Pay It Forward

Sidney has been drinking at a bar in Atascadero. He hits on another man’s girlfriend and then insults the man, and the man and his friends follow Sidney into an alley. Drunk, Sidney continues to insult the man and pulls out his gun, but another guy comes from behind and breaks Sidney’s elbow. The group begins to beat Sidney up and Sidney spits on their shoes, remaining belligerent in the face of extreme pain. A young guy, who the reader later understands to be Matt, arrives on a motorcycle, tears through the group of men, and puts Sidney on the back of his bike, then drives through the group. One of the guys catches Matt’s sleeve and almost tips the bike, but Matt and Sidney manage to escape. Sidney hears gunshots ring out behind him, but is not hit by a bullet. Sidney wonders why Matt saved his life and tries not to pass out.

Sidney flickers in and out of consciousness, waking up only to take painkillers for his broken elbow. Once the painkillers set in, Sidney finally gets up, and Matt tells him he would have taken him to the hospital, but Sidney passed out on the bike. Sidney is pleased with his good luck, as a trip to the hospital would have meant him going back to jail.