Read Online Broken Wings by Terri Blackstock - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terri Blackstock
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mouth in a rigid line and kept painting.
“Mr. Airline Pilot,” T.J. mocked. “Guess he won’t be blowin’ his horn off on career day anymore at school. You’ll be just like the rest of us now.”
Jason’s hand froze and his face flushed, but he didn’t offer the boys the satisfaction of turning around.
Erin held her breath, aching to step in. Instead, she followed her judgment and hung back, giving Jason the chance to stop the bullying himself.
T.J. stepped closer to Jason, trying harder to provoke a reaction. “Hey, boys. Did ya hear how Hammon’s ole man zapped all those people? Freaked out and forgot which way was up.”
“Wait a min—,” Erin started to shout, but suddenly Jason snapped, and he swung around, crashing his small fist into the larger boy’s face. In seconds they were on the floor, tangled in a violent embrace, hands grabbing and scratching and tearing as the crowd of kids surrounded them, cheering.
Horrified, Erin pushed through the growing throng of kids and dove for the two thrashing bodies.
“Stop it!” she screamed, pulling on the boy closest to her. At this juncture they were faceless creatures eagerly inflicting pain on one another. “Stop it!”
“What’s going on here?” Clint bolted up the hall, pushed through the melee, and grabbed the scruff of T.J.’s shirt. Erin wrapped herself around Jason’s thrashing arms and pulled him away. As tightly as she held him, he continued trying to reach toward T.J., dead set on making the boy pay for his words.
T.J.’s nose and mouth were smeared with blood, and each raging breath he took made him seem more animalistic.
“Get him out of here!” Erin told Clint. Clint wrestled T.J. up the hall. “T.J., you aren’t welcome back until you can respect the place and the people who come here! I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior!”
“He started it!” T.J. shouted back. “I was just talking to him! Why don’t you throw him out, too?”
“I’ll deal with him,” Erin said, casting an annoyed glance down at Jason, who still thrashed in her arms. “Don’t you worry.”
T.J. jerked out of Clint’s grip and, calling his friends to his side, left the center in a cloud of rage.
When Erin was certain the danger was past, she turned her attention to the troubled boy. He pulled from her grasp and dashed to the stairwell. She followed, closing them off so they could escape the crowd’s scrutiny.
“Jason,” she said, panting, “what got into you? You can’t pull a Hulk Hogan every time someone says something stupid.”
“What did you want me to do?” he cried. “You heard what he said about my dad!”
“He didn’t know what he was talking about. He’s jealous of you, Jason. You’re everything he wants to be, so he tries to belittle you, hurt you, make you seem more like him so he won’t have to envy you.”
“That’s bull!” Jason leaned into the corner of the stairwell, letting the shadows hide his bruised face. “He’s not the first one to say what he did, Erin.”
She wilted against the opposite wall, racking her brain for words that would make some sense of it all. “I know, Jason. But you’re going to have to ignore it. You can’t let it get to you. Your dad wouldn’t have wanted you getting in fights over him.”
“Well, my dad isn’t here, is he?” Jason shouted defiantly, his young voice cracking with fury. “Is he?”
Speechless, Erin tried to hold back her own tears. She stepped closer to the boy, her mouth twisted with pain, and reached out for him.
Jason pushed past her out the doors.
E rin couldn’t maintain her interest in painting after Jason left, so she instructed the kids to wash their brushes and put them away.
Wearily, she loaded the paint back into her car and drove home. The emptiness of the house mocked her. Over and over, she saw Jason’s raging, tearless face, confused and haunted by a crash that no one understood. Out of necessity, she forced herself to eat a
“Mr. Airline Pilot,” T.J. mocked. “Guess he won’t be blowin’ his horn off on career day anymore at school. You’ll be just like the rest of us now.”
Jason’s hand froze and his face flushed, but he didn’t offer the boys the satisfaction of turning around.
Erin held her breath, aching to step in. Instead, she followed her judgment and hung back, giving Jason the chance to stop the bullying himself.
T.J. stepped closer to Jason, trying harder to provoke a reaction. “Hey, boys. Did ya hear how Hammon’s ole man zapped all those people? Freaked out and forgot which way was up.”
“Wait a min—,” Erin started to shout, but suddenly Jason snapped, and he swung around, crashing his small fist into the larger boy’s face. In seconds they were on the floor, tangled in a violent embrace, hands grabbing and scratching and tearing as the crowd of kids surrounded them, cheering.
Horrified, Erin pushed through the growing throng of kids and dove for the two thrashing bodies.
“Stop it!” she screamed, pulling on the boy closest to her. At this juncture they were faceless creatures eagerly inflicting pain on one another. “Stop it!”
“What’s going on here?” Clint bolted up the hall, pushed through the melee, and grabbed the scruff of T.J.’s shirt. Erin wrapped herself around Jason’s thrashing arms and pulled him away. As tightly as she held him, he continued trying to reach toward T.J., dead set on making the boy pay for his words.
T.J.’s nose and mouth were smeared with blood, and each raging breath he took made him seem more animalistic.
“Get him out of here!” Erin told Clint. Clint wrestled T.J. up the hall. “T.J., you aren’t welcome back until you can respect the place and the people who come here! I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior!”
“He started it!” T.J. shouted back. “I was just talking to him! Why don’t you throw him out, too?”
“I’ll deal with him,” Erin said, casting an annoyed glance down at Jason, who still thrashed in her arms. “Don’t you worry.”
T.J. jerked out of Clint’s grip and, calling his friends to his side, left the center in a cloud of rage.
When Erin was certain the danger was past, she turned her attention to the troubled boy. He pulled from her grasp and dashed to the stairwell. She followed, closing them off so they could escape the crowd’s scrutiny.
“Jason,” she said, panting, “what got into you? You can’t pull a Hulk Hogan every time someone says something stupid.”
“What did you want me to do?” he cried. “You heard what he said about my dad!”
“He didn’t know what he was talking about. He’s jealous of you, Jason. You’re everything he wants to be, so he tries to belittle you, hurt you, make you seem more like him so he won’t have to envy you.”
“That’s bull!” Jason leaned into the corner of the stairwell, letting the shadows hide his bruised face. “He’s not the first one to say what he did, Erin.”
She wilted against the opposite wall, racking her brain for words that would make some sense of it all. “I know, Jason. But you’re going to have to ignore it. You can’t let it get to you. Your dad wouldn’t have wanted you getting in fights over him.”
“Well, my dad isn’t here, is he?” Jason shouted defiantly, his young voice cracking with fury. “Is he?”
Speechless, Erin tried to hold back her own tears. She stepped closer to the boy, her mouth twisted with pain, and reached out for him.
Jason pushed past her out the doors.
E rin couldn’t maintain her interest in painting after Jason left, so she instructed the kids to wash their brushes and put them away.
Wearily, she loaded the paint back into her car and drove home. The emptiness of the house mocked her. Over and over, she saw Jason’s raging, tearless face, confused and haunted by a crash that no one understood. Out of necessity, she forced herself to eat a
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