Today I called in punched in the face

So I was on my way to work. I was early and I hadn't had breakfast yet. Tim Hortons sounded good. I ordered my sandwich and sat down to eat. 

There was a couple behind me arguing very loudly. I wasn't paying too much attention but he was screaming at her to shut up. He'd yell shut up, stand up, say he's leaving, walk to the door, then walk back and start arguing again.

The manager came out and politely asked them if everything was all right. They said yes; he left. They kept arguing and he started threatening to hit her so the manager came back and asked him to leave. She said she was just leaving and they left together.

They stopped out front of the store and kept on arguing. I couldn't hear them anymore since they were outside, but I could see the guy gesticulating and pacing and walking away and coming back. 

Then he took a swipe, grabbed her hat, and threw it in the street. He pushed her and didn't look like he was about to stop.

I left the store and walked up to the guy and told him to back off. He turned to me and yelled "Or what? What are you gonna do?"

I actually hadn't really thought that far ahead, so I just spread my hands. He lunged and shoved me hard to the ground. I didn't hit anything, so I got right back up and stood still and didn't say anything. He hauled back and punched me right in the mouth. I didn't go down but my lip was split and dripping blood. 

Three men and the manager came out of the store and stood between us. The manager seemed to know this guy and shouted at him to stop and back off, with the help of two of the other men. The last guy checked on me to see how badly I was hurt - it didn't feel too bad, nothing seemed wrong with my teeth or jaw, I was just awfully bloody and swelling.

The guy yelled at me that the next time he saw me he'd break my glasses, then stormed off. The girl apologized and left in the same direction and I think they went off somewhere together - not sure who was following who.

The manager walked me back into the store and had me sit down. He got a first aid kit and cleaned me up while a woman called the police and checked on me again. The manager offered to get me food and drinks for the rest of the day, recommended I press charges, and stuck with me while we waited for the police to arrive. He kept apologizing to me because this happened at his store, which I thought was unnecessary. He was awesome. I think his name was Ben.

In the meantime I called work and asked if it was okay for me to take the day off because I'd just been punched in the face and my lip was super swollen and split and I didn't want to make it worse. The store owner called me a little later to make sure I was all right and encourage me to rest up.

Police showed up and took my statement and the security camera footage. They told me they were pretty sure they knew this guy and where he would be. 

Getting knocked down and punched didn't hurt much. The actual knuckle to the face part hurt, but then it stopped hurting. I was bloody but not in pain afterwards. When the manager told me I should press charges my first thought was actually "Why? I'm not even hurt" but yeah, people shouldn't really go around punching others in the face, so sure I'll press charges.

Random people at the Tim Hortons, the manager, and the police told me I was brave and they admired what I did. I didn't know what to say to that because I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. I saw something that needed to be stopped so I tried to stop it. As I said above, I didn't even consider how I was going to stop him - I got out there, told him to back off, he asked me what I was going to do, and I didn't know. That, plus not being particularly hurt or injured, left me feeling kind of surprised at all the support.

I just hope the police find this guy before he goes after that girl again.


Bonus punched lip photos, click if you want to make bigger. Not super gross.