Status: Finished :)
I Didn't Know I Could Break Your Heart
The Flippin' World Series
Tyler woke up slowly to the familiar, albeit, blinding, lights of the hospital room. He swore under his breath, silently wishing that he had died. Looking up, the first thing his eyes focused on was Rudy's calm and collected face. He looked a lot less angry before. But then again, there was no emotion on his face at all.
"Hey," Tyler said, somewhat nervously.
Rudy nodded in consent and then opened the door behind him. Tyler stared at him, not getting the hint and not understanding what was happening. Rudy smiled slightly and then made a big grand gesture towards the open doorway. Still Tyler stared at it. A minute passed and Rudy sighed.
"You're really dumb, you know that?" Rudy asked, the smile on his face spreading. "You're free to go. The so-called doctors here finally decided that I was better at watching you than the nurses around here. You scared 'em good though, you've been out for a few days."
Tyler blinked, "So... I can go? Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Both of them were silent for a moment. And then Tyler whooped and jumped from the bed. In mere seconds he was back in his jeans and an old Rolling Stones t-shirt. He dashed for the door but just before his toes hit the floor outside his room, Rudy pulled him back. His face was suddenly serious.
"There's only one tiny problem..."
"And what would that be?"
Rudy licked his lips gently and mumbled out, "The press is kind of flooding every single doorway..."
"The press? The press is here and no one even bothered to tell me?" Tyler exclaimed, somewhat angrily. But on the inside he actually felt invigorated by the fact that he would have to sneak out of such a confining space that was surrounded. He felt like a criminal. He felt a little bit more like himself. Finally, he shrugged, "We'll just use the roof."
"Excuse me?" Rudy questioned after the shock had finally worn off. He blinked twice before he realized his friend was actually serious about the suggestion. Then he laughed, "You really think after a huge suicide scare, being seen on the roof of a building is the smartest thing? You're just setting up the press's field day here."
Tyler shook his head mischievously. He waited until he was absolutely sure he had Rudy's interest before he said, "Naw, I'm not giving the press a field day... I'm giving them a freakin' World Series."
"You're jumping."
"F*ck no." Tyler paused, "We're jumping."
Rudy began to laugh, quite nervously as he spat out the words, "That's crazy. I mean, the coach having a breakdown is one thing and him jumping off the roof is another. But him jumping off the roof with one of the team's star players? That's taking things just a little too far."
"Like I said, Rudy, World Series. No field day, but a flippin' World Series."
***
Rudy stood anxiously, shivering in the wind as Tyler came up the stairs behind him. As soon as Tyler was on the roof, he slammed the door behind himself. Both of them heard the lock click. There was no turning back now.
Tyler walked confidently to the front of the building, looking out at the horizon and then down at the flock of news reporters below. He considered his approach for a moment and then called, "People of New York city!" All motion on the street below them paused. Slowly, one by one, the reporters and the cameras all raised to look at him. Tyler could just hear his boss swear at him. "You have heard numerous reports that I am okay. That I am being released today because they believe me to be fine. Well... they were wrong."
The crowd gasped and then gasped again when Rudy came to stand by them. He cleared his throat in a very calm manner and said, "You have heard no reports of me, just that I have been watching over Tyler while he is in the hospital. But he has convinced me. There is no better time than now. We die together!"
This caused a sort of uproar in the crowd. Several cell phones were already out, the people on them dialing nine-one-one and asking frantically for the police. The cameras were trained emotionlessly on the building, almost begging for the two of them to jump. The reporters were wide-eyed and scared. All they had wanted was a star-studded interview to air that night on television. They did not want to be reporting on a double suicide.
The two men stood above all of this, taking in the sounds. What the camera did not see though, was the smile playing gently across Tyler's lips. It did not see the nod that passed between the two of them nor the obvious joy they were getting from this reaction. The camera did not catch the most important detail of that moment. And that detail was this:
Both of them were wearing parachutes.
So as they jumped and the crowd screamed, neither of them ever had a fear in their hearts. The cameras were snapping pictures left and right, catching the only semi-terrified looks on the men's faces and the rush of the wind in their hair. They passed the nineteenth floor, the eighteenth, the seventeenth and so on. People were screaming at their phones now, begging for the police to come faster even though it was useless. The fourteenth floor, the thirteenth, the twelfth...
And the white parachutes exploded out of their packs like a giant white surrender. The wind caught the chutes almost violently, at first pulling the two of them up and then gently settling them back down. The crowd watched in an awe-inspired silence. This silence was only broken when the two men landed and both of them burst out laughing.
Confusion now took over everyone who was waiting there. There were shouts of joy and anger. There was laughter as well as shouts. Tyler and Rudy pushed away the microphones that came at them as they made their way through the fazed crowd.
The two of them were only interested in watching the footage at home tonight on their TVs and had no wish to be interviewed by any of these people. They only wanted to get as far away from their as possible and laugh about the rest of it that night with the rest of the team. This would have happened easily enough, had Tyler not seen something in the crowd.
And what he had seen was a familiar flash of red hair and worried brown eyes.
"Hey," Tyler said, somewhat nervously.
Rudy nodded in consent and then opened the door behind him. Tyler stared at him, not getting the hint and not understanding what was happening. Rudy smiled slightly and then made a big grand gesture towards the open doorway. Still Tyler stared at it. A minute passed and Rudy sighed.
"You're really dumb, you know that?" Rudy asked, the smile on his face spreading. "You're free to go. The so-called doctors here finally decided that I was better at watching you than the nurses around here. You scared 'em good though, you've been out for a few days."
Tyler blinked, "So... I can go? Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Both of them were silent for a moment. And then Tyler whooped and jumped from the bed. In mere seconds he was back in his jeans and an old Rolling Stones t-shirt. He dashed for the door but just before his toes hit the floor outside his room, Rudy pulled him back. His face was suddenly serious.
"There's only one tiny problem..."
"And what would that be?"
Rudy licked his lips gently and mumbled out, "The press is kind of flooding every single doorway..."
"The press? The press is here and no one even bothered to tell me?" Tyler exclaimed, somewhat angrily. But on the inside he actually felt invigorated by the fact that he would have to sneak out of such a confining space that was surrounded. He felt like a criminal. He felt a little bit more like himself. Finally, he shrugged, "We'll just use the roof."
"Excuse me?" Rudy questioned after the shock had finally worn off. He blinked twice before he realized his friend was actually serious about the suggestion. Then he laughed, "You really think after a huge suicide scare, being seen on the roof of a building is the smartest thing? You're just setting up the press's field day here."
Tyler shook his head mischievously. He waited until he was absolutely sure he had Rudy's interest before he said, "Naw, I'm not giving the press a field day... I'm giving them a freakin' World Series."
"You're jumping."
"F*ck no." Tyler paused, "We're jumping."
Rudy began to laugh, quite nervously as he spat out the words, "That's crazy. I mean, the coach having a breakdown is one thing and him jumping off the roof is another. But him jumping off the roof with one of the team's star players? That's taking things just a little too far."
"Like I said, Rudy, World Series. No field day, but a flippin' World Series."
***
Rudy stood anxiously, shivering in the wind as Tyler came up the stairs behind him. As soon as Tyler was on the roof, he slammed the door behind himself. Both of them heard the lock click. There was no turning back now.
Tyler walked confidently to the front of the building, looking out at the horizon and then down at the flock of news reporters below. He considered his approach for a moment and then called, "People of New York city!" All motion on the street below them paused. Slowly, one by one, the reporters and the cameras all raised to look at him. Tyler could just hear his boss swear at him. "You have heard numerous reports that I am okay. That I am being released today because they believe me to be fine. Well... they were wrong."
The crowd gasped and then gasped again when Rudy came to stand by them. He cleared his throat in a very calm manner and said, "You have heard no reports of me, just that I have been watching over Tyler while he is in the hospital. But he has convinced me. There is no better time than now. We die together!"
This caused a sort of uproar in the crowd. Several cell phones were already out, the people on them dialing nine-one-one and asking frantically for the police. The cameras were trained emotionlessly on the building, almost begging for the two of them to jump. The reporters were wide-eyed and scared. All they had wanted was a star-studded interview to air that night on television. They did not want to be reporting on a double suicide.
The two men stood above all of this, taking in the sounds. What the camera did not see though, was the smile playing gently across Tyler's lips. It did not see the nod that passed between the two of them nor the obvious joy they were getting from this reaction. The camera did not catch the most important detail of that moment. And that detail was this:
Both of them were wearing parachutes.
So as they jumped and the crowd screamed, neither of them ever had a fear in their hearts. The cameras were snapping pictures left and right, catching the only semi-terrified looks on the men's faces and the rush of the wind in their hair. They passed the nineteenth floor, the eighteenth, the seventeenth and so on. People were screaming at their phones now, begging for the police to come faster even though it was useless. The fourteenth floor, the thirteenth, the twelfth...
And the white parachutes exploded out of their packs like a giant white surrender. The wind caught the chutes almost violently, at first pulling the two of them up and then gently settling them back down. The crowd watched in an awe-inspired silence. This silence was only broken when the two men landed and both of them burst out laughing.
Confusion now took over everyone who was waiting there. There were shouts of joy and anger. There was laughter as well as shouts. Tyler and Rudy pushed away the microphones that came at them as they made their way through the fazed crowd.
The two of them were only interested in watching the footage at home tonight on their TVs and had no wish to be interviewed by any of these people. They only wanted to get as far away from their as possible and laugh about the rest of it that night with the rest of the team. This would have happened easily enough, had Tyler not seen something in the crowd.
And what he had seen was a familiar flash of red hair and worried brown eyes.