Leo told me
"Besides Pete I did the smoke detector checks three weeks ago. I told your wife the two back smoke detectors needed new batteries. I returned and even put them in for her. Tom had no reason to check the smoke alarms. That is NOT his job!" Leo told me with no love in his voice.
It made me wonder after I got done talking to Leo but it slipped my mind until another incident happened a few weeks later.