Miffed

Chapter 3

"What do you want?" I asked dryly recalling that it had been him that had been dodging me rather then the opposite. I dodged everybody and so made the natural mistake of asuming that had applied to him too.

"I need to talk to you. Could we go somewhere?" Kay looked about rather nervously. But I was not satisfied. It had been years since we last talked. Infact, I was surprised he even recalled I existed. Not that I cared either way.

"Look Mofo, I'd really rather not. There is nothing you could say that I need to hear," I say bluntly and moved to go past him.

"Wait, please. I need your help," he implored somewhat in a wheedly tone. That got my attention, not the request for help for I figured that to be a fake but it was his wheedly tone that did it. It was the first I'd ever hear him use it, Not that I had heard him speak over the last oh so many years but I knew it was unusual, not his usual thing. So like the good decent samaritan I was..., pah, so not, I said , "I really am busy." Giving him what I hoped was the final brush off, I walked away without a backward glance. Not an ounce of guilt swayed me for I recall  very clearly that day some years back I was really bad with this time line thingy, anyways, at that time I had been almost buddies with Kay. We weren't really close but we hanged about often enough at the playground, usually with a few other friends of ours playing immaginary star wars type games that had been oh so awesome. It was the best years I had, I was one of the guys back then, correction, boys. Now, well lets not get into the nows, just yet. Charlie, another kid we used to play with, who had, since that one incident moved neighbourhoods and school even. I've not heard of him since. The only other witness to that incident was Kay himself and he dropped his association with me like a hot brick. 

I was past it, having thought through the event of that day many times since. It still blew me away each time. Without, Kay in the picture, I was able to put it all on the back burner and lay the whole matter to rest somewhat. I'd ignored it well enough till today, teh second time in my life that I'd used the blue, as I call it. Eversince, that first time, I'd always been painfully aware of its existence, brimming right on the edge of my skin waiting to be unleashed at the slightest provocations and there had been plenty of those. I'd surprised even myself at the levels of restraints I must have exercised. Confounding blues! In the literal sense.

Charlie had been playing on an elaborate structure in the playground. It was designed to push your physical limits. There had been lots of intricate climbs and such. It was a very popular draw at the park, one that was nolonger there remenants of the incident. I had been right behind Charlie going through the routine bent on catching up to him to prove myself as capable. Kay had been on the other side. We were competing who would over come the obstacles and get to the top first. It must have been a loosen rod or the like, I never did go back to check it out, when I next was brave enough to venture back the whole structure was gone. The playground hadn't been the same since.

It was Charlie's piercing scream that had me looking up in shock and nearly missing the grip I was aiming for. Kay was almost at the top and he too paused in shock to look at Charlie. Blood was gushing out of his mouth. The rod he had been gripping somehow came loose to pierce him right in the chest. I screamed along with him, having been right behind him, his blood poured out of his wound to pour over me. My t-shirt was soaked through, my face splashed on and my hands was slippery with his blood. But I had not noticed any of this, my gaze was channeled on Charlie who was fast loosing his grip and conciousness. I instinctively released my hold to reach out and grip him as he collapsed, unconcious into my arms. My grip on him prevented the rod from penetrating even more. That not being surprising enough, I actually had him off the structure, that had taken us almost twenty minutes to climb and flat on ground below only an instant later. I suspect I even went a step further to sound the security alarm of the nearby houses and vehicles. All the while I screamed loud and long enought to draw curious passerbys to look in on us and spot us there on the ground covered in blood. My land was on Charlies instinctively knowing I should be stemming the blood flowing from his wound. Of Kay, there was no word off. He took of like the coward that he was. Charlie survived. That was all anyone bothered to tell me and that was all I asked of the incident. That this happened so soon after my mum's passing had me packing to run away the very next night. But we already know how that venture turned out.

So, you see why I am not kind to Kay, why I ignore him, why he'd been dodging me and most certainly I will not be running to provide whatever the aid he'd been looking for. No I was content to let whatever it was that troubled him, have at him, lock, stock and barrel!