Possessive Coach

Soon enough, more woods appear, growing up tall on either side of the road. David slows the truck down and pulls off the side of the road into a gravel shoulder. There’s not a lot of space, but just enough that the truck is tucked safely into the trees.

David looks at me then looks at Sara. “This is it,” he says.

Sara looks grim. “This is our last chance, right?”

He nods. “Right.” He looks at me and touches my knee. “We can turn back and take him home. This doesn’t have to be a part of it. I think that choice has to be up to you. We can take him into the woods and leave him here, or we can just drive around until he gets over the hump and starts to come down.”

I want to argue. I want to tell him that it’s not my choice, that none of this was my choice. I’m not the one that decided to drug him.

But David’s right. It has to be up to me. This was all started because of the way Erik treated me, and I’m the one that’s been wronged the most. This is on me, and frankly, I want the responsibility.

I turn and look at Erik. He smiles at me, drool running from the corner of his mouth. He grunts a little, paws at the air. He’s deep in his trip and is barely coherent. He waves his hands and rolls his head side to side, like he’s trying to say something but can’t make his mouth form words. He grunts, groans, and doesn’t move a muscle. He’s vulnerable, almost like a little baby. Even though he’s big and strong and muscular, he can’t do anything right now. He should be protected.

“Let’s dump his ass in the woods,” I say.

“Good girl.” David grins and opens his door.

Sara hops out next and I follow. David opens Erik’s door and grabs him under the arms, but Erik manages to get to his feet and stagger along. David helps him stumble along as we all head into the woods, away from the truck.

“We shouldn’t go far,” Sara says. “We don’t want to get lost.”

“I left the lights on.” David glances back. “I can still see them.”

I follow his gaze and sure enough, the truck’s lights are still visible.

“Let’s go until they’re harder to see,” I say.

So we keep stomping along. There’s no path, just a lot of underbrush and thick, tall trees. I don’t know what kind they are, but the forest floor is littered with grass, roots, leaves, sticks, and mud in places. Erik tries to look at a bush and David has to pull him away.

“Amazing,” Erik says. “So much amazing. It’s all together in one, you know?”

Sara recoils. “I didn’t know he could talk.”

“Talking is beyond.” Erik laughs. “Talking is… so beyond.”

“Come on, beyond,” David grunts.

“My angels.” Erik sighs.

The trees begin to get thicker as we move deeper and I lose track of the truck. I hesitate, but we go for another few minutes until we come to a clearing around a large group of rocks. David dumps Erik down at the base of them, and Erik curls into a ball and start to kiss the flat earth.

“So much energy,” he says.

We stand there in a semicircle and stare down at the great football player as he licks dirt.

“What do we do now?” Sara asks.

“Go back,” David says. He crouches down and shoves some money into Erik’s pocket. He touches the other pocket and nods to himself. “He has his phone. He has some cash now. He’ll be fine.”

I bite my lip. “Are you sure this’ll work? I mean, if he dies…”

“He won’t,” David says. “Right, Erik? You won’t go into the street?”

Erik looks up, eyes wide. “No street,” he says. “I have the oneness here in the forest.”

“That’s my boy.” David pats his back and stands up. “Come on, let’s go.”

He walks off. I take one more look at Erik, at pathetic, tripping Erik, and follow David. Sara brings up the rear, and the three of us stomp back to the truck in silence. I step over roots, through leaves and dirt. I stagger through a puddle one time and nearly fall over, but David’s there, holding my arm with a smile on his lips.

Darkness falls over the forest, but we have the light from the truck to guide us back.

We come out of the woods as a group. Nobody speaks as we get into the truck. David sits there, holding the wheel, the engine purring. I turn and look back at Sara and she grins at me.

“Is it fucked up if I’m hungry?” she asks.

I laugh. I can’t help myself. It’s such a crazy thing to say. We just drugged and kidnapped one of the best football players in the country and left him alone in the woods. It’s so funny and insane and wild and I let the laughter bubble up from my chest.