Race to Recovery (Full Throttle) (4 page)

“Nothing worse than a little whiplash and the occasional sprain.”

“Then you’re either lucky or really good at driving. Tell me, what does your father do?”

“Farms potatoes.”

“And your mother?”

“Same thing.”

“Anyone else in the family?”

“I have a kid sister and I don’t want to talk about her.”

“That’s fine. So why’d you tell your brother and nobody else about your problem? Did you think they wouldn’t help?”

“My father would have kicked me out on my ass with nothing. My manager would have walked away and found another driver to represent. My sister and I aren’t talking; she’s turned her back on me. My mom might have helped a little until my father found out and put an end to that. So no, I don’t think they would have helped at all.”

“You seem pretty certain.”

“I know my family.”

“But your brother helped.”

“Yeah.”

“I guess you two are close.”

Brant shrugged.

“Okay, today was just an evaluation so, before I get into the nitty-gritty stuff I’ll let you go for the day. I want to see you for half an hour to an hour every other day for five visits and then we’ll re-evaluate. Let’s say at one pm starting in two days.”

“Why so much?”

“Five visits is the minimum required to earn an ‘all-clear’ from one of the staff doctors. I thought you’d want to get them out of the way as quickly as possible.”

“Of course I do. I’d rather not talk at all.”

“I can tell. Well, I won’t harass you anymore today. I’ll see you in two days and we’ll talk about cravings and symptoms and way to combat them. All right?”

“Yeah. Whatever.” Brant ignored the offered hand and walked out of the office closing the door hard enough to emphasize his displeasure.

He crossed paths with Seth and an orderly in the hallway. “You could have warned me they wanted to see me,” Seth quipped.

“Can it,” Brant growled without stopping.

Seth watched him disappear and shook his head before entering the office indicated by the orderly. There was a professionally dressed man waiting for him.

He smiled and offered Seth a hand. “Seth, right? I’m Dr. Keaton.”

“I didn’t realize I needed treatment too,” Seth said, shaking his hand.

Dr. Keaton was far more receptive of Seth’s humour than Brant, or even Dr. Hurd. “No, no treatment, I promise. Have a seat. Did you want some coffee?”

“No, thank-you. What is this about? Is Brant in trouble already?”

“No, nothing like that. We offer support to the family members who come regularly to help the patients with their recovery so if you have any questions or need any help, we’re here.”

“That’s good to know. I was feeling a little out of my depth with Brant. He sort of dragged me into this without warning.”

“I can’t say I blame you. Tell me, is he always this belligerent or is this something brought on by the drugs?”

“Oh no, that’s just Brant. He’s been like that since he turned sixteen and Dad put him in a stock car for the first time. You get used to it.”

“He said you’re the only one who knows about his addiction. Is there anyone else who can help you help him?”

“Chloe’s the only one who might take this in stride, Chloe’s our younger sister, but they had a falling out and won’t have anything to do with each other.”

“So you’re all the support he has?”

“Yeah. I’m used to it though. I’m his mechanic, I solve all his problems with his car and he thinks that means I’ll solve all his life problems too.” Seth shrugged. “I’m not making this harder for him by saying these things, am I?”

“On the contrary, now that I know his attitude is normally that bad I won’t try to cure him of it. I won’t keep you. Let me just give you this booklet to read over. I’m free in the mornings, most of the time, if you have any questions or concerns.”

“If I do I’ll come looking for you. Oh, and don’t take offense to Brant, he’s not that bad.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And Seth, addicts only get better if they choose it, we can’t force it on them.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with Brant. No one can make him do anything that’s not his idea, that’s just who he is. Thanks for the booklet.”

* * * *

Seth and Brant spent the rest of the day in the walled garden at Seth’s suggestion.
At least out here Brant’s bitching isn’t as overwhelming. And the cold isn’t so severe here, not like at the farm. The winds get so cold near Sturgis. It’s like a little reprieve before going home and dealing with the inevitable snow.

Brant had been complaining about the selection of groceries Seth had bought, the cool breeze, the brightness of the sun, his own general sense of boredom, and the stupidity of Dr. Keaton. Seth, for his part, tuned out most of the ranting, making non-committal, thought mostly sympathetic, noises at appropriate times.

When Brant fell into a silence that lasted longer than a minute or two Seth’s attention perked and he looked around. There was no one else in the garden that he could see, no sudden change in the weather, no wildlife, and yet something had caught his brother’s attention. A second, slower, visual sweep of the surrounding area revealed nothing in the garden but Seth could see a pale figure through one of the main floor windows.

“Hey, isn’t that the girl you were talking to this morning?”

“I was trying to talk to her but you scared her off.”

“I don’t think she wanted to talk to you in the first place, Brant. I didn’t scare her off; I just gave her the opportunity to leave.”

“Can it, Seth,” Brant snapped. He got up and stormed back inside. As soon as the screen door snapped shut behind him his
demeanor
changed from despondent to timidly hopeful. He made his way through the building to the library. Hovering in the doorway he didn’t see anyone.
Did I miss her? I didn’t pass her on my way here.

The soft sound of a book being placed back on a shelf drew him around to the far side where she stood reading the back of a paperback novel. He took a deep breath and said, “They have a pretty impressive library here.”

She jumped like he had hurled insults at her at full volume and she took a step back.

He pulled a random book off the shelf and smiled at her. “I’m sorry I keep startling you. I saw you at breakfast this morning; I never got your name.”

She clutched the book to her chest. “If you’re looking for … for …
anything
talk to Penny. I’m not interested.” Her voice shook and it was so quiet he wasn’t sure he’d really caught every word.

“I’ve met Penny. She’s a horribly dense and abrasive woman. I’m not looking for
anything
, I promise.”

“I’m sorry.” She shook her head and stepped back again. “I don’t want any trouble, or any friends.”

“I’d just like to know your name. Please?”

There was something in the way he said ‘please’, something so honest, so free of any attempt to manipulate or cajole her that for a split second she stopped shaking and looked him in the eye. “I’m Alice.”

“Hi, Alice, I’m Brant.”

“I know. That’s a romance novel you’re holding.”

He gave the book a sharp look and jammed it back on the shelf. When he looked back she had already slipped away.

* * * *

As soon as Brant had stormed away Seth moved closer to the window. The pale blonde intrigued him, if only because Brant seemed obsessed with her.
She looks so frightened; I wonder what scared her so badly that she won’t even talk to anyone.
He saw her jump and thought she’d seen him but then he noticed his brother. He wanted the scene unfold, without sound, and he wanted to reach through the window and tell his brother to piss off and leave the poor girl alone.

Doesn’t he see how scared she is?
he thought as she hugged the book to her chest.
She looks like she’s being attacked by the class bully.

When she finally managed to give Brant the slip Seth headed for the door with a sigh.
Brant’s going to be twice as bitchy now.

But the Brant Seth found in the common room, headed for the stairs, didn’t look angry, he looked energetic and determined. “Seth, did you see her? Did she go your way?”

“Did I see who?” Seth asked though he was pretty sure he already knew.

“That blonde girl from the dining room this morning. Alice. Her name is Alice.”

“Brant, slow down. Dr. Hurd said no romantic or sexual relationships, remember?”

“I just want to talk to her, since when is that romantic or sexual? Can you help me find her?”

“If I were her I’d be in one of two places: the girls’ washroom or my bedroom.”

“Why?”

“Because those are the two places you can’t follow. Now give it a rest. Let’s go check out the entertainment room.”

“I just came from there. They have two treadmills, two stationary bikes, and two televisions, one of which is playing soap operas right now. I’m just going to look upstairs, okay?”

“Brant!” It was no use; he was already taking the stairs two at a time. Seth sighed and settled onto a vacant couch to wait.

The redhead came in from the garden and smiled at him. He smiled politely back and looked down at his watch. When he looked up again she had settled beside him on the couch. “Hi there, I’m Penny. Who’s the surly fellow I saw you with last night?”

“Uh, that’s my brother.”

“Oh good I thought maybe you two were a couple.”

“No, definitely not.”

“Relax, I’m just teasing. At least he’s not that bad looking. What brings your brother here?”

“Same as everyone else here—addiction.”

“It takes all types you know. What was it? Dope? Coke? Meth? I had a friend who was hooked on Meth, that’s not pretty. Poor thing looked like a skeleton, and she couldn’t stop shaking.”

“I think if he wants you to know that he’ll tell you about it. It’s really not my place, excuse me.”

She caught his arm. “Don’t go. I’ll stop prying, I promise. It’s just so nice to have a new face around here. That little mouse of a girl was the last one to check in. She showed up two weeks ago with nothing but the clothes on her back and they were shabby, like she was homeless or something disgusting like that. Once of the kitchen ladies had to bring her clothes.

“I don’t know how she can afford to be here but it wouldn’t surprise me if she was paying on her back. Those doctors make a big show of not staring at our curves, not that she has any to speak of, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t let a bed warmer like her in to spice up their working day. I’m not naïve; I know how the world works.”

“You don’t even know the poor woman’s name and you’re spreading this garbage around like it’s gospel. Maybe you know how this world works because you’ve paid your way on your back before but ….”

The slap across his face cut him short. “How dare you call me a whore?!”

“At least I said it to your face, which is more than I can say for you, Penny. Stop talking shit about people you don’t know.”