Bitter Farewell (6 page)

After riding what for what felt like hours, Danny finally came to a stop. He took the helmet off and killed the bike. He took a few deep breaths, finally feeling at some kind of peace, deep away from the world. Nobody could find him, probably. And that left Danny with the question as to whether he could find his way back.

He smiled, loving the idea of a challenge. It would keep his mind off his father. Off Bakersville.

Off everything.

He tired to picture what the wake and funeral were going to be like and it bothered Danny. Would people come out to pay respects to his father? Or to have a chance at seeing Chasing Cross? And he wasn’t sure if his father even deserved a funeral. Maybe he should have been thrown into a hole and buried without even a headstone. The emotions tore at Danny. He wanted answers to things that would never have answers. There were too many people dead in the situation and on top of that, time had moved along far enough that those remaining in pain should have been healed. Johnnie appeared healed, ready to pay a quick respect and jump on a plane to get life back to normal. To relax, to play, to prepare for the next leg of the tour.

But time seemed to have stopped in Bakersville in terms of emotion.

Danny sighed and leaned back against a tree. He closed his eyes and wished he could just fall asleep for a little while to let his mind rest. The sounds of the woods were soothing. Birds chirping and animals rustling in the leaves and sticks. Then he heard a eerily familiar sound.

A motor.

A growling motor.

Danny opened his eyes.

He listened some more.

It was getting closer.

It was another dirt bike.

Danny smiled, thinking about who it could be. He knew it was ridiculous... more than a decade had gone by...

The bike sounded close.

Danny squinted through the trees and caught a quick glimpse of red.

A red helmet.

Danny hurried to put his helmet on and kicked at his bike. It fired up on the first try and he started to move. A few seconds later, the red helmet - and red dirt bike - flew by him. Danny peeled and turned, hurrying to catch up with the mystery rider. When he managed to get along side the other bike, he looked and nodded, trying to figure out who it was. The other rider but wore goggles, blocking his eyes. He nodded back at Danny and revved his bike, taking a small lead.

Now Danny was interested even more.

He looked straight ahead and gauged where he was. There was a thick patch of trees ahead and at the last second, Danny darted to the right, remembering a small deer run that used to be there. It went downhill a few feet and over a small creek. As luck would have it, the path and creek were still intact, along with a perfectly sized log that allowed Danny to jump the creek. The bike wasn’t airborne more than a second, but to Danny he could have been jumping between skyscrapers. His heart raced as did the bike. He climbed the small hill and found the other bike.

He was still right on its tail, a few feet away.

Danny moved left and crept up next to the bike again. The other rider looked and quickly gave Danny a thumbs up.

Danny pushed harder with his dirt bike, moving forward foot by foot. The other bike started to veer right and Danny followed. He let the bike take the lead. The rider pointed down a few times and then stood up. A second later the first bike hit a small divot  and bounced. Danny managed to do the same right before hitting the small hole. If he hadn’t stood up, it would have hurt his backside like hell.

The front bike then took off a little and made a sudden left turn, throwing leaves and mud everywhere. It sped up again, going up a hill. Danny wasn’t able to make the same turn and when he tried to go, his back tire sunk into a mud puddle.

“Shit!” Danny cried in his helmet.

The first bike stopped and turned, waiting at the top.

Danny looked up at the other rider and shook his head.

No way, he didn’t want help.

No way.

Danny eased the bike out of the mud puddle and then moved up the hill at an angle. It definitely ruined the fun effect of being able to go straight up a hill, but a minute later, Danny was at the top and the first bike took the lead again. Danny quickly recognized right where he was. This was where the woods connected with the Hartley property. In fact, they were probably on the land by then. Danny darted to the right again and managed to grab the lead from the first bike. If he could get to the tree line, he could ride along the property line between the trees and grass and really get some speed on the dirt bike.

Danny pushed and rode, looking back once at the bike behind him. The rider shook his head and Danny nodded.

Come get me...
Danny thought.

The other bike started to creep up, inch by inch, just like Danny had to do a few minutes ago. Danny looked to his side and the rider shook his head again. Danny nodded again, thinking it was some kind of game. The rider then pointed forward and a second later slammed his brakes. Danny let off the throttle and looked forward just in time to see a split rail fence. The bike had slowed down a little, but it was too late. Danny hit the fence, crashed through it, and lost control. A second later, he rolled on the ground, grunting, right in the backyard of the Hartley property.

(6)

When he came to a stop he stared at the sky, catching his breath.

“Holy shit! Are you okay?”

Danny blinked a few times and moved his arms and legs.

Yeah, he was fine.

He looked at the other rider, now standing over him without a helmet.

“Jeff? Is that you...?”

“Yeah, who are you?”

Danny sat up and took his helmet off and dropped it next to him.

Jeff looked shocked and took a step back.

“Holy... shit... Danny...” Danny put a hand out and Jeff shook it. “I heard you were coming back, but I didn’t think...”

“You still ride?” Danny asked.

“Of course.”

“Are you going to keep shaking my hand or help me up?”

“Oh. Sorry. Yeah.”

Jeff pulled and Danny stood up. He bent his legs and arms again, then stretched his neck.

“That was insane man,” Jeff said. “I was wondering what the hell you were doing going straight for the fence.”

“Wasn’t there last time I rode,” Danny laughed.

“Yeah, it was just put up last summer.”

Danny walked over to the wooden stakes on the ground. He had broken two in half and knocked a bunch more over.

“If that was any other fence,” Jeff trailed off. “Man, you were lucky there.”

Danny took another deep breath and turned to Jeff again. He pulled him in for a hug.

“How’s it going man?” Danny asked.

“Great. I own property five miles back. Married with two little boys of my own.”

“Who’d you marry?” Danny asked.

He smiled but his heart twisted.
Don’t be her... don’t be her...

“Remember Mary?”

“Of course I remember Mary,” Danny said. “Christ, we were all in the same group of friends.”

“Yeah, I married her sister.”

Danny stepped back. “You married Janet?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Happened right after high school actually. Something just clicked, you know? We dated... we got serious... she got pregnant...”

“Good for you,” Danny said.

He sighed in relief of everything. He hadn’t thought about the fact that maybe
she
might be married, or have kids. In his mind, time should have waited for him to come back. But that was ridiculous. And greedy.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Jeff said.

“I can’t believe I ruined this fence,” Danny said. “Mrs. Hartley is going to be pissed, right?”

Jeff shook his head. “No, man. She’s gone. She passed.”

“Well, who lives here then?”

“That’s sort of a funny story,” Jeff said.

Danny looked at Jeff and saw him as the short fat kid he used to be. He was still on the husky side but had grown tall enough to make him look thick and built. Put it this way, Danny wouldn’t want to pick a fight with Jeff in a bar, or anywhere for that matter.

“What’s funny about it?” Danny asked.

“Why don’t you grab your bike and we’ll go for a walk.”

Danny nodded and looked down for his helmet. That’s when he saw the large red stain near the right knee on his jeans.

“Oh, shit,” he whispered.

He took a step and felt the pain.

The shock of the crash and the shock of seeing Jeff must have numbed him for a minute or two.

“Oh, damn,” Jeff said. “Sit down, man.”

Danny plopped back down to the soft grass and looked at his dirt bike. He started to laugh, finally feeling alive for the first time since Chasing Cross left the stage at the cancer benefit show.

Even as Danny pulled up his jeans and felt the rough cloth rubbing against an obvious open wound, he still smiled and tried to laugh. The pain was hell, but it only lasted a few seconds.

“What are you laughing about?” Jeff asked.

“Just thinking about being kids again,” Danny said. He looked up at Jeff. “You ever do that?”

“All the time, man,” Jeff said. “Watching my kids grow up. Digging holes. Collecting worms. Breaking bones. It almost makes me jealous of them. I’m the one who can drive, smoke, drink, do whatever I want and yet I’m jealous of two kids...”

“It’s the innocence,” Danny said. “It’s the feeling that nothing can hurt you and even when it does, you know someone will be there to fix it.”

“So true.”

Danny looked at the damage on his leg. A nice big gash just under his knee, leaking blood like a broken faucet.

“That needs a little work,” Jeff said.

“Yeah, I figured that,” Danny said.

He used the rolled up portion of his jeans to touch the wound and wipe it, wanting to see how deep the cut was. Lucky for him it wasn’t much of anything at all. Just a big cut.

“Can you walk on it?” Jeff asked.

Danny stretched his leg out and watched the blood drip. “I’m sure I can but it’s going to bleed the entire ride home. If the bike will start up again...”

“Isn’t that
The
Destroyer
?”

Danny laughed. “Yeah, it is. I was just thinking about that when I found the bike.”

Danny got to his feet again and felt pain but it was manageable. The only problem was getting back to the house with blood dripping like it was.

“Hey, uh, Danny,” Jeff said. “I’m not good with this stuff, so let me just say it once. I’m sorry about the old man.”

Danny looked at Jeff and nodded. “Thanks.”

“I know you and him always had... whatever... but, uh, it still sucks. I’m sorry about it.”

“I appreciate that Jeff.”

“Which brings me to the next uncomfortable point...”

“Which is?”

Jeff looked at the broken fence and then to Danny’s bike. He walked to it and picked it up.

“Doesn’t look damaged,” Jeff said.

“Jeff, talk to me,” Danny said.

Jeff opened his mouth as a third voice entered the conversation.

“Hey! Everyone okay?!”

Danny looked to the back of the Hartley residence and saw a figure standing on the back deck. He squinted, closed his eyes for a second, then squinted again.

Can’t be
...
he thought.

“Jeff...”

“Danny, she bought the house,” Jeff said. “She lives here.”

“She,” Danny whispered.

Of course it would be
she
. The only
she
that mattered to Danny.

Danny took a step, ignoring the pain. He took another. Then another. As
she
came into view, another dose of his broken past started to come to life again.

“Please tell me it’s her,” Danny said.

Jeff hurried to catch up to Danny and touched his shoulder. “Yeah, man, it’s her. It’s Liv...”

Liv.

The love of his life.

The one he loved first.

The one he swore he would love forever.

The one he left.

Liv.

**

Liv heard the bikes and for a second thought she was still imagining the sound of them. There had been a time when hearing that sound drove her wild. Those were the times when her parents were desperate to keep their baby girl a baby yet never pulled too hard on the reigns to hold her back. They weren’t afraid to speak their peace about her boyfriends and as ironic as it was, the one who fit the cliché of bad boy rockstar was the one her father took to.