lips were quivering, and his eyes were glassy. I grabbed his arm and threw it over my shoulder.
âJack,â I said. âGet the other side.â Jack got under Goatâs other arm and we slowly raised Goat up again. He immediately sagged forward, causing us to stumble a couple of steps and fall. Goat screamed as his injured wrist and leg hit the ground.
âItâs not going to work, Casey,â Jack said. âHeâs too tall, and he canât hold himself up.â I looked around for something to help us and grabbed my long board.
âHere,â I said, crouching down beside Jack. âHold the other end of this. Goat can sit on it.â
Jack grabbed the board, and we helped Goat slide onto it.
âPut your arms around our necks, Goat. All right. Now, Jack, get up slowly,â I said once Goat was settled in the middle of the deck. Goat was heavy, and holding the board was awkward. âGood,â I said. âAll right. One step at a time.â
It was going to be a very, very long walk.
chapter sixteen
We had no idea how long a walk it was to the base of the mountain. It felt as though we were walking endlessly over the same ground. Luckily we had the slope of the hill to guide us. Otherwise we would have ended up walking in circles.
Goat groaned occasionally but was mostly silent. His weight became more and more difficult to manage. Every ten minutes we had to set the board on the ground and rest. I rubbed my knee, which was feeling worse from bearing Goatâs weight.
âThis is going to take forever,â Jack said. âMaybe one of us should go get help and come back.â
âHow would we do that, Jack? Leave a trail of bread crumbs? Itâs dark, and thereâs no way to know where we are.â
âI donât know. Itâs not like Iâve ever been in a situation like this before.â Goat was laid out on the ground between us, breathing in quick bursts.
âWhy would your agent do all this?â I asked.
âWhat? The paparazzi stuff?â
âSure. And getting someone to make it look like youâre in trouble with the police.â Jack wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the ground. We were both shivering from the cold.
âHeâs my new agent,â Jack said. âMy parents thought I needed someone fresh to help break into the regular film market. Heâs one of the best.â
âHe sounds like an ass.â
âItâs just the way he does business. The press, actors, directorsâeveryone knows this is how some agents work.â
I rubbed my knee, which felt as though it was seizing up. I wanted to lie down, but I knew I wouldnât be able to get back up again if I did. âIt all seems so fake,â I said.
âSure it does,â Jack said.
âSo it doesnât bother you?â I asked.
âWhat, getting all that publicity? You know what they say, âno publicity is bad publicity.ââ
âBut itâs not just publicity, right? I mean, you get accused of assaulting a girl, and people are going to think you would actually do something like that.â
âNo, they wonât. They might think that for a few days, until the real story comes out. And if people still thought I had done it, I would go on a talk show and say how disappointed I am about the situation and I had nothing to do with it. Then everyone sees Iâm really a nice guy that got shafted, which makes me look even better.â
I couldnât understand any of it. And I wasnât certain I even wanted to be a part of this make-believe world. âWe have to keep going,â I said, standing and stretching my leg out. I felt unbelievably tired, as though I could sleep for days.
âOkay,â Jack said, nodding his head. âAll right. Letâs keep going.â
We hoisted Goat up again and started moving. All three of us were shivering. The light rain had soaked our clothes