Hauling Heavy Feelings

“I knew Greg’s brother,” Kevin said. He strained with the bag of mulch as he stacked them back on the pile. There were fifty total and they were heavy. At least after twenty or so. Tim was helping him, but he was much weaker. Still, he tried and that was all that really mattered. He didn’t bitch out and make some excuse. Tim was a good kid and didn’t need the mess that was Greg’s family.

“You did?” said Tim. His eyes widened and his head perked up.

“Yeah, back in high school. We sorta ran in the same circles. We had detention together a lot.” Greg’s family was trouble. His parents were never around. His sister, now moved, was rumored to be the town trollop. Greg’s brother, Michael, was a mess. Drugs, petty crimes, several car accidents, and he might have had permanent detention. Kevin didn’t know Greg, but his siblings were trouble.

“What was he like?” His voices oozed with excitement and curiosity.

“Umm, tall I guess. A bad dude. Dumb as bricks. And he likes the hard shit.” Kevin was trying to quench Tim’s interest. It was working. Tim would likely have to learn the hard way. Too bad. The kid was kind and innocent. He didn’t need to learn the ugly side of people. It was inevitable of course, but if he could prevent it, he would.

“Drugs, you mean?” There was a kind of mysterious awe to his voice. The kind of react when your mom says your full name or your called over the intercom to the principal’s office.

“Yes, drugs.” Kevin glanced at Tim. He was too innocent to get messed up with these people. Still, he needed to learn. If Greg was anything like his brother he would. “Heroin and shit.” Shit you can’t really come back from. Not totally. Kids like Tim got bamboozled into the lifestyle all the time. They just wanted to fit in. Be cool. But what it really got people was a lifetime of addiction or sometimes an overdose.

“Really.” Tim was silent for a while while they hauled bags. “I don’t think Greg is like that.”

“Maybe.” Kevin could have felt bad for him, but Tim was soft. He had to harden up. Things didn’t always turn out the way you hoped. The girl, or guy, sometimes wasn’t who you thought they were. Still, it sucked that he would have to go through it. Who knows, maybe everything will work out and they could be high school sweethearts. “How do you know Greg is even gay?”

“I don’t, but…”

Kevin glanced over at him. He didn’t have a little brother, but Tim was giving off little brother energy big time. Kevin was feeling slightly protective. Tim was so new to all this. He imagined dudes were messy in different ways from chicks. He knew plenty about girls, but it couldn’t be that different. He punched Tim playfully in the shoulder to break the tension.

“What about Sadie?” Tim changed the topic and grinned mischievously.

Kevin was disarmed. Sure, she had a great body, and an awesome personality, but was it that obvious? It felt like Tim had invaded his deepest intimate thoughts. He felt suddenly attacked and defensive.

“What about her?” Kevin turned toward the mulch bags to avoid eye contact. There were only a handful to go. They had fallen over when he was trying to pull them out. It happens. Now they would occupy two stacks. A few had spilled open. Mason wouldn’t be pissed. It wasn’t his nature. He new Kevin wasn’t careless, that these things just happened, and he was far more interested in solutions. Cleaning it up was the best call. As long as they dealt with the mistake Mason would see that and be reasonable. He almost always was.

As for Sadie, she was great. Most girls liked his bad boy mystique. His cavalier attitude toward everything. Not Sadie though. She saw through the bullshit and she wasn’t afraid to point it out. He had tried impressing her with his usual tricks. Guitar, rugged physique, bad attitude, but none of that worked on her. When she caught him writing poetry she grabbed it and started reading it. He expected mockery. He expected her to laugh while broadcasting his most intimate thoughts, but she didn’t. She read it in silence, handed it back, and never said another word about it. They became closer from that moment on.

“She’s hot right?”

Kevin snorted. What did Tim know about it? Yes, Sadie was hot, but it was something more than just her smoking bod. It was the way she acted. The things she said. She was just awesome and he liked being around her. That she was curvy too was just a bonus. Course, she already had a boyfriend and he was twice their age and carried a gun. Crossing him seemed like a stupid idea which left her in the friend zone.

“Yeah, she’s hot. She’s also unavailable. Dylan would off me if he ever caught me eyeing her.” The admission pissed him off. “Let’s just change the topic. We’re done here anyway. Thanks for the help. Now we can get back to everything else.” He left Tim standing there. The little ass had hit a nerve even though Kevin was pretty sure he didn’t mean to. The plants needed water anyway. He could forget Sadie while doing that, or obsess more. He would probably obsess more.