Page 274 of Something Rad
“Step out of the vehicle, please.”
My head snaps in Robbie’s direction, every ounce of blood draining from my face.
“Is that really necessary–”
“Now,” Officer Strothers barks, silencing Robbie.
Robbie blows a breath out of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut once before reaching for the door handle.
My hand shoots out, grabbing his arm. “I– I– Please– Don’t–”
“It’s fine, Cooper,” Robbie insists, cutting off my stammering. He covers my hand with his, giving me a gentle nod. “It’s gonna be fine.”
My hand slips out of his as he pushes his car door open, climbing out.
I don’t even think before I act, throwing my car door open as well.
“Cooper, don’t–”
“Young lady, I’m going to need you to stay where you are,” Officer Strothers says, holding up his hand towards me from the other side of the car.
My mouth falls open, but no actual words come out, every one of them getting stuck in my throat as my eyes stay glued to Robbie.
“What's it gonna be, Officer?” Robbie asks, his voice steady.
Officer Strothers moves to stand directly in front of Robbie, crossing his arms.
“Say the alphabet, backwards, starting with Q.”
“Excuse me?” Robbie says at the same time I think,What?
“Alphabet. Backwards. Q. Tell me the rest.”
“Who the hell can do that?” Robbie demands.
“It’s a standard sobriety test requirement, son,” Office Strothers states, cocking his head. “Are you refusing to participate?”
Robbie lets out a deep sigh, and I can tell he’s fuming on the inside. “Fine,” he says. “Okay, Q. Then, P.Uh…” he trails off, his brows knitting together. “O? Then, um, M–”
“Wrong.” Officer Strothers declares.
“Oh, c’mon man–”
“This line,” the officer says, pointing downwards and cutting off Robbie’s protests. “Walk on it.”
My nails dig into my palm as I watch Robbie straddle the line on the side of the road. I don’t know how confident I am in Robbie’s gracefulness, much less with the current state he’s in.
“One foot in front of the other,” Office Strothers instructs Robbie once he’s in place. “Go.”
I hold my breath as Robbie takes one step, and then another.
He’s golden.
But then the third step comes, and he has to hold his arms out for balance.
He recovers, taking a fourth and fifth step.
And then on the sixth step, he completely wobbles, losing his balance and stepping completely off the line, muttering “Shit.”
