Page 47 of Go the Long Way

I know

You okay?

[Ethan|Today — 7:46 am]

He's a KID. He's one of my students. I swear I would NEVER

I believe you

You wanna call?

Incoming call from[Ethan Hillsman ]…

? Accept

? Deny

"Did Alex see it?" were Ethan's first words, blurted out in a big rush as soon as the video call connected.

He was sitting in his kitchen looking like death warmed twice over in a microwave. His hair was ruffled, with little spikes marching through the dark strands here and there. As if he’d been absently twisting the locks repeatedly in frustration; an old self-soothing habit he'd had for at least as long as Jakob had known him.

He took in the hunched shoulders of his friend; the furrows etched heavily into his brow. Despite the early morning sunlight streaming in through the big window to the right of him, Ethan's eyes were dull and flat instead of their usual warm brown. His face was ashen and worn under his natural tones, covered in a dark unshaven stubble.

The scruff looked good on him; despite the circumstances, Jakob found himself appreciating the rumpled, slightly wild image Ethan presented on Jakob's laptop screen.

Not the time,he reminded himself.

"Yeah," Jakob answered with a sigh. He glanced up through his own kitchen window towards the path between the house and the main stable, where he could hear the faint sound of laughter.

He could make out an animatedly chatting Cassie leading an uncertain Alex, probably to go feed the horses and let him meet the animals.

She was pointing at something she had seen, but Jakob couldn't tell what from this angle. Whatever it was, it seemed to interest Alex; his hunched shoulders loosening slightly at whatever she had said.

"They woke me up with the news," Jakob elaborated, turning his attention back to the man on the screen in front of him. "Alex had some half-baked plan to take my car and… well… Not positive he had gotten any further than that, really. Just that he wanted to help you. Though I'm not sure how getting himself wrapped around a tree on the way is exactly helpful. Did you know he doesn't even have a license?"

Ethan blew out a big breath, his expression relaxing at the chance to worry about someone other than himself for a moment.

He had never taken well to being the center of attention. It made him nervous, Ethan always said. He'd always preferred to be a supporter; help others solve their problems, rather than have that spotlight be focused on his own.

Sometimes — far too often, in fact — at the expense of himself.

"Yeah," Ethan replied, a frustrated look on his face. "I did. He said his Dad wouldn't give him lessons himself, and couldn't — or wouldn't — pony up for the school's driver's ed fees. And if Alex lived in any of those places where they've got a half-decent public transportation system, it wouldn't be a problem. But Chance's Harbor? You need a car to get anywhere around here. It… it set him back a bit with the other kids in his class, with his friends. Not that he has too many of those, really. Not anymore."

"Maybe his dad's on a budget?" Jakob hazarded doubtfully.

"Naw, not being able to afford the fees or have the time or ability to teach Alex himself is one thing. We've got plenty of students like that," Ethan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Few of us in the school pass the hat around; even a couple of parents too sometimes. We usually manage to scrape together enough to help cover the costs of those kids who need it."

"That's good of you."

"Yeah, well… Alex's dad wouldn't even sign the permission slip when we offered to pay the fee for him," Ethan said as the frustration in his expression darkened to an outright scowl. "Got all indignant, barged into the school, flashed his badge and screamed in some student teacher's face about how it was none of her business. Accused her of trying to corrupt his son, 'usurping his parental authority' and… something about Alex not needing to go anywhere on his own without supervision. Poor woman was in tears by the end of it, from what she told me later. It was only her second day, working with a completely different grade on the other side of the building; she’d never even met the kid."