Page 7 of Pit Stop

Six

Tillman

After school I catch up with Axell and we take the bus back to his house. Axell is unusually quiet, and when we reach his house, I can tell he’s hesitant by the way he’s almost refusing to go inside. “Hey, are you okay?” I ask.

He looks away and stares off into the distance for a long time. Finally, he looks back at me, his face solemn. “My mom has cancer.”

My entire world shifts on its axis. Annie James has been more like a mother to me than anyone else in this world. The idea of her being sick in any form is almost too much to bear. I have a million questions, but based on the distraught look on Axell’s face, this isn’t the right time for questions. There are no words to ease the worry in his mind. I have nothing to give to him. “She’ll get some treatment then be good as new.”

“Yeah, if Dad can afford it. They just had Jovi, plus the four of us. His health insurance is good, but I’m not sure it’sthatgood. She smiles and puts on a brave face, but I know she has to be worried. I am.” Axell’s shoulders sag.

A plan forms in my head. “I have to go but it’ll all be okay. You’ll see.” I turn on my heel and take off in a jog. It’s a good hour before I reach the SK district, but as soon as I do my walk turns into a full-on run. I reach the run mill in no time. Basically, a run mill is just another term for a drug den. All of the drugs that the SK deals in are made and distributed here. The run mill is this large, two-story house. It’s a simple white-sided house with chipped baby blue shutters. The wrap-around porch has seen better days, you have to be careful where you step. The wood is old and worn-out in a lot of places. A porch swing dangles from one side, the other resting on the porch itself. The house just looks like a typical family home in the area. Perfectly run down to fit in with everything around it, but inside is another story. Emmet and all the big wigs of the SK operate from here. The basement is where most of the drugs are made and placed in shipments, expertly hidden in the last places you’d look. There are some tunnels connecting this house to a few others throughout the next few blocks. I don’t deal with the drug part of the SK, thankfully, but I’ve been here enough to get how it works. As I enter, I quickly turn and head up the staircase. Once I reach the second floor, I head directly for what would be the master bedroom but is now Emmet’s office. I don’t bother knocking.

When the door opens Emmet looks up, Boris and another man whose name I can’t remember all turn to look at me. Emmet studies me for a moment. I can see the agitation on his face but whatever he sees on mine makes him turn to the men. “Please, give us a moment.” They rise and leave the room. Emmet motions for me to close the door. I do and make my way towards him. “I hope that you have a very good reason for interrupting my meeting. Also, it would be wise to knock before barging into my office next time.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m not really thinking right now. I need help. I need your help. There’s no one else I can go to.” My words are strangled from lack of air. My mouth and throat suddenly parched beyond belief.

Emmet stands up. “What’s wrong, Tillman?” I quickly explain my friendship with Axell and how I’ve always viewed his family as my own. Emmet listens quietly, never interrupting. “You want help for this mother of his that you consider a mother as well, is that correct?”

I nod my head. “Yes, sir. Please. I’ll do anything until the debt is paid off.”

He waves his hand in a dismissive fashion. “The money is of no issue, but I am curious how you plan to explain where this money has come from.”

“I was just going to pay it anonymously.”

“That could work, but you do realize this is a large sum of money? A sum that could leave you indebted to the SK for an unforeseeable time.” I can already read the eagerness in his eyes. While I’m thankful to Emmet for giving me the opportunity he has, I don't trust him at all. My plan has always been to stay as long as I had to, save money, then get the hell out.

“I know, sir. I’m willing to do that for them.”

Emmet studies me once more and before finally nodding his head. “Then consider this loan approved. You need to be here tonight at sundown. You start paying off the debt then.”

My gut twists with nerves as I stand up. “I’ll be here and thank you.”

It would take me a total of almost ten years to pay off the debt I owed to the SK for Annie’s treatments. Treatments that didn’t save her life at the end of it. It would cost me my friendship with Axell when he found out what I had been up to. I wouldn’t get the chance to explain my involvement with the SK until years later when we ended up at the same race. I sought him out after losing everything I had ever known.

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