Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"I Can't Go For That"

"Wait, what?" I said, blinking in surprise at what Arjun said about his half-brother going after Ms. Harlow. "Why would he threaten her?"

Arjun shrugged. "Guess because he knows it'll work."

I tried to wrap my mind around it all. Arjun's half-brother was a drug dealer, and he wanted Arjun to get involved. And if Arjun spilled the beans about the whole ordeal, then his half-brother would come after Ms. Harlow? It made me angry just thinking about someone having the nerve to hurt her!

"So what are you gonna do?" I asked.

"Not tell, I guess." He stared hopelessly out at the road as he drove, and I knew there was an all out war going on in his mind. In any other situation, Arjun would take this straight to the police. But with his mother involved, it complicated things. "I've been doing everything I could to keep her out of this, but Nathan figured out where we live."

I raised my eyebrows. "How?!"

"My dad told him, I guess, since he knew all along I think." He shook his head. "Just please don't say anything about this to Mom."

Now I wasn't sure if I could keep that promise. "Only if you swear you'll tell her soon, because this is bad Arjun!"

He cursed. "I know, I know! I'll tell her, but just give me a break! I need some time to figure things out."

"What's there to figure out?!" I cried. "You need to bring this to the police!"

"I don't have any proof, and if Nathan found out, he'd just follow through on his threats. I know he's not bluffing, Randall. He's done horrible things."

The helpless look in his eyes made me back down. I mean, he was trying his best, right? I leaned back in my chair, heaving a sigh. "Fine...I won't tell. But you better not try to do everything on your own!"

"I'll try not to," he said half-heartedly. He turned the car into the parking lot of the counseling center and got a front row handicap parking space. After he helped me get into my wheelchair, he gave me a serious look. "Please don't worry about me. Or Mom. You've got enough on your plate."

I rolled my eyes. "You can be a real great guy sometimes, Arjun," I said. "Geez, you can't expect me not to worry after telling me all that!"

"Just try, okay?" He checked his watch. "Well, your appointment will be starting soon, and I've got places to be."

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "I thought Ms. Harlow only suspended the grounding for taking me here?"

He scoffed. "You're really going to expect me not to do anything about this right now?"

Well, he did have a point there. I waved my hand at him dismissively. "All right, all right, my lips are sealed. Can you open the door for me before you go MIA though?"

He did, and once I wheeled myself inside, he let the glass door shut and mimed zipping his lips. I just rolled my eyes, then watched him jump back in the car and drive away. Boy, I hope he at least remembered to pick me up on time. I didn't want Ms. Harlow to start worrying. If she called, I'd have a heck of a time explaining things to her, and I was a terrible liar.

I signed in at the front desk, then waited around for my appointment to start. I was nervous, but not like I was last time. That was an improvement, right? Either that, or I my mind was just consumed with the fact that Arjun was trying to take down his drug-dealing half-brother. Why did this kind of stuff happen to him?

Before I could think much harder about it, I was called back to the room from before, and Charlotte was waiting for me. She smiled broadly when she saw me.

"Hi, Mr. Riggs," she said in her cheery voice. She didn't bother with asking how I was. She never did, it seemed. She knew whatever answer I gave would be a lie until she was able to dive deeper into my thoughts. Somehow I liked that about her.

"Hey," I said a little weakly. I wheeled myself in front of her, then folded my hands in my lap. How on earth was I going to spill my guts to her without mentioning Arjun and his crazy life? But I promised I would shut up about it, so I would just have to try.

"Well, shall we get started?" Charlotte said as soon as the door was shut. Her face turned serious as she leveled her eyes at me. Under her scrutinizing gaze, it was hard to hide anything.

"I've been trying to get a job," I said. It was the first thing that came to mind that had nothing to do with dealing drugs. "I want to go back to school in the fall."

She nodded, a satisfied look on her face. "That's good! You should have goals to work towards."

I smiled a little. "I haven't had much luck with jobs, though. It's hard to find one that would work out for me."

Charlotte paused, seeming to think about something for a moment. When she looked at me again, her eyes brightened. "I might be able to help with that, actually."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

She smiled. "How would you like to work for me?"

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Thank you for reading!

Listen to "I Can't Go For That" by Hall & Oates!

Peace✌️~ A.J.