"Are we just supposed to stand here and watch Veronica get bullied? Are we really going to do nothing?" Georgie asked, still fuming despite his mother's attempts to calm him down.
The truth was, the mess the girl was dealing with was a nightmare to handle.
Finally, Meemaw spoke up. "How about this: Veronica stays with us for a few days. She can go home once that scumbag is out of the picture."
According to Meemaw's logic, a man with a character that rotten wouldn't stay hidden for long. Eventually, Veronica's mom would see his true colors and kick him to the curb.
Until then, they just had to protect Veronica and keep her out of his reach.
Compared to Georgie's "let's go settle this now" attitude, Meemaw's calmer approach was much more practical.
Once he cooled off, Georgie agreed.
"Veronica can stay in my room..." he started to say.
He had meant that she should stay at his house where he could look out for her, but seeing the strange looks everyone was giving him, he realized they were getting the wrong idea.
"I mean, she can have my room, and I'll crash on the couch for a few days!" he explained quickly.
He'd been misunderstood in a situation exactly like this once before, and he wasn't looking for a repeat performance.
"We weren't thinking anything..." George said with a chuckle, patting his eldest son on the shoulder. "You're doing the right thing. It shows you're growing up."
Regardless of anything else, Georgie's protective streak was genuine.
Veronica, feeling the weight lift off her shoulders, looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Georgie."
To a girl stuck in a bad situation, Georgie's selfless offer felt like a literal lifeline.
"It's nothing, really... just doing what I should," Georgie mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, suddenly shy under her gaze.
However, when he noticed Paige's sister, Erica, also looking at him with an admiring expression, he immediately straightened his back.
Putting on his best "tough guy" persona, he declared, "Don't worry, Veronica. As long as I'm around, nobody's going to lay a finger on you."
Fifteen or sixteen is the age where girls love a hero, and Georgie was playing the part perfectly.
Well, almost perfectly. A true hero usually doesn't have a grin that stretches from ear to ear when he's trying to look serious.
Regardless, with Veronica settled in, she was safe for the time being.
Over the next week, Georgie—having sold out of his second batch of snow globes—put his business empire on hold.
He used the cash he'd made to take Veronica and Erica out on the town, showing them a good time.
For a moment, he actually felt like he was living the high life, just like Mike.
---
Another week passed.
One afternoon, a man smelling heavily of cheap booze pounded on the Coopers' front door.
"Can I help you?" George asked, frowning as he opened the door and took the man in.
The guy was a mess—bloodshot eyes, smelling like a brewery, and covered in tacky neck tattoos. He looked like trouble with a capital T.
"Is Veronica here?" the man demanded.
"And you are?" George didn't move an inch, blocking the doorway while he tried to size the guy up.
Seeing George's defensive posture, the man explained, "I'm her mom's boyfriend. Her mom misses her and sent me to bring her home."
While George was weighing whether the guy was lying, Veronica appeared behind him, accompanied by Georgie and the others.
Across the street, Meemaw noticed the commotion at the Coopers' door and called for Mike to come help her check it out.
"So you are here. Get over here, we're going," the man said, his eyes lighting up as he reached out to grab her.
"You're the creep she was talking about!" Georgie shouted, stepping in front of Veronica.
He shielded her behind his back, glaring at the man with pure fury.
"Who the hell are you? Stay out of family business," the man snapped, annoyed at being blocked.
"I'm her... her good friend!" Georgie barked. Their relationship had moved fast over the last few days, but they hadn't made it official yet.
That didn't stop him from stepping up, though.
Like a man standing his ground, he stared the guy down. "I know all about your disgusting behavior. As long as I'm standing, you won't touch a hair on her head."
"What did you say? Say that again, kid!" The man, furious at being called out, lunged forward to teach Georgie a lesson.
Some things are easier done than talked about, and being confronted with his own creepiness sent the guy into a defensive rage. He was clearly trying to use bravado to cover up his own guilt.
"What, you're mad because I'm telling the truth?" Georgie didn't back down.
Taking advantage of the man's drunken hesitation, Georgie landed two quick, solid punches right on the guy's punchable face.
The two of them immediately devolved into a scuffle.
George moved to jump in and break it up.
By this time, Mike had arrived and caught the gist of what was happening.
He grabbed George's arm first, nodding toward the fight and whispering, "We've got this. Georgie won't get hurt. Let him have his 'hero' moment..."
This was a golden opportunity for Georgie to earn some serious points with the girls.
Sure enough, Veronica was watching Georgie's "heroic" defense with stars in her eyes. Even Erica looked impressed.
For the sake of Georgie's future dating life, taking a few bumps was a small price to pay.
Besides, the guy might have been tall, but he looked completely out of shape. Between the booze and the lifestyle, he was no match for a varsity football player.
Georgie used his footwork to stay light, landing several more hits while the guy swung wildly and missed.
The man, realizing he was losing to a teenager, turned red with shame and looked like he was about to play dirty.
Seeing the shift, Mike stepped in. "Alright, that's enough!" he shouted, rushing forward and pinning the man's arms behind his back.
George caught on and grabbed the man from the other side, locking him in place.
Georgie, fueled by adrenaline and seeing his target served up on a silver platter, took the opportunity to land two more massive hooks right to the guy's jaw.
The man was left seeing stars, blood leaking from his nose.
He quickly realized that while Mike and George looked like they were breaking up the fight, they were actually just holding him still so he could get hit.
"You're gonna pay for this!" the guy spat, trying to sound tough. "If you don't kill me now, I'm coming back to finish you all off!"
Mike shook his head, unimpressed.
The guy really didn't know how to read the room.
Mike had zero respect for someone like this anyway. Hearing the threat, he didn't hold back—he delivered a sharp, professional kidney shot with his elbow.
"Gah—!"
The man's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He crumpled into a ball on the ground, gagging as if he were about to lose his lunch.
Looking at the man sobbing and groveling in the dirt, George looked a bit worried. "Mike, is he gonna be okay? That looked bad."
"He's fine," Mike said casually, shaking out his arm. "I know how to aim. He might be sore in the kidney department for a while, but he'll live."
You're a straight-up demon, George thought.
But looking at the guy on the ground, George decided not to ask any more questions. After what the creep had tried to do, he didn't exactly deserve a pity party.