Sal walked Charlie back to the hotel. They were chatting and laughing loudly. He said goodbye to Charlie outside the hotel and went over to Carl’s old bike. The deathtrap was his ride home. He stared at it for a minute or two before he heard Charlie call out to him.
“Yo, Sal, Carl’s lurking at the hotel bar and counting the number of Pepsi bottles. He’s been there a while."
“Is he stalking me?” Sal didn’t have the energy to deal with him.
“He probably figured you'd be with me. Maybe you should go and talk to him…clear the air…you know.”
“I don’t know. I've had a good day so far. Besides, I need a shower.”
Charlie just looked at him.
“Okay, okay.” Sal followed Charlie back inside.
He saw Carl sitting by a table, looking awful. Carl's cap sat low on his forehead, covering his eyes. Sal suspected he was struggling to cope with the daylight. A cold sweat glistened on his forehead.
Sal said goodbye to Charlie and walked over to Carl's table. Carl got up from his chair as Sal came over; he couldn’t even stand straight.
“Thanks for coming over," Carl said. "If it’s any consolation, I feel just as horrible as I look.” He laughed nervously. “You want a drink?”
“No.” Sal sat down.
“Here 's your phone.” Carl pulled it from his pocket and pushed it across the table.
“I hope you wiped it thoroughly with disinfectant gel,” Sal responded, a bit frosty.
“Listen, Sal, I understand if you're mad—I would be, too.” He slid one of the bottles around on the table. “I didn’t mean what I said yesterday.”
“So me being the town bike was just a joke,” Sal said a bit dismissively.
“The what?” Carl asked.
“You know: everyone gets a ride.” Sal chuckled bitterly. “Well, I guess you aren’t far off.”
Carl closed his eyes and gathered his strength. “I’m sorry for calling you a whore. I’m sorry about a lot of things. I felt like shit, and I took it out on you. I still feel like shit, and it’s not just the because of the hangover.”
Sal softened a little. “What's going on with you, Carl? When we drove from Limestone, you were joking and in a good mood, and as soon as we hit Strong Edge, you completely turned over—a regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
“It’s like this: when I first went to Limestone, Louise was happy to see me, and we got along great. I got a job and managed to scrape by, but then she started to get worse, and according to her therapist, it was because I reminded her of everything that used to be bad in her life. Her life in Strong Edge."
Carl rubbed his eyes before continuing. “Louise agreed. She asked me to stay away.
"I don’t know what to do…I love her.” Carl wore a stern expression on his face.
“Shit, Carl, I’m sorry. I wish I knew what to tell you, but I’m no better at this than you. If you want my advice, I’d say walk away. It seems as if it'll only hurt you to stay.”
“I know, but it’s so freaking difficult.” Carl studied Sal.
“You can erase stuff from people's brains, can’t you?”
The question took Sal by surprise. It felt like someone had poured gasoline on him and was standing by with a lighter. Sal's heart seemed to explode in his chest. His already sweaty skin went clammy. “Please don’t ask me to do that,” he said quietly.
Carl was desperate. “You could make me forget, make everything easier. Take away the heartache.”
“Fuck, Carl, is that why you came here? To have me make all the bad shit go away?”
Carl’s eyes went cold. “You do it all the time. What’s so special about this time?”
Sal's black eyes deepened, and he watched Carl for a while. “I love you too much to sneak inside your head and manipulate your mind. I've done it for personal gain, I admit that. I did it to Mom and Dad out of spite. I did it to Vickie, or else Ted would have killed her. I’m a bad person, Carl. You don’t want me inside your head.” He squeezed Carl’s arm.
“Please, learn from this experience and do what’s best for you.”
Carl sat with an expression on his face which didn't adequately reflect the feelings going on inside of him.
Sal pushed his chair back. He was disappointed by the shift the conversation had taken.
“Can I come with you?” Carl’s face was a perfect picture of misery. He was like a little boy, left alone on the sidewalk, looking left and right for a familiar face in the crowd.
“Of course, you can.” Sal chuckled. “But you have to put the chain back on the bike," he added.
Sal drove the bike through town with Carl sitting on the handlebars, his legs dangling in the air. They both laughed as Carl pretended to kill zombies. It was as if they were kids again.