The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)(90)

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By nine on week nights, Ashley was closing out the cash drawer and mopping the floor and she was usually on her way home by nine-thirty.

Ashley always walked home. It was only a couple of blocks in a safe town. Unlike what she read about big cities, if she screamed for any reason, all the porch lights would pop on and people would stick their heads out to see if anyone needed help. Sometimes she got home to find her mom and Mac on the porch, talking and holding hands.

Tonight Stu locked the diner door behind her and said goodbye. She’d barely taken two steps when she heard, “Ashley?”

She just about jumped out of her skin! She whirled to see that right behind her, Downy was leaning against one of the lampposts on the street, not far from the diner’s front door. “Oh, my God, you scared me!”

“Sorry, Ash,” he said, stepping toward her. He had his arm in a sling. “I just wanted to see you.”

“What happened?” she asked, nodding toward the sling.

“Nothing too much. Dislocated shoulder. I’m resting it for a couple of days, then it’ll be fine.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Nah, it’s okay. Ash, listen, I’m sorry. About everything.”

She felt color rising up her neck. Then she realized it was anger and not self-pity and that felt so good. “Is that right? Well, it’s over.” And she turned to head for home.

“Wait a sec,” he said. “Can we talk? For just a minute?”

She turned back to him. “What on earth can we talk about, Downy? You’re sorry, it’s over, we’re done.”

“No, look,” he said. “I made mistakes, all right?”

“No kidding! Crap, why didn’t Frank tell me you were going to be home?”

“I just got here a couple of hours ago. I’m not sure Frank even knew I was coming.”

“And you’re going right back, right? Because you’re staying at school all summer....”

He gave a pathetic shrug. “Plans change. I’m home for the summer.”

“Well, the girlfriend must hate that.”

“We broke up,” he said. “Ash, I made some bad decisions. Really bad. I need you to listen to me.”

She shook her head. “I really don’t care what bad decisions you made. You didn’t care about me, about my feelings, about anything. Do you really think I’m going to worry about you now? Just go home. Your mommy will snuggle you, not me!”

“I got cut from the team. My scholarship’s in trouble. I might not have one anymore. I couldn’t play and then we lost. Maybe not because of me, but I wasn’t there to help. And they’re all pissed.”

“Cut?” she said, curious in spite of herself. “Pissed? How could they be angry if you got hurt?”

“I didn’t get hurt playing. I was mad and went to a batting cage and swung a bat for hours and hours and got unhinged.”

It didn’t make any sense to her. “Why’d they cut you, then?”

He looked down and shook his head. He tilted his head to the bench. “Will you sit down with me?”

“No,” she said. “You can sit there and I’ll sit over here. But only for a minute. And only because I’m curious.”

He sat down on one side of the diner door while she was on the other. And they just looked at each other. Finally she said, “Well, what? What do you want to tell me?”

“That girl, Selena. She seriously messed me up.”

“Oh, brother,” Ashley said, standing up.

“No, really.” He stood, as well, wisely keeping his distance. “She gave me pills she said were vitamins, supplement drinks for strength, but there were steroids in them. Low dose, oral steroids. I kept them in my locker because why wouldn’t I? Then someone accused me of using performance enhancers. They looked at the pills, tested me for doping and...everything came crashing down. It’s all a big misunderstanding. I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong. It’s not like I injected it.”

“Bullshit,” she said. Ashley looked at him in astonishment for a second. Then she laughed. She put a hand over her mouth.

“You think that’s funny?”

“No,” she said. “I think it’s a lie. Or maybe an excuse. I know you, Downy. You know steroids—you’ve used them in the past. They’re not illegal—my grandmother takes steroids for her knees. I think you told me the doctor gave one of your little brothers growth hormone because they were behind in growth. Or sometimes you can find small, supposedly safe amounts or protein drinks that are supposed to have nonsteroid enhancers, but they sure act like steroids—they bulk you up and make you cranky and short-tempered. We’ve argued about it. You like that stuff—you like being really strong. You’re addicted to being strong. She didn’t slip anything by you.”

He shook his head. “She said it was undetectable. She gave it to me in a vitamin pill bottle.”

“Right. But you knew.”

He looked at her pleadingly. “I knew I shouldn’t, but there were rumors about being an early draft pick and I wanted to hit everything, catch everything, run faster.... I felt like it was a chance, a safe chance, that wouldn’t hurt anyone and would make me just a little better. I wanted that break so bad, Ash!”