Make me crazy

I remember that day so clearly that if I close my eyes, I can still feel it.

Mud football. Our favorite summer time sport. Bobby's dad cleared a spot for us to play down by the paper tree's. And the tree's were blooming. The smell of potatoes filled the air around us. The late night summer rain had made the perfect thickness of mud to play in.

She had her hair pulled back and she offered to tie mine back too. I got picked for my team first. I was the smallest and fastest and, well...Shane was my uncle. (He's only a year older than me.) It didn't take much convincing, so he picked her too. We were a great team.

There was this new kid, I don't remember his name, and he was supposed to block me. He was slow and hesitant on his feet. It was too easy to get past him. I heard his team captain tell him that Brad was going to block me and the kid was pissed and refused.

"I'll get her this time," he yelled through gritted teeth. He was mad, real mad, and she had her eye on him.

I was going in for the touch down and he finally caught me. He brought me down, but that wasn't enough for him. He came down, both his knees to my stomach. It knocked the wind out of me but I still managed to get up. I didn't care how much bigger than me he was, I was going to kick his fucking ass.

But she beat me to it. She had his hair curled in her hands and was showing his face a close up view of her knee. And when he went down, she put her forearm to his throat as she pounded her fists to his face. Shane gave me a sideways glance and then shrugged. Brad looked at me and shook his head.
"What?" I asked them both. It wasn't my fault the guy couldn't handle being out played by a girl. And it certainly wasn't my fault that she jumped on him to kick his ass. He deserved it.

Brad tried to pull his sister off the guy. The guys face was nothing but blood now. Brad failed, so Shane pushed me forward. "She's your girl. Make her stop before she kills him."

I got down on my knees and reached for her shoulders. "Hey! M, please. That's enough. I think he got the point."
She finally looked up at me, her eyes full of tears. She was shaking all over and her hand was covered in his blood and her own. She clamped her hand around his throat and got two inches from his face. I could smell his fear. "You touch her again and I will kill you. Do you understand?" Her voice sounded like pure fucking evil.
"Come on, " I said as I stood. I grabbed her hand and mentioned to my uncle that we were done for the day. He had a strange smile on his face that I just couldn't make sense of. Brad just looked pissed. As we walked away, Jesse called out, "Don't forget. Shrooms tonight in Teenage Wasteland. Then Body Snatchers until we can't function."
I waved my hand as we walked away. M, she had her arm draped over my shoulder and I could still feel her shake. I picked up my skateboard and took her to the garden hose in front of Bobby's house.

"What was that all about?" I asked her as I rinsed her hand off in the warm water.
She looked at me like I should have known the answer. I felt kind of stupid because, really, I didn't know.
The new kid limped by us on his way home. "Fucking cunt!" he yelled.
Me and M jumped to our feet and he took off in a run. We both laughed.
"B...I, uh." She looked down at her bleeding hand. "Look, he was twice your size." She looked up at me, her face was soft and sad. "He hurt you. And you know how I get when you get hurt."

I should have realized, in that moment. The way she looked at me. The way she spoke to me. The way she touched me. The way she protected me. But I didn't. I was 12 going on 13 for Christs sakes. She was 14 going on 15. How the hell was I supposed to understand? I just didn't know.

"Yeah," I smiled. "I know how you get when I get hurt." I looked down at her hand. "Thank God I wasn't bleeding. You might have snapped and really killed him."
"I think," she reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, "I did snap. But you...you brought me back. Always you." She looked up at me and laughed. "You make me crazy."
I laughed with her. "I think I keep you sane."
"That too."