“This is Max throwing the final pitch of the season last year. And this one is of the team carrying him on their shoulders after they won,” she said proudly.
“I remember that game. It was awesome.” For just a moment, Max was back in time reliving that moment.
“You were at the game too, JD?”
“Yes.” Front and center.
When Noah clumped down the stairs, Em quickly closed the book and slipped it under the couch. “Shh. He’ll tell my parents.”
The fact that her parents didn’t let her talk about him got on his nerves. He nodded, but said nothing.
“So, JD. Do you think people will vote for me?”
“Heck yes! I’d vote for you.”
“Okay, lets just watch the movie. No wonder people hated Max and I that day in the theater,” she mumbled.
Chapter 20
The next morning, Izzy, still in intensive care, was unable to receive calls. Thankfully, Em invited Max on a picnic with her family. He needed the distraction. He and Em decided to meet at the park early and run the trail.
“Good run today, JD.” Em lay in the grass beneath the oak tree. Max noticed a large bruise on her left forearm.
“What happened?” he pointed to her arm.
“Fell.” Max glared at her and her one word answer. “Okay. We’re working on a secret stunt for the big game, you know, for when we win the championship.”
“Secret, as in dangerous?” Max sat next to her, wiping his damp forehead on his sleeve.
“No, it’s not dangerous. It’s going to be awesome,” came her ambiguous reply.
“So what’s the stunt?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise. You’ll have to wait until the game.” She sat up. “You’re coming, right?”
“Try and keep me away.” Even though he wouldn’t be playing, he had every intention of cheering his teammates on to victory. They had a semifinal game coming up this week he could hardly wait for.
He gazed into Em’s eyes. “Promise me you won’t do anything that could be dangerous. I don’t want something terrible happening to you. I don’t know what I’d do if . . .” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word die, he just couldn’t.
“JD,” she said softly, “that’s so sweet of you to worry, but I’m going to be fine. Really.” Max nodded, but a little voice told him she wasn’t being completely up front about the stunt.
Spending the rest of the afternoon with Em and her family brought back memories of their past outings. Like the time in Ocean City, Maryland, when he’d lost his swimsuit after being tossed around like a lifeless ragdoll by a rogue wave in the Atlantic Ocean. Her father teased him about it for months. He had to bite back a laugh at the memory of Noah, who’d ripped his hoodie getting off the subway in New York City, grew tired of walking and sat down against a building in Time Square. He laid his head on his bent knees to rest, when a random stranger, thinking him homeless, slipped a five dollar bill into his hand.
So many happy memories filled him. He enjoyed escaping into an easier, less challenging time, even if only for a day.
**
Not till Sunday could Izzy finally receive visitors. Max jogged over there first thing in the morning. He quietly entered her room, not wanting to wake her if she were asleep. He found her sitting upright in bed, looking pale.
“You finally decided to come and see me. I thought you were going to wait.” Max strained to hear her she spoke so softly.
“I couldn’t. They said I wasn’t allow—”
She held up her hand. “I’m only kidding. I didn’t expect you to stay.”
Max didn’t like how frail she sounded, but he was glad to see her sense of humor still intact. “How’s the pain?”
“Not too bad. The incision’s bigger than I thought it’d be.” She traced the bandage on her stomach to show him.
“Can you eat yet?”
“Clear liquids only. Tonight I’m progressing to dental soft. I can hardly wait.” She frowned.
“Do you want me to sneak you in a Big Mac?” he offered.
“Yes, extra onions.”
“Done.”
“What’s done?” Izzy’s dad strolled in the room. A young woman with a bored expression, stood at his side, her hand wrapped in his. Max guessed her to be in her twenties, early twenties.
“Hello, JD. This is my friend, Wanda.” She glanced at Max, but said nothing.
“Izzy really isn’t up to company, so I hope you’ll keep your visit short.” He slipped his arm around Wanda’s shoulders. She remained emotionless.
“Dad, I want JD to stay. He’s my friend.”
“And I’m your father who knows what’s best for you.”
“Izzy, I’ll come back tomorrow. You do look pretty tired.” Max scooted between the bed and Kevin, edging his way to Izzy’s side. He gave her a gentle hug and whispered in her ear, “Keep to the code.”
She smiled. “Thanks for coming. Promise you’ll be back tomorrow?”
“Yes. I promise. I’ll call you later.”
When Max returned home, Em’d left a message for him on his answering machine. “Hi, JD. I’m going to ride my bike along the canal path to Palmyra. Give me a call if you want to come along.”
Max snatched up the phone and immediately called her, hoping he’d caught her in in time. “Hi, Em. Is your offer to go biking still good?”
“Sure is. Meet you by the canal in Applegate Park in ten minutes?”
“I’ll race you. Loser buys winner an ice cream after the bike ride,” Max offered, knowing Em couldn’t resist a bet.
“You’re on,” was all she said before ending the call.
Max raced to the door, knowing he’d have to hurry to beat her. Man, I hope JD has a bike. He hadn’t thought about that. He ran outside, going straight to the small tin shed in the backyard. Opening the door, he spotted a bike alright. A bright pink woman’s bike, covered in dust. He tossed his head back and groaned.
“No time to whine.” He backed the bike out of the shed and brushed the seat off with his hand, noting the extra wide granny seat. He groaned again. Pedaling as fast as he could to beat Emma, and to avoid being seen on the streets riding a pink bike, he raced to the park, arriving just after Em.
“Nice bike,” Em giggled.
“It’s my mom’s. I guess I don’t have one.” He climbed off and parked it next to the tree.
She raised her right eyebrow. “You guess?”
“It’s been a while since I rode it. My mom must have gotten rid of it.” At least that’s what Max hoped. Surely JD didn’t ride around town on a pink bike.
“Here,” she said, getting off hers. “I’ll ride the pink one, you can ride mine.” Emma rode a woman’s bike also, only it was red. He’d take it. Anything but pink.
“Thank you. And my future children thank you,” he joked.
Max couldn’t remember the last time he’d ridden along the canal. His excitement surprised him, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. Everything from the Canadian geese and the mallard ducks floating on the water, to the little kids tossing bread at the well-fed birds, fascinated him. As he watched a fisherman pull a catfish from the canal it hit him. JD is enjoying this. That explained it. Max finally found an exercise JD liked. Now he just had to figure out a way to earn money to buy him a bike, because he was not riding Mel’s pink one. Sorry JD.
Em led the way, and the view from where Max sat put a grin on his face. Man, I hope my mom’s not watching. More than once Em veered too close to the trails edge. The rocky slope into the canal unnerved him. “Em, you need to move over to the right. You’re going to end up doing a header into the canal,” he called out. She moved, but a few minutes later her bike wandered back near the edge again. Unable to stomach the panic any longer, he pedaled up beside her, positioning himself between the canal and Em.
They arrived in Palmyra half an hour later. Em led him through a small park to a beautiful arched bridge constructed of gray gr
anite. Along one side, a man-made waterfall cascaded into the canal. They’d been to the park before. He and Em came one afternoon with a photographer to have their senior portraits taken. The photographer, an ornery perfectionist, sucked all the fun out of being there with his constant re-shooting of the same pose. “One more time, Maximiliano” he said, turning the camera on end, “and this time try not to look as if you’re in pain.” Neither he nor Em enjoyed the park that day.
“Let’s soak our feet.” She hopped off the bike and slipped off her leather sandals, sitting on the bank near some smooth gray river rocks. Max followed suit, dipping his feet in the water.
“Man, that feels good after a long, hot ride.” Max lay on the bank and let his feet dangle in the water. Em did the same. They watched the billowy clouds float carefree across the sky. A perfect day.
“JD, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, anything.” He turned on his side, leaning on his elbow to see her better.
“Do you believe in God?”
“Yes. Don’t you?”
“I did.” She looked at him. “I’m not so sure anymore.”
“What changed your mind?” He pulled out the blades of grass stuck in her hair.
“Max,” she said simply.
He tried to think about what he’d done to turn her away from God, when it hit him. “Because he died?”
“Yes. Why him? Why his parents, for that matter? There are so many foul people on the earth, why not them?” She sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. “It’s so unfair.” She stared at him, waiting for an answer.
No pressure, Max! he thought.
“I don’t know, Em. I do know that bad things happen to good people. It might be cliché, but it’s just a fact of life. A sad, but very real fact. I guess there are lessons to be learned from all of it.”
“Like how to survive when your soul’s been ripped from your body? Or maybe how to keep breathing when it’s the last thing you want to do?” She wiped the tears from her cheek.
Max stared at her, shocked. This was not his Em. His Em never gave up on anything. She did math problems for fun, the more complex the better.
“Sometimes . . .” She dropped her gaze to the grass, pulling on a few blades as she spoke. “The night of the accident, I was at Max’s and left early. He said his family would be going out for frozen yogurt, which as you know isn’t exactly my favorite. But I went home instead.” She lifted her head and stared directly into Max’s eyes. “Sometimes I wish I’d stayed and not gone home early that night.”
Max studied her face for a moment. She couldn’t possibly mean . . . “Do you wish you’d been in the car with them during the accident?” He swallowed the lump in his throat as she nodded. First Izzy and JD, now Em? “Emma, no! That’s just grief talking. Max wouldn’t have wanted that.” Max didn’t want that!
Another tear tumbled down her cheek. “I really miss him. There’s a real, physical pain inside my chest. It’s overwhelming sometimes.” She got to her feet. “I can’t sleep. I’ve lost weight. I got a C on a math test. JD, I’m an A student in math, always have been.”
“Em.” He walked over to her. “You need time. It will get better. One day you’ll wake up and it won’t hurt so much. Every day it will get a little easier,” he promised. “Just hang on.”
“For how long?” The torment on her face about killed him. He pulled her into his arms, and she cried. Long, hard sobs rocked her small frame. Max held her for a good long while before she stopped.
“Sorry.” She stepped back. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a tissue to wipe her nose. “A whole lot of fun I am today. Come on, let’s get going.”
“Em,” he gently took her arm. “It will get easier.”
She smiled and nodded. The smile didn’t come close to her eyes. They rode back to Port Fare. When they got to Applegate Park they switched bikes. She giggled again as Max climbed back on the pink bike.
“Max’s bike is at my house. He left it there after we biked to my brother’s track meet a week before the accident. You’re welcome to borrow it. It’s way too big for me.”
“Thanks. I think I might take you up on that.” Max rode home quickly. If anyone needed a reason to beat JD up, not that anyone seemed to need one, but if they did, a pink bike just might do it.
Monday morning, Max woke to rain. A hard, drenching rain. He didn’t dare hope Emma’d be waiting for him again, but she was. She handed him a bag with his favorite bagel again.
“Thanks. You know you don’t have to buy me a bagel every day.” He sank his teeth into the still warm treat.
“I know. Today this is an apology bagel.”
“Whaf?” he mumbled through his too-full mouth.
“For ruining your day yesterday. I was having a bad day and said all that stupid, silly nonsense. I’m sorry about that. I’m much better today. See?” She pointed to her big, cheesy smile.
Max laughed. “I’m glad. And I stand by what I said. It will get better.”
Em nodded confidently at him. She chattered away about the semi-final game later in the week and about how excited everyone seemed to be. When they separated for classes, Max’s angst from yesterday had completely faded away.
The school newspaper was the topic of the day. Emma’s Rats in the Cafeteria story tore thru the school like a tornado riding a triple latte. In every class, in the halls between classes, and all through lunch Max overheard snippets of conversations regarding her report.
“Yeah, like I’m ever eating anything from the cafeteria again.”
“Sick. I knew there was something wrong with the hot dogs.”
“I think the lunch lady eats them raw.”
“Can you believe all the excitement?” Em said as she followed Max to his locker after school. He seldom used his locker during the day, now preferring to carry a full backpack around as a work out tool. JD’s arms and shoulders were finally taking shape, though only a little, it was a start.
“You should use your real name and get some recognition, Em. You worked hard.”
“Thanks. I’ll think about it,” she agreed. “Everyone seems to have skipped the last paragraph about the health department giving the school a clean bill of health since the whole rat problem. Looks like I’ll have to do a follow up story.”
“I don’t know if that will help.” Max set the books he didn’t need inside and strolled with Em to her locker.
“JD, will you help me carry this stuff over to the practice field?” Her locker was crammed full of pompoms.
“What are these all for?” She piled Max’s arms full of the gold and blue streamers before taking several herself.
“We wanted to look our best for the championship game, so several of us ordered new pompoms. Needless to say, my dad thought it ridiculous. I had to pay for mine myself.” Max could see her father’s point, but being a smart guy, he kept his mouth shut. He carried them over to the benches near the other cheerleaders who were already there. To his surprise, six of his teammates stood next to them.
“Is there a ball practice too?”
“No. And you can’t know why they’re here, so don’t ask,” she responded cryptically. “Thanks, JD, you’re a lifesaver.” She gave him a quick hug. “You want to come over tonight? Noah’s been begging for a rematch.”
“Basketball? He must be desperate to play if he’s willing to go against me again,” Max laughed.
“Come on, Em. We need to get started,” Elise, one of the other cheerleaders, said.
“Got to go. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
Max raced to the bus, hoping he hadn’t missed it. He did. JD tensed. “We’ll go by the library first. Stay calm.” Max headed for the library. As he walked, JD’s nightmare played out in his head again. He hoped to end the dreams, but kept forgetting to give Tim his stupid pen. He came to the wide open field two blocks from the house before realizing he’d forgotten to turn right several blocks back. The sickening
squeal of tires told him he’d been spotted. Spotted much too late to make it to the dumpster in time.
Chapter 21
JD gave Max no choice but to bolt for the strip mall, running faster than Max thought him possible. Desperation clawed at him. He had to get there before Nate. He had to hide or…
He wheeled around to the backside of the buildings and bee-lined it for the dumpster. He tossed up the lid and leapt in as Nate plowed down the alley. He didn’t make it. Nate saw him. Heart pounding, Max tried to push himself in deeper.
The car skidded to a stop. “No freakin’ way. Lumpy Larry’s been hiding in the dumpster all this time.” Nate’s voice cut through Max. He felt sick, and the horrible smells surrounding him didn’t help.
The lid flew open, flooding the makeshift tomb with light. “Get out,” Nate demanded. Max didn’t move. He didn’t even glance up. Instead he cowered in the garbage like a discarded rag.
Nate reached in and grabbed a handful of Max’s hair, dragging him out, and shoving him to the ground.
“Where’s the rest of The Ten? You know, the one, because clearly, you’re the zero. The big, fat, round zero.” Nate kicked him. “I should’ve pushed those bleachers over on you when I had the chance, you worthless lump.”
Two guys Max didn’t recognize stepped out of the car, looking just as mean as Nate. Not good. Max didn’t know if JD would survive a beating from these three. Not to mention the pain that was coming.
JD, let me control the body. We need to keep your arms around your head, and tighten your stomach muscles. It will help. But in truth, Max knew nothing would help, not with three brutes against one guy.
The blows came hard, but not fast. Savoring the beating, each took a turn striking him in the stomach, and stepping back to laugh at the reaction. Max stayed bent over as much as he could to protect himself. A few fists snaked through his arms, landing on his mouth and right eye. They forced him up on his feet. One punch landed dead center in his chest, sending him backwards against the metal bin, taking his breath away. He struck his ribs on the bin as he landed half in, half out, before sliding to the ground. Nate stepped over and kicked him in the thigh. Max twisted to his side. Nate went to kick him again when a back door leading to the mall popped open. Jeff stepped out, wearing a black Pet City apron and carrying a clear garbage bag in his hand. He stopped dead, surveying the situation.