Free County Line Road by Marie Etzler Page B

other kid.
    Earl started to follow him outside, but the phone rang.
    “I bet it’s the shop,” Linda said, breathing hard. “They’ll tell you.”
    Thwarted, Earl turned back inside. “I have some questions for you after this,” he said to her.
    She gasped and ran into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
    Earl took a deep breath and picked up the phone.
    Outside, Jimmy jumped on the back of Rich’s motorcycle and they took off before their father could get to them.
    Rich shifted through the gears hard as he sped through the neighborhood streets, barely pausing at the stop signs. When he got to the main road, he headed for the highway.
    Jimmy didn’t care how he drove. He just held on. The wind kicked up his t-shirt, making it fly up his back as they picked up speed for the length of the on ramp. They shot out onto the highway like a rocket and kept going.

CHAPTER 14
    They drove until it got dark. Rich pulled off the highway and into a gas station. Inside the convenience store, he bought a pack of cigarettes, one beer, and a Coke while Jimmy went to the bathroom.
    In the bathroom, he saw the bruise on his face and the magnitude of what had just happened swooped down on him like a hawk on a mouse. He felt his knees go weak and he faltered. He held on to the edge of the sink to recover.
    “This can’t be real,” he said. He rinsed his hands and face, gently touching his cheekbone to check it, and he went back outside.
    Rich was sitting on a bench by his motorcycle.
    “Are we going to South Carolina now?” Jimmy asked him. “I’d like to see Double A and Allison before I leave.”
    “We’re not leaving tonight,” Rich said. “But I have been thinking about going away. It’s time to move out.”
    “Where?”
    “Don’t know.”
    “Maybe I’ll just leave too,” Jimmy said. He sat down, feeling tired. They watched the traffic go by.
    “You have to go back,” Rich said.
    “Why? So he can hit me again? Didn’t you hear him? He said I can’t go. ‘This is your Captain speaking: You’re fucked.’ What an asshole.”
    “You called his woman a whore,” Rich said. “What did you expect? I would have really kicked your ass if you’d said it to me.” Rich laughed. “I can’t believe you said that. I didn’t think you had it in you, little brother. I’m damn proud, but you’re going back to face up.”
    “I don’t know,” Jimmy said.
    “I do,” Rich said. He turned to Jimmy and looked him in the face. “You’re going to get that scholarship and go on to win more races than you ever thought of. You can do it; you have it, more than me.”
    “You were a great baseball player,” Jimmy said. “You could have been a great first base player, still could, a pro even.”
    “No, I can’t!” Rich yelled. “I didn’t have what it takes. I was too afraid.”
    “Of what?” Jimmy demanded. He looked at Rich’s face. His usual confidence was gone.
    Rich shook his head. “Forget it. All I know is – don’t quit. Don’t let some asshole push you around and make you feel like shit. No matter who it is. Fight back. You deserve the chance to go and to try.”
    Jimmy had never heard his brother say anything like that before. He wondered what he was afraid of. He’d never seen Rich back down from anything.
    “Did you take steroids?” Jimmy asked him.
    “What the hell,” Rich said. “Yeah, and a lot of other things.”
    “I thought you were the best,” Jimmy said.
    “Sorry to shake up your world,” Rich said. “At first it was just the creatine and all that supplement crap; then a guy offered me the good shit, the real shit. Then he blackmailed me with it. He wanted me to throw a game. I said no. That’s when the real problems started.” He rubbed his shoulder. “Finally he said he wouldn’t turn me in if I didn’t turn him in. Dad helped me, but he’s still pissed that I never told him the guy’s name. I don’t think Dad’s ever actually spoken to me since. Not like you.