Chapter 9 Summary

Rusty-James is hurting so bad the next day he decides to go to the free clinic. The doctor looks too young to be a doctor, but he is nice, and he does not ask questions. He tells Rusty-James he needs to go to the hospital for x-rays, but Rusty-James hates hospitals more than jail. He leaves, swiping some aspirin from a drugstore.

He goes to Steve's house, figuring that since his dad would be at work and his mother still in the hospital, he would be alone. Rusty-James has never been to Steve's, though he knows where it is. Steve sees him coming and holds the door open.

Rusty-James is shocked by the bruises on Steve's face. He wonders if it happened during the mugging; his memory of it is fuzzy, and that seems to be when his memory started going bad. However...