" Fuck!"
Ty dropped to the ground, face contorted in pain as he massaged his foot, attempting to make it feel a little better.
He couldn't believe this, first he gets lost in the middle of nowhere, and now he's hurt? What the hell kind of karma was this?
The male had kicked his truck in a show of frustration and anger, the flat tire mocking him from it's place in the sand.
He hadn't exactly planned on driving out in the middle of nowhere with no gas or money or food, but he figured he hadn't had a choice. He was damn sick and tired of his family, of his parents. Who said shit like that, anyway?
He rested his back against the beaten old vehicle, the pain in his foot forgotten. Ty's eyes pricked with tears as his anger dissolved into that hollow feeling he always got right before he cried.
His parents had been talking about him in hushed whispers, his mother getting louder as her words grew harsher.
' at this point, I doubt she'll ever find a nice man to marry. No one likes a girl that acts like that!' She'd exclaimed, laughing the while time. His father had kept quiet, his opinion unspoken. He was always like that.
Ty's mother was the more confident of the two, and would shout her opinion from the rooftops if anyone dared question her, and would tell people exactly what she thought of their shortcomings. She especially liked reminding Ty that he ' was still her little girl'.
He would usually keep quiet and simply dismiss it, but hearing her insult him even when he wasn't there was just....it was the last straw. He fled, taking his dad's keys and running, making sure the screen door slammed loudly enough behind him that they knew.
He hoped they realized that he was done with their shit.
Of course, he was the real idiot here. No phone. No wallet. No money.
Hell, he hadn't even grabbed his own shoes.
So there he was, tromping around the Arizona countryside in a pair of My Little Pony house slippers that were three sizes too small.
The brunet finally decided that he should at least attempt to survive the night, grabbing the keys and starting down the road. It was at least half an hour before he finally Made it, well, somewhere.
It was a gas station, though it looked pretty much abandoned. It stood close to the road, the only signs of life a couple of teenagers sitting in the bed of a truck, smoking and drinking what he assumed was alcohol.
God, he did not wanna talk to these guys, they were the kind of people that beat him up at school. However, it was really the only choice he had.
So, he stuck his already sweaty hands in his pockets and strode up to where they sat, chest tightening as he got closer.
They were a lot bigger than him, and more muscular. They could probably kill him out here and no one would find out for weeks and weeks and weeks.
The roughest looking of all of them glared down at Ty from their perch, taking the cigarette out of his mouth for only a second.
" the fuck are you?" He asked, looking like he'd punch Ty if the boy said the wrong thing.
" I'm not lookin' to cause trouble, " He assured, one hand clenched in a fist in his pocket, the other gripping his rosary tightly. He kept it on him at all times, for fear of what was to come. " just wanna know if you guys got cell phones or if you can drive me back to town or something..." He continued, moving only to wipe some sweat from his brow.
The boys scanned him, looking at him as if deciding whether to gobble him up or let him live.
After a good five minutes of their staring, one of them spoke up, " kind of a pretty boy, ain't he?".
He flinched at that. but tried to look a little more confident.
He wasn't wearing his binder, but he had a flat enough chest that they shouldn't be able to tell.
He hoped, anyway.
" say, pretty boy, what are you gonna give us in return for the help? " another asked, making eye contact with Ty and taking a long, slow drag of his cigarette.
What the fuck had he gotten himself into?
" Uh...I don't got anything with me right now " the brunet murmured, backing up a bit. He would run when he got the chance, " but I could probably get you some...some cash or something...".
The tallest of the teens before him flicked his cigarette to the ground, hopping down off the truck.
FuckFuckfuckfuck!
Ty was quick to turn and run, but the male grabbed his arm before he could, the other boys joined their friend, the lot of them tossing their cigarettes aside and grabbing him, holding him down.
However, before they could do much of anything to him, the whole area exploded in a show of smoke and fire, the boys scrambling to get the hell out of there.
Ty scrambled to get up and leave as well, hand already reaching for the rosary in his pocket.
His hand closed on air, his pocket empty. He whipped around, searching through the growing fire and fallen debris for his comfort object.
The only remaining piece of his life that wasn't completely fucked up.
He saw it then, lying on the ground under a piece of shrapnel. Despite the momentous explosion from before, the overhead canopy was still standing, bits and pieces of it on fire and some still falling.
He would only have a second to try and grab it before he was skewered.....but this was all he had left.
This was it.
The male said a quick prayer under his breath, kicking off the slightly charred slippers he was still wearing.
He had to do this.
Ty took a moment to ready himself, before running into the flames and towards the rosary.
He nabbed it and began back, but he didn't make it all the way. A piece of the metal canopy fell from above, pinning his arm to the ground.
He screamed, tears evaporating in the heat as quickly as they came. The flames grew and free and grew, getting closer and closer to him.
He was taking in gasping breaths now, the black smoke starring to overwhelm him. He was still gripping the rosary in his left hand, trying to lift the shrapnel off his right.
The male cursed in Italian, he couldn't get the shrapnel off without hurting himself, but the smoke was becoming too much.
Then he saw him.
One of the boys from before was rushing back, running to help him.
Ty didn't ever find out why the male had helped him, but he was thankful all the same.
The taller male managed to get the shrapnel up, but Ty was out of air. His lungs were filled with smoke and he was nearly unconscious by the time the other male got the metal off.
He later learned that the boy had carried him all the way to the hospital, nearly five miles up the road.
Ty lived, though he had several burns and his arm was broken in several places.
When he woke the next morning, his rosary was gone and his parents were there, the both of them sobbing.
His parents were so scared for him and decided that morning that they would do their very best to accept him.
And they did.
Ty only wished he could have thanked the male from before, but he didn't think he'd ever see him again.
However, nearly five years later, he got a text message from an unknown number, a location to meet at.
He did, stronger and more confident now than he had been before.
He wasn't scared in the least. And he shouldn't have been.
After all, it was the mystery male from before, and he had Ty's rosary.
" I think you need this more than me, " the male murmured, placing it in Ty's hand, " sorry I kept it for so long ".
The two talked for a while longer, but in the end, they simply disappeared from each other's lives once again, the only thing connecting them Ty's half-melted rosary, now inscribed with the words ' pretty boy '.
He took it more as a reminder than a threat.