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“What the hell?”
I step out and am immediately hit by the sound of a wailing dog. My stomach clenches, and I’m scared to find out what’s waiting for me as I follow the noises.
Not too far from the street, there’s an opening in the field.
My heart pounds and my pulse speeds up at the sight of the kid pinned on the ground by one of the big boys. The other two fuckers throw the pup in the air and play catch with it. What the fuck?
“Hey,” I shout, startling the older guys who drop the pup. The three bullies scamper without giving a second look to the kid. I’m almost tempted to chase after them and show them some real bullying but the dog’s low whining stops me in place. I turn around and some of the tension leaves my body when the boy gets up. He’s fine, at least physically.
He bends forward and with small hands scrapes his pants to remove the dirt. He struggles to gather the white pup with orange ears in his arms before glancing up at me. “Thank you.”
My entire body goes numb and everything seems to stop the moment our eyes meet. His gray eyes bore into mine and my childhood including all the nightmares, flashes before me. The knot in my stomach grows heavier and I’m unable to breathe, until the dog barks and brings me back to the present.
“Are you alright?” asks the kid who is the spitting image of my childhood face.
He pulls on my jacket, urging me to reply.
“Ye-yes.” I swallow loudly. “I’m fine. Who are you?”
“I’m Ray,” he replies, placing the dog on the ground and rubbing his head.
I sit on my haunches and check him all over. “A-areyoualright?”
I can’t believe this fucking coincidence. He shares my eye color, hair color, the same features.
How on earth is this even possible?
“I think so.”
“Who were they and what are you doing out alone at night?” I can barely restrain the anger in my voice as my brain furiously imagines what could have happened if I wasn’t here.
“They’re big kids from my school. They borrowed Mr. Stanley because they wanted to play with him. They said they’d help me build a big doghouse. Do you know Mr. Stanley will get as tall as you when he grows up?”
Hearing his name, the pup circles his master.
“But then those boys started throwing him in air.” The kid pulls Mr. Stanley close to his chest. “He didn’t like it. So, I told them not to, but then they started shouting.” He shakes his head. “Ma says good boys don’t shout.”
My chest clenches some more at his innocent words. “Where’s your ma now?”
“She’s at work but she’ll be back soon.” He looks around and says, “I should go home.”
“Where do you live?”
He peers at me suspiciously. “Will you tell my ma? Please don’t tell her. She’ll worry.” His face crumples and tears well up in his eyes.
“Hey, buddy, it’s okay. I’m not going to say anything to anyone.”
Thankfully, his shoulders slump at my words and he scrubs his cheeks roughly with the back of his shirt in an attempt to clean his face.
“But promise me that you’ll not come out of the house alone at night.”
He nods.
“One more thing, if those boys give you more trouble, you should tell your ma, okay?”
Ray nods again and my still racing heartbeat settles a bit at his obedience.
“Good. Now let me take you home.”
