Because of Holly. And because I don’t know what he’s going to do once I show him the spot where his money is buried. I think he’ll kill me, and then I won’t be able to see her grow up.
He stares at me and chews at his dry lips, then breaks into a demonic laugh, stopping abruptly before lunging at me and barking like a dog. I flinch and press my body against the driver’s side door, but I stay inside the van with him. He’s fucking mad.
“If you walk about four miles that way, you’ll come to a massive rock wedged against a tree stump. There are some wetlands to the left, so watch your step. About forty feet due south, the ground is still loose enough for you to dig with your hands.”
“Why don’t you dig for me?” He lifts his chin.
I shake my head, forcing myself to be brave.
“Because I don’t fucking want to,” I growl. I must be mad, too. I’ve certainly snapped. But I have to draw this line and cut him out completely. He needs to disappear, and I only know one way to make sure of that.
“Four miles?” His eyes bore into mine, but I hold steady.
I nod.
“And if you’re lying to me?”
“I guess that’s the gamble you’re going to have to take. Shoot me now, and you’ll never know, or take me at my word, and start walking.”
I’m so scared, I’ve surpassed physically shaking. I’m catatonic. I think my heart has stopped. I can’t feel a thing. I just have to hold on for a few more seconds.
“If you’re lying to me, it won’t be me you’ll have to worry about. There are dangerous people after me, son. And if they don’t get paid . . .”
I blink slowly. I realize a lot of people are looking for that money. It’s why this is the only way. There’s no way in hell my father will ever give it up when he gets his hands on it. He’snot paying off dangerous people. He’s running. The only thing he has ever loved more than getting high is stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
“Don’t call me son.”
His lip sneers but creeps into a full smile, and he breathes out a laugh. He pulls the handle on the door, pushing it open a few inches while holding the gun up enough that I’m forced to stare into the barrel.
He finally pushes the door open wide and sets one foot on the ground. I’m tempted to hit reverse and race away, but that would only make him doubt me. He needs to believe me. He should. I’m not lying. The money is right where I said it is, and he can go get it.
Once he’s fully out of the van, he pushes the door closed but keeps the gun pointed at me. I hold his stare and wait for him to start walking, giving him nothing in my expression. But when his mouth curves into a sinister smirk, my body begins to feel things again. He lowers his weapon and fires at the front passenger-side tire, and the van leans to the right as the tire quickly deflates.
Fuck!
My eyes dim as he laughs at me, waggling a finger as if he’s taught me some great lesson. Thing is, I still have my phone. He never once asked for it, even after he smashed Lindsey’s to pieces. I keep my hands on the wheel as he walks away, and I don’t move them until he’s at least a hundred yards ahead with no chance of seeing my mouth move when he turns around, which he has, repeatedly.
I work the phone out of my pocket and press the emergency call button. The nine-one-one operator answers immediately.
“I’m at mile marker thirteen off Highway 183. I was carjacked, and the man forced me to drive him here. He had a bag full of money and what looked like a brick of white powder.I’m sure it was drugs. He took off and ran into the field just south of the highway.”
I hang up before she asks any more questions, and when the phone rings with the callback, I toss it behind me and push the transmission into reverse. I won’t make it far on just a rim, but I should get a few miles away if I drive slowly. I begin to roll backward, toward the highway. My father’s form is barely visible in the distance, but I swear he’s pointing the gun at me. I keep the tires moving regardless, and eventually, he continues walking to what I hope is the end of our relationship.
I somehow get seven miles away before the rim becomes undriveable, and as the unmarked police cruisers race by me headed the other way, I start to breathe again. I pull to the side of the road and walk to the back of the van, getting out the jack and the donut so I can try to make it the rest of the way home. I’m sure Lindsey’s called the cops by now. People are no doubt looking for me.
I wanted more than seven miles between me and the final scene. Not because I feel guilty in any way for turning in the man I loathe. I just don’t want this van, or my name, mentioned in the same breath as what I suspect will be a major headline in the local news.
I start to change the tire and am nearly done when a siren chirps and a state trooper pulls up behind me. I hold my hands up and tell him my name and also alert him that I’m alone. He searches the van anyhow, doing his job. He frisks me, too, ordering me to the ground and pressing a knee into my back. He pulls my wallet out to check my ID and calls my name and license number in on the radio attached at his shoulder. When I hear the command officer utter, “All clear,” he moves his leg and helps me to my feet.
“Sorry about that. We needed to make sure,” he says.
I’m emotionless. I can’t thank him even if I maybe should. I don’t want to be living through any of this. Even the end, which I hope this truly is. And it’s probably because I can’t help but focus on the inevitable outcome waiting for me when I get home.
Lindsey needs to leave. She isn’t safe with me, not until I know for certain that nobody else will come looking for my criminal inheritance. I can’t be the thing Brandon uses to prove she isn’t fit to keep her boys. She can’t lose primary custody. The three of them need one another. Those boys need the parent who puts them first. Who will put her life on hold to make sure they get to live theirs. Brandon isn’t that guy. He’s a weekend dad, and I doubt he’ll even keep that up for long.
Holly and I need to leave Sweetwater for a while, at least until the new season starts again, if I even continue to play. Maybe having my name out there is too dangerous for her. Maybe I don’t need to give her a life with riches. Lindsey grew up as a coach’s daughter, and look how she turned out.Incredible.
That’s Holly’s fate, no matter what my job is.
