Broken Wings

Disclaimer: This story contains themes of bullying, domestic violence, child abuse, alcohol use, & mild language. Please read with caution.

It was strange how different a punch felt on the other side.

There was still pain. A throbbing ache that started at the knuckles. Sharp pain that traveled up his arm, and through his veins. He didn't know how the impact set both his hand and brain on fire but hitting the other kid had unlocked a door of bottled up emotions in his head. An intense anxiety, exhaustion, grief, and a rage that made his face hot. This pain was different, and somehow it felt worse.

"Stop, stop!" Bryan Thompson curled up in a ball on the dirty pavement in front of him. He shielded his freckled face with his arms. "Please, stop..."

Cash Ramirez's shadow blanketed the other boy in darkness. At only 5'1" the 7th grader stood above the cowering kid as if he were a giant, his right hand raised, fisted, and bruised. The smell of the nearby dumpsters was thick in the air, and Cash could still taste warm metal. His nose dripped with blood from Bryan's punch. When he punched him for the last time.

Bryan was a redheaded 8th grade kid who stood 6 inches taller than Cash. He had no reason to be mean, as far as anyone could tell. He had nice parents, was always dressed well, and got whatever he asked for. Yet his favorite hobby was torturing Cash. So, when Bryan cornered him in the alley after school that day, after too many months of being his entertainment, Cash snapped. He'd taken his bully by the arm, shoved him back, and hit him as hard as he could. Once in the gut and then in the face. It must have done the trick too because Bryan hit the ground hard and started to cry.

"I told you to leave me alone, I told you over and over again!" Cash said with a growl, his Southern accent thicker as it meshed with his rage.

Bryan sputtered out more apologies, that were twisted by his heavy sobbing. He looked small now, pathetic, like he'd shrunk. For a moment guilt clenched Cash's stomach and made him want to vomit. But then he reminded himself of all the times Bryan had cornered him. All the times he made fun of him for his wavy hair, his tattered clothing, and his weight. Cash wasn't fat, but he wasn't thin either. Sweets had always been a source of comfort to him and some days the only thing that would distract him from giving into his emotions was a pack of Oreos. But what bothered him more than anything else was when Bryan made fun of his mixed race. When he'd harass him to speak Spanish knowing Cash didn't know how to. And when Bryan rubbed that in his face it only made Cash angrier. Aside from his striking blue eyes, Cash looked like his father with his dark brown hair and natural tan complexion. He looked Hispanic, but he didn't fit in with his Latino classmates. It was just another broken piece of his identity. And Bryan loved to take the shards and stab them into Cash's heart over and over and over again.

Cash had begged for him and every bully before him to stop, and did they ever listen? No.

Bryan didn't deserve mercy. He deserved justice.

Cash stepped forward and gave him a hard kick in the side. The other kid groaned and choked on another sob. It still didn't feel good, but Cash was as satisfied as he could be. He picked up his backpack that was half lying in a puddle and took one more look at Bryan.

"This was the last time. Mess with me again, and I'll kick your ass even harder." Cash gripped the strap of his backpack. "Got it?"

Bryan nodded, his pale face red, blotchy, and streaked with his tears. A string of drool hung from his swollen lip. Cash wondered why he'd always been so afraid of this kid. He wasn't so scary once Cash knocked the snot out of him. He gave his classmate a lingering glare before he turned, rubbed at his sore knuckles, and walked home.