"Let's go to the river!" Rebecca begged her brother as he threw up another ball and swung his bat so hard that when it hit, it sent the ball flying over into the backyard fence.

"If I don't make the team..." he trailed off, unable to find an answer. "I just have to make the team."

"Bucky...." Rebecca groaned, wrapping her arms around his arm. "Everyone is there! And it's so hot. All the boys that will try out will be there too. It's too hot to practice baseball!"

"I'm not going to make the team if I don't practice!" the ten year old argued, shaking her off and throwing another ball up.

Rebecca frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "You know just as well as everyone else that you are going to make the baseball team. You are the best!"

"Not better than Jimmy," remarked Bucky with no trace or hint of jealousy in his tone at all.

"So?" asked Rebecca. "There are nine spots on a team."

"But I can be the best," he told her simply. "And that's what I want to do."

Rebecca huffed and stood there defeated for a moment... that is— until she came up with a brilliant plan. She grinned as she knelt down and snatched his bag of baseballs and took off into the house, squealing and giggling.

Bucky stood there a few seconds, his jaw agape until his mouth formed an angry line as he threw down his bat and chased after her. "Becky!" he screamed, running into the house.

"Rebecca! Bring those back!"

He bolted through the hall and into the kitchen, screaming his sister's name.

"Woah there, mister!" His mother said, stopping him with her hand on his chest. "What do you think you're doing running in this house and screaming like a banshee?"

"Rebecca took my ball bag and ran inside with it. I was practicing my swing."

"Oh yeah?" asked his mother. "I do think it's time for a break, dear. You've been at it all morning."

"Ma..." Bucky whined. His mother frowned.

"Don't whine, son. Take Rebecca and Lester down to the river. I heard that all the kids are down there getting away from the heat."

Bucky huffed, looking out the window at the hot sun. "Ma, don't you think Les is too little? He can't even swim yet."

She smiled. "Well why don't you teach him?"

He sighed again, hoping his mother would catch his dismay at having to go to the river. He gave her a look of "I don't want to", but she responded by saying, "Have fun. I'll have a pie ready when you get back. At least by evening."

"Yes, ma," he said with a hint of disapproval in his voice as he went to go find his little brother and sister.

He found Lester playing trains with their baby brother, William. William was 3 and named after their father who died the year he was born.

"You wanna go to the river with Rebecca and I? I'll teach you to swim," he told Lester. His face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Yes," he agreed as he bounded towards his big brother. Bucky had to admit, even though he didn't really want to go, it was great to see his brother so happy.

"I want to go!" Will be announced. He held his hands out for Bucky to pick him up. "I go, Bucky! I'm going!"

Bucky picked Will up and smiled. "Sorry, Willie. You can't go. You're too little."

"I want to go!" he repeated.

"I'm sorry! You're just too little," he told him. That's when the tears came.

"I want to!" he cried. He sat Will down on the floor. "Go ask Ma then."

When Will left the room, Bucky left to go get Rebecca. He knew Ma would say no. He found Rebecca in her room playing with her doll house.

"Hey, Rebecca," he said, leaning on the door frame. She turned around grinning.

"Have you come for something, dear brother?" she asked smugly, her bright smile shining the entire room.

"I'll make a deal with you," he said.

She crossed her arm with pursed lips. "Fine."

"If you shag all the balls I hit... including the one I hit into Mr. Baker's yard and put them all back in the bag and put it in the shed, I'll take you to the river to go swimming," he told her brilliantly.

She smiled, excited. "Deal!" she said happily as she exploded out the door. When they were ready, they ran off to the river.

The little town of Shelbyville didn't have but 1,000 people. Give or take 200. There was a big neighborhood and a few farms as places to live. There was a farmers market where you could buy or sell nearly anything. Then there were a few shops down the main road. There was an elementary and junior high in the same building, then a high school. And there was only one church. A Baptist church.

Everyone knew each other. Bucky's entire family lived here. Except for his father's brother who lived in New York City. And maybe a third cousin in Atlanta.

The walk to the river only made the three Barnes kids yearn for the water even more. It was the hottest day of the summer. Everyone was talking about it. And nearly all the children had flitted off the town's swimming hole in the river that ran so eagerly behind the neighborhood of the town. Bucky, Rebecca, and Lester's shirts all had a giant circle of sweat hanging around their collars.

When they finally arrived, they looked at how packed the swing hole was. People pushed all the way out to where they didn't usually swim. Bucky and Rebecca gave each other an excited look before they raced to the shore, Lester on their heels.

As they ran, the three of them peeled off their sticky clothes and discarded them in a pile they would find later. They squealed in delight as they threw themselves into the river. This part was clear and shallow with pretty pebbles lining the bed. It goes deeper the further out you go up or down the river.

The water was warm in the shallows, but Bucky had to admit that it felt so much better than the beating sun.  He let the water wash over him and soak into his hair. It felt so good. He came up from under the water to see Rebecca fall in with her group of girls. Now that they were all a bit older she didn't follow him around as much.

Bucky glaced out across the water to see the boys his age slashing and wrestling around in the water. That's where Bucky wanted to be. But then he looked back over to his nervous little brother, who had never really visited the swimming hole with this many people. He looked expectant of his big brother to lead him.

He always put Becky first. Why not Les? He looked longingly back to his friends. He wanted to go, but he had a mission: teaching Lester to swim.

"Alright, Les," Bucky said with an excited smile. "C'mere."

Lester smiled and stepped in the water. But when his feet met the sticky bottom, he flinched back.

"C'mon," Bucky said again, holding out his hand. "No big deal. Here."

He held out his hand for his brother to take hold of. Lester took it happily, letting Bucky pull him farther into  the water.

"First, ya gotta learn how to float," he informed me. "Here," he held out his arms and motioned for Lester to lay back.

After a while, Bucky had Lester floating freely. And a while after that, he could successfully doggie paddle. Bucky was the successful, proud teacher of his little brother.

"Look, Bucky!" Lester said, stepping off into the deep end. He looked like a little puppy. Bucky laughed excitedly as he watched his little brother swim around. "Let's go tell Ma!" he suggested, swimming towards the shore. "I wanna tell Ma!"

"Ah-ah!" Bucky corrected, grabbing Lester by the arm and pulling him closer to him. "How about we swim across the river? That way, you'll have a whole adventure to tell Ma about," Bucky proposed, looking across the river where all his friends slashed and played.

Lester's face lit up. "Yeah!" he agreed. "Throw me!"

Bucky could help but smiled. "Alright, Les."

Bucky waded over, closer to his brother and grabbed him by his waist. "Remember to swim. It's deep over there."

"Okay," Lester agreed, nodding his head. Then, with a spurt of effort, Bucky threw his little brother out into the middle of the river. His little brother squealed in delight as he hit the water.

Bucky was a strong boy. As a 10 year old, he could rival a few junior high boys. Maybe some freshmen. He couldn't help but laugh as he swam out to meet Lester.

"You're a fast learner, Les," Bucky complimented as he stroked to the other side. Lester was doggy paddling.

"How long did it take Becky?" asked Lester. He always wanted to rival her and be better. Lester was always competitive with Rebecca while Rebecca was more-so competitive with Bucky more-so.

But Bucky knew that Lester would win this competition. And he knew that Lester would rub it in Rebecca's face until he forgot about it.

"Les, she's a girl. You can't keep comparing," Bucky tried.

Lester frowned. "But she's older than me!"

Bucky shot his brother's cocky grin. "Rebecca was three. You're older and a boy."

"How long!" The five year old won.

"I had to take her to the river for three days," Bucky admitted, unwillingly.

"Three days?" Lester asked, in shock. "It took her three days when it only took me an hour."

Bucky got to where his feet could touch the floor and he turned to Lester. "She's a girl you booger!"

He stuck out his tongue and speed to the shore where the boys Bucky's age were talking loudly.

"He is the best player! The best player that ever lived! Just you wait and see what he does! You wait!" one cried. He was tall, handsome and fit like Bucky. Only he had light hair and dark eyes.

"What about Sewell?" another asked. This one was short, pudgy, and ginger.

"What about him? He's just a shortstop!" The first one came back sharply.

"Babe Ruth is a Left Fielder! They're scrubs!" the left one cried.

"I'm a left fielder!" whined one of the boys standing next to them. He was short and scrawny.

"Exactly!" the fat one added.

"Guys! Cool down!" Bucky called out to them.

The first boy looked over to see who had spoken. "Bucky!" he cried. "Tell the boys who is the best baseball player!"

Bucky gave them a strange look. "Do I have to answer? It's the Babe!"

The first boy pushed the second, laughing. "I told ya, you cold fish!"

Bucky shrugged. "Jimmy's right."

"You're all fat-heads," the second boy grumbles as he stomps off into the river. Then the dozen boys called after him.

"Hendricks!" they all yelled chasing after him into the water. Jimmy grabbed him by the arm, with a charming smile. Hendricks turned around and laughed.

"I'm gonna dust you, Jim!" he growled, attacking him. They fell into the water wrestling and growling and giggling.

"C'mon, boys, we gotta get some of this," Bucky laughed, jumping into the fight. And in a flash the large group of boys were engaged in a good-hearted brawl on the shallow waters.

And all the while, Bucky had forgotten about his five year old brother who had only learned to swim in the last half hour in the deep, crowded river. The boys continued to fight and all the people continued to talk and swim.

That was until an ear splitting scream rang out through the whole area. The boys stopped fighting and looked around for the disturbance.

"HELP!" screamed a girl's voice. "A boy! In the water!"

And that is when Bucky's blood went cold. "Lester," he said under his breath. Jimmy piped up at this. Both boys were wide eyed and jaw agape with fear.

"Lester," Jimmie said. "I saw him. He swam over her with you."

"Jesus," Bucky choked out. He had never been so afraid in his life. He had taken his attention off his little brother for a brawl. What kind of person was he? He only hoped to god that the boy that the girl was calling  out over wasn't Lester.

"LESTER!" screamed Jimmy. No one responded. He turned to the group of boys. "Spread out! Look for Les!" he said.

Then he pulled at Bucky's arm. "Buck!" he yelled, trying to get Bucky's attention. But Bucky's mind was lost. He was too busy thinking about all the times that he had wronged his brother. There weren't any real wrongs. They were mostly saying no to candy or not playing with him. But now, they were as bad as the deadly sins to Bucky. "Bucky!" Jimmy pressed, pulling him into the water. "We gotta go see!"

And finally, he snapped back into existence. "Right," he mumbled. "Alright."

And they jumped into the water and swam after the panicking group of people.

They found a group of teenage girls who looked like they had seen a ghost. Any other time, the boys would have acted out  and flirted and talked about how they saw older girls in their underwear, but there were more pressing things on their minds.

The girls were shaking, standing on the river bed. "What happened?" asked Jimmy. "Where did he go?"

"Who was he?" Bucky added.

"There was a boy. Face down in the water. He looked dead. Nicky and Jerry went to get him," the blonde revealed. She could see Bucky's worried face. "I could see his face. I'm sure it wasn't anyone. Surely whoever it was is okay."

The one next to her, a brunette, spoke. "I've never seen a dead body before," she whispered.

"Bons!" yelled an older boy's voice. Bucky recognized it to be Jerry's.

"What is it, Jerry?" she asked as he swam into view.

"Go get some help," he said with a trembling voice. Then he looked over and saw Bucky.

"Is Bucky here?" asked Jerry. Bucky's eyes widened. He couldn't breathe. His whole body went numb. All he could do was think, but he was thinking so fast that he could process it. He turned to look at Jimmy with a look of horror on his face. Jimmy returned it.

Bucky looked back to Jerry and nodded.

"Go get her and leave with Carol," he told him, his voice a light as a feather. It was easy to tell that he was scared out of his mind. Jerry and Nicky were the star athletes of the senior class. They were model citizens in the county and were good people. Bucky was only ten and had to do as he said.

Jimmy gathered up the boys and went home while Bucky swam over to Rebecca's group of friends and told her to come with him home.

"Where's Lester?" She asked him as they hit the bank.

"Just come on," Bucky told her, a tear welling in his crystal blue eyes. He took her hand and pulled her along.

"Bucky!" she yelled, pulling him to a stop. "Where is Lester?"

Bucky could already feel his bottom lip trembling as he ignored his sister and walked on.

The whole way home, Debbie screamed, kicked and fought, but Bucky couldn't let her go. But he could bring himself to tell her what had happened. She'd find out soon enough. All he could do was drag her along as the silent tears streamed down his face.

He had killed Lester Simon Barnes.

He had killed him.