The Million Mile Hallway

Chapter 14 - Jason

I hate golf. It's so boring and to be honest, spoils a good walk. But for the way I was feeling, it was almost therapeutic. I needed to get out of the house before I ran into Louise again. She'd most likely want some answers and I needed time to formulate them. So I called Scott and asked if he wanted to play.

When we were younger we used to play a lot. Scott thought, and was right, that swinging a club as hard as I could at a ball, would release any anger, tension or stress that I was feeling, not to mention all the fresh air that I'd be getting. Not only that though, it was a good bonding experience for the two of us. I never used to be good at asking for help from anyone, never mind my older brother who I always used to think put me to shame when we were growing up. But these days, things were different, as were we. Although he often comes across as uptight or judgemental, I know that it's just the way he is and that he really does care and just wants to help. He was the first person for me to go to in a situation like this.

We played eighteen holes, and of course Scott won. The golf wasn't really the main reason we were here though. One of our traditions is to go for a few drinks afterwards and make a whole day of it. So we were in the bar, halfway down our first beers when he stopped bragging about his victory and turned serious.

"So what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, knowing full well what he meant.

"I mean what's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"I'm not an idiot Jason. I know something's up. Why else would you play golf with me?"

"I like golf"

"You hate golf"

"I do hate golf" I laughed.

"The last time we shot eighteen holes, you were probably eighteen years old"

"That is a huge exaggeration" I continued laughing.

"So come on. Out with it" He demanded. This was why he was such a good detective. Once he latched onto something, he wouldn't ever let it go.

"Ok fine. I might have a slight problem" I admitted before ordering us another round of drinks. I was going to need to drink a lot more to get me through Detective Harley's interrogation.

"Are you struggling for money?" He asked outright.

"What? No! Just because I bought a beanbag, doesn't mean I'm poor" I said defensively.

"I see what it is!" He suddenly became excited. "It's a girl problem! You've got that face on"

"What face?" I asked, instinctively putting my hands on my cheeks.

"The face you always used to make when dad was harassing you about girlfriends. You've changed a lot since we were kids but that's one thing that's stayed the same" He explained.

"Ok fine, it's about a girl" I rolled my eyes.

"What do you need help with?" He asked. "I've seen you flirting with girls on a night out before. You're a machine!"

"This one's a little different" I said, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"So tell me all about her then. What's the problem?"

"I dunno . . ." I started.

"What's her name?"

"I don't want to say just yet" I said. "Just in case it doesn't turn into anything serious" I added the lie after he stared at me expectantly. I knew I wanted his help but I didn't want to just come out with it. "I kissed her this morning"