Dilemmas

20

Shaun lay down on his bed, looking at the ceiling, his hands behind his head. The afternoon glow lit the room in a beautiful warming orange. He remembered one of those times when he was a kid, he would go out and play.

But he wasn't a kid anymore. And none of his friends go out to play. Kid Shaun would had been sad, but now he would just smirk to himself.

He reached out for his phone when he realized, he didn't have it with him. He was grounded. It was like he was a child again. But he wasn't and that was making him mad.

"Fucking. . ." he muttered to himself. "Shit, why do I always get treated like a kid. All the fucking time?!"

Shaun covered his mouth, hoping that she didn't hear it. He listened for the sounds of footsteps. None. Good.

He sighed. It was never meant to happen. All the shit he was in to was just because of Ryan and the drunken kiss. He slapped his forehead again and again. "Why did I get my phone? Why?! Oh my. . .I feel stupid. This would've never happened when I went back."

What would happen if he didn't go back?

Shaun went silent. Only his raspy breathing continued to break it. Than he spoke up, "Everything would be the same. And I liked it that way."

He wished that he had someone to talk to.

The curtain lost its glow and the room got darker. It was dusk already.

Shaun grunted as he sat up and walked to the light switch beside the door. Then he screamed in pain, clutching his foot while standing up in a desperate moment to balance himself.

He fell over. Shaun screamed. "Shit!" It was faint, but he could make up the shape of a stray Lego brick. He picked it up and whispered to it, "You are the bane of my existence." Then he threw it to the right. He heard it landing on a pile of it.

Shaun's foot was okay. It took a few seconds to register the shock. Then he stood up and turned on the light switch.

Instantly, luminance filled the room and he saw lots of toys on one corner. A huge plastic box was dedicated to all the Legos he collected over the years. There were some of the junk he had as a kid: a Lightning McQueen backpack, some Lego bases, an assortment of stuff toys, and all the other useless stuff.

Shaun looked to the right and saw a bookshelf to lots of books he would read when he was a kid. He walked over and touched the spines that showed their titles. Doctor Sleep. The Fault in Our Stars. Wonder. The Lorien Legacies series. He remembered the Percy Jackson series, which was all intact. Everything was.

In fact, he never bothered all of this stuff.

Gathered near the bookshelf was the picture frames. They were all discolored, but he could make up the childhood memories displayed in the photographs.

Shaun immediately looked away as his heart grew heavy. He touched the frame's glassy surface. "It's never going to be the same," he whispered, as if it was a person. He sighed, as the weight of what he was and will be facing dug into his shoulders.

"Never the same," he repeated. "Never again."

•

"You got grounded?" Drake asked him. He sipped a cup of chocolate. "And she took your phone and laptop privileges?"

Shaun held his arms on the air. "I know, right? It's insane."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"I can't use them for a month!"