Braille's Sensuous Nature
Chapter 02
Sometimes Life Sucks
WARNING: this story contains sexual content, and contact between young boys. If the subject matter offends you, is not to your tastes, or if you are under legal age for your area, then find something else to read. In the following story all names and events are completely fictional. Although I may mention specific locations, places, or persons any resemblance to said people, locations, or places is completely unintentional.
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This work is copyrighted © by Hunter Woods. No part of this story may be transmitted or reproduced in whole or in part in any form including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, and recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the express written consent of the author. For those of you who just blow this off and decide to steal anyway keep these thoughts below in mind:
“Intentionally using the quotes of others without author attribution is plagiarism and contributes to illiteracy.”
- Rain Bojangles
“Most plagiarists, like the drone, have neither taste to select, industry to acquire, nor skill to improve, but impudently pilfer the honey ready prepared, from the hive.”
- Walter Colton
“Borrowed thoughts, like borrowed money, only show the poverty of the borrower.”
- Lady Marguerite Blessington, Countess of Blessington
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EXCERPT FROM BLINDSIDED
If this situation wouldn’t have been so grave I would have probably busted up at my brother’s lack of dress at the moment. Not only was he shirtless, but pant-less as well. He must have been putting on his football gear at the time the horticulture guy came running into the locker room to relay the safety code to my brother. At the moment he was only wearing those padded white pair of football girdle covering up his goods. He hadn’t even bothered with putting on socks, simply slipping into his shoes like a pair of slippers because his heel wasn’t even inside the pair of Nike sneaker’s he wore.
“Johnnie, let’s get going. I’ll explain everything on the way.” I told my brother sincerely as I helped the smaller boy into the car next to his dog.
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SOMETIMES LIFE SUCKS
My brother was tearing down through the backstreets like a maniac and it was kind of frightening because I could see how furious he was getting. I told him everything about the episode in the garden not holding back despite the gruesome warning from that older boy, Tank. To say my brother was mad would be an understatement because I could see the cords in his neck bulging and the way his fist turned white gripping on to the steering wheel. Next to me the younger boy was sobbing as he cuddled with his dog, Maggie, because she wasn’t responding only adding to the chaos inside the speeding car. It was starting to get dangerous and I was scared out of my mind.
“Johnnie…,” I spoke up trying to get my brother’s attention. “For fuck’s sake slow down Johnnie before you get us all killed. You are scaring the crap out of me.” I snapped finally managing to get through to my brother as he slowed down, but still managed to pass through the streets at a good clip.
“Sorry…it’s just…,” my brother grimaced not looking at all pleased. “I don’t know what the hell Murph was thinking, but when I catch up to him…,” He began before I interjected.
“Johnnie, I told you it wasn’t his fault. It was that new kid, Tank, and his little brother. Just don’t do anything stupid that we will regret later.” I sighed shaking my head just as we pulled up to the clinic.
My brother swung into the side alley next to the building not even bothering to head into the back parking lot. I jumped out motioning for my brother to get the dog while I ran around to the other side opening up the door.
“Come-on kid.” I ducked my head inside and reached over tapping him on the arm feeling the boy flinch. “Here, grab my hand so I can get you inside. Johnnie’s grabbing Maggie, but he can’t get to her unless you let go.” I tried to tell him calmly hoping he’d hurry up because I wasn’t even sure if the dog was still alive.
My brother was on the other side and glanced at me nodding his head indicating she was still alive after he had seen the look on my face. I was relieved, but I could tell from Johnnie’s eyes that it wasn’t looking good though. Thank goodness the boy reached out awkwardly for my hand allowing Johnnie to grab the dog. My brother didn’t wait for us and hustled to the front of the building disappearing inside.
“Maggie…,” The long haired boy whispered.
It was obvious he was in shock and I had to coax him to follow me inside. He could barely stand up on his own and even though I was tempted to grab on to him I was afraid how he’d react. So far he hadn’t handled being touched too well at all and I didn’t want him to suddenly freak out so I slowly led him over to the front of the building opening up the door and sighed in relief once I got him inside.
For some reason all hell had broken out with my brother yelling at the lady on the front desk to get Uncle Joey. It was obvious the woman was new and I recalled my Uncle saying something about having to get a temp worker until his other receptionist got back from vacation. The poor woman looked completely frazzled, but for some odd reason she was refusing to call for my Uncle saying something about him being with another animal at the moment and we would have to wait.
It simply didn’t make any sense because it was obvious just how bad Maggie was as I sat the boy in a chair and hustled over to the receptionist pushing my brother over because he was making it even worse. He started to protest, but I shushed him quiet. I knew how he felt because I wanted to reach over the desk and throttle the lady, but we couldn’t even go through the door to the back because my uncle had one of those buzzer locks requiring someone to actually press the button to unlock the door. It was a safety precaution, but one that was now very irritating.
Taking a deep breath and allowing everyone to compose themselves for a second I held up my hands trying to calm things down including myself. “Maam, could you please call back and let them know there is an emergency out here? It’s very important and as you can see this is no joke and if you will notice this isn’t just an ordinary dog, but a service dog and I’m sure my Uncle would want to know about this situation.” I tried seeing the look on the woman’s face and it was obvious she was very torn and didn’t know what to do.
“I…I’m real sorry but Dr. Ammussa is doing surgery right now and he left strict instructions that it was a delicate situation and he wasn’t to be disturbed.”
My older brother looked stunned because even he knew no matter the situation Uncle Joey would still want to know about the circumstances at hand. I could see the veins popping in his throat, a sign he was about to blow his top. Normally, he wouldn’t be this bent out of shape, but I could tell what had happened to me still had him mad as hell. Of course he was upset about Maggie, but an older kid had laid hands on me not to mentioned threatened me with a bat. That he couldn’t stand for and I could tell there was more trouble brewing. It made me cringe and kind of regret even telling him about it now.
Reaching out I placed my hand on top of my brother’s balled fist to calm him down. “Don’t Johnnie, it won’t help. Let me handle this. Just go sit down next to the kid.” I instructed, with him looking at me for a moment his eyes having a very wild look about them.
It took a second, but the scary look went away and I sighed in relief. “Alright.” He growled turning away from the desk and allowing me to focus back on the receptionist.
“Can I use the phone please?” I asked with the woman hesitating a moment because it was the work phone, but it was the only one there.
To my relief she sighed and reluctantly handed over the phone thinking that the least she could do was allow us to call one of our parents. What she didn’t know is that during the summer months I actually worked at the clinic a couple of times a week to earn a little pocket money so knew all the extension numbers for the various rooms in back. The receptionist indicated my uncle was performing surgery so I called the sterile room where those procedures were performed. I also knew that while in surgery any calls coming through from the front went directly to the speaker system.
Discreetly dialing the extension number I heard it connecting and paused for a second trying to be careful with what I said so it wouldn’t upset the lady behind the counter. “Yes, this is Frankie and Tiger got loose from the yard getting hurt so I’m at the vet’s office in the waiting area.” I stated cryptically using the safety code which my uncle knew all about and hoped he would respond knowing I wouldn’t interrupt him in surgery unless there really was an emergency.
By the look on the receptionist’s face I could tell she just figured the dog’s name was Tiger and I was telling my folks we were at the vet. I paused, waiting for some sort of reply knowing my Uncle or someone there in the surgery would actually have to switch the release the button to respond. I started to panic because I didn’t hear anything and flinched when the speaker part on the phone actually clicked noisily and I heard my Uncle’s voice.
“Frankie, is everything alright…what’s wrong?” I heard my Uncle asking, obviously a bit panicked since I had used the code phrase for danger.
Glancing over at the receptionist I could see the fear and anger etched all over her features because she realized what I had just done as she started to reach for the phone. “Dr. Ammussa I’m so sorry I didn’t realize this kid was going to do that when he asked if he could use the phone. I told the two boys that you instructed me not to disturb you because of surgery. I’ll get the phone back and make sure you aren’t bothered again.” She stated leaning for the phone and giving me a cold gaze.
“Wait, hold on it’s alright. Frankie’s my nephew and he wouldn’t do this unless it is important. He used the safe code for our family indicating there is danger. Are you alright Frankie?” He asked again, the receptionist sitting back down, but giving me a very cold stare as if she wasn’t at all pleased with what I had done.
“No…I mean yes. Shit…er…sorry Uncle Joey.” I apologized for cussing. “Please come out here now it is important. I know you are in surgery, but this can’t wait.” I pleaded looking down at the dog relieved that she was still breathing.
“Sarah, take over on the Collie I need to see what has Frankie so upset. You know he wouldn’t interrupt us like this unless it was important, but call me immediately if you run into any problems.” I heard my Uncle asking and hearing a woman’s voice reply in the affirmative.
Sarah was my Aunt and she was a licensed veterinarian as well; although, it was my Uncle who performed all the surgeries since he was so skilled at it. Her being there in surgery with my Uncle meant it must be a huge undertaking because they typically didn’t work the same hours having decided years ago it worked well for them to split the workload. They did overlap their work hours some; especially, in situations where my Uncle would do surgery in case someone came in for an emergency. It’s something I should have caught on to earlier since there was no one else out here except the temp worker. I suppose it didn’t matter now since my Uncle was coming out to the front.
“Are you alright Frankie?” I heard my Aunt asking me and I couldn’t help but sniffle because even though I tried to be brave, this horrible day was finally starting to catch up.
“No Aunt Sarah, something awful has happened and I hope you and Uncle Joey can fix it.” I began to cry softly trying to hold back the tears.
“Oh Frankie, please don’t cry sweetie, Joey is on his way out now and will be there in a second.” She replied just as the locked door opened up with my Uncle stepping out.
“Frankie, what’s going on?” He asked, his eyes immediately taking in my face and wincing. “Oh geeze, are you hurt?” He wondered while I quickly shook my head no, and then motioning over towards the dog, my Uncle’s gaze focused on the bloody bundle wrapped up in my coat sitting on the counter. “Are you here alone?” He wondered reaching out giving my face a quick inspection looking concerned before sighing seemingly satisfied there wasn’t any serious damage.
“Er…no…Johnnie brought us here.” I responded turning around and noticing my brother was gone making me frown and curse under my breath because this couldn’t be good.
My uncle didn’t seem to take notice of Johnnie being gone; instead, he made his way quickly over to the bloody bundle, opened the coat, and hissed in surprise when he saw Maggie. “Oh crap, is that a service dog? What the hell happened?” He asked, quickly getting to work and assessing the wounds on the dog his expression looking grave.
“These thugs at school where beating up this blind kid and I didn’t see what happened to Maggie…er…the dog, but I think one of the older teens must have taken a bat to her…um…well…I guess it was a bat, but not like a regular sized one…you know…it was a small one about half the regular size.” I quickly explained without going into too much detail.
“Jesus Christ Frankie, whose dog is this anyway?” He wondered looking extremely upset about the dog’s injuries noticing me nodding my head to the kid who was sitting in one of the chairs with his knees drawn to his chest and rocking back and forth in a total daze. “Her?” He asked sounding surprised and catching me by surprise for several reasons.
First, he didn’t seem to know the kid or dog, which was odd since he was the only local veterinarian unless the kid went into the big city of St. Cloud. Secondly, he referred to the boy as a she, which of course was understandable; especially, since the boy was balled up with his head on his knees and long hair flowing down over the front keeping his face hidden. Finally, he sounded genuinely surprised about a girl having a guide dog making me wonder if there was a difference between girls getting one versus boys. Of course, I didn’t see why that sort of thing would make a difference.
“Er…yeah, but he’s not a girl…he’s…um…well a boy. Does it make a difference if a kid is a boy or girl with a guide dog?” I asked curiously.
“Oh…um…sorry…it’s just with the long hair and…well never mind and no it’s not a matter of a boy or girl, but rather…,” he paused for a second shaking his head. “It’s just he’s kind of young for a guide dog. Most places only allow kids as young as sixteen to have one for the first time. It has something to do about being big enough to care for and handle one properly.” He replied all the while still looking the dog over. “Sarah, you still on speaker phone?” He asked.
“Yes, is it bad?” My aunt asked.
“It’s worse than bad. Sorry to do this to you sweetheart, but there’s a change of plans. You need to finish up with the Collie on your own and send out Missy with a gurney right now. I’m afraid we are having a double surgery today and Missy will have to assist us both when possible.” He grimaced shaking his head and looking at the temp worker. “I need you to call the police right now and have someone come over.” He instructed with the temp worker looking shocked at the request.
“The police…what for?” She wondered making my Uncle frown and not looking pleased at all since to him it was obvious.
“This is a service dog and in the state of Minnesota it is a felony to injure or kill a service animal with a prison term of up to four years. I’m required to report this sort of thing.” He quickly explained as the locked door opened up and Missy came out with a gurney on wheels for the dog. “Frankie, I don’t want you talking to the police alone, understand?” He asked me, but gave the temp worker a firm gaze.
She didn’t look pleased, but for the first time I could tell she totally understood where my uncle was coming from. “I’ll take care of it for you. Perhaps I should buzz you on the intercom when they arrive.” She suggested with my uncle nodding his head.
“If you feel it is necessary that’ll be fine, but both Sarah and I will have our hands full once I start on the dog.” He sighed anxiously and I could tell he was pretty worried, which made me very apprehensive as well. “I know as a temp worker this isn’t something you signed up for and I’m sorry about it.” He shook his head sadly while he helped Missy place the dog on the gurney. “Missy, get her prepped for me, I’ll be right in.” He added gazing over at me and the look on his face told me all I needed to know as tears began to well up.
My uncle reached out wrapping his arms around me tenderly. “I’ll do what I can…,” He whispered in my ear, “but we need to prepare the boy for the worst. It’s not looking good and I’m surprised she hasn’t passed away yet. It can only mean she’s a fighter Frankie, but I’m afraid it might not be enough. We need to call his parents as well, so…,” he started to tell me when it suddenly dawned on me I didn’t know who the kid was much less his name.
“Oh crap…er…sorry Uncle Joey.” I sniffled apologizing again for my tongue even though technically ‘crap’ wasn’t a swear word as I pulled back from him slightly. “I…er…well the truth is I don’t even know his name…only that I’ve seen him over at Sornell High a few times ever since school started.” I admitted seeing my uncle grimace and nod his head. “Sorry…I-I just don’t know.” I mumbled softly.
“It’s alright kiddo, just stay with him for now. It looks like he is in shock and just needs someone there for support, but if you get a chance see if you can find out who his parents are. Most reputable places tattoo their dogs inside the ear and if I find one I’ll relay it to the front desk and maybe we can get the information we need.” He stated looking at the temp worker who nodded her head.
“I’ll get right on it Dr. Ammussa and don’t worry I’ll keep an eye on the boys for you. You’re right, this isn’t what I signed up for but it is what it is. We will muddle through it just fine so don’t fret over it and focus on what you need to do. I can’t understand how anyone could do something like that to a peaceful animal much less a service dog. It-it’s just cruel.” The woman shook her head sadly and for the first time I began to like her after all.
It couldn’t be easy for her coming to a job just to fill in for a while not really knowing the entire job. It was like being a brand new worker and feeling a bit out of place until you could figure things out. She wasn’t just thrust into a position under normal circumstances, but one that had become very stressful. When we came in she was only doing what she was told and I could tell she hadn’t enjoyed telling us we couldn’t interrupt my uncle in the first place.
“Thank you.” My uncle sighed leaning down and kissing the top of my head before making his way to the back area after the temp worker opened it up for him.
Glancing at the temp worker and wiping away the wetness from my eyes with the back of my hand I gave her a meek smile. “I’m sorry about earlier…you know…putting you in a bad spot. I know it wasn’t your fault and all. Of course it doesn’t help having my brother going all ballistic on you. It’s just, he’s upset because of what happened to me…and…er…well…to what happened with all of this.” I sighed seeing the kind lady giving me a gentle smile back in return.
“It’s alright and to be honest I should have known better myself. This is an animal clinic after all and any emergencies should be dealt with immediately. It’s just I got flustered for a few minutes; especially, after your brother sort of…well…he can be intimidating.” She smiled trying to explain while I nodded totally getting it.
“Yeah, I know and honest, he really isn’t pushy like that at all. He’s actually pretty laid back and it takes a lot to get him riled up, but the problem is once he does get worked up all hell can break loose. Please don’t hold it against him for being overprotective of me. He’s always sort of keeping an eye out for me while also trying not to get too involved. Sometimes he just goes overboard though.” I explained while she nodded saying it was fine and that perhaps I should go over to the other boy now because he wasn’t looking so well.
Making my way over to the other boy I could see his body shuddering as he continued to cry all by himself. Taking a seat next to him I didn’t know what to do so sat there for several long seconds staring at him while he cried softly to himself. It was awful and I could feel the tears forming in my own eyes and I let them flow down my cheeks without any shame. Boys aren’t supposed to sob, but at the moment I didn’t care if anyone saw me crying because I felt awful and very lonely on the inside. I could only imagine what it must be like for the poor kid; especially, since he really was all alone at the moment.
Not really knowing what else to do, I took a deep breath, my lungs rattling in my chest a bit because of the emotions. “H-hey kid, I-I don’t know what to say. I feel awful about what happened and-and I should have done something…anything to warn you about those thugs. I wasn’t thinking though…I mean…I figured they were all the way over on the other side. Oh god, this is all my fault and I’m so sorry.” I sniffled, the tears flowing from my eyes. “I’m so sorry.” I repeated, reaching out and placing my hand on top of his arm feeling the boy flinch from the contact, but not moving away making me sigh in relief.
“I-if you don’t mind I-I’d like to sit with you for a while a-and when you are up for it maybe you can tell us how to get a hold of your folks.” I added hopefully, but the boy didn’t stir and kept rocking back and forth with his knees pressed up against his chest.
His body was still shuddering with sobs making me cry even more. Scooting closer to the boy, I removed my hand and lightly draped my arm over his shoulders just so he knew someone was there for him. This time he didn’t flinch and hope spread through my body that maybe on some level I was helping him out somehow. Tugging on him ever so lightly, I felt the boy leaning in towards me slightly, resting some of his weight up against my body. He was still crying, but no longer rocked back and forth, which I thought was at least a start.
We sat there quietly for the longest of times his soft sobs never subsiding breaking my heart with each passing minute. I’m not sure how long we sat there in silence, but I could hear the temp worker talking on the phone and it dawned on me she seemed to have been on there quiet a while now. I’m sure she must have already talked to the police and I could tell she was now phoning around trying to find the various organizations who trained guide dogs, giving them a call to see if they knew who Maggie belonged to.
I didn’t know what to say or do so just sat there with the boy, holding him tenderly, and letting him cry on my shoulder. Boys aren’t supposed to hold one another like this; especially, if they really didn’t know one another, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. In a way, it felt comforting to hold the kid like this and I didn’t even attempt to pull away not even when I saw the door to the clinic opening up with a woman stepping inside looking a bit anxious.
The woman looked around apprehensively, with her gaze flittering around the room and it took me a second to recognize her. “Ms. Myers?” I asked a bit surprised, my voice croaking slightly because I had been crying softly to myself while trying to comfort the boy at the same time.
The woman’s eyes flittered over towards my direction and widened momentarily before softening up as if both relieved and concerned. They weren’t focused on me though, but on the boy leaning slightly up against my shoulders as her eyes began to well up. It definitely was Ms. Myers, one of the teachers who taught at my brother’s school. She’d fill in every once in a while when my regular teacher couldn’t be there and is why I knew her. There was something about the look in her eyes as she quickly made her way over kneeling in front of the boy.
“Rohan…sweetie…I was so worried when you didn’t show up.” Ms. Myers just managed to get out before the boy hurled himself forward into her arms his sobs renewed with his body heaving as he began to wail.
“Oh god Rohan…I’m so sorry sweetie, but I tried to find you. I was looking for you all over the school when one of the students told me that you were brought over here, but what happened to you? All the other boy knew was that you got hurt and something about Maggie. Rohan…sweetie…,” Ms. Myers held the boy tightly in her arms rocking him back and forth trying to comfort him.
Movement caught my attention and I noticed the temp worker standing next to us reaching down placing her hand on Ms. Myers’ shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sorry and this must be confusing for you, but are you the boy’s mother?” She asked gently so as not to upset the situation more.
“Oh…I’m sorry…yes. I’m Rhona Myers, Rohan’s mother.” She replied trying to get up, but couldn’t since her son hung on even tighter and continued to sob in her shoulders.
“It’s alright, I’m Leanne and I’m temping for Dr. Joey Ammussa and his wife Dr. Sarah Ammussa.” The temp worker offered up helping Rohan’s mom into the seat her son had just vacated since he was still clinging to her and refusing to let go.
Settling in the seat I saw the boy, who I now finally knew was named Rohan, wiggle himself onto her lap and snuggling up close. He had to be around my age, maybe a tad younger, but most twelve and thirteen year old boys wouldn’t dare think of cuddling up on their mother’s lap like this; especially, not in public. I couldn’t blame him though, considering everything that has happened to him and his dog today. In a way I felt a twinge of jealousy at him being able to do this with a mom.
Of course I had my dad, and I knew he loved me, but we stopped cuddling together long ago. It’s like at a certain age a boy suddenly becomes embarrassed about those sorts of things. My dad still showed me affection in other ways like draping an arm across my shoulders, ruffling my hair, or giving me a gentle pat on the back. Every once in a while he’d give me a quick hug so I knew he loved me, but in public such displays of affection were a bit embarrassing at times.
“Ms. Myers…um…Dr. Ammussa didn’t seem to recognize your dog or the boy. I’m sure he will want to get some information from the vet you take Maggie to.” The temp worker tried to hint gently while Ms. Myers nodded her head understanding.
“Oh yes of course. We don’t come here because we got Maggie through a guide dog breeder located in St. Watkins just about an hour southwest of St. Cloud. We get lifetime medical follow-ups through one of their approved facilities and the closest one is in St. Cloud. I’d love to come here, but I suppose there is a vetting process, which could take years and I didn’t want to put this small clinic through something that would obviously cost them a lot of expended time and money.” She explained with Leanne nodding her head in understanding.
“So, can you please tell me what happened? Is Maggie alright?” She asked with Leanne looking a bit nervous now.
“Well…to be honest Ms. Myers…,” The temp began before being interrupted.
“Rhona…you can call me Rhona.” Ms. Myers tried to smile, but also looked nervous because she could tell something wasn’t right.
“Alright…Rhona. It’s just…well…Dr. Ammussa seemed to indicate…,” she paused unable to answer because when she glanced at the boy he was still cuddled up against his mom and crying.
It never occurred to me someone could cry this much for so long, but even I had been crying on and off now for a while and felt totally wrung out. I could only imagine what it must be like for Rohan as I sat quietly not wanting to interrupt.
“I see…would it be alright if I talked to Dr. Ammussa about Maggie and what is going on with her.” Ms. Myers asked Leanne hopefully, but I could see by the look on the temp’s face she didn’t think it would be possible right now.
“I’m sorry…it’s just…they are really in a bind back there doing two separate surgeries so I know they are being hard pressed, but I will see what I can find out for you.” Leanne promised, smiling softly to at least give Ms. Myers some sort of hope before leaving her alone with her son.
“Oh god Rohan, what happened sweetie?” She sighed trying to coax her son into responding as her gaze flittered towards me and she winced noticing my face.
She seemed to want me to say something, but when I started to speak up her son shifted and sat back a little with Ms. Myers hissing in surprise when she saw her son’s banged up face. “Oh god, did you do this to my son Frankie?” She asked a bit harshly examining Rohan closely and catching me by surprise.
“What!” I responded while the boy spoke up at the same time.
“No mom, please don’t blame him. He didn’t do anything; except to help. Him and his older brother. It was awful mom, these boys…th-they beat me up and hurt Maggie. I-I…,” he broke down and began to sob again collapsing into his mom’s arms while she hugged him tightly and looked over at me apologetically.
“I’m sorry.” I managed to croak out my own tears welling up in my eyes.
“Oh no Frankie, please I’m the one who should apologize. I should have known you were better than that, but please tell me what is going on. I’m completely at a loss and simply don’t know what to do or how to help since I don’t know what happened.” She pleaded reaching out and brushing her fingers lightly along my cheek apologetically.
It kind of caught me by surprise because I’ve never been touched affectionately like this in a “mom” sort of way. It felt nice though; especially, in light of what happened today. Aunt Sarah was really nice and all, but she and Uncle Joey didn’t have any kids so she never seemed to have those motherly like instincts. My Aunt wasn’t the cuddly type always behaving more aloof and distant; sort of professional like when dealing with me and my brother. She did have her tender moments though, just like a little while earlier when she could tell I was really upset. It’s strange, but it was moments like this when I really missed having a real mom.
Ms. Myers’ gentle touch made me blush, but I recovered quickly and began telling her what happened out at the school. I could see the horror on her face as I told her everything. The more I said the more emotional I became until I started getting towards the end with tears running down my face while I tried to choke down my sobs, but it was just too hard. I felt awful for what those assholes did and I blamed myself for allowing it to happen in the first place. From the corner of my vision I could see Ms. Leanne’s face having gone completely white from what I described. The last minute or so was the most difficult of all because by this time I was a complete basket case as I heard the sharp intake of Ms. Myers’ breath.
“Oh god Frankie, how could anyone do this to a boy who can’t see? Rohan was completely defenseless and to do that to-to Maggie, a guide dog. I-I…oh god I feel sick.” I heard her whispering softly the dam completely breaking on me now as I began to sob just like Rohan had done a little while ago.
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t cried a little already, but now I began to break down for real as it truly hit me. The memories of Rohan flailing around trying to protect himself while he was being beaten, was seared in my mind. Telling Ms. Myers about it had only reinforced those awful images and now my stomach began to twist into a knot. To see someone completely helpless and at the utter mercy of thugs was too overwhelming to the point where I wanted to go back and do it all over again, wiping it completely away forever. This was impossible though and the guilt kept eating away at me.
“I-I-I…I’m s-s-so…s-s-sorry.” I began to stutter trying to catch my breath because my chest felt tight and I was hurting with guilt on the inside for my role in this whole mess. “I-I-I…d-didn’t know what to do. It-it’s…a-a-all my fault for being so s-stupid…and-and-and then I didn’t know w-what to do a-about M-Maggie. T-then when we got here I-I didn’t k-know how to help R-Rohan. I-I-I didn’t e-even kn-know his n-name until j-just now. Oh god, I-I’m just so h-horrible and s-stupid sometimes.” I managed to get out, my voice catching in my throat and sounding like a rusted gate when to my surprise I felt Ms. Myers reaching out and hold me tightly.
At first I resisted, but I was too emotional to fight it off and simply caved, slumping into her gentle embrace. “Oh Frankie, it’s not your fault and you were so brave. I don’t think any other boy, a complete stranger to my son, would have come and defended him without any hesitation like you did. Without you this could have been even worse. I am afraid of what those boys would have done to my son Frankie, and I want to thank you for doing the right thing even though you got hurt in the process.” She tried to soothe me as I continued to hiccup and sniffle.
Feeling the warmth and love from this woman, who for all practical purposes was a stranger, seemed to help. I did know her, but it was only in a school setting and even then she wasn’t like one of my real teachers. I’ve met her and she’s filled in a time or two, but that was the extent of our relationship. At best it was casual in the most minimal of ways; yet, in this brief encounter something seemed to form between us, a kind of bond that didn’t feel awkward and was actually kind of nice. It sort of confused me a little because I knew after today we would all go back to our normal routine and I’d probably rarely see her again.
As for Rohan, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be seeing him anymore considering what he just went through. It’s not like we went to the same school either. We didn’t even live close to one another, well at least as far as I knew. I rode my bike around a lot, but it’s not like I go all over the city. It really was a small community, but spread out and big enough where it wasn’t an ideal situation to go riding my bike all over.
Slowly I began to settle down and after a couple of minutes managed to get my composure back under control realizing I was literally being hugged and comforted by a stranger for all practical purposes. Boys my age didn’t cry like this, much less in front of virtual strangers no matter the circumstances. Swallowing down the last of my sniffles I eased back away from her and wiped my wet face with the sleeve of my shirt.
“S-sorry.” I mumbled and blushed because what happened was a bit embarrassing as I glanced at Rohan who seemed to have fallen asleep in his mom’s arms.
At the moment he looked so peaceful and I couldn’t blame him after the day he’s had. In many ways I wished it was me who had fallen asleep burying away the awful memories. Little did I realize at the moment just how hard that would be in the coming days ahead. At thirteen years old I didn’t realize something so traumatic could end up haunting my dreams making for restless and sleepless nights.
“Don’t worry its al…,” Ms. Myers began to tell me when the door suddenly opened up and I was amazed to see my dad step inside the waiting room still dressed in the work coat from the mill and looking very concerned.
“Dad!” I squeaked standing up and running over to him and without any hesitation hugged him tightly to me feeling him returning my embrace.
“Oh thank god you’re still here Frankie. We’ve gotta go right now.” He insisted catching me by surprise, but holding on to me for a second or two longer before releasing me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked seeing him grimace.
“I’m not exactly sure, but your brother called me from the police station. He got into some sort of fight with this new kid and it sounds like he hurt the other teen pretty badly.” He tried to explain quickly.
“He what?” I squeaked. “I told him not to f…er…not to do anything stupid. Damn it.” I managed to save myself from the ‘F’ bomb, yet still managed to swear in the end, but my dad didn’t seem to care at the moment.
“Well, at least from what he told me and from what I understand, he seemed to indicate it was self defense and there were witnesses who corroborated his story, but we still have to go now. I saw the police pulling up just before I came inside and I want to get over to your brother before they hold us up here to question you.” He managed to get out, and pulling back from me, seemed to notice my banged up face for the first time forcing him to wince in concern. “Damn those assholes. Your brother told me what happened and I’m proud of you son, but let’s get going and you can tell me about it on the way over.” He sighed stepping towards the door just as it opened up and two officers stepped inside. “Shit…,” he hissed under his breath catching me by surprise because he hardly ever cussed, at least not in front of me or Johnnie, and he just did it, twice.
Draping his arm over my shoulder he led me towards the door, but one of the officers held up his hand to stop us. “Hold on there just a minute. We got a call concerning a service dog being beaten by some teenagers over at Sornell High.”
“Oh yes officer that was me, but you don’t need to hold up the boy and his father. I’ve got all the information you need along with the dog’s owners sitting off to the side.” Leanne spoke up from behind the desk giving me a knowing smile while I mouthed a ‘thank you’ at the woman because she was turning out to be alright after all.
Her interjection managed to divert the officer’s attention to her, which allowed me and my dad to slip outside. Once in the open we didn’t stop and quickly hopped into his car. Instead of popping on to the main street, my dad pulled around the back alley just so we wouldn’t be stopped by one of the officers if they stepped outside.
Having made a clean escape we quickly made our way over to the police station where my dad found out just exactly what happened when Johnnie left me at the vet clinic. Evidently my brother had been so pissed he returned back to the school and after getting dressed set out to find those two jerks who had been the main instigators in what happened to Rohan, Maggie, and me.
It didn’t take him long, but by the time he confronted them it had been long enough for him to calm down. Instead of going completely berserk on them he simply told them to stay away from us. When this older Tank guy asked ‘or what,’ my brother simply stared at him coldly and informed the kid he wouldn’t want to find out so he should just stay away and save everyone any headaches.
That’s when this Tank guy went completely nuts. He still had that bat and he took a swipe at my brother who had started to walk away. If it wouldn’t have been for Murph shouting out a warning my brother would have probably been clobbered in the back of the head and in the hospital now instead of at the police station. Murph warned my brother just in time for Johnnie to turn around and react to the danger with cat like reflexes. It caught Tank by complete surprise because instead of ducking or trying to jump backwards, my brother stepped towards the older boy and swiveling his body slammed the big lug into the lockers so hard it knocked the bat loose from the teen’s grip.
The bat bounced on to the floor followed by Tank as he fell to his knees. Johnnie was going to leave it at that and started to turn away when Tully suddenly jumped on to his back wrapping his arm around my brother’s neck from behind trying to choke him. Seeing another opening Tank scrambled for the bat and swung at my brother for a second time. With Tully on his back all Johnnie could do this time was jerk backwards into the lockers to avoid the bat.
He slammed into the lockers so hard that Tully’s body caved the metal doors inwards. The younger teen also smacked the back of his head so hard into the wall it knocked him out cold for the second time in the same day. Seeing his brother dropping to the floor enraged Tank and he launched himself at Johnnie who had just about enough of this entire mess.
The older teen had made the fatal mistake of thinking his hulking body was all he needed to pound on someone smaller like my brother. I’m sure it was a mistake he would be regretting now for a long time because Johnnie wasn’t just fast, he was a lot stronger than people realized. When Tank charged him my brother moved so fast that it was like watching a blur. Using the older teen’s momentum against him my brother grabbed him reaching between his legs and like you see in those wrestling shows lifted the boy up flipping him around and slamming the big thug into the floor.
At this point my brother wasn’t trying to be careful, but went all out throwing the guy downwards with force. The first thing that hit was Tank’s shoulder and according to Murph you could here it when the bone cracked and broke, followed by his arm snapping and breaking as well. My brother wasn’t taking any chances as he reached down and with one powerful punch knocked Tank out just as cold as his little brother a couple of feet away.
The incident sent both brothers to the hospital. Tully with a couple of cracked ribs, a very bruised back, and a slight concussion. As for Tank, well he ended up in an upper body cast for a broken shoulder and arm. He was damn lucky he didn’t land on his head or his skull would have cracked open spilling his brains all over the floor.
Of course the two brothers’ father wanted to press charges against my brother, but the school had almost immediately produced surveillance tape of not only that incident, but the one in the garden too. They had been already in the process of retrieving the one in the garden because that kid from the horticulture club reported the incident and then with what happened in the hallway they immediately pulled that one as well.
When the school had done the upgrade a few years back they implemented a complete state of the art surveillance system at the same time. It would now pay off because not only was the father threatening my brother with charges, but wanting to sue them as well. Of course there were witnesses like Murph who were already turning against Tank and Tully. This infuriated the two brothers’ father and he started launching a tirade against the teen, but when Murph’s father showed up he put a quick end to it telling his brother-in-law to go screw himself and if he came anywhere near his son he would join his own boys in the hospital.
With all the testimony and video evidence on hand the police were in the process of releasing Johnnie indicating they were fairly certain there would be no charges forthcoming from the prosecutor’s office. Evidently this wouldn’t be true though for Tank and Tully. Their father was now fuming in one of the side offices getting even more infuriated by the moment because Murph and his father didn’t stop there informing the investigating officers that both Tank and Tully had been suspended from their previous school in St. Cloud and that they were being investigated by the police over there for terrorizing other students. Things really weren’t looking good for those two assholes at all.
Now as I sat in the chair waiting for my brother to be released I felt my eyes beginning to droop because I was completely wiped out. I could already feel the aches and pains on my body, and my mouth hurt like hell from where my braces had cut into my cheek on the inside. My eyes popped open when I heard someone sitting next to me and when I glanced over it was Johnnie looking very disgruntled.
“You jackass, I told you not to do anything stupid.” I grumbled seeing him giving me a cold gaze that immediately softened up.
Inhaling deeply and letting it out slowly he shook his head. “That’s just it, I didn’t.” He stated calmly.
His reply caught me by surprise and I opened up my mouth to retort back. “Don’t even say anything Frankie. It’s obvious they were out to terrorize kids at our school like they did at the last place. Yeah, I got in their face and all, but I didn’t go about it like a jackass. All I did was to give them proper warning their shit wasn’t going to fly at our school. It’s not my fault those jerks went all crazy.” He told me sternly.
“It was still a stupid ass thing to do. You should have waited to let things calm down.” I insisted in a stern voice since truth be told what happened scared the crap out of me because he could have been seriously hurt.
That’s just it Frankie…I couldn’t.” He insisted just as firmly and when he saw my questioning look he continued. “Listen, once I got to my locker and started to get dressed I was going to drop it until tomorrow. Then I heard some of the guys in there saying something about how these new guys were terrorizing more kids at our school. I couldn’t let anything else happen to someone like what happened to you and that blind kid. For Christ sake Frankie…they beat a service dog to a pulp and were just as cruel to a boy who can’t defend himself. That was the last straw.” He sighed shaking his head.
“Oh…I didn’t know about that.” I added apologetically.
“I know…it’s why I’m letting the whole ‘jackass’ comment slide.” He teased leaning his shoulder into mine and giving me a gentle nudge making me look sideways at him and smile.
“Thanks Johnnie…you know…for being there when I needed you. I was scared shitless.” I told him seriously.
“Oh…I thought I smelled something a bit ripe. We better get you home real quick like so you can change your skivvies.” He teased trying to lighten the atmosphere, but today was just too serious for me to be in that sort of mood.
“Stop it Johnnie, this isn’t funny. You could have been seriously hurt and me too so don’t be a prick already.” I sighed feeling him drape his arm over my shoulder and hug me lightly in a brotherly kind of fashion.
We rarely showed this kind of brotherly affection in private anymore much less in public, but right now it was what I needed as Johnnie nodded his head in agreement. “Sorry Frankie, it’s just today was…well…fucked up.” He leaned back into the chair bringing me along and leaving his arm draped over my shoulders trying to comfort me while we waited for dad to finish up with some paperwork.
Glancing over I watched my dad looking over some documents before signing them. It looked like he was just finishing up when an officer approached him and started to talk obviously relaying some information. My dad’s face seemed to blanch and when he glanced at me I saw something in his eyes that set the hairs on the back of my neck on end. After a moment or two my dad nodded his head and running his hand through his hair he seemed to inhale deeply before making his way over to me and Johnnie. When we started to stand he motioned for us to remain seated and took one for himself next to me not saying anything for a few seconds making me nervous.
“Frankie…how well do you know this kid you helped out in the school’s garden?” He wondered while I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well…er…not really all that well dad. I mean our paths crossed sometimes at the high school when I was on the way to my advanced classes there, but it’s not like everyday. We’ve never really spoken to each other until…um…until today…well…other than saying ‘hey’ or whatnot. Why?” I now began to wonder and seeing the look on his face I began to shake my head.
“No dad…please…no.” I began to sniffle feeling my brother tighten his grip on me.
“I’m sorry Frankie, but Joey just reported to the investigating officers over at the clinic that Maggie died. There was just too much damage to her skull and even if she had survived she wouldn’t be the same dog as before. He might of even had to put her down in the end, but she passed peacefully on the operating table Frankie. I’m so sorry son.” He told me softly as I began to cry not caring who saw me.
For the first time in a very long while my dad wrapped me up in his strong arms and held me closely letting me cry my heart out. I didn’t really know Rohan or his dog, but I could still see the two of them making their way down the sidewalk looking all happy and bubbly. Maggie was an adorable dog and I now wished I had taken the time to stop them so I could get to know her. I had often wanted to stop and pet her showering the dog with affection, but now it was too late. I felt bad for Rohan because this just wasn’t right. He had pleaded for his dog’s life, ‘his everything,’ as he called her, and it broke my heart. Sometimes life sucks. It could often be cruel and unfair as I cried myself to sleep in my dad’s arms not even realizing it until I woke up later that day in my own bed.
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End of Chapter Two: Sometimes Life Sucks
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EXCERPT FROM BLINDSIDED
If this situation wouldn’t have been so grave I would have probably busted up at my brother’s lack of dress at the moment. Not only was he shirtless, but pant-less as well. He must have been putting on his football gear at the time the horticulture guy came running into the locker room to relay the safety code to my brother. At the moment he was only wearing those padded white pair of football girdle covering up his goods. He hadn’t even bothered with putting on socks, simply slipping into his shoes like a pair of slippers because his heel wasn’t even inside the pair of Nike sneaker’s he wore.
“Johnnie, let’s get going. I’ll explain everything on the way.” I told my brother sincerely as I helped the smaller boy into the car next to his dog.
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SOMETIMES LIFE SUCKS
My brother was tearing down through the backstreets like a maniac and it was kind of frightening because I could see how furious he was getting. I told him everything about the episode in the garden not holding back despite the gruesome warning from that older boy, Tank. To say my brother was mad would be an understatement because I could see the cords in his neck bulging and the way his fist turned white gripping on to the steering wheel. Next to me the younger boy was sobbing as he cuddled with his dog, Maggie, because she wasn’t responding only adding to the chaos inside the speeding car. It was starting to get dangerous and I was scared out of my mind.
“Johnnie…,” I spoke up trying to get my brother’s attention. “For fuck’s sake slow down Johnnie before you get us all killed. You are scaring the crap out of me.” I snapped finally managing to get through to my brother as he slowed down, but still managed to pass through the streets at a good clip.
“Sorry…it’s just…,” my brother grimaced not looking at all pleased. “I don’t know what the hell Murph was thinking, but when I catch up to him…,” He began before I interjected.
“Johnnie, I told you it wasn’t his fault. It was that new kid, Tank, and his little brother. Just don’t do anything stupid that we will regret later.” I sighed shaking my head just as we pulled up to the clinic.
My brother swung into the side alley next to the building not even bothering to head into the back parking lot. I jumped out motioning for my brother to get the dog while I ran around to the other side opening up the door.
“Come-on kid.” I ducked my head inside and reached over tapping him on the arm feeling the boy flinch. “Here, grab my hand so I can get you inside. Johnnie’s grabbing Maggie, but he can’t get to her unless you let go.” I tried to tell him calmly hoping he’d hurry up because I wasn’t even sure if the dog was still alive.
My brother was on the other side and glanced at me nodding his head indicating she was still alive after he had seen the look on my face. I was relieved, but I could tell from Johnnie’s eyes that it wasn’t looking good though. Thank goodness the boy reached out awkwardly for my hand allowing Johnnie to grab the dog. My brother didn’t wait for us and hustled to the front of the building disappearing inside.
“Maggie…,” The long haired boy whispered.
It was obvious he was in shock and I had to coax him to follow me inside. He could barely stand up on his own and even though I was tempted to grab on to him I was afraid how he’d react. So far he hadn’t handled being touched too well at all and I didn’t want him to suddenly freak out so I slowly led him over to the front of the building opening up the door and sighed in relief once I got him inside.
For some reason all hell had broken out with my brother yelling at the lady on the front desk to get Uncle Joey. It was obvious the woman was new and I recalled my Uncle saying something about having to get a temp worker until his other receptionist got back from vacation. The poor woman looked completely frazzled, but for some odd reason she was refusing to call for my Uncle saying something about him being with another animal at the moment and we would have to wait.
It simply didn’t make any sense because it was obvious just how bad Maggie was as I sat the boy in a chair and hustled over to the receptionist pushing my brother over because he was making it even worse. He started to protest, but I shushed him quiet. I knew how he felt because I wanted to reach over the desk and throttle the lady, but we couldn’t even go through the door to the back because my uncle had one of those buzzer locks requiring someone to actually press the button to unlock the door. It was a safety precaution, but one that was now very irritating.
Taking a deep breath and allowing everyone to compose themselves for a second I held up my hands trying to calm things down including myself. “Maam, could you please call back and let them know there is an emergency out here? It’s very important and as you can see this is no joke and if you will notice this isn’t just an ordinary dog, but a service dog and I’m sure my Uncle would want to know about this situation.” I tried seeing the look on the woman’s face and it was obvious she was very torn and didn’t know what to do.
“I…I’m real sorry but Dr. Ammussa is doing surgery right now and he left strict instructions that it was a delicate situation and he wasn’t to be disturbed.”
My older brother looked stunned because even he knew no matter the situation Uncle Joey would still want to know about the circumstances at hand. I could see the veins popping in his throat, a sign he was about to blow his top. Normally, he wouldn’t be this bent out of shape, but I could tell what had happened to me still had him mad as hell. Of course he was upset about Maggie, but an older kid had laid hands on me not to mentioned threatened me with a bat. That he couldn’t stand for and I could tell there was more trouble brewing. It made me cringe and kind of regret even telling him about it now.
Reaching out I placed my hand on top of my brother’s balled fist to calm him down. “Don’t Johnnie, it won’t help. Let me handle this. Just go sit down next to the kid.” I instructed, with him looking at me for a moment his eyes having a very wild look about them.
It took a second, but the scary look went away and I sighed in relief. “Alright.” He growled turning away from the desk and allowing me to focus back on the receptionist.
“Can I use the phone please?” I asked with the woman hesitating a moment because it was the work phone, but it was the only one there.
To my relief she sighed and reluctantly handed over the phone thinking that the least she could do was allow us to call one of our parents. What she didn’t know is that during the summer months I actually worked at the clinic a couple of times a week to earn a little pocket money so knew all the extension numbers for the various rooms in back. The receptionist indicated my uncle was performing surgery so I called the sterile room where those procedures were performed. I also knew that while in surgery any calls coming through from the front went directly to the speaker system.
Discreetly dialing the extension number I heard it connecting and paused for a second trying to be careful with what I said so it wouldn’t upset the lady behind the counter. “Yes, this is Frankie and Tiger got loose from the yard getting hurt so I’m at the vet’s office in the waiting area.” I stated cryptically using the safety code which my uncle knew all about and hoped he would respond knowing I wouldn’t interrupt him in surgery unless there really was an emergency.
By the look on the receptionist’s face I could tell she just figured the dog’s name was Tiger and I was telling my folks we were at the vet. I paused, waiting for some sort of reply knowing my Uncle or someone there in the surgery would actually have to switch the release the button to respond. I started to panic because I didn’t hear anything and flinched when the speaker part on the phone actually clicked noisily and I heard my Uncle’s voice.
“Frankie, is everything alright…what’s wrong?” I heard my Uncle asking, obviously a bit panicked since I had used the code phrase for danger.
Glancing over at the receptionist I could see the fear and anger etched all over her features because she realized what I had just done as she started to reach for the phone. “Dr. Ammussa I’m so sorry I didn’t realize this kid was going to do that when he asked if he could use the phone. I told the two boys that you instructed me not to disturb you because of surgery. I’ll get the phone back and make sure you aren’t bothered again.” She stated leaning for the phone and giving me a cold gaze.
“Wait, hold on it’s alright. Frankie’s my nephew and he wouldn’t do this unless it is important. He used the safe code for our family indicating there is danger. Are you alright Frankie?” He asked again, the receptionist sitting back down, but giving me a very cold stare as if she wasn’t at all pleased with what I had done.
“No…I mean yes. Shit…er…sorry Uncle Joey.” I apologized for cussing. “Please come out here now it is important. I know you are in surgery, but this can’t wait.” I pleaded looking down at the dog relieved that she was still breathing.
“Sarah, take over on the Collie I need to see what has Frankie so upset. You know he wouldn’t interrupt us like this unless it was important, but call me immediately if you run into any problems.” I heard my Uncle asking and hearing a woman’s voice reply in the affirmative.
Sarah was my Aunt and she was a licensed veterinarian as well; although, it was my Uncle who performed all the surgeries since he was so skilled at it. Her being there in surgery with my Uncle meant it must be a huge undertaking because they typically didn’t work the same hours having decided years ago it worked well for them to split the workload. They did overlap their work hours some; especially, in situations where my Uncle would do surgery in case someone came in for an emergency. It’s something I should have caught on to earlier since there was no one else out here except the temp worker. I suppose it didn’t matter now since my Uncle was coming out to the front.
“Are you alright Frankie?” I heard my Aunt asking me and I couldn’t help but sniffle because even though I tried to be brave, this horrible day was finally starting to catch up.
“No Aunt Sarah, something awful has happened and I hope you and Uncle Joey can fix it.” I began to cry softly trying to hold back the tears.
“Oh Frankie, please don’t cry sweetie, Joey is on his way out now and will be there in a second.” She replied just as the locked door opened up with my Uncle stepping out.
“Frankie, what’s going on?” He asked, his eyes immediately taking in my face and wincing. “Oh geeze, are you hurt?” He wondered while I quickly shook my head no, and then motioning over towards the dog, my Uncle’s gaze focused on the bloody bundle wrapped up in my coat sitting on the counter. “Are you here alone?” He wondered reaching out giving my face a quick inspection looking concerned before sighing seemingly satisfied there wasn’t any serious damage.
“Er…no…Johnnie brought us here.” I responded turning around and noticing my brother was gone making me frown and curse under my breath because this couldn’t be good.
My uncle didn’t seem to take notice of Johnnie being gone; instead, he made his way quickly over to the bloody bundle, opened the coat, and hissed in surprise when he saw Maggie. “Oh crap, is that a service dog? What the hell happened?” He asked, quickly getting to work and assessing the wounds on the dog his expression looking grave.
“These thugs at school where beating up this blind kid and I didn’t see what happened to Maggie…er…the dog, but I think one of the older teens must have taken a bat to her…um…well…I guess it was a bat, but not like a regular sized one…you know…it was a small one about half the regular size.” I quickly explained without going into too much detail.
“Jesus Christ Frankie, whose dog is this anyway?” He wondered looking extremely upset about the dog’s injuries noticing me nodding my head to the kid who was sitting in one of the chairs with his knees drawn to his chest and rocking back and forth in a total daze. “Her?” He asked sounding surprised and catching me by surprise for several reasons.
First, he didn’t seem to know the kid or dog, which was odd since he was the only local veterinarian unless the kid went into the big city of St. Cloud. Secondly, he referred to the boy as a she, which of course was understandable; especially, since the boy was balled up with his head on his knees and long hair flowing down over the front keeping his face hidden. Finally, he sounded genuinely surprised about a girl having a guide dog making me wonder if there was a difference between girls getting one versus boys. Of course, I didn’t see why that sort of thing would make a difference.
“Er…yeah, but he’s not a girl…he’s…um…well a boy. Does it make a difference if a kid is a boy or girl with a guide dog?” I asked curiously.
“Oh…um…sorry…it’s just with the long hair and…well never mind and no it’s not a matter of a boy or girl, but rather…,” he paused for a second shaking his head. “It’s just he’s kind of young for a guide dog. Most places only allow kids as young as sixteen to have one for the first time. It has something to do about being big enough to care for and handle one properly.” He replied all the while still looking the dog over. “Sarah, you still on speaker phone?” He asked.
“Yes, is it bad?” My aunt asked.
“It’s worse than bad. Sorry to do this to you sweetheart, but there’s a change of plans. You need to finish up with the Collie on your own and send out Missy with a gurney right now. I’m afraid we are having a double surgery today and Missy will have to assist us both when possible.” He grimaced shaking his head and looking at the temp worker. “I need you to call the police right now and have someone come over.” He instructed with the temp worker looking shocked at the request.
“The police…what for?” She wondered making my Uncle frown and not looking pleased at all since to him it was obvious.
“This is a service dog and in the state of Minnesota it is a felony to injure or kill a service animal with a prison term of up to four years. I’m required to report this sort of thing.” He quickly explained as the locked door opened up and Missy came out with a gurney on wheels for the dog. “Frankie, I don’t want you talking to the police alone, understand?” He asked me, but gave the temp worker a firm gaze.
She didn’t look pleased, but for the first time I could tell she totally understood where my uncle was coming from. “I’ll take care of it for you. Perhaps I should buzz you on the intercom when they arrive.” She suggested with my uncle nodding his head.
“If you feel it is necessary that’ll be fine, but both Sarah and I will have our hands full once I start on the dog.” He sighed anxiously and I could tell he was pretty worried, which made me very apprehensive as well. “I know as a temp worker this isn’t something you signed up for and I’m sorry about it.” He shook his head sadly while he helped Missy place the dog on the gurney. “Missy, get her prepped for me, I’ll be right in.” He added gazing over at me and the look on his face told me all I needed to know as tears began to well up.
My uncle reached out wrapping his arms around me tenderly. “I’ll do what I can…,” He whispered in my ear, “but we need to prepare the boy for the worst. It’s not looking good and I’m surprised she hasn’t passed away yet. It can only mean she’s a fighter Frankie, but I’m afraid it might not be enough. We need to call his parents as well, so…,” he started to tell me when it suddenly dawned on me I didn’t know who the kid was much less his name.
“Oh crap…er…sorry Uncle Joey.” I sniffled apologizing again for my tongue even though technically ‘crap’ wasn’t a swear word as I pulled back from him slightly. “I…er…well the truth is I don’t even know his name…only that I’ve seen him over at Sornell High a few times ever since school started.” I admitted seeing my uncle grimace and nod his head. “Sorry…I-I just don’t know.” I mumbled softly.
“It’s alright kiddo, just stay with him for now. It looks like he is in shock and just needs someone there for support, but if you get a chance see if you can find out who his parents are. Most reputable places tattoo their dogs inside the ear and if I find one I’ll relay it to the front desk and maybe we can get the information we need.” He stated looking at the temp worker who nodded her head.
“I’ll get right on it Dr. Ammussa and don’t worry I’ll keep an eye on the boys for you. You’re right, this isn’t what I signed up for but it is what it is. We will muddle through it just fine so don’t fret over it and focus on what you need to do. I can’t understand how anyone could do something like that to a peaceful animal much less a service dog. It-it’s just cruel.” The woman shook her head sadly and for the first time I began to like her after all.
It couldn’t be easy for her coming to a job just to fill in for a while not really knowing the entire job. It was like being a brand new worker and feeling a bit out of place until you could figure things out. She wasn’t just thrust into a position under normal circumstances, but one that had become very stressful. When we came in she was only doing what she was told and I could tell she hadn’t enjoyed telling us we couldn’t interrupt my uncle in the first place.
“Thank you.” My uncle sighed leaning down and kissing the top of my head before making his way to the back area after the temp worker opened it up for him.
Glancing at the temp worker and wiping away the wetness from my eyes with the back of my hand I gave her a meek smile. “I’m sorry about earlier…you know…putting you in a bad spot. I know it wasn’t your fault and all. Of course it doesn’t help having my brother going all ballistic on you. It’s just, he’s upset because of what happened to me…and…er…well…to what happened with all of this.” I sighed seeing the kind lady giving me a gentle smile back in return.
“It’s alright and to be honest I should have known better myself. This is an animal clinic after all and any emergencies should be dealt with immediately. It’s just I got flustered for a few minutes; especially, after your brother sort of…well…he can be intimidating.” She smiled trying to explain while I nodded totally getting it.
“Yeah, I know and honest, he really isn’t pushy like that at all. He’s actually pretty laid back and it takes a lot to get him riled up, but the problem is once he does get worked up all hell can break loose. Please don’t hold it against him for being overprotective of me. He’s always sort of keeping an eye out for me while also trying not to get too involved. Sometimes he just goes overboard though.” I explained while she nodded saying it was fine and that perhaps I should go over to the other boy now because he wasn’t looking so well.
Making my way over to the other boy I could see his body shuddering as he continued to cry all by himself. Taking a seat next to him I didn’t know what to do so sat there for several long seconds staring at him while he cried softly to himself. It was awful and I could feel the tears forming in my own eyes and I let them flow down my cheeks without any shame. Boys aren’t supposed to sob, but at the moment I didn’t care if anyone saw me crying because I felt awful and very lonely on the inside. I could only imagine what it must be like for the poor kid; especially, since he really was all alone at the moment.
Not really knowing what else to do, I took a deep breath, my lungs rattling in my chest a bit because of the emotions. “H-hey kid, I-I don’t know what to say. I feel awful about what happened and-and I should have done something…anything to warn you about those thugs. I wasn’t thinking though…I mean…I figured they were all the way over on the other side. Oh god, this is all my fault and I’m so sorry.” I sniffled, the tears flowing from my eyes. “I’m so sorry.” I repeated, reaching out and placing my hand on top of his arm feeling the boy flinch from the contact, but not moving away making me sigh in relief.
“I-if you don’t mind I-I’d like to sit with you for a while a-and when you are up for it maybe you can tell us how to get a hold of your folks.” I added hopefully, but the boy didn’t stir and kept rocking back and forth with his knees pressed up against his chest.
His body was still shuddering with sobs making me cry even more. Scooting closer to the boy, I removed my hand and lightly draped my arm over his shoulders just so he knew someone was there for him. This time he didn’t flinch and hope spread through my body that maybe on some level I was helping him out somehow. Tugging on him ever so lightly, I felt the boy leaning in towards me slightly, resting some of his weight up against my body. He was still crying, but no longer rocked back and forth, which I thought was at least a start.
We sat there quietly for the longest of times his soft sobs never subsiding breaking my heart with each passing minute. I’m not sure how long we sat there in silence, but I could hear the temp worker talking on the phone and it dawned on me she seemed to have been on there quiet a while now. I’m sure she must have already talked to the police and I could tell she was now phoning around trying to find the various organizations who trained guide dogs, giving them a call to see if they knew who Maggie belonged to.
I didn’t know what to say or do so just sat there with the boy, holding him tenderly, and letting him cry on my shoulder. Boys aren’t supposed to hold one another like this; especially, if they really didn’t know one another, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. In a way, it felt comforting to hold the kid like this and I didn’t even attempt to pull away not even when I saw the door to the clinic opening up with a woman stepping inside looking a bit anxious.
The woman looked around apprehensively, with her gaze flittering around the room and it took me a second to recognize her. “Ms. Myers?” I asked a bit surprised, my voice croaking slightly because I had been crying softly to myself while trying to comfort the boy at the same time.
The woman’s eyes flittered over towards my direction and widened momentarily before softening up as if both relieved and concerned. They weren’t focused on me though, but on the boy leaning slightly up against my shoulders as her eyes began to well up. It definitely was Ms. Myers, one of the teachers who taught at my brother’s school. She’d fill in every once in a while when my regular teacher couldn’t be there and is why I knew her. There was something about the look in her eyes as she quickly made her way over kneeling in front of the boy.
“Rohan…sweetie…I was so worried when you didn’t show up.” Ms. Myers just managed to get out before the boy hurled himself forward into her arms his sobs renewed with his body heaving as he began to wail.
“Oh god Rohan…I’m so sorry sweetie, but I tried to find you. I was looking for you all over the school when one of the students told me that you were brought over here, but what happened to you? All the other boy knew was that you got hurt and something about Maggie. Rohan…sweetie…,” Ms. Myers held the boy tightly in her arms rocking him back and forth trying to comfort him.
Movement caught my attention and I noticed the temp worker standing next to us reaching down placing her hand on Ms. Myers’ shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sorry and this must be confusing for you, but are you the boy’s mother?” She asked gently so as not to upset the situation more.
“Oh…I’m sorry…yes. I’m Rhona Myers, Rohan’s mother.” She replied trying to get up, but couldn’t since her son hung on even tighter and continued to sob in her shoulders.
“It’s alright, I’m Leanne and I’m temping for Dr. Joey Ammussa and his wife Dr. Sarah Ammussa.” The temp worker offered up helping Rohan’s mom into the seat her son had just vacated since he was still clinging to her and refusing to let go.
Settling in the seat I saw the boy, who I now finally knew was named Rohan, wiggle himself onto her lap and snuggling up close. He had to be around my age, maybe a tad younger, but most twelve and thirteen year old boys wouldn’t dare think of cuddling up on their mother’s lap like this; especially, not in public. I couldn’t blame him though, considering everything that has happened to him and his dog today. In a way I felt a twinge of jealousy at him being able to do this with a mom.
Of course I had my dad, and I knew he loved me, but we stopped cuddling together long ago. It’s like at a certain age a boy suddenly becomes embarrassed about those sorts of things. My dad still showed me affection in other ways like draping an arm across my shoulders, ruffling my hair, or giving me a gentle pat on the back. Every once in a while he’d give me a quick hug so I knew he loved me, but in public such displays of affection were a bit embarrassing at times.
“Ms. Myers…um…Dr. Ammussa didn’t seem to recognize your dog or the boy. I’m sure he will want to get some information from the vet you take Maggie to.” The temp worker tried to hint gently while Ms. Myers nodded her head understanding.
“Oh yes of course. We don’t come here because we got Maggie through a guide dog breeder located in St. Watkins just about an hour southwest of St. Cloud. We get lifetime medical follow-ups through one of their approved facilities and the closest one is in St. Cloud. I’d love to come here, but I suppose there is a vetting process, which could take years and I didn’t want to put this small clinic through something that would obviously cost them a lot of expended time and money.” She explained with Leanne nodding her head in understanding.
“So, can you please tell me what happened? Is Maggie alright?” She asked with Leanne looking a bit nervous now.
“Well…to be honest Ms. Myers…,” The temp began before being interrupted.
“Rhona…you can call me Rhona.” Ms. Myers tried to smile, but also looked nervous because she could tell something wasn’t right.
“Alright…Rhona. It’s just…well…Dr. Ammussa seemed to indicate…,” she paused unable to answer because when she glanced at the boy he was still cuddled up against his mom and crying.
It never occurred to me someone could cry this much for so long, but even I had been crying on and off now for a while and felt totally wrung out. I could only imagine what it must be like for Rohan as I sat quietly not wanting to interrupt.
“I see…would it be alright if I talked to Dr. Ammussa about Maggie and what is going on with her.” Ms. Myers asked Leanne hopefully, but I could see by the look on the temp’s face she didn’t think it would be possible right now.
“I’m sorry…it’s just…they are really in a bind back there doing two separate surgeries so I know they are being hard pressed, but I will see what I can find out for you.” Leanne promised, smiling softly to at least give Ms. Myers some sort of hope before leaving her alone with her son.
“Oh god Rohan, what happened sweetie?” She sighed trying to coax her son into responding as her gaze flittered towards me and she winced noticing my face.
She seemed to want me to say something, but when I started to speak up her son shifted and sat back a little with Ms. Myers hissing in surprise when she saw her son’s banged up face. “Oh god, did you do this to my son Frankie?” She asked a bit harshly examining Rohan closely and catching me by surprise.
“What!” I responded while the boy spoke up at the same time.
“No mom, please don’t blame him. He didn’t do anything; except to help. Him and his older brother. It was awful mom, these boys…th-they beat me up and hurt Maggie. I-I…,” he broke down and began to sob again collapsing into his mom’s arms while she hugged him tightly and looked over at me apologetically.
“I’m sorry.” I managed to croak out my own tears welling up in my eyes.
“Oh no Frankie, please I’m the one who should apologize. I should have known you were better than that, but please tell me what is going on. I’m completely at a loss and simply don’t know what to do or how to help since I don’t know what happened.” She pleaded reaching out and brushing her fingers lightly along my cheek apologetically.
It kind of caught me by surprise because I’ve never been touched affectionately like this in a “mom” sort of way. It felt nice though; especially, in light of what happened today. Aunt Sarah was really nice and all, but she and Uncle Joey didn’t have any kids so she never seemed to have those motherly like instincts. My Aunt wasn’t the cuddly type always behaving more aloof and distant; sort of professional like when dealing with me and my brother. She did have her tender moments though, just like a little while earlier when she could tell I was really upset. It’s strange, but it was moments like this when I really missed having a real mom.
Ms. Myers’ gentle touch made me blush, but I recovered quickly and began telling her what happened out at the school. I could see the horror on her face as I told her everything. The more I said the more emotional I became until I started getting towards the end with tears running down my face while I tried to choke down my sobs, but it was just too hard. I felt awful for what those assholes did and I blamed myself for allowing it to happen in the first place. From the corner of my vision I could see Ms. Leanne’s face having gone completely white from what I described. The last minute or so was the most difficult of all because by this time I was a complete basket case as I heard the sharp intake of Ms. Myers’ breath.
“Oh god Frankie, how could anyone do this to a boy who can’t see? Rohan was completely defenseless and to do that to-to Maggie, a guide dog. I-I…oh god I feel sick.” I heard her whispering softly the dam completely breaking on me now as I began to sob just like Rohan had done a little while ago.
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t cried a little already, but now I began to break down for real as it truly hit me. The memories of Rohan flailing around trying to protect himself while he was being beaten, was seared in my mind. Telling Ms. Myers about it had only reinforced those awful images and now my stomach began to twist into a knot. To see someone completely helpless and at the utter mercy of thugs was too overwhelming to the point where I wanted to go back and do it all over again, wiping it completely away forever. This was impossible though and the guilt kept eating away at me.
“I-I-I…I’m s-s-so…s-s-sorry.” I began to stutter trying to catch my breath because my chest felt tight and I was hurting with guilt on the inside for my role in this whole mess. “I-I-I…d-didn’t know what to do. It-it’s…a-a-all my fault for being so s-stupid…and-and-and then I didn’t know w-what to do a-about M-Maggie. T-then when we got here I-I didn’t k-know how to help R-Rohan. I-I-I didn’t e-even kn-know his n-name until j-just now. Oh god, I-I’m just so h-horrible and s-stupid sometimes.” I managed to get out, my voice catching in my throat and sounding like a rusted gate when to my surprise I felt Ms. Myers reaching out and hold me tightly.
At first I resisted, but I was too emotional to fight it off and simply caved, slumping into her gentle embrace. “Oh Frankie, it’s not your fault and you were so brave. I don’t think any other boy, a complete stranger to my son, would have come and defended him without any hesitation like you did. Without you this could have been even worse. I am afraid of what those boys would have done to my son Frankie, and I want to thank you for doing the right thing even though you got hurt in the process.” She tried to soothe me as I continued to hiccup and sniffle.
Feeling the warmth and love from this woman, who for all practical purposes was a stranger, seemed to help. I did know her, but it was only in a school setting and even then she wasn’t like one of my real teachers. I’ve met her and she’s filled in a time or two, but that was the extent of our relationship. At best it was casual in the most minimal of ways; yet, in this brief encounter something seemed to form between us, a kind of bond that didn’t feel awkward and was actually kind of nice. It sort of confused me a little because I knew after today we would all go back to our normal routine and I’d probably rarely see her again.
As for Rohan, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be seeing him anymore considering what he just went through. It’s not like we went to the same school either. We didn’t even live close to one another, well at least as far as I knew. I rode my bike around a lot, but it’s not like I go all over the city. It really was a small community, but spread out and big enough where it wasn’t an ideal situation to go riding my bike all over.
Slowly I began to settle down and after a couple of minutes managed to get my composure back under control realizing I was literally being hugged and comforted by a stranger for all practical purposes. Boys my age didn’t cry like this, much less in front of virtual strangers no matter the circumstances. Swallowing down the last of my sniffles I eased back away from her and wiped my wet face with the sleeve of my shirt.
“S-sorry.” I mumbled and blushed because what happened was a bit embarrassing as I glanced at Rohan who seemed to have fallen asleep in his mom’s arms.
At the moment he looked so peaceful and I couldn’t blame him after the day he’s had. In many ways I wished it was me who had fallen asleep burying away the awful memories. Little did I realize at the moment just how hard that would be in the coming days ahead. At thirteen years old I didn’t realize something so traumatic could end up haunting my dreams making for restless and sleepless nights.
“Don’t worry its al…,” Ms. Myers began to tell me when the door suddenly opened up and I was amazed to see my dad step inside the waiting room still dressed in the work coat from the mill and looking very concerned.
“Dad!” I squeaked standing up and running over to him and without any hesitation hugged him tightly to me feeling him returning my embrace.
“Oh thank god you’re still here Frankie. We’ve gotta go right now.” He insisted catching me by surprise, but holding on to me for a second or two longer before releasing me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked seeing him grimace.
“I’m not exactly sure, but your brother called me from the police station. He got into some sort of fight with this new kid and it sounds like he hurt the other teen pretty badly.” He tried to explain quickly.
“He what?” I squeaked. “I told him not to f…er…not to do anything stupid. Damn it.” I managed to save myself from the ‘F’ bomb, yet still managed to swear in the end, but my dad didn’t seem to care at the moment.
“Well, at least from what he told me and from what I understand, he seemed to indicate it was self defense and there were witnesses who corroborated his story, but we still have to go now. I saw the police pulling up just before I came inside and I want to get over to your brother before they hold us up here to question you.” He managed to get out, and pulling back from me, seemed to notice my banged up face for the first time forcing him to wince in concern. “Damn those assholes. Your brother told me what happened and I’m proud of you son, but let’s get going and you can tell me about it on the way over.” He sighed stepping towards the door just as it opened up and two officers stepped inside. “Shit…,” he hissed under his breath catching me by surprise because he hardly ever cussed, at least not in front of me or Johnnie, and he just did it, twice.
Draping his arm over my shoulder he led me towards the door, but one of the officers held up his hand to stop us. “Hold on there just a minute. We got a call concerning a service dog being beaten by some teenagers over at Sornell High.”
“Oh yes officer that was me, but you don’t need to hold up the boy and his father. I’ve got all the information you need along with the dog’s owners sitting off to the side.” Leanne spoke up from behind the desk giving me a knowing smile while I mouthed a ‘thank you’ at the woman because she was turning out to be alright after all.
Her interjection managed to divert the officer’s attention to her, which allowed me and my dad to slip outside. Once in the open we didn’t stop and quickly hopped into his car. Instead of popping on to the main street, my dad pulled around the back alley just so we wouldn’t be stopped by one of the officers if they stepped outside.
Having made a clean escape we quickly made our way over to the police station where my dad found out just exactly what happened when Johnnie left me at the vet clinic. Evidently my brother had been so pissed he returned back to the school and after getting dressed set out to find those two jerks who had been the main instigators in what happened to Rohan, Maggie, and me.
It didn’t take him long, but by the time he confronted them it had been long enough for him to calm down. Instead of going completely berserk on them he simply told them to stay away from us. When this older Tank guy asked ‘or what,’ my brother simply stared at him coldly and informed the kid he wouldn’t want to find out so he should just stay away and save everyone any headaches.
That’s when this Tank guy went completely nuts. He still had that bat and he took a swipe at my brother who had started to walk away. If it wouldn’t have been for Murph shouting out a warning my brother would have probably been clobbered in the back of the head and in the hospital now instead of at the police station. Murph warned my brother just in time for Johnnie to turn around and react to the danger with cat like reflexes. It caught Tank by complete surprise because instead of ducking or trying to jump backwards, my brother stepped towards the older boy and swiveling his body slammed the big lug into the lockers so hard it knocked the bat loose from the teen’s grip.
The bat bounced on to the floor followed by Tank as he fell to his knees. Johnnie was going to leave it at that and started to turn away when Tully suddenly jumped on to his back wrapping his arm around my brother’s neck from behind trying to choke him. Seeing another opening Tank scrambled for the bat and swung at my brother for a second time. With Tully on his back all Johnnie could do this time was jerk backwards into the lockers to avoid the bat.
He slammed into the lockers so hard that Tully’s body caved the metal doors inwards. The younger teen also smacked the back of his head so hard into the wall it knocked him out cold for the second time in the same day. Seeing his brother dropping to the floor enraged Tank and he launched himself at Johnnie who had just about enough of this entire mess.
The older teen had made the fatal mistake of thinking his hulking body was all he needed to pound on someone smaller like my brother. I’m sure it was a mistake he would be regretting now for a long time because Johnnie wasn’t just fast, he was a lot stronger than people realized. When Tank charged him my brother moved so fast that it was like watching a blur. Using the older teen’s momentum against him my brother grabbed him reaching between his legs and like you see in those wrestling shows lifted the boy up flipping him around and slamming the big thug into the floor.
At this point my brother wasn’t trying to be careful, but went all out throwing the guy downwards with force. The first thing that hit was Tank’s shoulder and according to Murph you could here it when the bone cracked and broke, followed by his arm snapping and breaking as well. My brother wasn’t taking any chances as he reached down and with one powerful punch knocked Tank out just as cold as his little brother a couple of feet away.
The incident sent both brothers to the hospital. Tully with a couple of cracked ribs, a very bruised back, and a slight concussion. As for Tank, well he ended up in an upper body cast for a broken shoulder and arm. He was damn lucky he didn’t land on his head or his skull would have cracked open spilling his brains all over the floor.
Of course the two brothers’ father wanted to press charges against my brother, but the school had almost immediately produced surveillance tape of not only that incident, but the one in the garden too. They had been already in the process of retrieving the one in the garden because that kid from the horticulture club reported the incident and then with what happened in the hallway they immediately pulled that one as well.
When the school had done the upgrade a few years back they implemented a complete state of the art surveillance system at the same time. It would now pay off because not only was the father threatening my brother with charges, but wanting to sue them as well. Of course there were witnesses like Murph who were already turning against Tank and Tully. This infuriated the two brothers’ father and he started launching a tirade against the teen, but when Murph’s father showed up he put a quick end to it telling his brother-in-law to go screw himself and if he came anywhere near his son he would join his own boys in the hospital.
With all the testimony and video evidence on hand the police were in the process of releasing Johnnie indicating they were fairly certain there would be no charges forthcoming from the prosecutor’s office. Evidently this wouldn’t be true though for Tank and Tully. Their father was now fuming in one of the side offices getting even more infuriated by the moment because Murph and his father didn’t stop there informing the investigating officers that both Tank and Tully had been suspended from their previous school in St. Cloud and that they were being investigated by the police over there for terrorizing other students. Things really weren’t looking good for those two assholes at all.
Now as I sat in the chair waiting for my brother to be released I felt my eyes beginning to droop because I was completely wiped out. I could already feel the aches and pains on my body, and my mouth hurt like hell from where my braces had cut into my cheek on the inside. My eyes popped open when I heard someone sitting next to me and when I glanced over it was Johnnie looking very disgruntled.
“You jackass, I told you not to do anything stupid.” I grumbled seeing him giving me a cold gaze that immediately softened up.
Inhaling deeply and letting it out slowly he shook his head. “That’s just it, I didn’t.” He stated calmly.
His reply caught me by surprise and I opened up my mouth to retort back. “Don’t even say anything Frankie. It’s obvious they were out to terrorize kids at our school like they did at the last place. Yeah, I got in their face and all, but I didn’t go about it like a jackass. All I did was to give them proper warning their shit wasn’t going to fly at our school. It’s not my fault those jerks went all crazy.” He told me sternly.
“It was still a stupid ass thing to do. You should have waited to let things calm down.” I insisted in a stern voice since truth be told what happened scared the crap out of me because he could have been seriously hurt.
That’s just it Frankie…I couldn’t.” He insisted just as firmly and when he saw my questioning look he continued. “Listen, once I got to my locker and started to get dressed I was going to drop it until tomorrow. Then I heard some of the guys in there saying something about how these new guys were terrorizing more kids at our school. I couldn’t let anything else happen to someone like what happened to you and that blind kid. For Christ sake Frankie…they beat a service dog to a pulp and were just as cruel to a boy who can’t defend himself. That was the last straw.” He sighed shaking his head.
“Oh…I didn’t know about that.” I added apologetically.
“I know…it’s why I’m letting the whole ‘jackass’ comment slide.” He teased leaning his shoulder into mine and giving me a gentle nudge making me look sideways at him and smile.
“Thanks Johnnie…you know…for being there when I needed you. I was scared shitless.” I told him seriously.
“Oh…I thought I smelled something a bit ripe. We better get you home real quick like so you can change your skivvies.” He teased trying to lighten the atmosphere, but today was just too serious for me to be in that sort of mood.
“Stop it Johnnie, this isn’t funny. You could have been seriously hurt and me too so don’t be a prick already.” I sighed feeling him drape his arm over my shoulder and hug me lightly in a brotherly kind of fashion.
We rarely showed this kind of brotherly affection in private anymore much less in public, but right now it was what I needed as Johnnie nodded his head in agreement. “Sorry Frankie, it’s just today was…well…fucked up.” He leaned back into the chair bringing me along and leaving his arm draped over my shoulders trying to comfort me while we waited for dad to finish up with some paperwork.
Glancing over I watched my dad looking over some documents before signing them. It looked like he was just finishing up when an officer approached him and started to talk obviously relaying some information. My dad’s face seemed to blanch and when he glanced at me I saw something in his eyes that set the hairs on the back of my neck on end. After a moment or two my dad nodded his head and running his hand through his hair he seemed to inhale deeply before making his way over to me and Johnnie. When we started to stand he motioned for us to remain seated and took one for himself next to me not saying anything for a few seconds making me nervous.
“Frankie…how well do you know this kid you helped out in the school’s garden?” He wondered while I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well…er…not really all that well dad. I mean our paths crossed sometimes at the high school when I was on the way to my advanced classes there, but it’s not like everyday. We’ve never really spoken to each other until…um…until today…well…other than saying ‘hey’ or whatnot. Why?” I now began to wonder and seeing the look on his face I began to shake my head.
“No dad…please…no.” I began to sniffle feeling my brother tighten his grip on me.
“I’m sorry Frankie, but Joey just reported to the investigating officers over at the clinic that Maggie died. There was just too much damage to her skull and even if she had survived she wouldn’t be the same dog as before. He might of even had to put her down in the end, but she passed peacefully on the operating table Frankie. I’m so sorry son.” He told me softly as I began to cry not caring who saw me.
For the first time in a very long while my dad wrapped me up in his strong arms and held me closely letting me cry my heart out. I didn’t really know Rohan or his dog, but I could still see the two of them making their way down the sidewalk looking all happy and bubbly. Maggie was an adorable dog and I now wished I had taken the time to stop them so I could get to know her. I had often wanted to stop and pet her showering the dog with affection, but now it was too late. I felt bad for Rohan because this just wasn’t right. He had pleaded for his dog’s life, ‘his everything,’ as he called her, and it broke my heart. Sometimes life sucks. It could often be cruel and unfair as I cried myself to sleep in my dad’s arms not even realizing it until I woke up later that day in my own bed.
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End of Chapter Two: Sometimes Life Sucks