Chapter 2

I realized that Nikki had taken the side-by-side. That meant I was in for a long hike. The ridge could take four or five hours if I was going to the top, the tire block was at about the hallway mark. This entire side of the mountain was cluttered with junked vehicles and machinery; anything the boss thought he could make a buck off.

I started out on the slow path and had time to ponder the ‘why’ of Tabby’s actions. Her false accusations had to serve a purpose. She had to benefit.

I flashed back to the quarry ... I was 13 or 14. It was winter. The ground was hard and cracked with a shiny layer of frozen dew with grey, sullen clouds above. My father spoke coldly, “Why’d you pick that fight?”

“I didn’t pick any fight. One of them stole my thermos. So, I fought to get it back.”

“And you fought two kids for one stolen thermos?”

“They were the only ones around. It had to be one of them.”

“So, you assaulted an innocent man.”

“I didn’t know who’d taken it.”

“And you assaulted an innocent man. That isn’t okay. You should have figured out who stole it instead of throwing punches.”

“How would I do that?”

“Who were the suspects?”

“Walter Groping and Gary Lineker.”

“So, which of those wanted the thermos more?”

I thought for a moment. Gary’s father was the town dentist and he was one of the more affluent kids at the school and Walter was living with his grandmother after his parent’s dropped him off and ran ... and she was on social security.

“Walter. He probably couldn’t afford one.”

“That’s what you need to do. Anytime there is a crime someone has to benefit from it. Someone has to have the motive. You figured out ‘why’ someone does something you know everything they’re going to do. For the record, you’re grounded for three weeks.”

I blinked back into reality and focused on the problem. Me being kicked out and abandoned by my family accomplished what? My room was vacant ... but I would’ve switched with her if she asked. Nikki was free to date Brown, but Tabby wouldn’t care about that in the slightest, maybe if she’d wanted Nicki for herself ... oh ... Squire. She wants my faithless Squire. We’d all known she was a lesbian, but the creepy aspect of that was disturbing. So, now I’m not hanging out with Squire anymore, she’s upset and needs a shoulder to cry on, and Tabby is there to pick up the pieces while having Squire ‘comfort’ her for the trauma of my imagined crimes. Well, good luck to her. Hope it’s worth it.

I continued towards the tire block eventually reaching it. It was a flat bit of land that in the years past countless tires had been stacked one on top of each other with plywood platforms on the top. Nikki was laying by herself with a book on one of them, the picture of grace. I walked over to her, “Nikki.”

She opened her eyes and smiled at me, “I’m sorry by the way.”

“For what?”

“I ... I reacted too quickly. When I got back home, I thought about it and realized you were innocent. All the times I turned you down when your hands started to roam to far ... and you just smiled and said, ‘okay, maybe next time.’ You never pushed my boundaries. Not once. The other thing is ... you never even looked at anyone else. It was always just me.”

“Never had eyes for anyone, but you Nikki. You know that.”

“It doesn’t change anything. I can’t go back.”

“I know. Reputation above all. Can’t be seen with the ‘sisterfucker.’ Answer one question though, please?” She nodded and I asked, “Why was it so easy to believe? After the countless hours you and I spent here before we got together ... after everything we shared, you believed the first bullshit someone spread about me.”

“You don’t want to hear it.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“You know your dad was in prison.”

“Yeah. Gang stuff. Robbery. Assault. That kind of thing.”

“And the gang rape of a policewoman.”

“What? I don’t believe it.”

“It’s what landed them in jail. She went in undercover and got found out. They ‘punished’ her. I heard it and just assumed you’d taken after your dad.”

I set down or rather I had to sit down, “He never mentioned it. He told me about his ‘fake family’ and all of his mistakes, but he never mentioned that.”

“Maybe he was ashamed.”

“He should’ve been.”

“Are you okay?”

“I ... No. It’s a lot. I’ve always planned to get the fuck out of this town. Thought you were going with me, but I never thought they’d turn on me like this. Dad ... I guess a lot of boys hold their dad in a high regard. I always knew he’d done bad shit, but that made him better, stronger cause he’d overcome that. He’d learned and tried to atone. If he did that there isn’t any way too atone.