Chapter 3
Season 1/ Episode 9 – Between Haylie releasing Hasil and Asa showing up
One of my favorite episodes and scenes, hope you enjoy - reviews appreciated!
"Welcome to the team" Haylie said, standing to untie Hasil "Let's get you out of here."
Hasil immediately stood, stumbling slightly. "Ahhh!" He exclaimed, he hurt everywhere. His hand went to his side and he bent forward – trying to catch his breath.
"Maybe we should get you to a doctor" Haylie said
"No" Hasil said, straightening slowly and probing his sides "No. I'll take that money and my knife and be on my way."
"You at least need to clean up; you can't walk around like that!" Haylie explained "Let me get…."
"No ma'am, I want to get as far away from this place as I can. Just give me what's mine so I can go." Hasil said in a tone that left no room for argument
Haylie turned to pick up her portfolio and pulled out an envelope. She counted out $1000 and handed it to Hasil. "If the police see you walking around like that, you'll get picked up. This only works if the police aren't involved"
Breece walked down the stairs "Them boys are out in the garage, they won't bother you none."
"Thank you." Hasil said, turning to Breece "I just need my knife, and I'll be leaving"
Breece hesitated, not wanting to put a weapon in Hasil's hands. "I don't know about….."
Hasil interrupted "That knife's all I got left of my Fa." He said quietly "I leave here without it and I'm coming back with the police"
Breece locked eyes with Hasil, through all the blood and bruising could see this was important to him. He nodded and gestured for them to follow him upstairs.
While Haylie was downstairs talking to Hasil, Breece had told the boys they needed to wait in the garage until they got Hasil out of the house. "Ya'll take anything off him?" He'd asked
"A knife" Jake said, turning to retrieve it from the end table "He sure put up a fight about it. Took all 3 of us to get it off him." He handed it to Breece.
"Ya'll go on and wait out there, Ms. Grimes is gonna want to talk to you when this is done." Breece said. He put the knife in a drawer before going downstairs.
Taking the knife from the drawer, Breece handed it to Hasil. "What they done to you is wrong, I'm sorry." He said sincerely
Hasil nodded and turned toward the door.
"Wait!" Haylie said "At least let Breece drop you off somewhere." She pleaded "Someone will call the police if you're seen walking around looking like that. Please."
"Alright" Hasil agreed. He wanted to go to the church ladies house again to see if Sally Ann was there. If she wasn't, he could at least clean up, eat, and rest. "You can take me to that gas station at the north edge of town."
Satisfied, Haylie said "Do you know where the Coal Company offices are?" Hasil nodded and she continued "Come by and see me next week to let me know what kind of progress you're making with your family."
Hasil nodded and turned to follow Breece out.
Breece gestured toward his truck. Hasil climbed in gingerly and sat back.
"You sure you don't want to see a doctor?" Breece asked
Hasil shook his head in response, silently leaning back against the window.
They rode in silence; Hasil's labored breathing filling the air. Breece hated what they did; this isn't what he signed up for. As they arrived at the gas station, Breece pulled over. Without looking at Hasil he said "We just want to be able to live and take care of our families, make a home for them. We don't want to hurt anybody."
"We want the same" said Hasil "Only we ain't gotta run good folk out of there homes to do it." Opening the door, he slowly stepped down from the truck. "Thank you kindly" he said, closing the door and walking away.
Breece watched him disappear into the wooded area. Gripping the steering wheel, he was overcome with emotion. He couldn't let this get out of control, he had that kid's blood on his hands and it made him sick. The Farrells needed to come off the mountain, but not this way. He'd find a way to get these boys under control and do this the right way.
Hasil walked to the edge of the wooded area and looked toward the house. He moved along the tree line until he could see the porch, he stopped and his heart leaped. It was there! The little bird he gave her that night in the store was on the porch.
He turned and moved back toward the side of the house with the open window. As he approached, it crossed his mind this could be a trap. That fella told him them boys was in the garage, but what if they knew he would come here and were just trying to get him away from the coal lady?
He circled all the way around and didn't see that truck anywhere. Approaching the house, he peered into the window and didn't see anybody. "I'll just go on in quiet like" he thought to himself "them jackasses couldn't stop running off at the mouth last night, I'll surely hear em if they're here"
He eased the window open and looked inside, he could hear music coming from the direction of the kitchen – but couldn't see anybody. Carefully, he climbed in the window and stood still for a moment – clutching his side and breathing deeply.
Hasil took a few steps forward and his foot landed on a floorboard that creaked loudly. He stopped as he heard a chair move in the kitchen…then he heard her voice "Hello?"
Moving into the shadows, he answered "It's Hasil"
"Hasil!" She exclaimed. He heard her hurried steps coming down the hallway.
"Wait! Stop right there Sally Ann" he said. The foot steps stopped. "Anybody else here?" He asked
"No" she responded "Your cousin Asa came looking for you earlier, but he's gone. Why?"
"Well I had me a bit of trouble, but I don't want you to get scared when you see me….." Hasil said, his voice shaky
"Hasil….." she said, detecting a tremor in his voice "Are you okay?" She started walking slowly toward the sound of his voice.
He knows he must look a frightful mess, the coal lady told him as much – three times. "I'm a little hurt, but it ain't as bad as it looks." He promised. "Alright? Don't get upset"
Sally Ann didn't hear much after "I'm a little hurt" – she moved quickly toward the sound of his voice. She rounded the corner to see him standing behind the chest, leaning against the wall.
When she came face to face with Hasil, she threw her hand over her mouth to muffle her scream.
Hasil reached for her "I'm alright" he said calmly
"No you're not!" She exclaimed "You have to go to the hospital!"
"Shhhh! Its okay, nothings broke…." Hasil assured her, grabbing her hand
She did a double take "Nothings broke? It looks like half your face is broken!" She shouted, tears starting to fall
"Sally Ann….." he said soothingly
"Who did this to you?!" She demanded, her voice breaking
"Hey, come on now…..you gotta calm down" Hasil said
She was not calming down "We need to go to the hospital and call the police!"
"Stop!" Hasil said firmly, moving his hand to her face "Look at me Sally Ann. I'm gonna be alright. I been hurt worse than this before, it's gonna be fine. I ain't going to no hospital and I don't wanna talk to the police. I just need you to trust me, okay?"
They stood close, eyes locked…..Sally Ann's heart slowed and she realized she did trust him, probably more than anybody else.
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright….Okay…..lets try to get you cleaned up."
Hasil leaned forward and kissed her softly "Missed you" he whispered against her cheek
Sally Ann responded through tears "I'm sorry I said those horrible things…"
Hasil interrupted "Uh uh…ain't nothing to be sorry for, and you ain't gotta be scared no more. Okay?"
"How about thankful then….. that you came in after me when I was in trouble and came back here after I ran off….." she said, laying her head on his shoulder
"I said I wasn't gonna let you go, and I sure ain't gonna stand by and let nobody harm you. Nobody." He said fiercely
Sally Ann smiled to herself as the warmth of his words washed over her. Lifting her head from shoulder, she moved her lips to his and whispered "Missed you" and softly kissed him. "C'mon, I think there's a few things we can use in the bathroom to get you fixed up."
"That's good, it said to rinse 5 times to make sure it's clean" Sally Ann handed Hasil a towel to dry his face. She gathered a few things from the medicine cabinet and said "Let go in the kitchen, the light's better."
Hasil sat down and Sally Ann brought him a glass of water and 4 Advil. "Take this" she said
"What are these?" Hasil asked
Sally Ann replied "Advil, its medicine. It'll help with the pain and swelling."
"Thank you" Hasil said, taking the pills and quickly downing the water.
"Thirsty?" Sally Ann said
"I ain't had nothing to eat or drink since yesterday morning" Hasil replied
"Good Lord! Okay, let me get you some more water and some ice for the swelling, then I'll fix you something" she said
She emptied two ice trays into a ziplock bag and wrapped it in a paper towel. "Hold this on the swelling" she said "And you're sure nothing is broken?"
Hasil placed the ice pack over the swelling "You mean besides half my face?" He teased, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her close and resting the unbruised side of his face on her belly
She stroked his hair "Well, you looked like the Elephant Man – it was scary. I don't like to see you hurt."
"Who's the Elephant Man?" Hasil asked, as his hand slid down her backside to her smooth legs. Before she could answer he declared "I really like these short pants ….."
Sally Ann smiled "Just shorts, not short pants – and thank you. We'll watch the movie Elephant Man someday so you can see who he is." She bent down to kiss the top of his head "Let me get you something to eat…."
Hasil tightened his grip, running his hand up her leg and under the bottom of her shorts "Did I tell you how much I like these short pants?"
Sally Ann chuckled and said "Ummm hmmm, you might have mentioned that. Let me get you fed, then we can talk some more about the short pants." Pulling back she bent to give him a quick kiss. "And keep that ice on there"
Hasil smiled "Yes ma'am"
Sally Ann quickly made Hasil a plate of leftover spaghetti and green beans. "I got paid so I picked a few groceries before I came back. We should have enough food for a week or so." She said, placing the plate in the microwave
"I almost forgot, I got paid too" Hasil said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the money Haylie gave him
"Paid for what?" Sally Ann said, accepting the money from Hasil and counting it
"Coal lady offered me a job, wants me to tell my kin about the houses they're building" Hasil responded
"This is a thousand dollars!" Sally Ann was shocked "Why would she give you that much? When did you see her?"
"Well, she cut me loose from those fellas who done this "he said gesturing toward his face
"Wait, What?! People from the coal company did this?!" She exclaimed "And then gave you money?!"
"Yeah, I know it's so I won't got to the police. I sure ain't gonna be …..hey, hey…..don't do that" He stood, alarmed to see Sally Ann starting to cry
"I can't believe they would actually do this and think giving you money makes it right" She said as Hasil took her in his arms. Resting her head on his shoulder, she took a moment to compose herself. Without looking up, with a trembling voice she asked "Was it my brother?"
Hearing the pain in her voice, Hasil didn't hesitate "I didn't know none of em."
She exhaled; relieved at least the James wasn't involved. "You shouldn't work…."
"I ain't" Hasil interrupted "We'll give most of the money to Asa when he comes back and hold on to enough to keep us fed while we figure what to do."
Sally Ann nodded and took a deep breathe to calm her nerves
"Hey" Hasil said stepping back and cupping her face "Look at me….its gonna be alright. We're together, we got a safe place to sleep, and we got food. It's been a real hard week, let's just enjoy each other and let our hearts and bodies heal up." He said, kissing her forehead "No more worrying, no more tears – we already done our fair share of that. Okay? Nobody who looks this good in short pants ought to be sad"
Sally Ann laughed and nodded "Okay, I'll try. C'mon, you need to eat. Sit back down; let me get your plate"
Sally Ann insisted on holding the ice pack in place while Hasil ate. After his second plate, Sally Ann removed the ice pack and looked at his face closely. "The swelling is going down."
"I'm feeling better. The food was good, thank you. What's that?" He asked as Sally Ann squeezed something onto her fingers and started rubbing it on his face "Ahh…careful….."
"It's an antibiotic ointment to help heal and keep infection away. There, now I've used all my doctor skills. You should lie down and get some rest" She suggested
"WE should lie down and get some rest" Hasil countered, somehow managing to look sexy with one eye swollen shut. Standing, he held out his hand and led her to the sitting room. He sat down on the couch while she grabbed a pillow, and he leaned back carefully.
Sally Ann threw her leg over his hips to settle on his lap
"Be careful! Careful….careful…..careful…" Hasil cautioned
"Okay, I'll be careful! I can make it better…" She said, leaning forward to kiss him
Hasil took a deep breath "Mmmm hmmm"
They were interrupted by a knock on the door
"It's Asa" they heard. Sally Ann went to answer the door and Hasil slowly got to his feet.
"Hey, Hasil here?" Asa asked, walking in "Jesus Christ! What the hell happened to you?"
"Got me a job" Hasil answered
"What do you mean you got a job?" Asa questioned
Sally Ann went to grab the money for Asa, upset again about having blood money. "He got it, and he quit already" she said tersely "here"
"Hey, Hey" Hasil said, touching her chin, his eyes reminding her - no more worrying
"We kept a little bit for ourselves, the rest of that's for you" Hasil explained
Asa was speechless
"If there's anything I can do to help Cousin" Hasil promised
"Look I'm…." Asa started
"He needs to rest" Sally Ann interrupted, her eyes reminding Hasil – let our hearts and bodies heal
Turning to Asa, he said "She's the boss"
Asa nodded and backed away toward the door. Sally Ann turned to Hasil "Lie down….."
She locked the door after Asa and turned back to Hasil, smiling as she walked toward him. "I'm the boss?" She asked with a smile, as she gently straddled him out the couch
As much as he wanted her, Hasil hurt all over "I think I may be…I might be…..a little bit hurt for that" he said, placing his hands on her hips.
Sally Ann settled in his lap and leaned forward to kiss him…"Hurt here…here…."
With the first kiss, Hasil's body told him he wasn't that hurt. He smiled"Just take your shirt off"
