{"id":654,"date":"2024-12-03T10:14:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T10:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/?p=654"},"modified":"2024-12-03T10:14:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T10:14:17","slug":"garths-actions-chapter-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/garths-actions-chapter-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Garth\u2019s Actions – Chapter 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Streets<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny tightened the frayed laces on his too-small sneakers, his knobby knees poking out from holes in his jeans as he crouched on the cracked pavement. The alley behind their apartment building in Brassvale smelled like oil, damp cardboard, and something sour he tried not to think about. A few neighborhood kids dashed by, their laughter bouncing off the graffiti-covered walls, but Jahnny stayed where he was, focused on his game of stickball with Lila.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuit hoggin\u2019 the ball, Jahnny,\u201d Lila said, planting her hands on her hips. Her brown curls were tied back in a messy ponytail, per usual, and she looked annoyed in the way only a big sister could. Lila was eleven, practically a grown-up in her own mind, and not afraid to remind Jahnny of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not hoggin\u2019 it, you\u2019re just bad at hittin\u2019,\u201d Jahnny shot back, tossing the taped-up tennis ball into the air and catching it with exaggerated ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila huffed, grabbing the battered wooden broomstick they used as a bat. \u201cYou think you\u2019re so good, huh? Lemme see you pitch, and I\u2019ll knock it into next week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny smirked, winding up like he\u2019d seen the Red Caps pitchers do on the TV in the laundromat window. The ball arced through the air, and with a resounding crack, Lila sent it soaring over a dumpster and into the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHoly crap, Lila!\u201d Jahnny exclaimed, his voice a mix of awe and dismay. He sprinted toward the street to retrieve the ball, dodging piles of trash and skidding to a stop as a car honked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The driver yelled something rude, but Jahnny just grabbed the ball and ran back to the alley, but not before pausing and looking towards the way of an old park he and Lila would occasionally sneak off to when their mom was busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas almost as dangerous as your swing,\u201d he said, tossing the ball to Lila as he returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She snickered. \u201cBetter dangerous than boring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a smirk, Jahnny looked around, asking after a moment of thought. “You wanna do something really dangerous?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back to her brother, Lila paused and gave a light laugh as he exaggeratedly walked out of the alley, similar to how people in old cartoons would sneak around, on their tiptoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Wandering down the block, their feet dragging on the cracked and uneven sidewalk. The dim glow of streetlights cast long, flickering shadows, and the air carried the familiar smells of the Brassvale slums\u2014burnt grease, damp concrete, and a faint whiff of something metallic that Jahnny had never been able to place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead, the old park came into view. Once, it might have been a place for families, but now the swings hung limp with broken chains, and the slide was covered in graffiti\u2014thick letters spelling out gang names and curses Jahnny didn\u2019t understand, actually, it was fairly similar to their recently departed alley. Still, it was better than sitting on their stoop, waiting for Garth to come up with another excuse to yell or being confined to their closet-sized walkway where their ball would occasionally drift into traffic, one time even busting a windshield, though luckily their neighbor took the fall for that one as they had just tossed a remote out the window, also hitting the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s sit over there,\u201d Lila suggested, pointing to a rusted bench near the edge of the park. Jahnny nodded, though his eyes darted to the small cluster of men loitering near the basketball court. Their voices were low, their movements sharp, and even at seven years old, Jahnny knew what they were doing. Everyone in Brassvale did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They sat side by side, Lila with her knees pulled up to her chest and Jahnny fidgeting with the tennis ball in his hands. The night was quiet for a moment, save for the creak of the swings swaying in the breeze and the occasional muffled laugh from the men by the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think it was always like this?\u201d Jahnny asked, gesturing to the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Lila tilted her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike…messed up. Do you think it was nice before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila shrugged. \u201cI guess. Mom says things used to be different in Brassvale. Before people started moving away and the gangs took over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny squinted at the men by the court. \u201cWhy don\u2019t they fix it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho\u2019s \u2018they\u2019?\u201d Lila asked, her tone skeptical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI dunno,\u201d Jahnny admitted. \u201cLike…grown-ups. The mayor or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila snorted. \u201cThe mayor don\u2019t care about people like us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny didn\u2019t know what to say to that. He bounced the ball against the pavement, letting the rhythm fill the silence. A shout broke the quiet, and both kids tensed. One of the men from the court was walking toward them. He was tall, lanky, with a mean smirk filled with gold, a typical grille, and a cigarette dangling from his lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat you kids doin\u2019 out so late?\u201d he asked, his voice low and gravelly. His eyes lingered on Lila, and Jahnny\u2019s stomach tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not botherin\u2019 nobody,\u201d Lila said quickly, her arms wrapping protectively around her knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man chuckled, blowing out a plume of smoke. \u201cDidn\u2019t say you were, sweetheart. Just curious.\u201d His gaze swept over her, and Jahnny felt his hands ball into fists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeave her alone,\u201d Jahnny said, standing up. His voice shook, but he planted his feet firmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man raised an eyebrow, amused. \u201cOh, we got ourselves a tough guy, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJahnny, don\u2019t,\u201d Lila whispered, grabbing his arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, listen to your sister,\u201d the man said, taking a step closer. \u201cYou\u2019re a little young to be playin\u2019 hero.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust leave us alone!\u201d Jahnny snapped. His face burned, but he refused to back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man\u2019s smirk faded, replaced by a scowl. \u201cYou got a big mouth for a little kid.\u201d He flicked his cigarette to the ground and moved so fast Jahnny barely saw it coming. The first shove knocked him off balance, and he stumbled backward, his knees scraping against the pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, man, they\u2019re just kids,\u201d one of the other dealers called from the court, though he made no move to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShut up, Eddie,\u201d the man growled before turning back to Jahnny. \u201cYou think you\u2019re smart, huh? Think you\u2019re gonna save the day?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny scrambled to his feet and swung his fist wildly, hitting the man\u2019s stomach. It felt like punching a wall, and the man barely flinched. A sharp slap across the face sent Jahnny sprawling to the ground, his cheek stinging and hot tears welling up in his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJahnny!\u201d Lila cried, moving to help him, but the man shoved her back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou wanna mess with me, huh?\u201d the man sneered, looming over Jahnny. \u201cThis ain\u2019t no fairy tale, kid. You\u2019re in Brassvale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey!\u201d A shout came from the court, louder this time. One of the other men started walking over, his hands raised. \u201cChill, Dee. They\u2019re just kids, man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dee snorted but backed off, spitting on the ground near Jahnny. \u201cKeep your punk ass outta my face,\u201d he muttered before walking back to the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila helped Jahnny to his feet, her hands shaking. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny nodded, though his head throbbed and his cheek felt like it was on fire. \u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, you\u2019re not,\u201d Lila said, her voice breaking. \u201cYou\u2019re stupid, Jahnny. Why\u2019d you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shrugged, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. \u201cHe was bein\u2019 a jerk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou could\u2019ve gotten us both hurt,\u201d she said, but her tone was softer now, more scared than angry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They sat back down on the bench, and Jahnny hugged the ball to his chest. The men at the court seemed to lose interest in them, returning to their hushed conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hate this place,\u201d Lila said quietly, and for once, Jahnny didn\u2019t have a comeback. He hated it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The walk home was quieter than usual. Lila stuck close to Jahnny, glancing at him every so often as if to make sure he wasn\u2019t going to collapse. Jahnny\u2019s cheek still throbbed, and his lip was split, but he refused to let her see him cry. The night air was cold now, the kind that bit through their thin clothes, and Jahnny shoved his hands deep into his pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The streets weren\u2019t much safer than the park. Figures loitered on stoops or shuffled through alleys, their shadows long and menacing under the dim streetlights. Lila kept her head down, and Jahnny mimicked her, though his fists stayed clenched. He wasn\u2019t sure who he was angrier at\u2014the man who hit him or himself for being too small to do anything about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they finally reached their apartment building, the door creaked loudly as Lila pushed it open. The stairwell smelled like mildew and something sour, and the paint was peeling in long strips from the walls. They climbed the stairs to their unit, Lila two steps ahead as Jahnny trudged behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The faint sound of the baby crying filtered through the door before they even opened it. Marie\u2019s voice followed, a tired hush trying to soothe the wails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t slam it,\u201d Lila whispered as she turned the knob gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, the apartment was dimly lit, with the flicker of an old lamp in the corner. Marie sat on the couch, baby Betsy cradled in her arms, her shirt unbuttoned as the infant nursed. Lila hesitated before closing the door softly behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marie glanced up, bags the side of softballs under both eyes from the late nights, jumping between the paperwork of her job and dealing with the baby and making sure clothes and food are taken care of for Clara, Lila, and Jahnny. \u201cYou\u2019re late,\u201d she said, her tone sharp but not unkind. \u201cDinner\u2019s almost cold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, Mama,\u201d Lila said quickly, shrugging off her jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair. \u201cI got a homerun, though! Jahnny pitched it, and I smacked it right out of the lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marie smiled faintly. \u201cGood for you, Lila. Maybe we got ourselves a baseball star in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila beamed and scooted into the kitchen to grab a plate. Jahnny stayed near the door, still scowling, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJahnny, you gonna eat?\u201d Marie asked, her voice steady but with an edge that meant she didn\u2019t have time for nonsense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not hungry,\u201d he muttered, his eyes on the scuffed floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marie frowned, adjusting Betsy in her arms. \u201cWhat\u2019s with the attitude?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo attitude,\u201d Jahnny mumbled, his face burning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marie narrowed her eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t like lies, Jahnny. You better straighten up and tell me what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny shrugged, his anger bubbling over. \u201cNothin\u2019. It\u2019s always nothin\u2019, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words stung Marie, and she shifted Betsy to her other arm, her expression hardening. \u201cAlright, mister, you\u2019re done for tonight. Go to your room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila stopped mid-bite, her eyes darting between them. \u201cMama\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHush, Lila,\u201d Marie said firmly. \u201cJahnny knows better than to talk to me like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo. To. Your. Room,\u201d Marie repeated, her voice a low warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jahnny\u2019s jaw clenched, and he stomped toward the small bedroom he shared with Lila and their older sister, Clara, though Clara was rarely home these days. The door slammed behind him, and he flopped onto the worn mattress on the floor, staring up at the cracked, smoke stained ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

In the kitchen, Lila toyed with her fork, her earlier excitement about the game gone. \u201cMama, it\u2019s not his fault.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marie sighed and leaned back against the couch, Betsy now fast asleep in her arms. \u201cI know, Lila,\u201d she said softly, her voice losing its earlier sharpness. \u201cBut we ain\u2019t got the food to waste on a kid who\u2019s gonna backtalk me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s not\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLila,\u201d Marie interrupted, her tone weary. \u201cI don\u2019t need excuses. I just need peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Jahnny lay in the dark, listening to the faint sounds of the apartment\u2014Betsy\u2019s soft coos, the scrape of Lila\u2019s fork on her plate, the creak of Marie\u2019s footsteps. His stomach growled, but he ignored it, his anger keeping the hunger at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDamn park,\u201d he muttered to himself. \u201cDamn stupid park and damn stupid people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the anger didn\u2019t help for long. Soon, it faded into something heavier, a weight that settled deep in his chest. He curled up on the mattress, pulling the thin blanket over his head, and tried to shut out the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow would be the same, he knew. Brassvale didn\u2019t care about kids like him, and neither did the people in it. All he had was his family\u2014his mom, his sisters, and, when he was feeling generous, even Garth. But even they couldn\u2019t stop the streets from creeping into their lives, no matter how hard they tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Jahnny hated that more than anything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Streets Jahnny tightened the frayed laces on his too-small sneakers, his knobby knees poking out from holes in his jeans as he crouched on the cracked pavement. The alley behind their apartment building in Brassvale smelled like oil, damp cardboard, and something sour he tried not to think about. A few neighborhood kids dashed … Continue reading “Garth\u2019s Actions – Chapter 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":656,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions\/656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}