He'd meant only to be going back to say hi to Beth, to wish her well. The bar is quieter now, a lot of the people who'd been there gone, and it feels easier to approach her like this rather than trying to push his way through various other friends and fans. If this were anyone else's album release, he probably wouldn't be here — he's never paid all that much attention to music — but with Beth, he at least likes to show his support. She's good at what she does, and he likes her music. It just still feels a little like it's part of a world he doesn't belong in.

As he gets closer, though, he just barely manages to make out the conversation, inasmuch as it is one, and then he can barely think straight. The sight of that asshole pinning her against the wall and leaning in close doesn't help on that front. Without meaning to, he thinks for a moment of his Uncle Scott and that woman, a memory that makes his skin crawl and his stomach turn to have to carry. His hand closes on the back of the man's shirt to drag him off Beth, the other pulling back to punch him hard in the jaw. "Can you fucking hear? She said no."