Chapter 3

The Fallout

Time marched on. Ty had always read in stories that time healed everything. So far, it was doing a poor job of anything other than bringing his inevitable return to school closer at an alarming rate.

He checked the time on his phone. Noon. And he was still in bed.

The phone buzzed. Ty lost his grip on it, and it slipped to the floor. He leaned out too far and toppled after it, landing directly on the cell phone. Each ring brought a stronger rumble, digging it deeper against his back.

He rolled off of it, swore to change the vibration levels on the stupid thing, and flipped it open. It was Anna, his best friend for as long as he could remember. They had grown up living right beside each other. He answered it on the last ring.

“Please tell me you weren't still sleeping.”

“What? No, no—what gave you that idea?” He rubbed his aching back. “I, uh, just dropped my phone, and it took me a while to get it. That's all.”

“Really now.” She was unconvinced. “Then how come you didn't answer your doorbell?”

“Huh?” Ty said as the door to his room flew open, revealing a smiling face he had missed dearly. As well as her all black outfit, a band T-shirt and skirt. But a new black addition greeted him: a pair of Oswald ears, fresh from Disney World.

Ty picked himself off the floor and ran to Anna, hugging her without thinking twice.

“Whoa!” She laughed as she put her phone into her pocket and hugged him back. “Did you miss me?”

“You have no idea.”

The happy shock from her surprise arrival began to wear off, and the reality of what he was doing sunk in. He flushed and wanted to escape the hug right this instant, but he didn't want her to see his embarrassment.

While he debated what to do, seconds passed, enough to turn their hug into an awkward one. Anna pulled away first. Ty tried to turn his head away, but, to his surprise, Anna was blushing a little, too.

“Um... so, how are you here?” Ty asked. “I thought you still had another day in Florida?”

“Yep! I did, but I talked them into coming home early. My grandma wasn't happy about our visit being cut short, but she understood when I told her about your grand—”

“Yeah...” Ty could feel tears building up. How many more did he have inside of him?

“I'm so sorry, Ty.”

Anna hugged him again and his tears spilled over.

#

The next day, Ty returned to school... and it didn't get any better. His experience that first day pretty much summed up the next three months. Only with the added pressure of quizzes, tests, and the biggest load of homework Ty had ever seen.

In elementary school, they did everything in class, and took home some worksheets, studied on their own before tests; that was it. Now, the teachers made them read all their chapters at home, only for them to discuss it later in class the next day. Ty did not learn anything from the teachers. They sat behind a desk and handed out the tests.

He was once a perfect student, and now B's were his absolute best, even lower scores far more common.

The only good thing about school was that it kept his mind off of his grandfather. As long as he remained busy and miserable, he did not have time to dwell on what he had lost. But, when there was no work to be done and he was alone... everything came back, all at once. Most nights he didn’t sleep, he just sat and stared at the ceiling, tears trickling down the side of his face.

He tried to be okay, he really did. He didn’t complain about school even to himself. He took things as they came and let them roll off of him like nothing happened. He could feel it though, all the stuff he suppressed. They hung around him like a fog, getting thicker and more noticeable by the day.

So he tried not to notice.

“How do you think you did?” Anna's voice saved Ty from his thoughts.

“How I did...?” Ty asked, confused and still not quite back in the present.

She turned around and playfully poked him on the forehead. “On your tests today, duh.”

“Oh, right. Let's, uh, not talk about that...” Ty kicked a stray pine cone off the sidewalk.

She sighed. “You think you failed too, huh?”

Ty didn't reply. She hadn’t really expected him to, so they continued on in silence.

Ty and Anna walked home together as they did almost every day. It wasn’t a terribly long walk, and the fresh air was nice; exactly what they needed after a long day spent taking tests.

As of late, they'd been like this. No talking, just walking. It was a comfort for Ty having Anna there, but he wished he had some way of cheering them both up. No matter how hard he tried, he could never think of anything. Today was no exception.

Ty continued aimlessly kicking pine cones, one catching his eye that was bigger than all the rest. He started to aim his shoe at it when Anna darted in front of him, kicking it first. She looked back, pleased with herself. Ty glared at her in response. She stuck her tongue out at him, and the next thing they knew they were laughing.

Neither had laughed in what felt like years. Long enough that Ty had forgotten what their laughs even sounded like.

Still smiling, Anna said, “I got you something.”

“You did?” Ty raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Think about that for a second.”

Ty thought about it.

“It's December,” she said.

“You got me a Christmas present already? It's only the—”

Third. Which meant tomorrow was...

“Worked it out, have you?”

He nodded. “It's my birthday tomorrow.”

“Right!” She punched him on the shoulder—playfully, but it kind of stung. “How could you have forgotten that?”

“I don't know, slipped my mind I guess. We've been busy.”

He dreaded his birthday. As it crept closer he found it easier—as with everything else—not to think about it. The thought of turning thirteen... it scared him. He would officially be a teenager, the dreaded limbo period between childhood and adulthood. He read tons of books, had seen just as many shows and movies... he didn’t think he was ready to deal with teenage drama.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Anna said. “You’re going to like what I got you.”

“You didn't have to get me anything.”

“Don't be silly! When have I not gotten you a birthday present? Besides, this present was like made for you! It would be a major sin if I hadn't bought it.”

Ty smiled, “Okay, you made your point. I'm sure I'll love it.”

“You better! The world would simply end if you didn't like it. So, no pressure or anything.”

They laughed together again—two times in one day, a record for their new middle school lives. Their happy mood lasted a good couple of blocks, Anna trying to get Ty to guess his gift, every attempt more ridiculous than the last. It felt like the old days again... until they made it to that crossroad.

There were two streets they could take home: the one to their left, which led a few blocks out of their way... or to their right, which was an almost straight shot to their neighborhood. The only problem with the second choice was it went into their downtown area... and past the toy store. The whole school year, every time they had come to this exact spot, it was an unspoken rule that they always went the long way.

Today, Ty stopped in the middle of the road and, for the first time in months, looked to his right. Anna stopped too, surprised and unsure of what to say.

“I want to go this way today.”

And that wasn't a lie. For some reason, he really did want to. To prove to himself that he could do it, he guessed... and also because of a strange feeling that was pulling him down the road, urging and warning him about something. He knew he should have just walked away and taken the long way around, as usual, but... he couldn't. The force pulling him toward the right—and the need to walk past the store, just to know that he was able—won out in the end.

Ty continued, Anna following him without a word. The whole world felt like it was holding its breath, knowing what awaited the two friends at the end of the road, but doing nothing to stop it.

#

The shop wasn't far, and even though they both tried to go as slow as possible, they were in front of it in mere minutes. They stared up at the small building, meshed between two taller ones just as it always had been. Everything was the same... except the “For Sale” sign posted across one of the windows.

Ty's breath caught in his throat.

“Ty,” Anna began, coming closer to him, “It's all—”

Ty ignored her, walking around and running to the storefront. He ripped the sign off in one pull, revealing two very startled faces inside. Ty stared at the two of them blankly for a moment, then stormed through the door.

“What are you doing!?” He screamed at his father, who just stood there, in his stupid suit that he always wore, black, the same shade as his hair. He even wore it to the funeral, not even bothering to give his dead father a new view from heaven.

“Getting the store ready to sell.”

The way he said it, so calm and nonchalant, added with the same old suit… it got underneath Ty's skin, wriggling like a worm. He opened his mouth to yell again when his grandma spoke up.

“Now, Ty,” she said. “Listen, this is something we have to do. We can't keep this place running without your—”

“I could do it! I'll build the toys, I'll do everything!”

“Ty...”

“Stop looking at me like that! Why are you even here?! How are you okay with selling the store, grandma?”

His father spoke again, “She came to me. Your grandmother is being reasonable. Without your grandfather, there is no way to make this store work. Despite what you may believe,” he raised his voice to drown out the protest Ty was putting out, “it can't work. I've got someone who is looking at it, we're going to get a very good deal and—”

“Money. That's all you care about. Money and your stupid job. This store means something to me! To Grandpa!”

His father slowly walked toward Ty, each step sending off echoes of indifference. Ty already knew exactly what he was going to say.

This is not about money.

“This is not about money, Ty.”

This is about doing what has to be done.

“This is about doing what has to be done.”

Now man up.

“Now man up and accept that your grandfather is dead.”

He just stared straight ahead, unbelieving that his father had even dared to say that—and in that stupid, uncaring voice! Ty's head dropped, his hands closed into tight fists... and he snapped. All the feelings he had been suppressing finally broke free, powerful and angry like a storm, with Ty at the center.

“How can you say that so calmly!?” Ty shouted, “Don't you understand what this place meant to him? Doesn't that mean anything to you!?” He looked at his grandma now. “How are you able to throw all of this away? THIS WAS HIS LIFE!”

The words tore at his grandmother's heart, he saw it in her eyes. But right now, he didn't care. He wanted it to hurt her. As Ty's words grew harsher and louder, his cloud became bigger and meaner. The entire room filled up with his emotions, figurative lightning crashing all around.

He faced his father again, walking closer to him as he continued his assault, “Why? Why don't you feel anything? You argued with grandpa a lot, but he's dead. How can you not feel that?” Tears poured out of Ty's eyes like rain in the storm above him. “Answer me!”

His father's hand slapped him across the face, the sound cutting through the room and even the furious tirade. Ty's eyes were huge, his face stinging and his mind uncomprehending. The room froze. Ty stood with his head cocked to the side and his father's hand hung in the air for what felt like an eternity.

Then the spell broke, releasing Ty from his spot as he ran for the door. Fresh tears spilled from his eyes as if making up for the lost time. Anna reached for him as he ran by, but he pushed her hand aside and kept running, disappearing out the door and leaving everyone still frozen in place.