“Who were those boys you were fighting?” I asked, curiously.
He shrugged his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest. “Just some wannabe punks from my school. They challenged me. I accepted.”
“Why?”
“Because of who my father is.”
“James?”
“Yeah,”
I crinkle my nose and I tried to put together what he was saying. “Why do they care who your daddy is?”
“He’s Sergeant at Arms with the Celtic Beasts, Sweetness,” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “And as I’m trying to build up my reputation, being challenged comes with the territory. A few of them want to join the Junior Chapter of my dad’s club. To do that, they need to come to me, as I’m the head of it. Sometimes, I’ll just talk with them, but these guys wanted to prove themselves to the older crowd.”
I didn’t understand at all, but I didn’t want him to think I was stupid. For some reason, I felt this uncontrollable need to want this boy to like me. “Did you hurt them bad?”
He laughed lightly, but there was a cold edge to it. “Pretty sure I managed to break a few ribs, definitely at least two noses, and pulled the arm out of the socket of the ringleader.” He spat on the ground. “Fuckin’ Cody Miller… stupid ass-hat…”
I was shocked. He used two swear words in one sentence. But I didn’t comment. Though the other kids seemed afraid of him, I wasn’t. I grinned up at him instead. “I’m glad you won,” I said and held out my arms so he could help me off the bike.
Shay’s silver eyes flashed and his smile broadened on his face. He reached out, scooped me up, and placed me on his hip again. That was when I remembered that the playground was close by and I twisted about in his arms to seek it out. There were a few kids and their mothers milling around it a short way off, and I longingly eyed the structure. It felt like ages since I had last been to a playground. Mummy was always so tired at the end of the day to take me.
“Do you want to go over there?” he asked, noticing where my attention had turned to.
“Yes, please, Shay!” I said eagerly. James had thwarted my earlier attempt to go there, but his son seemed to have no problem with it. I planned to take full advantage of that.
He smiled at my excitement and carried me over. Other families moved out of our way, again, all apparently nervous of Shay. He set me down as we reached the edge of the park and I took off, climbing up the rope ladder with ease until I reached the top of the structure. I searched around below until I found him still standing off to the side, and waved. He waved back, but remained at the perimeter, arms crossed, and his silver eyes taking in every individual in the vicinity. Why was he watching everyone like that? Like he was so suspicious? He was broody for a thirteen year old boy.
I went down the slide and climbed up again, this time moving over to the monkey bars and easily swung myself along. I searched for Shay again and found him sitting on an empty bench. He sagged forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his head drooped. As I watched from my perch on the monkey bars, maneuvering myself so I was seated on top with my legs dangling, I studied him. His hair fell forward, his shoulders slumped, as if he had a hundred pound weight on his back. He looked tired… upset. Every so often, he glanced over at the parking lot, but James and Mum were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing him looking so tired, so sad, reminded me of what I’d overheard earlier in the truck. Shay was a troubled kid, with no Mummy, and now it seemed like my mum had already taken a dislike to him. I assumed that this was what was troubling him, and I wanted to fix it any way I could. All I could think of was to try to impress him, so I flipped off the monkey bars and ran over to the swing. Shay’s silver eyes remained focused on the parking lot as I pumped my legs to gain some height.
“Shay! Shay! Look at me!” I called over to him.
He looked up and smiled as I swung up into the air. I grinned at him and pumped my legs hard to bring myself higher, and the moment the swing flew forward, I let go and threw myself into the air as I’d done a hundred times before.
“Mina!”
Shay’s scream broke through the air, startling me as I landed on my feet. I stumbled forward a bit and looked up to see him storming over, his expression panicked and furious. I took several steps back, my eyes wide with fear and confusion. What had I done wrong?
“Don’t do that again!” he half shouted in my face as he grasped my shoulders. It wasn’t a painful hold, but it was strong enough to frighten me and get my attention.
I blinked up at him in shock, my smile gone as he loomed over me. “I-I’m sorry!” I stammered.
“Jesus Christ! You could have hurt yourself! Do you understand that?”
“I-I do it all the time… I’ve never-”
“Don’t! Just… don’t! What if you had landed wrong? What if someone had run in front of you?” He gave me a little shake. “You scared the shit out of me!”
To my credit, I didn’t cry as this boy, who was actually a stranger to me, yelled in my face. I stared up at him and stilled. He was angry with me, obviously. Upset. I just didn’t know what to do to make it better, and I so desperately wanted to. I didn’t want him unhappy with me. From the first moment I locked my eyes onto Shay, I was captivated with him. His gentleness towards me up until this point had been comforting and made me feel special. The last thing I wanted was him to be angry over something I did.
Shay was breathing hard and after a minute, he shook himself, looking puzzled, before he glowered and stalked off. I watched as he sat heavily back down on the bench, leaning forward until he clenched his messy, dark hair in his fists. When he had yelled at me, several children and mothers had retreated warily, clearly unsure of this unstable and dangerous looking boy. But as I watched him, my mind was going over everything I’d overheard that day.
I looked back at the swing, then to him, taking in what he had been saying. I didn’t understand what I’d done that was so bad, but he was clearly worried about my safety. It was my fault he was now so upset. I didn’t like that and I wanted to make it right. So, I did in the only way I could think of.
Shay lifted his head at the sound of my footsteps as I approached him. I stood a foot away, and held out a daisy I’d picked for him… a peace offering. He stared at it for a long time before looking up at my face. I kept my expression solemn and serious, hoping he could see that I was remorseful, and nudged his fist with the flower. Slowly, he opened his hand and I placed the daisy into his palm.
“I’m sorry, Shay,” I whispered to him. “ I didn’t mean to make you scared.”
He looked at the little flower that I’d given him, and held it carefully in his hands. He seemed confused at first, and, for what felt like ages, he simply stared at the little flower. When he slowly raised his head to look at me, his silver eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.
Wordlessly, he opened his arms, giving me the choice to say no. But my face broke into a huge grin and I leapt forward, wrapping my chubby arms around his neck and squeezed the life out of him. I was so relieved he had forgiven me and wanted to move on.
He hugged me tightly, albeit a little awkwardly at first, as if he hadn’t hugged someone in some time, before he relaxed and just held on like I was a life preserver. I let him hold me for as long as he needed before he set me back down and tapped the tip of my nose with his finger. “Are you hungry?” When I nodded, he took my hand. “Let’s get you a hamburger, huh?”