“It’s not worth it,” I say, keeping my voice quiet so the bullies don’t hear us.
“That was my favorite pole!” Kat protests.
“Even the dead fish can’t cover up your trash smell,” Henry taunts.
His goon breaks my fishing pole, too, and Katelyn audibly moans. Katelyn likes to believe we’re all on equal ground and attempts to climb out like she’ll go toe to toe with Henry Shaw. But I understand there is no even ground beneath our feet, and while my fear will always be an excommunication, Henry’s only worry is saving face. I have a lot to lose, while Henry is ever-protected by his privileged circumstances. He won’t lose anything, no matter how atrocious his behavior.
Kat charges up the hill, sopping wet and shaking with rage. I scurry behind her, readying myself to jump in and keep her safe from assholes who aren’t afraid to throw punches at girls.
“Remember they’re armed,” I tell Kat as she passes me.
“I can’t believe you’re such a low life that you’ve got to leech off my family for everything. Catch a hint. Leave! Go get a job and live your own life, you loser. We’ll never get your stench out of Wainscott Hollow!” Henry taunts me.
“Don’t listen to him, Heath. If anything, you’re the glue that keeps this family together,” Kat says loud enough for them to hear her.
“Come on, Shaw, they’re just fishing. Let’s go. It’s not cool to fuck with your sister like that,” one of his friends says.
I recognize him as Eddie Lind, a guy Henry hangs around with at Fairmont Academy, one of the only ones who doesn’t seem like a total idiot. I barely know the guy, but he usually goes out of his way to greet Kat and me in the hallways. He doesn’t act as entitled as the rest and therefore stands out in a sea of wealthy douchebags.
“Fuck off, Eddie. It’s none of your business.” Henry turns his ire on his minion.
“Like, you think this is having a good time? Harassing your sister and your step-brother or whatever? I’d rather husk corn, to be honest.”
Henry’s rage is uncontainable. He turns it on Eddie, forgetting momentarily about tormenting us. He attacks his friend, throwing punches like a tornado and catches the poor guy off guard.
“Henry, stop!” Kat screams at her brother.
Eddie is on the ground, blood gushing from his newly broken nose. He backs away from Henry, pushing his sneakers into the gravel to create distance between himself and the psychopath as he slides along the gravel. The Lind kid is loaded like the rest of them, and I’m sure his parents paid a pretty penny for the nose. Realization dawns on Henry’s thuggish face, and he summons his remaining brethren away from the scene.
“Fuck these losers. Let’s get out of here!” His remaining trio of friends throw conflicted glances our way before taking off running.
Kat is kneeling by Eddie, offering a clean fishing rag his way. She gets right in and pinches the bridge of his nose, telling him to tilt his head back. Blood doesn’t scare her. “My brother’s a jack-ass. A first-class moron.”
Lind just rolls his head and moans.
I kneel beside her, and up close, I can see that the poor, rich jock’s nose is broken. When I try to sit him up, he’s dead weight in my arms, and his eyes roll back in his head. Probably a concussion to boot. Henry is an idiot. What’s he thinking, turning on his own? He’s about to be in a butt load of trouble.
The task at hand is to get this kid to a hospital. But Kat and I came on bikes, so there’s no chance we can get him back to Wainscott Hollow ourselves. What would we do, carry him?
“I think we have to call an ambulance,” I tell Kat.
“What the hell are we going to say happened to him? We can’t do that because they’ll think it’s you, Heath. Cops are biased, and Wainscott Hollow still sees you as an outsider even though you’re legally adopted. What if they throw you in jail? It will be your word against Henry, and he’ll no doubt throw you under the bus.”
“What other choice do we have?”
“Leave him here and report it anonymously when we get home?” Kat suggests. But even she doesn’t seem convinced by her plan. We both know he could pass out and suffocate in his own blood.
“He stood up for us. It doesn’t feel right to leave him bleeding out on a bridge. What if they can’t find him?” I’ve already got my phone and Kat nods in agreement. Just because Henry is a soulless coward who only knows how to lash out in anger doesn’t mean Kat and I can’t do the right thing.
“Hello, this is Heath Clifton and Katelyn Shaw. We’re out on Millcreek bridge, and we need an ambulance for a friend who’s suffered a broken nose and possibly a concussion.”
Kat looks at me with so much trust and appreciation in her eyes that my heart swells with pride.
Waiting for help to arrive seems like hours. Kat sits on the ground with Eddie’s head in her lap. I know it’s purely functional and platonic, but my gut twists in jealousy. I mentally scold myself about her being my sister, though Kat has always been more than a sister to me.
I’ve cleaned all the remaining fish, packed the filets away in a cooler, stored all of our gear, and left the site cleaner than we found it, except for the crimson stains of Eddie’s blood on the dusty ground.
The ambulance barely fits down the old Millcreek dirt road, and it ambles along without sirens or any sense of real urgency. The EMT takes Eddie’s vitals and asks if he ever regained consciousness after the blow.
