Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.
Tim knew he should call Al, but he just couldn't do it. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know how to apologize for what he'd done. Somehow, just saying "I'm sorry" didn't seem enough.
He knew he owed her an explanation. But he decided that he needed to see her face when they talked, to make sure it matched whatever words came out of her mouth. At least that's what he told himself.
But really, he was just too scared to call her. What if she was done with him? He didn't know if he could handle that. He certainly knew he couldn't handle hearing it while he was in a hotel room, alone, 600 miles from the people who knew him best, cared about him most, and would kick his ass if he tried to do anything stupid..
He scrolled through his phone book, found Billy and Mindy's number and pressed the green button before he could talk himself out of it. The phone rang six times then Billy answered with a distracted "Yeah?" In the background, Tim could hear the television and Amber's voice singing a song.
"Billy."
"Tim? Where the hell are you?"
Before Tim could answer, he heard Mindy in the background, saying "You tell him I'm going to kick his ass up and down both sides of the street for a month of Sundays.."
Tim sighed. "I heard her, Billy. And I don't even know what that means. A month of Sundays."
He heard a muffled sound as Billy covered the receiver and said something to Mindy. He could picture Billy waving her off and telling her he'd handle it.
"It means...Jesus, Tim....Nevermind what it means. Where the hell are you and what in God's name have you been doing for the last week?" Billy's voice was harsh and loud, causing Tim to cringe.
"Please....don't yell at me," Tim said, his voice cracking as everything he'd tried not to feel for the last week came bubbling to the surface.
Billy felt like he'd been dragged back in time over a decade, to when he first took responsibility for his little brother. He took a deep breath and tried to get himself under control.
"Tim, firstly, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Sort of."
"OK, now, where are you?"
"South Padre Island."
"What the hell are....no, that's not important....Have you called Al?"
"No, Billy. I can't. I don't know what to say to her and I'm afraid of what she's going to say to me." Tim leaned back on the bed and covered his eyes with his hand
"Timmy, she is going out of her mind worrying about you. She spent the other night calling hospitals. And she feels horrible, like it's all her fault and she drove you away. If you'd just given her a chance to explain, you'd see what a dumbass you've been. You jumped to a totally idiotic conclusion."
"Then tell me, Billy. Because I know what I saw."
"Dad must of figured she'd be an easy way to get to you, God knows what he said to her, but she kept tellin' him to go away. So when the soft approach didn't work, he got threatening-"
"He threatened her?"
"No, not like that He threatened to take me to court to get his house back. She told him that it wouldn't happen and made him an offer. 50 grand for him to give up his claim on the house and promise not to contact us again."
"She paid him to go away?"
"Yeah. And she buried some details in the fine print – like it was 5,000 cash up front, but then he gets the rest 5,000 at a time, every six months, as long as he stays away."
Tim was silent as he thought about this. It certainly explained the weird phone calls at the garage, her disappearing act at Smitty's, meetings that took longer than they should have taken.
"Damn...But don't you think she should have talked to us first? It seems like a good idea, but then do we really want to be encouragin' him like that? Isn't it like....I don't know, negotiating with a terrorist."
"What are you talking about?"
"He hustles and scams for a living. If he thinks she's a soft touch, then he's never going to leave us alone. He'll just keep coming back, asking for more."
"He's a dirtbag but he ain't stupid. He tried it once already and the way it went, I don't think we're going to see him again. For real this time."
"What happened?"
"When the rest of the money didn't get wired into the account, he came looking for her at the garage. He tried to do that thing he does – you know, where he's figured out what's most important to you and uses it to hurt you?"
"Yeah, I know." Tim tried not to think about all the times he'd seen that nasty little trick in action.
"He said something about you and she just let him have it. I didn't see her first punch, but her second busted open his lip and took some teeth with it. I'm guessing she probably broke a rib or two."
"Her ribs? He didn't..."
"Timmy, I don't think he landed a single punch. You know how hard she hits when she's just playing."
"Yeah." Tim looked down and smiled.
"You got a good one here, Timmy. Please tell me you haven't done anything you can't undo.....you know what I'm asking you here, right?"
"Yeah, Billy, I know. And no. Came close, but no."
"Good, because this girl loves you. And it's a white-hot, fierce kind of love. She'd do anything for you, Tim. Anything."
"Yeah, but is she mad at me for leaving? I'm scared she won't take me back."
"She's mad at herself and she's worried about you. She doesn't know what she'd do without you."
"Yeah, I know how she feels."
"Then will you just get your ass home already? First thing tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah, Billy, I'm ready to come home."
"I'm going to call Al just to let her know you're alive. I'm not tellin' her anything else, though."
"Why? You think I won't come home?"
"I know you, Timmy. You have a bad habit of shutting down and putting things off. Just don't wait too long because you might not be able to find your way back."
"Yeah, Billy. I get it."
"Oh, and Timmy, if I don't see your sorry ass at work on Monday, you're fired."
"Yes, boss." Tim said good-bye and disconnected the call. He turned the light off and closed his eyes, hoping he'd be able to sleep but fearing that his head might just churn things over all night.