Harbinger of peace

"Shouting and bickering.
Yelling and crying.
They kept fighting over and over,
The insults kept flying,
Swearing and anger galore.
I peeked into the room,
And disappointment sank into my heart again," I said.

"You didn't have to do this," she said.

//Her.
The girlfriend of a stranger.
A close friend and love.//

"He was holding a bottle.
He was so close to hitting you," I said

//Him.
The boyfriend of my closest friend.
A lineman of the school football team.//

I walk into the room,
Eyes narrow,
And my face hardening in bravery.

He looks at me,
Eyes flaring,
And his face twisting in anger.

She looks at me,
Eyes growing,
And her face widening in fear.

//This one.
The comforter of anyone in need.
The harbinger of peace.//

The glass bottle shatters upon the floor,
And he charges at me at full speed,
Tackling me down.

"I only remember a blur of arms arms and fists, but I saw a gleam."
"Brass knuckles," she said,
"He was showing them off earlier today."

But that twisted, angry, maniacal face was still a vivid image,
As he beat my face in.
Punching over,
And over,
And over again.

"I remember he got up and spit on me.
He said something as he stormed out of the house in a drunken rage," I said,
Recalling the events of the night before.

"You could barely get up," she said,
"I rushed to you after calling an ambulance.
I kept telling you to keep still."

I remember the tears in her face,
As she looked down upon my bloodied face.

"I did this for you,
So you could sleep in peace.
So that it wouldn't be you in this comfortable bed," I said in a joking, sarcastic voice. A nurse stepped into the room.

"Bad news. You have a mild concussion and a fractured skull, but you'll make it."

"You shouldn't have done this for me," she sighed.
"It should have been me."

"It could have been you," I scolded.
"But it was me who embarrassed him the other day. Now, can you break up with him?" I asked.  "A harbinger can hold up only so long"

She gave a slight chuckle, "You need to rest."