Past Regrets Chapter 8

Tyler sat on his bed looking from the gun, to the small clock and back. He was still very mad at Bo, and just wished that he could get out of his room and talk some sense in to that man!

In the other room he could hear Bo and Luke arguing over how Bo treated Tyler, and from what Tyler could hear, Bo was winning.

A smirk came to Tyler's face as he thought of an idea that in his mind would make Bo sorry that he had ever yelled at his son. Putting the gun back in his pocket, Tyler rose from his bed and crossed to the window.

Slowly Tyler flicked open the small latch and pushed the window open just wide enough that he could slip out, which he did.

Landing on the dew covered grass, Tyler took a few seconds to sniff the morning air as the sun finally hit the Duke farm, lighting up the trees and grass in an all to familiar morning glow.

He jerked his head down and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the screen door of the farmhouse open and then close.

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, Tyler looked to the left and he looked behind him, searching for someplace to run to before he was seen.

All he saw was an open field and an old fence off in the distance.

No matter which way he ran, he could be seen, at least until he got to the tree line on the edge of the Duke property.

Tyler's breathing picked up as he looked at the old, rotting fence that marked the edge of the Duke's farm. His mind and his gut told him to run, but he was shaking all over, suddenly to afraid to run, or even move.

"HEY! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY IN YOUR ROOM!"

Tyler caught his breath and turned around to see Bo just stepping off the porch with his hands on his hips and an angry look on his face.

Gulping, Tyler looked away, towards the fence, and in his mind, safety, before he looked back at Bo, for just a second.

He didn't know how or why, but he suddenly felt himself moving, running away from the house, and away from Bo, who of course gave chase.

Tyler's breath kept coming in short gasps because he was so scared of Bo catching him, but he never slowed down.

Reaching the fence, Tyler literally jumped over it, before taking off again.

He felt the gun gigging him in the side, and reaching a hand in to his pocket, Tyler gripped the handle of the gun, not even feeling the trigger in his icy grip.

"TYLER, STOP!" Bo yelled from somewhere behind him.

Tyler looked behind him but couldn't see anything for the trees and bushes that surrounded him were very thick.

Not answering his father, Tyler kept running until the road before him came to a rocky end.

Looking around, all Tyler could see was water. Tons of it all flowing one way.

It was a small river, with a very strong current. Many Hazzard folks who had fallen in to this river had never made it out alive, especially when the water was up as high as it was.

Gulping, Tyler took out the gun he had and looked at it, not entirely sure what to do with it.

The sound of sticks cracking made him look up and over to see a very hot, sweaty and tired looking Bo Duke come running up the old path towards him.

"Ty..Tyler, ya gotta..gotta stop." Bo said, not wanting Ty to do something foolish.

"Like heck I do!" Tyler replied, actually raising the gun and pointing it at his father.

It was then that Bo actually noticed the gun.

He could tell it was cocked and loaded, which made it a dangerous firearm, especially in the hands of an emotional child such as Tyler.

"Ty, put the gun down. Let's talk about this." Bo said calmly, motioning towards the ground.

Tyler however shook his head as a few tears came to his eyes.

"No we can't, because you don't understand me and you never will!" Tyler shot back as he took a step back closer to the ledge, which was extremely wet and slippery from the water splashing up.

"Tyler..whatever's wrong..we can fix it!" Bo said as he kept his eyes on his son.

He noted the fact that if Tyler took as many as five steps back, he was sure to fall in to the river, and if that happened, Bo doubted that he could pull him out.

"You can't fix it! No one can fix it!" Tyler replied as two tears actually streaked down his face.

Bo didn't say anything, knowing that Tyler was going to explain everything in his emotional state.

"I'm a drug addict, ok?! My..when I was real young, I found my dad's stash of drugs. Curious as always, I couldn't help myself, and I took some. After that, I couldn't stop taking them. Even when I was in the hospital, my dad managed to slip me some so I wouldn't go crazy. I know he had his faults, and he could be a real jerk a lot of the time, but when it came time for my daily fix..I could always count on him. Then you guys showed up…the perfect family, and I had to play along when all I wanted was more drugs. But, I couldn't have them for so long that I almost got used to it, and then came the surgery, and when I was released and found the pills on that cart…I couldn't help myself." Tyler said through his tears.

"Tyler, we can get through this." Bo said as he took a step forward towards his son.

He was a little disappointed that Tyler couldn't show some self control, but he knew that drugs were a powerful thing and that once you've had some, you can't just say no to them, and Tyler had been hooked since he was only 5 years old.

"How? Every time I try to stop the urge is greater. I can't stop! I need them!" Tyler said as his gun hand began to shake.

It was then that Bo realized what was wrong with his son. It was withdrawl, and from the look of it, Tyler was suffering severely from the lack of drugs in his system.

"Tyler, come back with me. We'll…we'll get you more drugs, and with a doctor's help, we can wean you off of them." Bo said calmly as he raised a hand out towards his son.

Tyler, who looked like a royal mess both emotionally and physically, just looked at Bo with tear filled eyes.

He didn't say anything because he was too choked up to say anything.

"You really don't want to shoot me, do you?" Bo asked.

Finally, with his jaw quivering, Tyler lowered, uncocked and then dropped the gun.

He was quite in shock that he had even pointed the thing at Bo!

Slowly Tyler sank to his knees as the tears he couldn't stop finally started to fall.

Seconds passed before he felt two arms wrapping around him and holding him, and a voice telling him that it was going to be alright.

As Tyler cried his eyes out, mostly because of the withdrawl he was suffering from, Bo kept holding him, feeling really bad about how he had treated his son the previous night, but in Bo's defense, he didn't know about the pills or Tyler's addiction until a few minutes ago.

"Come on, let's get back to the farm and have Doc Appleby come an check you over." Bo said softly.

He saw Tyler's nod of approval before he helped his son to his feet.

They had just risen when the soft dirt around Bo's feet gave way and sent him stumbling back.

"Dad!" Tyler said as he made a grab for his father's hand, but by then it was too late.

Bo's foot slipped on the wet surface of the rocks and sent him tumbling in to the swift flowing current.