One For The Road - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

After a quick chat with my agent, it was pretty clear that I was the favorite for the fan All-Star vote. Maybe they felt bad for me, but I liked to think that they all liked my bold personality. And if they didn't actually like me and it was in fact pity, I didn't give a shit. A chance was a chance.
The All-Star festivities would take place in Charlotte, North Carolina over the weekend, and it wasn't just a race. There were concerts, autographs, tailgating, and most importantly for me, networking. The way I left NASCAR gave a lot of team owners questions about me. Hopefully I could give them a few answers.
The only problem was that there was a robot-fighting tournament in Chicago that same weekend. But a million dollars could keep Sacrilege going even after I left the team. It was the least I could do for them, anyway.
I took a seat at the kitchen table as Annie fussed over dinner. I usually liked to help her, even though I wasn't any good at cooking.
When I lived close to Griffin in Baton Rouge, he cooked for me a lot (even if it was all healthy bullshit), and I kept his house clean enough to be presentable and relatively un-disgusting. I frowned. Every second I wasn't his teammate, I strayed a little closer to insanity.
But soon I'd be back in a car, and even though I wouldn't be driving for RTR, we would finally be driving the same track once again.
"You know, if I hurry, I might be able to finish your suit before the next tournament. You'll be the only one wearing one, since I definitely can't get the other two done, but you'll look the cutest in it anyway," Annie said.
"You don't have to stress out about that. I know there's so much other shit that needs to be taken care of before that," I said.
Annie chuckled, but she didn't smile. "You're telling me. God, all I want is to be able to work on something that I actually like to do, but there's no time. My mural in the garage still needs finished too, and I just can't find a minute to do anything besides," she paused, "work."
"The only other option is to turn what you love into work, and trust me, that sucks too. I thought being a racecar driver was all fun and games, but it's cruel, and there's not a single fucking guarantee in that world."
Annie shook her head. "Well, that sounds much more appealing than having the guarantee of nothing ever changing."
I didn't reply to that for a minute. Maybe she was right, and if I kept myself in the robot-fighting arena, how the hell would I ever get out? Did the road of life just dead-end here?
"So if you could do anything, what would it be?" I asked.
Annie hesitated. "I don't know, I probably wouldn't change anything. I'm happy with Josiah."
Considering I hadn't mentioned anything about that douchebag, it certainly seemed like I had found the problem.
"If Josiah didn't exist, is this where you would want to be?" I asked.
Annie shook her head. "You can't ask questions like that. He does exist, and I wouldn't have even known about any of this without him."
So that was a no.
I stood up from the kitchen table. "You like art and design, don't you?"
Annie nodded as I finally stood next to her.
"I've spent my entire life destroying, Annie. I crashed cars into walls and other cars, and I only got pissed because it meant I couldn't win anymore. I beat the shit out of a robot, and I got the shit beat out of me. But you see something that's not there and create, and that means so much more than destruction," I said.
And worst of all, she created a desire in me. It wasn't purely attraction, though. She deserved more than what she was getting, and I wanted to make sure that she got it.
There were times that being a friend was much more important than anything else.
"We can't all pack everything up and try to find adventure somewhere else, Katie. That's just not feasible for everyone," Annie replied.
If we had that million dollars, she could be out living her dream. Even if it wasn't as glamorous as everyone made it out to be, she at least deserved to find that out on her own.
"Listen, I'm going to tell you something, and you have to promise not to tell Drake or Josiah, okay? Promise," I said.
Annie turned away from the stove to face me. "What is it?"
"This team needs money, and we need it badly. We could use a million dollars, and I have a perfect route there. All I have to do is win the NASCAR All-Star Race."
She blinked a couple times. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's just that the race is the same weekend as the next tournament, but I'm way better at driving cars than robots," I said.
"So what you're saying is that you're leaving us to go back to racing?"
I held a finger up. "Just for a weekend."
Annie turned back to the stove and sprinkled some spices into the pot. She didn't say anything for a moment, and I wasn't sure if it was her or the food that was boiling.
"Just think. If we had money, you wouldn't have to stress as much," I said.
"If you want the truth, you have to realize what it looks like from our perspective. You got fired from racing because you're selfish and couldn't keep away from booze, and now it looks like you're trying to do the same thing to us."
"Are you fucking joking? I just explained—"
Annie interrupted. "I'm just telling you what Drake's gonna think. He doesn't want money. He just wants to have a good team."
"Well, you need to have money to have a good team. And it's naive to think anything else," I said.
"I know," she said. "All he wants is people who care like he does, and I swear to God, if you leave, he's going to be pissed."
"I'm not leaving, for fuck's sake. I'm helping," I said.
"Sometimes the biggest help is just being there. I'm not going to say anything to either Drake or Josiah, but you need to think about it. Is it worth it?"
I didn't reply to that, but I already knew in my heart that it was one hundred percent worth it.
I never really unpacked my belongings in the Sacrilege house, so there wasn't much to do before I snuck away to Charlotte, North Carolina.
I lost my job, thanks to circumstances out of my control, but there was only one person who could take the wheel and get me back there. Me.
As much as I would have liked to believe that I was just a selfless part in the Sacrilege machine, I couldn't lie to myself like that. I wanted to compete for a million reasons. I wanted to prove to Roger Truscott that he fucked up spectacularly and to show other car owners that I would be a great addition to their team. I needed some money to get my new car back on the road and to give back to the team who took a chance on me, even when I didn't have any robot-driving experience.
But perhaps the biggest reason of all was to see the only person left who cared about me.
He didn't know me when I dropped out of high school with nothing but a dream, he didn't know me when both my parents were murdered, and yet, he somehow still knew me completely.
I was blessed to have an idiot like Griffin Gallagher for a best friend.
That night, after Drake fell asleep, I'd head straight out the door and back to the US to race my heart out. Drake wasn't an idiot, though, and he would know where I went. Besides, as soon as I arrived, someone would shove a camera and microphone right in my face, and I'd have no choice but to say some more shit to piss people off. I couldn't win races, so I had to make up for it somehow.
Although I didn't have a contract with anyone, I had too much pride to let my legacy die with Truscott. I wasn't a role model for young girls for poise or grace, but maybe there'd be a few people who admired the way I drove.
I refolded a shirt from the top of my bag, and I wiped my hands on the back of my shorts. I hadn't realized that my hands were sweating, and as Drake entered the room, I shoved the shirt back in my bag without paying any mind to how it would wrinkle.
"Are you going to bed?" he asked.
I shook my head. "I'm not tired yet, but I'll leave so you can get some sleep."
The ends justified the means. One tournament forfeit wouldn't break the team, but a million dollars could change everything.