Page 2 of Mountain Freedom
She nodded slowly, keeping her head down.
Russell chuckled. “That’s right. I didn’t know I had it in me until I married her.” He put a hand on my shoulder, like he was sharing a moment of wisdom with his son.
I wanted to pull away and run from it, but I didn’t.
“I still believe there’s hope for you, young Jackson. We’ve just got to find a girl who’ll teach you how to get angry. Someone who’ll bring out that Sharp blood, finally make a man of you. All women are the same. Don’t matter how charming they are at first. Get you a woman and it won’t be long before you realize what real anger is.” He threw a disgusted look toward Mom, who never looked up, even as her cheeks turned red and her hands trembled.
I nodded, hoping he’d end his speech soon. I’d heard it before, but I was wise enough not to say so—or to mention what a contradiction he was, taking pride in his violence but also blaming it on my mother.
He studied me, then changed tack. “Enough of that. You’re on a deadline. Got to deliver these supplies in a hurry.” He grabbed the brown paper package he had sitting behind the door and shoved it into my hands.
“The usual place?”
“That’s right. And hurry now, or I’m liable to get impatient.”
“Yes, sir.”
He tugged my ear hard, for good measure. It hurt, but from him? It was practically a sign of affection. “Get going now.”
Later that night,when the sun had already set behind the trees, I snuck out of the trailer and made my way down the wooded pathway to the creek. I saw Allison long before she everheard me. The moonlight caught on her blonde hair as she sat by the water’s edge, hugging her knees, a solitary bright spot in the dark landscape.
I came up behind her and tugged on her pigtail before plopping down next to her.
“Oh, Jackson.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “I didn’t hear you walking up.”
“I’ve learned to be quiet,” I said, forcing a chuckle.
“Are you okay?” She turned to me, those serious eyes studying mine, looking for signs of injury—physical or otherwise.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just had to deliver a package for him.”
Her face turned to disgust. She knew how much I despised being forced to help Russell with his drug business. “I’m sorry. But I’m glad that’s all it was.”
“Me too.” I searched her face, realizing I might be okay, but she wasn’t. “What’s going on?”
She groaned. “Daddy has a poker game tonight. You know how Mama gets about that.”
“Big fight?”
Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away. “Yep. But it won’t matter. It never changes anything.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, wishing I could make it all better somehow.
She sighed, turning back to stare at the water. “Someday we’ll get out of here. Someday we’ll be free.”
“Free,” I echoed. It was a nice dream. But it didn’t feel real. Freedom wasn’t my future. Russell would make sure of it.
Allison’s voice changed, taking on the dreamy tone it always did when she was imagining something better. “We’ll start a new life far, far away from this place. Somewhere amazing, like New York City or Chicago. We’ll get a cool apartment, and I’ll go to med school. You’ll do something awesome. We’ll start fresh.”
“I hear San Diego’s nice,” I said, playing along.
It was Allison’s favorite game, to dream of a big city life far away from here. I couldn’t imagine leaving Rosemary Mountain, even though I wanted to get a million miles away from Russell. I’d go anywhere if it meant being free from him. But secretly, I doubted that even New York City could be as perfect as this creek bank in the summertime. I didn’t want crowds of people and big shopping malls.
I just wanted her.
She didn’t think of me like that though. Russell was right about that one. Allison was my best friend in the whole world, but she treated me like a brother. We’d grown up side by side, so it was no wonder. She had a boyfriend. She’d even told me about their first kiss, with it never crossing her mind that she might be breaking my heart.
But she was always there when I needed her. She’d drop everything in a heartbeat to be here if she thought I might have a bad night with Russell. And whenever she dreamed of leaving this place, she’d always tell me to come with her. She’d paint a picture of all the fun we’d have wherever we went, and how we’d never have any troubles once we got out of here.
