by John Goode
He shot me a look. “What does it matter? I can’t do a fucking thing anyway.”
“Calm down,” I said in my mom’s voice.
His face turned red as he screamed, “She’s going to die!”
The door to the ICU swung open and a nurse was there, glaring at us. “What is going on out here?”
Before anyone could answer her, Billy walked in and Kyle got up, looking like he was going to swing at him.
Sebastian moved quickly, pushing me out of the way and grabbing Kyle’s arms before he could throw a punch.
“Why are you doing this to us?” Kyle screamed at the man.
“Seb, get him out of here,” I ordered as Kyle’s half brother moved in like he wanted a fight.
When the kid tried to follow Kyle and Sebastian out, Jennifer said in a threatening voice, “Troy, one more step and we’re going to tussle again.”
He turned around to glare at her, but she just stood there and smiled.
“Man, we don’t need violence,” Billy said, looking confused. “Troy, knock it off and get in there.” He glanced at me. “Kids, man. What are you going to do?”
“Not hold their mother’s well-being hostage?” I shot back.
The dopey look on his face faded for half a second, and I could see the malice he was trying to hide. He said nothing and followed his son into the ICU. The nurse shook her head and closed the door behind them.
When it was just Jennifer and me, I said, “Kyle is going to end up getting arrested or killed before this weekend is up.”
“I asked Brad to come here, but he said Kyle wasn’t going to want to see him.” She sighed. “I know that tone in his voice. He’s blaming himself for something and he won’t budge.”
“God, those two.” I felt like kicking chairs myself.
She nodded. “I swear, if Linda’s life wasn’t on the line, I’d get on a plane and go drag him here myself.”
I froze. “That’s a good idea.”
“What?” she asked, confused.
“Going and getting Brad,” I answered quickly.
“Right now?” she asked.
“None of us can control Kyle when he’s like this. Sooner or later he’s going to take a swing at that walking pile of shit that’s his father. Brad can keep him centered, calm at least.”
“What if Brad’s right? What if Kyle doesn’t want him here?”
I shot back with, “Since when does Kyle have a clue about what he wants?”
She just stared at me for a long while and then said, “This is crazy, Robbie.”
“Crazy or not, it has to be done,” I said, trying to push past her reluctance.
“But why? What can bringing Brad here possibly—”
And I lost it.
“Because I can’t do anything else,” I almost screeched. “I can’t make Linda wake up, I can’t magically go back in time and be a judge, and I can’t go and do surgery myself. I can’t do a damn thing except go and drag a teenage boy back so he can make Kyle feel better.”
She said nothing as Sebastian walked back in.
“Okay, that kid is about to explode. I got him down in the cafeteria, but he’s one bad decision away from getting arrested.”
Jennifer sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll go get Brad.”
I pulled out my wallet and took out one of my credit cards. “Look, there are like a million miles on that, and there is more than enough of a credit line to cover anything you’ll need. Just get Brad here.”
“She’s doing what now?” Sebastian asked, confused.
“She’s going to California to drag Brad back here to calm Kyle down.”
His face was deadly serious, a first for him. “Alone?”
Jennifer sounded annoyed. “Um, I’m eighteen. It’s not like I need a note pinned to my shirt to fly.”
He looked over at her. “Ever been to California?” She shook her head. “Know how to get around? Know where Brad is even living?”
“I can get an address?” she asked, unsure now.
“Look,” Sebastian said, looking back at me. “You really think it’s that important to get Brad back here?” I nodded, not even pausing to think about it. “I’ll go get him.”
“Brad doesn’t know you,” Jennifer pointed out. “He’ll just think you’re the best-looking kidnapper in the world.”
“Fine,” he said, changing tactics. “She and I.” He paused and looked at her. “Thank you for that, by the way.” He looked back to me. “She and I will go and get him and bring him back here.”
“Fine, just go get him,” I said, trying not to get more annoyed.
Seb looked at Jennifer. “Okay, get the address of where he is and I’ll book the flight.”
They both turned as Matt’s voice came from behind them.
“You’re doing what?”
Oh fuck.
“Matt,” I said, trying to intercept the moose. “When did you get here?”
“He’s going to California to get Brad?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Actually, I am going with her,” Sebastian clarified, pointing at Jennifer.
“You don’t know Brad,” Matt pointed out.
“I know California,” Seb countered.
“So do I,” Matt said. “I lived in the city for years.”
“Well, bully for you, sir,” Sebastian said in a fake English accent. “Too bad you’re not going.”
“The hell I’m not.”
“Matt,” I said, trying to regain control of this train wreck, “Jennifer and Sebastian are going. I’m paying for them and just them.”
Matt turned and looked at me. “You think I don’t have money? I can buy my own ticket.”
Oh, for the love of Liza.
“Then buy a ticket. Charter a whole fucking plane for your wide ass. I don’t care.” I looked over at Sebastian. “Book the flight and go.”
Sebastian and Matt pulled their phones out at the same time and started dialing.
“And this is why I drink,” I said to myself as I sat down and longed for a Xanax.
Brad
SUDDENLY I was glad I’d never unpacked all my sports crap from the trunk of my car. It saved me the trouble of packing it back up again when I got all my stuff out of the apartment. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but Kyle had made it pretty clear he didn’t want me there.
Seeing that all my worldly goods fit in my car was embarrassing. The entire sum total of my life in three boxes and some clothes. That was who I was, and even then, the clothes were worth more than me. Thankfully I still had the keys to the gym, so I went in and grabbed a shower in the middle of the night and caught a quick nap in the locker room. I could ask Todd for an advance on my check and hope he didn’t ask me to blow him or something in return.
Was this how guys got into porn?
My phone alarm woke me up around five, which gave me time to change and get a workout in before the gym had to open. I had just started a jog when I heard a knock on the window. I wasn’t surprised to see Colt standing there. Sighing, I unlocked the door and let him in.
“Man, you’re here early,” he said, walking in. “I’m usually waiting for you.”
I didn’t say anything as I locked the door.
“You’re still mad?” he asked, giving me an exaggerated puppy dog look that did nothing but make me want to slap it off him.
“Dude, it’s just been a shitty week.”
“So no love from Kyle yet, huh?” he asked as he set his gym bag down next to mine.
“He left town,” I explained, not wanting to talk with him about it. “I’m gonna get my run in.”
There was silence behind me, and when I glanced, he was holding the balled-up shirt I’d taken off earlier that morning. Fuck! I must have forgotten to zip up my gym bag when I threw my dirty clothes in it.
He looked at me, concerned. “Dude, did you sleep here?”
I grabbed the shirt and shoved it into the bag, zipping it up this time. “You here to work out or
to gossip?”
“Man, come on. Just crash on my couch. It has to be better than squatting in a gym. Besides, if Todd finds out, he’ll fire you in a second, dude, especially if you didn’t tell him.”
I hadn’t thought about that.
“It’s no biggie, man, seriously.”
A couch did sound better than another night on that floor or, even worse, in my car.
“’Sides, we’re looking for another barback at the club. You can score a ton of cash there in tips and get back on your feet in no time.”
It was crash on his couch or go back to Texas like a little bitch.
“Okay, man,” I said, smiling a little. “But just for a couple of days until I figure things out.”
“As long as you want, bud,” he said, slapping my back eagerly.
And just like that, I was sleeping on Colt’s couch.
When Todd came in, I told him I was going to need the afternoon off to move my stuff, and he just gave me a lewd smile. “Girlfriend kick you out?”
I growled back, “Something like that.”
“Oh! I was kidding,” he said soberly. “Yeah, you only had Frank, and he’ll understand. Go move your stuff and I’ll see you Monday.”
I turned to walk out and then stopped. Looking back at him, I said, “No. My girlfriend didn’t kick me out, my boyfriend did. So now I’m going to have to sleep on someone’s couch to get back on my feet. Not that I ever started out on my feet, but I figure I should start somewhere. So yeah. I’m gay, always have been, so you can stop with the straight baiting, okay?”
The smirk fell from his face and he looked at me, shocked. When he talked there was no gurl in his voice at all; he sounded like a regular guy. “I had no idea. I’m sorry, Brad. I’ve just spent so much time getting picked on by straight guys that I automatically do it to them. If I had known….”
“If you had known, you wouldn’t have?” I offered, and he nodded. “Well then, that makes you a different kind of bigoted asshole, doesn’t it? So they pick on you, so you can pick on them? That makes it okay?” I shook my head. “I just wanted to come clean because it was getting old. Tell people, don’t tell people. I don’t care.”
“Brad, look, I’m—” he started to say, but I was over it. I walked out where Colt was waiting by my car.
“So, you ready?” he asked like this was a great thing and not me begging someone to sleep on his couch so I could have a roof over my head.
“Yeah. I don’t really remember where you live, so I’ll follow.”
“Try and keep up,” he challenged with a wide grin.
I was too tired to return it.
Coach Gunn
AS SOON as the elevator doors closed, Gayle said, “No violence.”
She saw me roll my eyes because I felt her nudge me after I did it.
“I mean it. This is not the time or place.”
You hit one guy and suddenly you’re deemed violent.
Last month Gayle and I went to church.
I don’t need to spell out that we’re together, right? Because what I just did, saying that we were together, is about as much spelling or spilling as I’m willing to do.
So we went to church, and who happened to be there but Jeff Raymond. It was the first time I’d seen him since he “retired” from his job and stepped down as Foster High’s principal. I say “retire” because the School Board—notice the capital letters—that means Austin and not the ninnies who crowd around a card table and pretend they’re somebody here in town….
Where was I?
Right. Hadn’t seen him since he got fired, and I had not been looking forward to it. I mean, for one thing, when I was asked if Jeff Raymond was an effective leader of the school, my answer—“If we’re including small-minded bigots who can’t find their ass with both hands, then yes, he’s a great leader”—didn’t help him much. Normally that kind of stuff is sealed and kept off the record, but I know Foster better than most, and there’s no way a story like that stays under wraps for long. He knew what I’d said, and it was proven by the way he paused in whatever conversation he was having with two other people and glared at me.
The second reason I wasn’t looking forward to this was because the woman I walked in with was responsible for getting him fired. Gayle’s son, Chad, works up in Austin, and one word from his mom about what Raymond had been doing down here was more than enough to get his ass thrown out on the street, so the glare was for both of us, I’m sure.
I pointed it out to Gayle, who smiled and waved at someone else as she said under her breath, “Oh, I saw him. This should be good.”
I hadn’t gone to church in forever, but Gayle went every Sunday, so that meant I was going every Sunday, but this was the first time I’d seen him out and about. Gayle found Dorothy Aimes sitting with the sheriff, and we made our way over to join them.
As soon as we got close, Dorothy asked, “Did you see who came crawling out of the sewer?”
Steve just looked at me and rolled his eyes as the girls began to gossip.
You see, I didn’t and still don’t much care about Jeff Raymond and what he thought of me. He had dug his own grave and was polite enough to crawl in and begin shoveling dirt on top of himself to boot. He could be as mad as he wanted, but it wouldn’t change the fact that he’d been wrong about nearly everything.
The sheriff and I had started speculating about this year’s football team when someone cleared his throat in the aisle next to us.
Of course it was Jeff, looking like he was ready to spit on us.
Gayle glanced over at him and smiled. “Jeff, I didn’t see you there. It’s so nice to see you again.”
If there’s an Academy Award for fake niceness, Gayle should have a dozen of them on her mantel. If I hadn’t known the whole story, I would have believed her words based on tone alone.
“Are you happy?” he asked, his voice louder than it needed to be. It took me a second to realize he was playing to the crowd. “You got me fired and now there’s no one looking out for the children.”
Gayle turned to fully face him and shined him a bright smile. “Well, Jeff, I’m pretty sure there are still teachers and staff and even a principal there for the kids, so I’m sure they’ll be okay.”
“No one is going to defend them from the filth that kid introduced to Foster.”
Gayle’s smile evaporated instantly. “Kyle didn’t introduce anything to Foster except tolerance and acceptance.”
“He started all this. And he turned the Graymark boy gay and most likely the other one too.”
I think Raymond hadn’t noticed that Dorothy was sitting next to her.
“I know you did not suggest that Kyle somehow turned my son gay,” she said in a tone that could have frozen water.
“None of this happened before Stilleno!” he raged. “I was trying to help us, help this town.” His voice got louder again as he played to the cheap seats. “And what did it get me?”
“What you deserved,” I said, not realizing I had said it out loud.
“What about you, Coach? I thought you didn’t want that kind of crap going on in your locker room.”
Looking up at him, I said frankly, “No, you were the one who had a problem with it. I think everyone has a right to participate.”
He shook his head. “Maybe I should have checked to see what really goes on in your locker room if that’s your answer.”
I stood up and he took a step back.
“You know, Jeff, you’re shooting your mouth off like you’re the victim here. One kid is dead, two kids bullied and beaten, and one so screwed up he brought a gun to school. You can blame Stilleno, but I blame you. You and your small-minded, bigoted, hateful ways. Oh, and if you imply one more thing about what goes on in my locker room, you’re going to regret it.”
“It’s not my fault, Coach,” he snapped, looking around to the people listening. “I just assumed you were a God-fearing man like the rest of us.” He locked eyes with me. “And not some
child lover.”
I slugged him.
He went down like Moorer did after Foreman showed him up close and personal what a real punch looked like. There was chaos, some screaming, and the sheriff pulled me away from him. Jeff went scurrying away with a bloody nose and an understanding of what he shouldn’t say to another man within punching distance.
One punch and suddenly I’m a menace to society.
Anyway….
“You can’t solve problems by hitting people,” Gayle went on as the elevator got to the ICU. “Rational people talk things out. They don’t use their fists.”
“Fine,” I grunted. “No fighting.”
“Good.” She nodded. Before she’d finished that nod, the elevator doors slid open to reveal a tall, lanky-looking hippie who needed a bath.
They looked at each other and an expression of complete shock and total terror crossed the guy’s face. “Gayle?”
She didn’t say a word. She just hauled off and hit him.
“Billy Stilleno, you no good piece of shit,” she growled, watching the guy land on his ass. He tried to crab walk away from Gayle, who took a step forward, chasing him back out of the elevator. “If I find you had anything to do with what happened to Linda, I will personally cut your balls off and force you to eat them. You miserable son of a bitch… get the hell out of this hospital!”
I put my arms around her before she started kicking him.
Two security guards rushed down the hall and Billy screamed, “Get that crazy bitch off of me!”
Gayle fought against my grip. “Let me go! You better run, Billy! I mean it!”
The guards helped the guy to his feet, and he retreated into the ICU.
As soon as he was out of sight, she stopped struggling, so I let her go.
“What happened to not fighting?”
She looked over at me, and I could see the murder in her eyes. “That wasn’t a fight. That was pest control, and I’m not done yet.”
She went stomping into the ICU as I followed. This should be good.
Kyle
I PACED the cafeteria like a… like… oh, fuck it. I paced the cafeteria like the frustrated and pissed-off gay kid I was.
