by Ward, Kira
“Yay!” Layla cheered and clapped Travis’s hands together.
“Eey! Go Caleb!” Travis screamed out loud.
“He’s got this,” Mason said low.
Things were looking great for Caleb until he reached the end of the first lap when Hector blatantly rammed him in the back and caused him to spin out of control.
“Whoa! Hey!” Mason stood up immediately. “That fucking asshole!”
I stood and my jaw dropped. Hector had hit Caleb hard, and the idea that Caleb might be hurt freaked me out. Plus, several other cars were coming around the bend, and any one of them could potentially smash him and cause another crash.
“That was on purpose?” Layla asked. “He’s allowed to do that?”
“Damn right that was on purpose,” Mason said. “And it’s a street race, honey. There aren’t too many rules. It’s not cool though.”
The crowd was wailing at the sight, and several were standing up, waiting to see what would happen.
“Come on Caleb!” Mason yelled. “Turn your ass around. Suck it up!”
“Come on Caleb,” I whispered, willing that he was okay, willing that he would do something.
“Come on Caleb!” Mason yelled again. “C’mon! This is your race!”
It was only seconds, but it felt like an eternity before Caleb turned his car around and started back down the track.
“He’s ok!” Layla said.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Caleb looked like a man on a mission as he rocketed down the track, passing car after car and sliding around curves faster than anyone else out there. When he swam around the last curve and onto the straightaway, only Hector was in front of him and it looked like Caleb would take a comfortable second place.
The crowd cheered for the racers.
“Second place isn’t bad,” Layla said.
“Especially after getting rammed,” Mason added.
A loud warping sound rang out from the track, and flames sparked out of Caleb’s tailpipe. Suddenly, Caleb shot down the straightaway like he had been fired out of a bullet chamber.
“Holy shit!” Mason said. “He used his NOS!”
Layla gasped. She told me the stories of when Mason used NOS while she was in the car. It still freaked her out.
There was a deafening roar from the crowd the moment that Caleb passed Hector, and Layla was practically jumping up and down. Mason had his hands up.
But the sounds of awe turned to sounds of shock only moments later when flames shot out of Hector’s exhaust as well. Hector zoomed down the straightaway just as Caleb was passing the finish line and smashed into Caleb’s rear end. Caleb’s car spun out ninety degrees and then was being pushed down the track sideways by Hector’s NOS fueled engine.
“Oh my god!” I shouted.
The sound of metal crashing against metal rang out loud as Caleb’s car slammed into the railing of the track.
“Oh shit!” Mason said and turned to Layla. “Wait here!” Mason bolted out of the stands and towards his brother.
I looked at Layla, who was just standing there with one of her hands over her mouth, and then back to Mason before I started running for the crash.
My heart pounded as I pushed past people who were standing up trying to get a better look of the cars and made it down to where the railing met the track. Mason and I both hopped over the security railing, and before we even made it to the accident, other racers had gotten out of their cars and ran over the to the scene along with a couple of medics that the venue had on standby.
“Get back in the stands!” a burly man yelled to Mason, putting his hands out to block Mason going any further. “Stay away from here.”
“I’m Caleb’s brother!” Mason yelled.
The man looked at Mason’s eyes and then stepped aside to let him through, but then he looked over to me. “And who are you? Fans can’t be on the track.”
“I’m not a fan!” I yelled. “I need to see him!”
“You his sister?”
“No…” I said.
“The get the fuck in the stands!”
I tried to push past the man, but he just put his arms out and pushed me back. “I’m his girlfriend!” I yelled.
“You’re his girl?” He looked down at me with uncertainty in his eyes.
I nodded.
He pointed a finger at me. “Go ahead, but if you’re lying, I’ll have you thrown out of here.”
I ran across the hardened pavement of the track. It smelled like tar, burnt oil and rubber down there. Men were pushing Hector’s R8 off of Caleb’s car and Hector had already gotten out and was limping around the back, holding on to his side when he saw me.
“Amanda…” he said lowly.
“Fuck you!” I yelled at him. I ran up and slapped his face as hard as I could.
His face whipped to the side from the force my slap and then he smiled. “What?”
“You fucking asshole!” I slammed my fists into his chest, but it didn’t seem to phase him. He just grabbed one of my arms and held me so I couldn’t move. “You hit him on purpose!”
“So what?! You got a thing for the guy?”
The men managed to get Hector’s car off of Drifter, and then 3 of them quickly yanked his door open. Caleb practically fell out, but a man in a medic suit caught him.
I tried to wriggle myself free, but then Mason appeared and tore us apart. Mason gently shoved me away and threw a hard fist against Hector’s jaw. Hector was rocked back and fell hard to the ground with a thump.
Hector groaned.
“You piece of shit!” Mason yelled. He stood over Hector and then dropped to his knees, about to throw another blow at Hector’s face before two other men grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away. Mason spat at the ground. “You don’t deserve to be on this track!”
I rushed over to where the two medics were checking out the damage that had been done. There was a gash at the top of Caleb’s head where one of them was wiping away blood, and the other was forcing one of Caleb’s eyes wide open and shining a flashlight at it.
“Do you know where you are, Caleb?”
“Yeah, I’m at fuckin’ TITS,” Caleb groaned.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Three…” Caleb replied.
“Do you hurt anywhere else but your head?”
“I feel a little bruised up everywhere but I think I’m okay.”
I knelt down beside one of the medics. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” the medic said. “Looks like nothing too major. We’re going to have to give him stitches for the gash on his head. We should probably send him over to the hospital for a full exam, and—”
“Fuck the hospital,” Caleb moaned. “I’m a little shaken up, but I’ll be alright.” Caleb swallowed hard and blinked. He sat up and pushed his shoulders back like he was stretching. “Can I get just some water?”
One of the medics nodded. “Go get him some water,” he said to the other medic.
Caleb blinked a few more times and then turned to me. He squinted and his voice was crackly. “Amanda? What are you doing here?”
I leaned in and grabbed his hand. “I saw the wreck, and I… and you….” I sighed and closed my eyes. “Thank god you’re okay.”
Caleb looked down at my hand holding his and lifted a little. “Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought. I saw you with Hector and—”
“Fuck Hector,” I spat.
“Fuck Hector?” Caleb muttered, his voice confused. “And I thought you didn’t want to see me again.”
I squeezed my eyes tight again and dipped my head. “I’m so sorry Caleb. I was just hurt because I thought you had another girl. I don’t care about Hector. I was only using him to make you angry.”
“No,” Caleb’s voice was suddenly stern.
I looked up, and his eyes no longer blinked; they were wide and steady. I nodded a couple times. “I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me
now.”
“No,” Caleb said again. “I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“What?” I asked.
“I’m sorry for not telling you about Sunny. I’m sorry about the picture. But more than anything I’m sorry for not fighting for you. I should have never let you close the door on me that night without a fight. Hell, if I could go back in time I would kick Russell Blake’s ass just make sure you went to Prom with me. All those years I spent without you, wasted…”
I pushed past the medic’s arm and threw my arm around Caleb’s neck. “Oh, Caleb!” I yelled through the tears that were swelling in my eyes. “I missed you so much.”
“Hey! Be careful!” the medic shouted.
Caleb seemed to be in pain, but still managed to wrap his arm around me. “I’ll never let you go without a fight again,” he said. “I love you Amanda. I really fucking love you.”
I half laughed and half cried when I heard those words come out of his mouth—words that I never imagined I’d actually hear from a guy like Caleb. But somehow I knew he was sincere. “I love you too.”
“Come on. Let’s get him out of this car,” the medic said. “The R8 has leaked a lot of oil, so it’s a hazard if we stay here.”
I pulled my head away and planted a quick kiss on his lips before standing and pulling away so that Caleb could get helped out of the car.
Mason rounded one of the medics and grabbed his brother’s arm, throwing it around his shoulder. “Come on bro,” he said.
The medic without the water grabbed Caleb’s other hand and pulled while Mason lifted, and basically dragged him out of the car. Caleb planted both feet on the ground, and while he was wobbly at first, with the help of the two men, he was able to straighten his knees and stand upright.
The people still gawking at the race started to clap, happy that he had survived.
“How do you feel?” the medic asked. “Can you stand on your own?”
“I think so…”
The medic let go of his hand and Caleb unwrapped his arm around Mason’s shoulder, just placing his hand on a shoulder to keep himself steady. He shifted a bit, but he seemed able to hold his own.
The other medic handed Caleb the opened water and he started chugging it down like he hadn’t had a drink in days. Within seconds, he finished the water and dropped the bottle on the track.
He turned to look at the R8 and then at Drifter. “That dickhead ruined my car.”
Mason stepped forward and rubbed his hand around the edge of the car’s frame. “The frame is bent, but most of the damage is superficial. She’ll need a new set of tires after the body is fixed up, but I bet she’d start up right now if you tried.”
“Where did Hector go? I’d like a word with the prick,” Caleb said.
Mason tilted his chin, and I turned to see Hector climbing over the railing while he was holding the side of his face. He fell to the ground, got up and limped as he continued to run away.
“You want to follow him?” Mason asked.
Caleb sighed. “No, forget about it.” He turned to me and placed an arm around my shoulder. “I have all I want right here.”
Caleb leaned in for a kiss, but before we made contact, a short man with glasses strolled up to us. “Glad to see you made it. I just wanted to remind you to come collect your winnings when you’re done.”
“Winnings?” I asked.
“I bet 10k on the race as a last minute thing,” Caleb explained. “And I guess with how the odds were set, I must have won…”
“$100,000,” the man said.
Mason slammed his hand down hard on Caleb’s shoulder. “I told you that you could do it man.”
Caleb smiled. “You’re not going to lecture me about using NOS?”
“No,” Mason said softly. “Seeing you on the track today and seeing you with Amanda shows me that you’ve grown up. You can make your own choices, bro.” He sucked Caleb into a hug. “I’m proud of you”
When Caleb pulled away from his brother, he turned his head and looked at me. His eyes were glistening and he had a warm smile on his face. He said nothing. He just grabbed my hands and pulled me in for the gentlest kiss I’d ever experienced in my life.
Chapter 28
Caleb
Amanda and I spent all night making love. It was a little painful, given how many bruises were covering my body, but I didn’t care about the pain. Having her so close to me made me forget everything else. We kissed, hugged and rattled off to each other with things that we had been dying to tell each other since the long break from being together.
In the morning, we ordered room service and sat in bed having a nice American breakfast while we talked more. It was perfect… aside from the fact that we were in a hotel. Now that things were back to normal, I knew I needed to stay in Miami with Amanda, so I needed to start looking for my own place. Maybe we could even look for a place together.
Amanda’s phone rang and she chewed the food in her mouth and answered it. “Hello,” she said. “Yes, this is Amanda. I’m sorry, what agency are you with? Conrad Modelling? I haven’t heard of you before. Oh, so you got a referral from another agency? Okay. Today? I’m not sure if I have time today…. Wait… $7,000 for one shoot?”
Amanda’s eyes got a little wide and she covered the phone with her hands and looked at me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“This photographer wants to pay me $7,000 for one shoot, but he wants to shoot today. I was kind of hoping to just spend the day with you.”
I smiled and waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it, babe. Go ahead and do it… We have all the time in the world.”
Amanda sighed and removed her hand from the phone. “What time?” She looked at the watch on her hand. “Yeah, I guess I can be there in 2 hours.”
Amanda stood from the desk and picked up the pad and pencil that was sitting on the hotel room desk and started scribbling down the address before she ended the call.
She sighed again. “I’ve got to be there in 2 hours.”
“I’ll drive you,” I offered. After the accident the previous day, we had Drifter towed to the Mod Shop for repair, and I picked up a rental.
“You should rest, Caleb. Let your body heal.”
“I hate sitting in hotel rooms. Really, I’ll have a lot more fun driving you there.”
Amanda shrugged. “Okay, if you insist.” She placed her hand on the bathroom door. “Come shower with me?”
I smiled and sat my breakfast to the side. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
I pulled myself out of the bed, my muscles still sore from the accident and my head still throbbing where the stitches were on my forehead. Nothing was going to stop me from a shower with Amanda though.
We took our time cleaning each other off, exploring each other’s bodies which seemed to never get tiring. We dried off, and by the time that we were both dressed and down stairs, we had 30 minutes to get to her job.
The Prius felt so strange to drive, but I have to admit that it handled well and was very comfortable. I followed the directions on the GPS until we made it down a quiet alley in downtown Miami and parked in front of an old, five-story building. It looked like the kind of place I’d expect a photographer to live.
I stretched my arms out. “Do you mind if I just hang out here?” I asked. “I’ll take a nap until you’ve finished.”
“It might be a couple hours,” I said.
“A 2-hour nap sounds incredible.” I smiled.
Amanda leaned in and gave me a kiss on the lips before she popped the door open and got out. I watched as she climbed a short set of steps and stopped at the door of the building, pressed a button and spoke into a speaker. There was a buzz that opened the building and she stepped inside.
I adjusted the tilt in the Prius so that I could lean back as far as I could and closed my eyes, trying to focus my mind away from the throbbing pain that was still pulsing through my body. I thought about Amanda and how happy I was to have her back
in my life—I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
And then there was a loud scream.
My eyes snapped open and I sat up in the Prius, processing what I just heard. It didn’t sound like just any scream. It sounded like it could have been Amanda’s scream, and it sounded like it was coming from the direction of the building.
“What the hell?”
I jumped out of the car and ran as fast as I could to the front of the building and yanked and the glass door at the front. It didn’t budge, and I had no idea what room Amanda had went to.
I ran back to the car, and thankfully, the note that Amanda had scribbled from early was still there. The photographer was in Room D on the 5th floor.
I shut the door and hurried back to the speaker, dialing room D on the 5th floor, but after several seconds of it ringing, no one answered. I tried again and then a third time and no response.
I wanted to pull my hair out.
Room A and B on the first floor, Room C and D on the 2nd floor—I tried them all. It wasn’t ‘til I buzzed room at on the 3rd floor when a tired-sounding old lady finally picked up.
“Hello?” she said through the speaker.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I really need to get inside. I think my friend is in trouble.”
“What?” she asked.
“My friend is inside, and I need to check on her.”
“What? Darling I can’t understand a thing you’re saying.”
I put my hands up and pulled on my hair. Every minute that I was stuck out there was a minute that something bad could be happening to Amanda. I figured I would try anything at that point. “Special Delivery,” I said.
“Delivery?”
“Package.”
“Oh, I love packages. Come on in sweetheart.”
The lady buzzed me in, and I rolled my eyes as I yanked the door open and started bolting as fast as I could up the 5 stories of steps. When I reached the 5th floor, I strolled casually down the dimly lit hallway, trying to not make a lot of noise. It was a very plain building with an old smell, and my footsteps creaked no matter how softly I tried to walk.
I finally reached room D, and through the door I could hear Amanda wail, her voice on the verge of tears. “Just leave me alone, please. I don’t want to do this anymore…”