Page 104 of Touchdown, Tennessee
I could smell the alcohol on his breath.
He’d been drinking, so much that he smelled like the inside of a vodka bottle.
He was going to enjoy his DUI.
“I’m going to watch you delete it. Or I’m going to ruin your life.”
A plume of dirt flew up in the air as he kicked and struggled with all of his limbs.
He was reaching for something with one of his hands. I tried to pin his arm but before I could restrain him, I saw something from the corner of my eye.
He had a large rock in his hand.
A rock that was coming at the side of my skull, hard and fast.
“No,” Andrew’s voice came from beside me.
Right as the rock connected with the side of my face, Andrew dove in. Pain split across my skull, and I could feel a bit of blood trickling out.
I ignored it.
It was a blur of motion as I moved to one side. I hit the ground, losing my grip on Colby.
But Andrew had him. I got back onto my hands and knees and looked up in time to see Andrew holding him down, bringing his arm up to punch him in the jaw.
“Don’t,” I said, reaching out to grab his arm.
He was going to do it again.
Punch someone, the way he’d done in the bar.
His deepest regret.
Something he swore he’d never do, and something heshouldn’tdo.
And I watched as Colby justlaughed, holding his phone up again in his hand.
“Just another video for me,” he said. “Do it. Punch me. I’ll show the whole fucking world.”
I only had a moment to act.
I came in fast, like a snake striking prey.
I took the phone from his hand and ran, looking down at his videos as I bolted off. I found them quickly, deleting them, and thenpermanentlydeleting the backup copies.
There were always backup copies, and I knew exactly where to find them. I checked his voice recordings as well, making surethat there hadn’t been any other way he was recording Andrew’s voice.
When I heard the sirens coming from behind us, I thought it was pure luck.
I made my way back over to the two of them.
“Are you okay?” I asked Andrew.
“Never been better.”
“I don’t know how they know we’re here, but the cops are arriving.”
“Called them the moment you got out of your car,” Andrew said.
