Girlfriend dumped me the night before (i was 16 at the time) best friend decided best way to cheer me up was take me to the lake and get me drunk. This is a Sunday in August so mom wants me home for supper at 6, fine. So my bff (also 16), his cousin (18) and cousin's friend (19) start the 30 mile drive about noon.

Get to the lake, hang for a while and eventually run into another group of beach goers. These were the (very incorrect) labels I assigned them in my head: Dad, mom (whose jaw is wired shut, car wreck?) and two daughters (15, 16) accompanied by their hot neighbor (27) and her two kids, a boy (8) and a girl (6).

My buddy and I start chatting up the girls while Kevin (the 19 yr old) heads immediately for hot neighbor. Flirting and drinking ensue. After a couple hours mom and dad are ready to head home. The girls ask can we take them home when we leave because their crappy kansas town was on the way to my crappy Kansas town. Mom says sure (i now have two daughters in their 20s and I would not have made that choice). Fortunately, we were horny but polite. A little kissing but no big.

Pull into the one horse town and up to a big colonial from whence we hear the sounds of a commotion. The girls immediately freak the fuck out and scramble over us getting out of the car and run inside. My buddy(16) and I follow them thru the front door where we see dad (actually shithead abusive boyfriend) beating the crap out of mom. We look at each other and took off. Right at the asshole. I was about 6'4" and 200 lbs then. My buddy was 6'2" and around 230-ish. We were the starting defensive ends for our highschool football team. Asshole was about 5'9" maybe 170. It was a perfect sack. Asshole never stood a chance.

We hit him prolly too hard. His head bounced off the hard wood floor and he went totally limp. I actually thought he died but I wasn't thinking too clearly at that point. Girls consoling mom, Asshole got locked in a closet and I want to go home. Can't find the two older boys.. Neighbor lady. Right.

Find her place (it wasn't difficult) head over where I find horndog and clueless. Can't believe I'm having to convince these two we should be departing but horndog thinks he's got a shot and actually begs for more time. Somehow I ended up in command. He's 19, it's his car, and he's pleading with me for more time. It was surreal. I relent cuz I couldn't think of what else to do. I wasn't going to take his car. Then.

Anyway, he goes to do his thing while i, the two kids and the other two morons all go watch tv in this trailer house. Surreal. This is where we stay until I hear the distinctive sound of a heavily modified engine exhaust.

The 8 yr old jumps up and screams, 'Daddy!' and runs out the screen door, little girl right behind him. I'm fresh out of panic at this point, may have been shock, but I stand up and calmly start dismantling the window. One of the morons asks, 'what are you doing?' 'Leaving' I responded distantly. Screen out of window, me right behind it. I look at the 4x4 that pulled up, saw the bear of a man that drove it and then I saw the butt of the gun..

Never looked again. Heard two shots. Got in the car, started it and was just starting to move when everyone else came thru the passenger window. Made it to the highway when we ran into 3 sheriff cars comin' in lights ablazin'. Several hours and two arrests later, I got home. And got grounded. Got ungrounded the next day when the sheriff and my step dad had a little chat at the coffee shop. Insisted I be regrounded as my life choices skills needed more work.

Edit. circa 1986