The sun sat high on its perch in the sky. Slits of sunny delight speckled the Earth through the foliage, but brought no relief to the young man sitting underneath the fine green leaves. Sweat poured down his back and glued him to the tree trunk as if he were stuck on a piece of fly paper. Paint stained pants stretched out in front of the man, followed by a rather uninteresting shoe box at his feet. “Stop staring at it,” A voice spoke from his side. She was annoyed. “Make me,” He countered. “Oh I’ll make you alright. Just watch,” She tackled him from the side and pushed him down to the ground. He was staring up through the trees now. Sun glaring in his eyes. “Told ya I would,” “Looks like you were right,” He closed his eyes and let her keep her perch on top of him. “I’m always right,” “I call bull on that,” “Like you can prove it,” “You really want me to prove it? The truth hurts,” “If you can’t prove it just say so. You know I’m right,” “You’re never right,” “What’s with you today? Why so mean?” “How about you tell me why I’m so mean today,” He flung an arm over his eyes. Blocking out little bits of sun as much as he could. “How am I suppose to know?” “Okay I’ll tell you then,” He pointed towards the box, unharmed were it sat. “I told you I didn’t!” She stood and kicked the shoe box. Sending tumbling across the heat scorched grass. Cover flying off but contains remaining inside and upside down. “Like that did much. Now you’re all sweaty and that’s the only thing I’m going to here for awhile,” He glared at the back of her head. “Why’d you do that?” “Do what? Kick the box? So you’d stop looking at it, duh,” “No I meant last night. Why’d you do that?” “I still have no idea what you’re talking ‘bout,” She wouldn’t look at him. Now she was the one staring at the box. “Oh come off it. Don’t play coy. I know what happened… Jack told-” “Jack don’t know squat. You know he’s got one or two loose in that head of his,” “Keep that talk up and soon his girlie will be coming after you,” “Like I care. I’m ‘bout ready to leave this town anywho,” “What happened to the girl that was sweeter than molasses?” “She grew up. Learned about the world,” “I miss her,” “Well I don’t so get used to the new me,” “So that’s why you did it?” She whipped around and looked at the man sitting on the ground under her. Sweat soaked and dirty. Miserable from the inside out. “I did it because I needed to,” “So you did do it. Why didn’t you come to me? Why Mike?” “I did come to you! You were too into that truck of yours to notice anything!” “But why my brother?” She looked off towards the forest edge, away from the town. “Because he’s a lot like you…” “So that made it okay?” He was raising his voice now. Standing, he was furious. She didn’t answer. Just walked towards the upside down box and lifted it up. Contents so out of place with the forest around them. “You hate me now don’t you?” “No, I don’t,” “Liar. I’d hate me if I were you,” “But you’re not me are you?” “I’ve known you long enough to know how you think. And I know you hate me,” “You’re wrong. Therefore I don’t hate you. But I do hate my brother,” “He’s your flesh and blood you shouldn’t take it out on him,” “That’s exactly why I hate him. He’s my flesh and blood and yet he does this!” He pointed at the soft small piece of fabric on the ground. Dirt sticking to it only signified how wrong he thought this was. “I’m sorry… Please don’t hate him,” “Why do you care so much if I do?” “… I don’t want to see you two fighting,” “If you didn’t want to see us fight you wouldn’t have done this,” There was a long pause, where all you could hear was a few small sniffles. “I’m leaving,” “You know you can’t lie to save your life,” “That’s why I’m not lying this time,” She got up and stuffed the evidence deep in her pocket.
“Stop staring at it,” A voice spoke from his side. She was annoyed.
“Make me,” He countered.
“Oh I’ll make you alright. Just watch,” She tackled him from the side and pushed him down to the ground. He was staring up through the trees now. Sun glaring in his eyes.
“Told ya I would,”
“Looks like you were right,” He closed his eyes and let her keep her perch on top of him.
“I’m always right,”
“I call bull on that,”
“Like you can prove it,”
“You really want me to prove it? The truth hurts,”
“If you can’t prove it just say so. You know I’m right,”
“You’re never right,”
“What’s with you today? Why so mean?”
“How about you tell me why I’m so mean today,” He flung an arm over his eyes. Blocking out little bits of sun as much as he could.
“How am I suppose to know?”
“Okay I’ll tell you then,” He pointed towards the box, unharmed were it sat.
“I told you I didn’t!” She stood and kicked the shoe box. Sending tumbling across the heat scorched grass. Cover flying off but contains remaining inside and upside down.
“Like that did much. Now you’re all sweaty and that’s the only thing I’m going to here for awhile,” He glared at the back of her head.
“Why’d you do that?”
“Do what? Kick the box? So you’d stop looking at it, duh,”
“No I meant last night. Why’d you do that?”
“I still have no idea what you’re talking ‘bout,” She wouldn’t look at him. Now she was the one staring at the box.
“Oh come off it. Don’t play coy. I know what happened… Jack told-”
“Jack don’t know squat. You know he’s got one or two loose in that head of his,”
“Keep that talk up and soon his girlie will be coming after you,”
“Like I care. I’m ‘bout ready to leave this town anywho,”
“What happened to the girl that was sweeter than molasses?”
“She grew up. Learned about the world,”
“I miss her,”
“Well I don’t so get used to the new me,”
“So that’s why you did it?”
She whipped around and looked at the man sitting on the ground under her. Sweat soaked and dirty. Miserable from the inside out.
“I did it because I needed to,”
“So you did do it. Why didn’t you come to me? Why Mike?”
“I did come to you! You were too into that truck of yours to notice anything!”
“But why my brother?”
She looked off towards the forest edge, away from the town.
“Because he’s a lot like you…”
“So that made it okay?” He was raising his voice now. Standing, he was furious.
She didn’t answer. Just walked towards the upside down box and lifted it up. Contents so out of place with the forest around them.
“You hate me now don’t you?”
“No, I don’t,”
“Liar. I’d hate me if I were you,”
“But you’re not me are you?”
“I’ve known you long enough to know how you think. And I know you hate me,”
“You’re wrong. Therefore I don’t hate you. But I do hate my brother,”
“He’s your flesh and blood you shouldn’t take it out on him,”
“That’s exactly why I hate him. He’s my flesh and blood and yet he does this!” He pointed at the soft small piece of fabric on the ground. Dirt sticking to it only signified how wrong he thought this was.
“I’m sorry… Please don’t hate him,”
“Why do you care so much if I do?”
“… I don’t want to see you two fighting,”
“If you didn’t want to see us fight you wouldn’t have done this,”
There was a long pause, where all you could hear was a few small sniffles.
“I’m leaving,”
“You know you can’t lie to save your life,”
“That’s why I’m not lying this time,” She got up and stuffed the evidence deep in her pocket.