90 Miles to Freedom by K. C. Hilton Read Free Book Online

wrecked it.”
    She gave him a crooked smile and hugged him again. Tears rolled down her face, wetting his own cheeks.
    “ I will always love him,” Morgan told him, her voice muffled in his shoulder. “But he’s dragging me down with him. I can’t live like this anymore.”
    Eventually she let go. She touched Joey’s cheek with her fingertips and looked him in the eyes, then took a deep breath before going on. “I’m sorry, Joey. I just can’t do this anymore. Goodbye. Take care of yourself.”
    Morgan turned, wiping the tears from her face with her fingers. She didn’t look back as she headed through the house and toward her car. Joey read her posture, her steps, and knew there was nothing casual in the way she left. She walked that way, tall and without any hesitation, because she was afraid she would change her mind and stay. But she got in her car and drove away. And never came back.
    Sometimes Joey wondered if Collin even knew Morgan had gone.
     
     

Chapter 10
     
    Collin stopped all fishing excursions. He became reclusive, irritable and withdrawn, isolating himself for long periods at a time. A few days, a week, it didn’t matter to Collin. Time meant nothing. He just didn’t care about anything anymore.
    Joey decided not to go to college. He told Collin he had decided to wait, not that Collin cared at all. Joey told him he just needed a little more time to sort things out before moving forward with his education.
    In truth, Joey wanted to make sure Collin was okay. Yes, Collin was the one who was supposed to take care of Joey, but it had ended up being the other way around. After Morgan left, it was up to Joey to take care of Collin. There was no way Joey could abandon his brother and go off to college. Maybe he could go to college when Collin was back to his old self. But until then, Joey wasn’t going, no matter how long it took.
    Collin never pushed the college issue. He knew Joey was right. He could attend college when he was good and ready. Collin didn’t know Joey’s real reason. He thought the trauma had left Joey confused and angry, preventing him from moving on. Collin even wondered if Joey blamed himself for their parents’ death because it was because of Joey’s high school graduation that they were driving in the first place. If Joey hadn’t been graduating, they wouldn’t have died.
    When Collin was lucid, he was consumed by thoughts of that dreadful day. If only his dad had purchased the battery he needed for their car. If only Collin had taken the time to have his own vehicle maintained and serviced. If only Joey’s graduation had been on a different day. If only this and if only that … if only he could turn back time, things would be different.
    Joey handled the death of his parents far better than Collin did. He woke up early every morning, chipper as usual. Though he’d postponed entry, he was still eager to someday head to college, and left the house every day to go to the library. He studied as if it were a job, reading and keeping up with the latest research books and magazines. When the day came for college, Joey promised himself that he would be more than ready.
    Joey also had a social life. He occasionally even went on a few dates. He took care of the house and did the little things that needed to be done. Like their father, Joey wasn’t able to sit still for long. He had to be doing something constantly, whatever that might be.
    Joey was sitting at the kitchen table when Collin stumbled through the back door of the house, holding his head. He was still spending most of his time on his boat, which was fine with Joey. “Where’s the Tylenol? I have a headache.”
    Collin always had a headache. Every day, as a matter of fact.  Joey sighed. He was flipping through a new book on coral reefs he’d just picked up the other day. “It’s on the shelf. Exactly where you left it yesterday.” Joey looked up, recognized the familiar, rumpled look on his brother’s face and