They reluctantly did as he said.
“Run!” Katie screamed to Jack, but no one was listening.
As soon as Jack was free, David attacked. Jack came back swinging, but the other three boys joined in. Katie cried out. It only took her a couple of seconds to realize that Jack was going to get slaughtered. She dove into the pile of fists and elbows, grabbing hair where she could, biting, kicking and generally trying to help her new friend.
A sharp blow landed on the side of her head. Katie saw stars, then nothing at all. The hard ground rushed up to meet her.
The next thing she heard was her father’s voice. Finally, she thought hazily. Jack would be safe. But when she managed to open her eyes, she saw her father shaking Jack like a dog.
“Dad, no,” she yelled. “Jack didn’t start it, David did.”
Her father let go of Jack, then glared at the boy. “I don’t care who started it. The fight is finished now. You go on and get out of here. No Darby is going to mess with my family.”
Katie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Didn’t her father understand? “Daddy, he helped me. I can ride a bike now and everything.”
Jack straightened. Blood poured from his mouth and nose. Swelling nearly shut his left eye, and his hands were battered. His once clean T-shirt was smudged with dirt and torn off one shoulder. Katie was pleased to see the four older boys looked almost as bad. Her body felt sore, and she realized she could barely see out of one eye.
Her father glared at her. “Stealing your brother’s bike, riding around town with the likes of him and fighting. What is your mother going to say?”
Katie didn’t want to answer that. She forced herself to her feet. “I’m sorry, Jack,” she called as the boy limped away.
“Don’t speak to him,” her father ordered. “Darbys are dirt.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “They’re not. Jack’s my friend.”
Right there on the sidewalk, in front of David and his friends, worse, in front of Jack, her father slapped her across the face. It wasn’t a strong blow, but it stung all the same. Humiliation darkened her soul.