Chapter 44: The Note’s Weight
Chapter 44: The Note’s Weight
Tim held the faded note in his hands, Jack’s scrawl, “You’re all I got,” staring up at him from the dirt beside the truck. The woods were quiet, Sarah waiting in the driver’s seat, her shotgun resting against the dash. Jack stood close, his breath fogging in the cold, watching Tim with steady blue eyes. Tim’s chest tightened as he read it again, the words pulling him back to their first real moment, months ago, Jack’s shop, late afternoon, sun low. Jack had handed him a wrench, their fingers brushing, a small grin tugging at Jack’s mouth. “You’re quick,” Jack had said, voice low, and Tim smiled back, shy, feeling it start.
He looked up at Jack now, the memory softening him. “You wrote this?” Tim asked, his voice quiet, holding the note like it weighed more than it should. Jack nodded, slow, stepping closer. “Yeah, back when it was just us,” he said, his hand reaching out, brushing Tim’s arm. Tim didn’t pull away; Jack’s touch brought it all back, the shop’s oil smell, tools clinking, Jack leaning over an engine, their shoulders bumping. That day, Jack had stayed late, showing him how to fix a carburetor, their laughs mixing, smiles stolen when no one else was around, love creeping in, slow and secret.
Sarah’s voice cut through, sharp from the truck. “Tim, get in, now,” she said, her tone hard, shotgun shifting in her grip. Tim glanced at her, then back at Jack, torn, Jack’s note, his warmth, pulling him one way, Sarah’s warning the other. “I meant it,” Jack said, his fingers curling around Tim’s wrist, gentle but firm. “You’re still all I got.” Tim’s stomach flipped, those shop nights, Jack wiping grease off his hands, nudging him with a grin, saying “good job” like it meant more. He softened, wanting to stay, to believe Jack’s “fix it” from before.
“Don’t listen,” Sarah said, climbing out, boots hitting gravel loud. She grabbed Tim’s other arm, pulling him toward the truck. “He’s lying, always has,” she said, her eyes fierce, shotgun dangling in her free hand. Tim resisted, digging his sneakers into the dirt. “He’s not—I know him,” he said, his voice shaky but sure. He remembered Jack’s shop radio playing soft, them alone, Jack’s hand lingering on his back as he left, small things building big, love he couldn’t shake. Sarah yanked harder. “You don’t, he’s poison,” she said, dragging him a step.
Jack tightened his grip, pulling Tim back. “Let him go, Sarah, he’s mine,” he said, his voice rough, stepping between them. Tim’s heart raced, Jack’s “mine,” Sarah’s pull, the note crinkling in his hand. He thought of Jack’s quiet “stay” one night, rain tapping the shop roof, their hands brushing on a toolbox, flirting without words, a pull he felt deep. “I’m not leaving,” Tim said, jerking free from Sarah, turning to Jack. Sarah’s face fell, hurt flashing. “You’ll regret it,” she said, backing off, shotgun low, her push losing ground.
Tim stayed close to Jack, the note heavy, Jack’s words from then, his touch now, softening him more. “Why’d you keep it?” he asked, looking up, needing to know. Jack’s hand slid to his shoulder, warm, steady. “To remind me, when it got hard,” he said, his voice low, real. Tim’s throat tightened, he saw Jack’s grin again, that first day, tools shared, a spark lighting up. Sarah climbed back into the truck, slamming the door. “Your choice,” she said, starting the engine, pulling away slow, Tim watched her go, resisting her, pulled to Jack.
Meanwhile, Mia sat across from a reporter in a diner, Pete beside her, coffee cooling on the table. Her phone glowed with pics, Carl’s blood on the warehouse floor, Reggie’s gun, Lisa’s empty chair, drugs glaring under the light. She’d slipped them to the reporter, a guy named Dan with a notepad and quick eyes, after texting Pete’s cop friend wasn’t enough. “This is it,” she said, sliding the phone over. “Carl’s dead, Reggie shot him. Drugs, not just theft, Paul’s shop’s in it.” Dan scrolled, nodding fast. “Town’s gonna buzz, this is big,” he said, scribbling notes.
Pete leaned in, keeping his voice low. “It’s more, Paul’s a front, ring’s growing,” he said, tapping the table. “Kids, jobs, whole town’s in danger if it spreads.” Mia nodded, her braid brushing her cheek. “I saw it, Reggie’s running it now, Carl’s out,” she said, firm. Dan flipped through, blood, drugs, Reggie’s smirk, his pen flying. “This hits tomorrow, Paul’s shop’ll get raided,” he said, looking up. Mia’s stomach twisted, the pics were out, town waking up, the drug web stretching past Jack and Tim, threatening everything.
The diner hummed, waitresses chatting, a radio playing soft. Mia took her phone back, checking the shots again, Carl’s body, Lisa gone, drugs real. “It’s not done,” she said, glancing at Pete. “Ring’s still moving, Paul’s just a piece.” Pete sipped his coffee, grim. “Yeah, raids won’t stop it, not yet,” he said. “Town hall’s dirty too, someone’s feeding this.” Mia’s pics buzzed online already, Dan sent a teaser, phones lighting up outside, people whispering. Paul’s shop was locked, cops rolling in, the drug risk growing loud.
Mia stood, pacing by the table, her sneakers quiet on the tile. “We need Tim, Jack too,” she said, stopping. “They’re tied in, ring’s after them.” Pete nodded, setting his mug down. “Pics’ll shake it, town’s splitting already,” he said, watching the window, cars slowed, folks staring at Paul’s raided shop down the street. Mia’s proof hit hard, Carl dead, drugs out, kids and jobs on the line, the web creeping bigger. “Tomorrow’s chaos,” Dan said, packing up. “You started it.” Mia’s chest tightened, town buzzing, danger real, her fight just beginning.
Tim sat on Sarah’s porch later, Jack gone to check the woods, the note still in his pocket, “You’re all I got” heavy in his mind. Sarah was inside, quiet now, her pull fading. He thought of Jack’s grin that first shop day, handing him a hammer, their fingers brushing, smiles stolen, love starting small. The truck sat parked, engine off, but then Jack stormed up, his boots loud on the steps. He grabbed Tim’s arm, pulling him up fast. “We’re not done,” he said, his voice rough, eyes locked on Tim’s, tension high, Tim’s heart jumped, caught in Jack’s grip, love pulling hard again.