Debt

Sparky's eyes are drawn into Faith's and he chuckles quietly. "Payment? I'll teach you to ride because I want to, not because I want you to work for it."

Hearing her thanks, he finally breaks his gaze and leans back on the fence, looking towards the main house and dining hall where lights were shining from the windows. "I enjoyed the day too. Most people would get bored with my company, so either you're easily entertained or I actually came up with something interesting enough for you to stick around."

He gives her a sidelong glance, shooting her a wry grin. Straightening, he holds out the crook of his arm. "Join me in the dining hall for supper?"


"Yeah..." Bret sighs. "I know. I guess we both messed up." His voice was much calmer than it had been hours earlier.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you too. You hurt my feelings... but I still shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I just... I guess it brought up some bad memories and I thought I was gonna start losing you because I wasn't doing a good enough job."

He pauses, reaching out to stop Charlotte's fingers from picking at the blanket, and he raises his eyes to meet hers. "I'll be able to drive again in a few weeks... then we'll have more money. Just... don't give up on me, okay? I promise I'll do my best so you won't need for anything and... and you won't have to work."

A fear was in his eyes... a fear that Charlotte would find her independence again and no longer need him. A fear that he would not be good enough anymore. A fear that he would lose what was most precious to him.


Eli lets out a long, weary sigh, but he nods. It was only fair that Ryan knew everything. "Well, I'm not gonna mooch, but I do want to stay... I like being around my family again and I was getting pretty tired of Florida anyway."

Staring to pace again, he wanders to the kitchen to grab himself a beer from the six pack he'd bought a couple days ago. Flipping open the tab, he comes back to the living room and sinks down into the chair again, taking a long sip.

"I got in with the wrong crowd, Ryan. I don't know how, but... it seemed like a good idea at the time. I wanted some extra money to bet on some of the races going on down there, so I thought what the hey... turn a blind eye and don't get caught, what's the harm?" He sighs again. "They had me make a few deliveries. I didn't ask and they didn't tell. Ends up that I place a personal bet with one of these guys and I lose. Problem was, I had bet more money than I had. So... I started paying him little by little. He wasn't satisfied though and at that point, it was either pay him or get a bullet to my head. I started rooming with another guy so my rent wouldn't be so high, and I got the other guy to back down until I could pay him off. I did, but... in the meantime, I wound up owing a bunch of other people because all my money was going towards the thug down the street."

Eli scoffs at himself and takes another sip of beer. "I got bills up the ying yang and it's just getting deeper. Then when I came out here, I didn't actually have but a couple days vacation time. My boss warned me that I had to be back, but coming here was more important. I took a risk and lost. Found out a couple weeks ago that I don't have a job to go back to. So now... I'm in debt up to my gills and I don't have a job."

Tapping a finger on his beer can, Eli finally looks to his sister. He was embarrassed to admit all this. He was supposed to be the strong one... the smart one. "So there you have it, Speedy. This is what your brother has become."