For If You Rescue Him

This really isn't edited very well, but I've had the idea for a while and just wanted to get it out. Suggestions and criticisms are welcome.

For If You Rescue Him

“Man it’s so good having you around again,” said Kyle.

“Tell me about, it’s cool to have this time to just hang like we used to,” replied Jake with a warm smile.

The two were sitting in Kyle’s parents’ living room with the TV on, making wry comments about date shows that popped onscreen.

“So Washington’s pretty cool huh?” Kyle asked, staring at the screen. He sat in the same position that Jake always remembered him in; leaning on his left arm, remote in right hand balanced on his bent up right kneed and left leg folded under him.

“Yeah, I’ve been loving it. Lots to do and it’s gorgeous.”

“You’ve been doing something at like an old folks home right? I think I heard that from your Mom, I ran into her the other day at the mall.”

“Really? Yeah, a friend invited me one day, shed been going for about a year and reading to some of them. That’s what I went to do my first day, but I ended up just talking with this guy that grew up in Oregon and was always out hunting and hiking and stuff, so we just talked about all that. Since then I’ve just gone back and hung out once or twice a week.”

“Isn’t that a little…weird? Just showing up to talk?”

He laughed. “Yeah, it felt really weird the first time I went back just to “talk,” like I was some counselor, or patronizing them, but they love it. All the nurses think that I’m some wonderful humanitarian for doing it, like it’s this arduous task, but it’s actually pretty cool. When you live as long as some of these guys, it’s hard to not have gained some kind of wisdom or insight that they love to tell you about.”

“So you’ve got nurses swooning over you these days?”

“Sure,” he laughed.

Sitting in the room brought back a lot of memories. But since this was largely what they did when they hung out, it was more like one memory, really densely remembered. Ten minutes passed with a few laughs and witty observations on the lameness of reality romance.

“Weren’t you doing something with the homeless before that?”

Jake sat forward in his chair with both hands on his near empty glass, looking down into it. “Yeah, it was hard. I really had this overwhelming feeling that what we were doing for them wasn’t what they needed. Basically, I was getting pretty annoyed at them and the situation,” he added in an attempt to bring himself down from the pedestal that Kyle’s questions had built a ladder to the top of.

Jake was getting a little uneasy, like most do when something unpopular is on their mind, but curiosity won’t let the thought dissipate.

“How’s your Dad doing?” Jake ventured.

“Alright, we’ve been getting along ok since I’ve been back. He’s not around too much, but he was kind of a prick last night about me coming in late with this girl.”

“Becky, right?”

“No, that kinda fell apart this fall, it was just this chick I met at Sanke’s party last night. Which you should’ve been at, with ME,” he said, pointing at Jake with mock authority.

“Wow, that sucks. You guys were together for a while, what happened?”

“You know, just weren’t clicking anymore, arguing about little things all the time. It just wasn’t fun anymore.”

“Huh. Too bad.”

Jake looked around the room, taking in the general “rustic” appearance of the place. Huge, pointed bay windows overlooked a small lake, barely visible in the moonlight. Wood planked walls and gigantic rafters, coupled with the chocolate colored carpet and sparse lamplight gave one an overall sense of “Brown. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” On the wall which Jake’s chair sat against, there was some kind of deer-like mammal’s head. If he glanced up at it, he got the impression that the beast was about twenty feet high and in the process of stepping over him on its way to more important matters.
"Look at this crap," Kyle said, nodding at the TV. "They tell you this wax takes out scratches that have gone almost through the paint. Did I tell you about that?"
Jake looked back and shook his head.
"Oh, dude, so I come out of work last Tuesday and as I'm coming up to my car I see a long line from the driver's door almost to the back quarter panel, but it looks like just a reflection. But when I got up next to it, it was a friekin scratch, I couldn't believe it, you know how I always park way the hell out away from everyone just to avoid that. Doesn't matter, some jackass still managed to completely ruin my ride."

Jake glanced out the window at his '88 Trooper. He thought about saying that he just lets the layers of mud and salt cover up the dents and scratches, and did you ever consider that maybe it's because you park out in the sticks over three or four parking spaces that people wreck your car.
"That's too bad man," was all he could manage.

It was getting to be about lunchtime, and both Kyle and Jake decided to head into town for some eats. As usual, Kyle drove, with his seat pushed as far back as his legs would allow, maximizing the cool-slouch look. Jake wondered if it would be gangsta rap or cookie-cutter angry rock in the CD player. It was a mix of the two.

Being back in this car with Kyle driving brought back the memory that Jake had been fighting off all day. It was about three years ago when Kyle had screamed through the parking lot of the school in front of Jake and stopped, asking if he wanted a ride. It was unusual that Jake did, but that day his car was getting worked on and he did in fact need a ride after practice.

"Cool, I'll meet you back here at 4:30," Kyle said and took off towards town.
There was a familiarity about Kyle's tone and the way he cocked his chin upward when he recognized Jake. Jake had seen it before, and it always reminded him of how basketball players acted towards one another when there was a lot of talk flying around the court. It was a puffing up of the ego, like a porcupine making itself look bigger to say "Back off." Jake knew Kyle well enough to know that it wasn't him that Kyle was puffing at, it was residual puffing from a recent challenge of some kind, and Kyle never ignored those.

"Hey." Same chin cock.
"Hey, what's up?"
Kyle shrugged his shoulders with his hand at noon on the wheel, legs almost straight out to the pedals.
"That Avery kid is a punk man. If he doesn't back the hell off there's gonna be trouble."
"What happened?"
"I was walking down the hall today with Beck(at this, Jake imagined Kyle’s walk, a loping swagger, dipping each shoulder with every step) and he opened his locker door right in front of me so I hit it into him on accident. Then he got right in my face and we exchanged some words. I didn't want to get into it with him with Beck right there, but man he wanted it."
"Hm."
"Man, why do people have to be such pricks? It's shitty." Kyle was gesturing with fingers together and making jabbing motions forward with his free hand. His entire face was tight and eyebrows were almost furrowed together in anger.
"Yeah."
They rode the next five minutes with only the sound of Lil' Somethingorother in the car.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Kyle said looking in his rearview mirror.

Jake leaned forward to look in the side mirror to see a rusty Mitsuhondyota right on their bumper. Josh Avery. Kyle slammed the gas to the floor and took off, only to have Avery creep right back up. This went back and forth a few times, with plenty of expletives and thrown fingers from Kyle. Jake sat and wondered what would happen. Then he saw the car pass them on the left, and got a glimpse of Avery, in a similar position as Kyle, giving them a quick glare before pulling in front and hitting his brakes. Kyle reacted quickly enough, and came to a halt a few feet back. Before they'd stopped moving, Avery was out of his car and halfway to them. Kyle had his window down to maximize his fist shaking and bird throwing, and Avery came right to the door and started punching through the opening over and over again into Kyle's face and hands and arms trying to protect himself.
Avery got in five or six punches before Jake was on his back, pulling him from under the arms away from the car. Jake wasn't a very big or strong kid, and Avery could probably have turned on him and laid him down. He just struggled instead, then whipped his body around, swinging his arms towards Jake. He fell back into the road, just in time to see a pickup lurch forward on its brakes four feet from him.

Avery and Kyle screamed at each other, while Kyle held his nose in the nook between his thumb and forefinger trying to slow the blood. Avery reared back and kicked in Kyle’s door. He marched back to his car and sped off leaving Jake on the street with his heart racing and Kyle in his car, still buckled in, catching the blood seeping through his fingers with his other hand. The driver of the truck looked nervously at them, and leaned out the window.
"You guys alright?" praying they'd say yes so he could be on his way and not get mixed up in this.
"Yeah we're fine," said Kyle, muffled by his hand.

Jake had left town for college a few weeks later, and they'd had little contact in the time in between. They pulled into the parking lot of the small soup and sandwich place they used to hang out in. As they walked in, Jake recognized the server behind the counter as Chris Parker, a teammate from high school. Kyle went to the bathroom while Chris and Jake caught up.
"Is that Kyle, from high school?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Man, he hasn't changed much. Looks kinda ticked, like always."
"Yeah, he's always been kinda easy to set off. Takes things a little too personally, you know?"
Kyle had emerged from the bathroom and was coming up behind Jake.
Chris smiled and laughed, "Yeah, well, I hope this guy I hit in the Best Buy parking lot doesn't take it too seriously."
"What happened?" Jake asked. By now, Kyle was behind him and to the right listening to the story.
"Sheesh man, I had kind of a crazy night on Monday, and I had to be in at work over there Tuesday morning. I was still a little, you know, 'not all there,' and I saw this idiot that parked way out in the middle of the lot over three spots. You know, those guys that think their car is some pimped out work of art. Anyway, I wasn't really thinking and I just smoked past the car without really caring if I nudged it, and I actually ran my bumper along the driver's side on accident. But then I kinda laughed about it, you know?"

As Jake looked around to his left to see if Kyle was out yet, he heard the soft sound of rubber soles on the stainless steel counter, the swish of tearaway pants, and a surprised yelp. He quickly completed his 360 degree turn to see Kyle land on Chris and disappear behind the counter. Jake planted his hands on the counter to launch himself over and almost ran into Kyle's back as he stood up quickly with his hands raised. Chris struggled to his feet with one hand pointed at Kyle. As Jake came around them he saw that in that hand Chris had a large butcher knife. Jake found himself between both of them, with insults and challenges flying back and forth, his hands up on either side of him, palms facing Kyle and Chris.