Rhys' Evening

Rhys stretched his arms and threw the baseball upwards, watching it rise up through the sky as it pierced the clouds. He closed his eyes as it fell towards him, its velocity increasing as it fell to the earth. His fist moved like lightning as his knuckles shattered the ball with little effort, striking it towards the sun as it screeched into the sunset.

The baseballs in his bag shuffled around as he grabbed another, throwing into the air, and quickly punching it out into the horizon. After several repetitions of this, he frowned as he looked at his hands.

Nothing changed. No bruises not even a single red mark on his skin, same as yesterday.

"What is happening to me?" he muttered as he picked up his backpack and began to walk back to his dorm.

The evening air cooled as the sun sank below the horizon, underneath a blanket of fluffy dark clouds. Each just waiting for the right moment to release the brewing storm.

Rhys' traipsing from the baseball park led him down a darkened street that usually lay unused in the evening, save for a pair of men standing near a bench at the bus stop.

Two young men, though one noticeably smaller than the other, stood waiting within the glass confines of the bus stop’s shelter. The bench seemed to be shaking and it was then that Rhys noticed his foot tapping.

As he passed, he noticed the smaller of the pair glancing at him nervously. His eyes almost pleading with him not to leave. Not with the man there. Rhys sighed deeply and turned to him.

"Hey, either of you got the time?" he asked cheerfully as he approached, much to the small man's relief.

The taller of the pair turned around and stared at with an ugly scowl. Rhys himself was rather tall, but even this man stood a head or two above, and his shoulders looked like mountains in comparison.

"Fuck off kid, this isn't your business," he growled as he curled his hands into a pair of intimidating fists.

Rhys ignored him as he looked at the smaller man.

"You okay? Is this man bothering you?" Rhys asked as he took a step forward.

The tall man pulled out a pistol and leveled it at Rhys as he growled.

"Tell him you're fine," he ordered as the small man shook held up his hands and nodded.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Please just go!" he cried as tears and sweat began to build up in his eyes.

Rhys shook his head.

"No, you're not," he replied clenching his fists as he turned to the tall man, "let him go!"

The tall man rolled his eyes and pulled the trigger several times, firing straight at Rhys, though not taking much care in his aim.

Rhys didn't flinch as he stared back, ignoring the bullets as they pierced his shirt.

Leaping forward, Rhys closed the distance between them and punched him in the gut, throwing the tall man back several feet as he doubled over and puked.

"Get out. Now. This is not a request," Rhys ordered as the tall man wiped his mouth and clutched his gut.

Without a word, he stood up on weakened knees and limped away as fast as he could.

Rhys turned to the younger man and smiled.

"He shouldn't bother you again, do you need a ride home or something?"

The young man shook his head.

"No, no, I live right down the road," he replied with a nervous smile.

He looked at Rhys and caught himself staring, unsure of what to make of his rescuer. He had short brown hair and wore a baseball cap. His blue shirt was fitted and clung to his frame comfortably. The shorts he wore matched his shirt, and the young man struggled to keep his composure as he stood there like an idiot with his mouth curled into a nervous smile.

"Need help getting home?" Rhys asked, breaking the awkward silence.

The man shook his head. “No, I should be okay. Thank you…for saving me.”

Rhys smiled and shrugged. “It’s no trouble. I come to the park all the time to practice, I’m glad I chose a good time!”

The man laughed nervously as he waved him goodbye, thanking him again as he walked away from the bus stop, and on down the road.

Rhys watched him as his arm dug into a stop sign, up the street from his house. Rhys smiled as the man left his sight, and stared above at the night sky.

The stars shined above, underneath an azure blanket. “Time to head home,” he whispered, turning his heel as he began his uneventful trek home.

Fifteen minutes passed and Rhys' home soon came into view from up the street. Climbing up the short stairs to his porch, Rhys frowned and felt a sickening feeling in his stomach as his finger pressed the doorbell.

"Rhys? That you?" a feminine voice asked from within.

"Er...yes mom..." Rhys replied, trying to think of any excuse as he his brain could summon.

"Well come on in, I have dinner ready!” she announced with a smile.

Rhys frowned as he glanced at the bullet holes in his shirt, praying that his mother wouldn't notice.

In the small yard, a sleeping dog lay underneath a great oak tree, contentedly sleeping before waking to a cacophonous screech.

“RHYS!” his mother shouted as she grabbed a rolling pin. “WHAT IS YOUR EXCUSE THIS TIME? FELL IN A BUSH? I -LOVED- THAT ONE! HOW ABOUT A NEW SCHOOL FAD? THAT ONE WAS BELIEVABLE!”

“Mom…I just…have some things going right now…” he tried to explain as smoke emanated from the kitchen.

His mother sighed as she ran back, turning off the stove and throwing open a window.

“I…know that growing up can be difficult, especially these days. But…I’m here for you, you know? I love you.”

He frowned and sighed, clasping his hands as he sweat beaded over his furrowed brow, wracking his brain to think of anything he could say.

“I love you too mom…” he finally replied as his mother returned, holding their dinner in each hand.

He sighed as he sat down at the dinner table, his mother blessing the food as he stared out at the stars, his fingers absentmindedly drifting to the bullet holes from earlier that night.