by John Goode
“What about extortion?” I asked.
He cocked his head. “In what way?”
“What if I could prove he was only doing this to get money from me? Would that be enough?”
He thought about it for a second. “He would have to say it out loud; inference isn’t going to hold up.”
I nodded. “If I could get a recording of him telling me or someone else aloud, then it would work?”
“I’d have to hear what he said, but yes, in theory it could.”
I had Billy Stilleno’s nuts in a vise.
“Fine, give me some time.”
“Take your time,” he said bitterly. “I can’t leave here until one of you leaves, because I can’t have the two of you fighting in my hospital all weekend.”
“I promise, this will solve it.”
He didn’t look like he believed me.
On my way down to the ICU, I set up my iPhone to start recording. Luckily I had brought some clothes from California; I tossed on a button-up shirt with a pocket on it. It was wrinkled and I looked like a bum, but it held my phone high enough to record what we would be saying.
When I walked into the waiting room, Robbie and Tyler were there. They both looked at me like I was a zombie.
“What happened to your shirt?” Robbie asked, standing up slowly.
“Doesn’t matter,” I assured him. “I have a plan.”
“Kyle,” Tyler warned. “Don’t do anything drastic.”
“Like?”
He blanched a bit. “Like printing up hundreds of Facebook messages and taping them to people’s lockers. I don’t think those kind of antics will fly here.”
“I have a real plan. Trust me.”
They looked like they trusted me as much as Mr. Childs did.
I ignored them and walked into the ICU.
I went to my mom’s room, and of course Billy and Troy were there. Troy was watching TV while Billy was arguing with someone on his cell.
“—have it. Just give me some more time,” he pleaded. He saw me and added, “Can’t talk,” and hung up. “Come to give me my money?”
I forced myself not to smile; this was going to be easy. “I give you money and you let them operate on my mom?” I wanted this to be as clear as day.
“Yeah. Yeah,” he said quickly. “That’s the deal.”
“Even though you know she could suffer from brain damage without it?”
His face twisted into rage. “Look, punk, I could care less about you or your mother, so if you came in here to guilt me, you’re wasting your time. I want fifty thousand dollars, or I sit here until she drools.”
“Let them operate and then I’ll pay,” I countered.
He laughed. “Don’t con a con man. That operation is the only leverage I have. No money, no deal.”
Gotcha.
“Let me think about it,” I said, backing out of the room.
“Better think fast. She isn’t as young as she used to be.”
I glanced over at Troy, who was giving me an odd look, like he couldn’t figure out what I was doing. Frankly, I didn’t care. I had Billy. I had the bastard.
Brad
WHEN I woke up, I was in Texas.
I’m not going to lie; I felt like a complete loser. I had talked so much shit growing up about how I was going to burn out of this town and never look back. How I was going to be the next big thing in baseball and I promised not to forget the little people.
Now I was the littlest of the little, and there was no joy in my heart at all.
“Who you driving with?” Matt asked once we got to the parking lot. I gave him a confused look, and he explained. “We didn’t drive up here together. It was—” He glanced over at Sebastian, who was giving him a shit-eating grin. “—it was my fault, and let’s just move past that. You driving with him or me?”
“I’ll go with Matt,” Jennifer volunteered. “You can get to know Sebastian some.”
I gave her a look that she ignored as she walked over toward Matt. “Good luck,” she whispered. “He loves the eighties. I mean loves, loves them.”
“You’re a bitch,” I whispered back, and she just kissed me on the cheek and waved.
“You two have fun. See you back in Foster.”
I wondered how much of an asshole I’d look like if I said I wanted to ride with Matt too. Sighing, I followed Sebastian to his rental car and tossed my stuff into the trunk.
“So,” he asked as he slammed it shut. “Like Whitesnake?”
I. Hate. Everyone.
Kyle
BY THE time I got the recording back upstairs, Childs was locking his office.
“I have it,” I said, panting since I had run up the stairs.
He closed the door and sighed. “I’m afraid it will have to wait until tomorrow, Mr. Stilleno. I need to go.”
“But I have it!” I said, holding my phone up.
He turned and looked at me, and I could tell he was going to give me bad news. “I need to leave. Now. I will be back early tomorrow morning, I will listen to your evidence, and we can go from there, but nothing more can be done tonight.”
“But you said if I got it….” Oh God! I was whining.
“Nothing can be done tonight anyway,” he snapped at me and then shook his head. “Even if what you got is enough, there is no way to perform surgery on her tonight unless it is life threatening, which it is not. I’m sorry, Kyle, but my daughter has been waiting for me to come home for over four hours so she can open her birthday presents, and I need to go. They’ll page me if your mother’s condition changes, but for right now, nothing can be done.”
My first reaction was to yell at him. I was so pissed I couldn’t even see straight. Of course he was leaving. Of course he didn’t care. My mom could be losing her brain functions, but let’s make sure little Susie Childs had a fucking birthday, right?
And then I realized this guy wasn’t Mr. Raymond.
He wasn’t out to get me, and if I had to be honest, he was kinda on my side. Blowing up at him because he had a life outside of there would be pointless and stupid. It was Saturday evening in Foster, Texas. What did I think was going to get accomplished?
“I understand, Mr. Childs. I’ll see you in the morning, and I hope your daughter has a good birthday.”
He gave me a weak smile. “We will get this straightened out, I promise.” He walked over to the elevator and paused. “You mind some advice?” I shook my head. “Go home. You can’t do anything but drive yourself crazy here, and you look like you slept in your shirt. Give the nurse in charge your number and go home and sleep. You’ll find things look better tomorrow.”
I almost asked, “And if they aren’t better?” but I didn’t.
“Thanks, Mr. Childs. I’ll do that.”
The elevator dinged and he got on. “You coming?”
I shook my head. “I’ll take the stairs. I need some time to myself.”
He nodded and the doors closed. I waited twenty seconds to make sure the car was gone.
And then I screamed at the top of my lungs. I didn’t say anything, just screamed and screamed until my throat was hoarse and my eyes were blurred with tears.
Brad
JENNIFER WAS right. This guy loved the eighties.
“Now Kick is where INXS really broke out. It was like nothing they had done before, and the videos were off the hook.” He glanced over at me. “You ever see them?”
“Who?” I asked, not sure what we were talking about anymore.
“INXS.”
I just looked blankly at him.
“‘Need You Tonight’? ‘Devil Inside’? ‘Never Tear Us Apart’?”
Just stared.
“Okay, well then, you need to hear that,” he said, cycling through his iPod.
So far I had been educated in Whitesnake (good music, crazy ex-wife in the videos), Mötley Crüe (awesome music for complete drug heads), and Van Halen (David Lee Roth and the other guy), and now it looked like it was… oh God,
I forgot what band he had been talking about.
“So Robbie thinks Kyle is in such a bad place that he was willing to send you guys out to get me?” I asked, hoping it would distract him from the music.
He nodded. “I didn’t get it myself, but he says you guys are better together, so… here you are.”
“He said that?” I asked, surprised.
Sebastian nodded.
“I didn’t think Robbie liked me all that much,” I said, more to myself than to him.
“Hearing that a lot today,” he muttered under his breath. “Robbie keeps his cards to his chest—which is a stupid way to play cards, but I don’t get to make up sayings.”
“I thought it was close to your vest?”
He paused. “But what if you aren’t wearing a vest?”
I shrugged. “I thought everyone in the Old West wore vests and stuff.”
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah, I suppose. Still a stupid saying. Anyway, Robbie likes a lot of people. He just doesn’t show it all the time.”
“Or ever,” I added.
“Or ever,” Sebastian agreed. “But that doesn’t mean he dislikes you. It just means….”
“He’s wearing a vest?”
Sebastian smiled. “Exactly. Robbie is a vest-wearing motherfucker.”
I had to admit, I liked this guy. He was funny.
“So anyway, the year is 1987 and the world is gripped by glam rock.”
Oh God, he didn’t forget.
Still. Hate. Everyone.
Kyle
BY THE time I got back to the waiting room, I had composed myself.
Tyler and Robbie were both watching something on an iPad. As soon as I walked up, they turned it off. “So, any news?” Robbie asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing.” To Tyler I asked, “Can you drive me home?”
“Sure,” he said, getting up and then looking at Robbie. “Where are you staying?”
“We got a room at the Motel 6 up past Main. Mind dropping me off too?”
“Nah, the Parker Taxi Company is now in service,” he said, trying to make me smile. “You guys want food first?”
“I’m not hungry,” I said, fifteen kinds of miserable.
“I am and I know he is,” Robbie answered. “Let’s grab something at Starr’s on the way. I’m buying since you’re driving.”
Tyler rubbed his hands together. “Oh, you’re going to regret saying that.”
He sounded like Brad. The realization was like getting hit on the bridge of my nose, and my eyes watered immediately. What was I doing? My mom could be dying, my dad was extorting me for money, and I’d told Brad to be gone before I got home. My whole life was out of control. What was I thinking?
Two hands grabbed my shoulder and shook me slightly. I saw Robbie kneeling in front of me. “Breathe,” he said firmly. “Kyle, you’re having a panic attack. You need to breathe.”
I was going to ask him what he was talking about and why he was talking from so near the floor. Then I realized I was sitting on that same floor. My legs had given out and I had kind of slumped to the ground and hadn’t even noticed. Looking around, I saw Tyler hovering over me, and there was a nurse too. How much time had passed?
“Kyle,” he said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. “Focus on me. Breathe.”
I took a deep breath and suddenly color came back into view. It had faded out so slowly, everything was painted with muted colors. I heard Tyler sigh with relief and the nurse let go of my wrist.
I hadn’t even noticed she had been taking my pulse.
“He seems okay. After everything he’s gone through, can’t say I blame him,” the nurse reported. “Get some food into him and then let him rest, but I would not suggest him being alone tonight.”
“I’m fine,” I said, trying to stand up and failing miserably. After about a minute of my best Bambi-tries-to-walk impression, I stopped and just sat there.
“Fine my ass,” Robbie said, helping me up. “You can stay in the motel with me; Sebastian isn’t going to be back until morning anyway.”
“Where’s Sebastian?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t seen many people there today.
Robbie glanced at Tyler, who jumped in. “He and Matt went to Dallas to get something.”
“What?”
“Huh?” Tyler asked back.
“What did they go and get in Dallas?”
“Illicit drugs.” Robbie quipped, moving toward the elevator. “Who knows with those two? Either way, you can stay with me so I can make sure you don’t fall in a well or something.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I growled as we got in the elevator.
“No,” Robbie said, giving me a look. “You don’t. What you need is a friend and, barring that, a good slap upside your head. You’re in pain, you’re panicking, and that’s okay, Kyle. No one expects you to handle this alone. You think I flew halfway across the country to spend time with this jerk?” He gestured to Tyler.
“You have to let us help, Kyle,” Tyler said, ignoring the jab.
“I’m just so tired,” I finally admitted.
“So we get Starr’s to go and then to the hotel,” Robbie explained.
“I’m not hungry.”
Robbie gave me a side glance. “I swear to God, you argue with me again and I’m going to slap the taste right out of your mouth. You need help, so shut up and let us help.”
“Doesn’t feel like helping,” I muttered.
Robbie held a hand up and I shut my mouth. Fast.
Tyler
I DROPPED them off and headed back to the hospital.
So far I had been trying to do the right thing and let people do their job, but it was obvious that wasn’t going to get it done. I parked in the front of the hospital and waited. Billy may have been a sleazy asshole, but he was a predictable one. So far the only reason he had left Linda’s room was to smoke, and it seemed like he went every two hours or so.
So I waited for him.
People like Kyle, they think the world is run by people with intelligence, so they think that sooner or later people will do the right thing. They think that all things will eventually get better because deep down people are good and will do good. I knew better because at heart I wasn’t a very good person. I’d been trying to be a better person, but it was slow going. Not so deep down, I knew what it was like to only think of yourself, to put what you wanted and needed above everyone else. I wasn’t proud of it, but it was there, so I knew exactly how far Billy was willing to go to get what he wanted:
As far as he needed to.
I could wait for Kyle to spring some kind of Kyle trap, or I could wait for Mr. Childs to figure out he was putting my best friend in danger, but I would be waiting a long time. Instead, I parked out in the dark and waited. Because if I wanted to get Billy Stilleno dealt with, I needed to do it myself.
Sure enough, around midnight he came out the front doors and lit up a smoke.
He paced around like a…. You ever notice that people with nicotine fits pace like cats? I mean, if they had tails they’d be swishing back and forth something fierce as they smoked. Makes you wonder, what are cats so wound up about? Anyway, he paced and smoked and I waited for him to wander away from the entrance.
He started to walk around the side, looking here and there like he was ready to bolt at any time, so I got out and moved toward him.
Billy was a problem that could be dealt with real easy. A couple of swings, he’d go down, and I’d tell him to get the fuck out of town while he still had a few of those things that passed as his teeth. With him gone, Kyle could allow the doctors to do the surgery and everything would be better. And I couldn’t lie; I’d been waiting to kick the shit out of Billy Stilleno for years.
I must have stepped on a twig, because he spun toward me, his eyes wild with fear. I smiled, thinking that was the way I wanted him, until I looked at the .38 he had pointed at me. His hand trembled, and I froze.
Funny thing was, I wasn’t scared
. I mean, sure, he could shoot me, but I was more pissed that I had fucked up again than I was scared for my life.
“Tyler?” he asked, peering into the darkness. “Goddammit,” he sighed, putting the gun back in his pocket. “You trying to get killed?”
“I’d ask why you have a gun, but I know the answer,” I said, wondering if I could still get to him without him pulling that thing again. “What kind of trouble you in now?”
He snarled and turned away from me. “The kind a little money can’t fix.”
I crossed the distance between us and grabbed his shoulder. “A woman’s life is in danger because of you.”
He turned and smiled a yellow, rotten grin. “Well, mine ain’t so safe either. Guess which one I care about more?” I was about to say something but he went on. “If you think you’re gonna come out here and beat some sense into me, think again. You touch me and I will own that crappy little store of yours when I’m done.”
“What makes you think you’re walking away?” I threatened.
He glanced down and then back up at me.
I looked down and saw the gun through his hoodie, pointing at my stomach. “What makes you think you are, pretty boy?”
I took a step back because I could see in his eyes he was serious.
“Tell that little queer son of mine to give me what I want.” He backed away from me toward the hospital. “I ain’t playing around.”
He walked back into the building and I stood there, realizing maybe for the first time how bad this whole mess was.
Kyle
I WOKE up in a panic.
One, I had no idea where I was. Two, I had this gripping fear I was supposed to be somewhere. And lastly, because I suddenly remembered where I was and where I was supposed to be.
I sat up and looked around the motel room for Robbie. He had asked the front desk for a rollaway so we didn’t have to endure actually sleeping together. The bed sitting in the middle of the small room made the open space seem even more limited. The bed was empty, and it took a second for me to realize the shower was going.