Star Eater
Chapter Twenty-Four

Jeff looked exactly as Link remembered—black hair that curled on the top, the pathetic makings of a wispy beard around his jawline, big, goofy eyes and bigger shoulders. He was wearing a red flannel.

“Dude, you look like a baby lumberjack,” Link said, even as he felt a surge of joy and then a backwash of unease.

“Oh my God, you look uglier than ever,” Jeff said with a laugh. He whooped and grabbed Link in a rough hug.

“What are you doing here?” Link asked.

“I heard the trampoline parks out here were better,” Jeff said, jerking a thumb at the building behind him.

“Seriously, Jeff,” Link said. “I’m risking World War Three with my dad. What’s going on?”

“Wow, okay soldier boy,” Jeff said. “Fall in line that quick? It’s been like two weeks.”

“I’m sorry,” Link said. “I just-”

“Come on, I bought us some tickets already,” Jeff said and walked inside. After a moment’s hesitation, Link followed.

For a while, all of Link’s worries were washed away simply by hanging out with his best friend. They got into a contest doing flips and bouncing into walls, laughing like nothing else mattered. It had always been like this. Together they could take on the world. At least it had felt like this until the world had taken them. Link remembered the arrest. The terror and fear of being put into the back of that cruiser. The way the cops had shoved him around. Not knowing whether he was going to make it out of the police station alive. He never wanted to feel that way again.

As he came down distracted by the memories, Link’s ankle rolled. He winced and bounced awkwardly at an angle. When he came back down again, it was on the next trampoline over, which luckily was empty, and he came down on his back. He let his momentum die, his thoughts on his talk with Kai. He had told Kai secrets he hadn’t even shared with Jeff, because there were aspects of who Link was, and how the world saw him, that Jeff could never understand.

Shimmying off the trampolines, Link set his back to the wall and watched as his friend continued to bounce. Meanwhile, Jeff filled him in on the fallout of their last escapade. 

“They sent me to military school,” Jeff finished, flying six feet up.

“Why aren’t you there now?”

“I left,” Jeff answered. He hopped off his trampoline square and landed on the mediums between bounce zones.

“What do you mean, you left?” Link asked.

Jeff shrugged and came to sit beside him. “I left,” he said dismissively. “I’m not doing that shit. I took all the money out of my school fund and I bought a plane ticket here.” He crouched and lowered his voice. The place was surprisingly busy for a Friday night. “So here’s the plan. We go back to my motel—it’s super disgusting by the way, pretty sure they killed a whore in there last week—and crash for the night. Tomorrow, we blow L.A. via bus. I’m thinking San Francisco next, but I’m down for wherever.”

“And do what?” Link asked. That uneasiness he’d felt earlier had come crashing back. He stood and Jeff did the same, throwing his arm around Link’s shoulder as they walked off the trampoline floor and down onto firmer ground.

“Anything we want. I figure we’ll hitchhike around a bit, see the country. When we find a spot we like, we’ll settle down. I got like fifty grand,” Jeff said. “Put it in a separate, online bank account so my parents couldn't track me.”

Link stopped. Here was the other part of being friends with Jeff, the expectation. The single-minded drive to outdo himself and for Link to help him. Jeff was self-destructive. Maybe Link hadn’t seen it before now, but he was. Maybe I didn't want to.

“Jeff, you’re crazy,” he said.

“I’m crazy?” Jeff asked, surprised. “This is fucking trash, Link. You getting sent across the country and me going to military school—just for making some extra cash on the side. Are you telling me you’re happy here with your asshole dad?”

“No,” Link said. “But-”

“But what?” Jeff asked.

Link frowned. He thought of his dad’s face, the obnoxious, bullying mug he got whenever he looked at Link. Like Link wasn't good enough. Like he’d only ever be a thug. And then, his mind skipped to the picture Kai took of his dad. A good-looking guy, but the expression on his face was so pitying, so awful. And then Kai’s response to that picture, like he just wanted to be loved. And then Link thought of his mom and how angry and upset she’d been when she’d come to pick him up from the police station. Suddenly, it was just too much.

“This is crazy,” he said, spooked. He headed to the lockers where they’d stored their shoes and socks.

“Link, we can do anything we want,” Jeff said, snagging the seat next to him. “Look, I know this seems intense, but think about it. If we stay, it’ll be off to the Air Force for me when I’m eighteen. Your dad will probably send you straight into the army, or college and then the army. Which means both of us are looking at, like, another ten years at least of doing shit that neither of us really wants to do.”

Link paused. He had a point. Link didn't know if he wanted to go to college. He hadn’t made that decision yet, but from the conversation earlier, his dad clearly had. Jeff pressed his advantage.

“I don’t think this money is going to last us forever, but we’re good at what we do,” Jeff said. “I’m sure we can find another operation to hook into and with your mad engineering skills, we’ll be fine.”

Really what you should be trying to figure out is what you want your end game to be. Kai’s words floated to mind. What did Link want to be? Kai had called it a clean slate. And it was. Yeah, his dad sucked, but Link had to admit, he liked karate. He was starting to enjoy the slower pace of life in L.A. And here, he had time to figure it all out. As much as he hated his dad, he wasn’t ready to be on his own.

“So instead of staying and probably going into the military, you want to find some drug dealers to whore ourselves out to?” Link asked quietly. “No.” He finished putting his shoes on.

“Wow,” Jeff said disdainfully. “Your dad really got to you.” 

The comment went over a line and Link felt his temper spike. All the anger at his dad that he’d been tamping down, all the injustice at being shipped off to L.A., and all the grief at losing his former life, all came bubbling up.

“No, Jeff,” Link snapped. “My mom cried for days after we were caught. She wouldn't speak to me for a fucking week and then she shipped me off here and it’s been two weeks and I just got her to answer my phone calls again. Besides the fact that I don't want to be a drug mule for the rest of my life.” 

“This is not about your fucking mom or the drugs,” Jeff spat. “You’re afraid. You’re this little suburbanite kid from fucking Philly and you’re afraid to do anything on your own. You’re such a fucking coward. I really didn't think you were but you are.”

“Fine,” Link said with a shrug. “I’m fucking afraid.” He shrugged again. “And I’m still not going with you.”

He stormed out. He heard Jeff swear and try and change into his shoes to go after him. Picking up his pace, Link hurried out the door. He went right, not out of a sense of knowing where he was or where he was going, but because he needed to put distance between him and his friend. He got to the corner before he heard the door slam open behind him. He heard Jeff shout his name and then all the lights went out, plunging the whole area into darkness.

The sudden loss of light stopped Link’s mad march and he glanced around wildly. The streetlights, the interior lights, everything was out. Even the glow of the industrial building down the block, Link noticed, that had been lit like a Christmas tree earlier. Link swore softly. Without the street lamps, the neighborhood with its large, hulking buildings and sudden quiet seemed much more dangerous.

One of the first things Link had noticed about L.A. was that he could look down a street and see all the way to the mountains. Glancing in all four directions, he chose the one where the light seemed closest. Whatever had caused the power outage hadn't taken out the whole city. He picked up his pace as he moved down the empty street, pushing his hood up and hunching into himself to avoid notice. Walking softly, he stretched out his senses, listening. Eventually, his eyes adjusted, but it was incredibly dark and there wasn't any traffic. Link watched for signs of movement. He did not want to get jumped. That’s all he needed right now.

Ten minutes of walking and Link felt the prickling sensation of being followed. He thought he heard the sound of footsteps scraping along the pavement behind him. He stopped and stepped into a building’s doorway, trying to blend in with the shadows. It’s probably Jeff, he thought to himself. He hoped. He’d much rather take his friend’s company than some gang member searching for easy pickings.

Five tense moments passed but no one stepped out of the darkness. Link swore silently. Fear twined into his spine. Did he move or did he stay? He checked his phone but it was dead. Swearing again, he moved, jogging along. The line of lights ahead remained far away. Another ten minutes and he stopped to catch his breath. It was like he was never going to reach civilization. And the prickling remained. Link stepped into a doorway again, putting his back to a donut shop, smiling briefly as he thought of bear claws.

He took out his phone, this time it turned on. He almost cried with relief. Quickly, he ordered an Uber. The account was still linked to his mom’s credit card in Jersey. If she noticed, he was toast, but it was better than staying and getting mugged. Or worse. There was a ride five minutes away. He holed up in the doorway and tried not to move or breathe. Finally, the car arrived and Link, with a wave of equal amounts relief and weariness, slid in. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

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