One For The Road - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

With a check for half a million dollars in the glove compartment, I pulled into the long gravel driveway to the Sacrilege garage. They would want me back. I was Katie fucking Moore, for God's sake.
The exterior of the house wasn't in the best condition, and there were only sporadic patches of grass in the lawn. I figured that the spring showers would have helped that, but it wasn't like Drake and Annie had much time to focus on landscaping.
I took in a breath. I knew it was a sketchy decision on my part to leave right before a tournament, but I accomplished exactly what I set out to do. We had money in the bank, and hopefully, that would keep the team going for a while.
And if they didn't want that, then at least I had a shit ton of money I could blow on something meaningful, like booze.
I got out of my car with the check in my hand and knocked on the front door. A low-hanging tree branch hovered over the porch, and I picked one of the leaves off of it and twirled it between my fingers.
Of course they wanted me back. There was no way in hell they wouldn't.
Annie opened up the door. "Katie? You're back?"
I held out the check to her. "I did it. I won. We're all set now."
Annie stared back at me without saying a word.
"Is Drake mad?" I asked.
Annie nodded.
"Want to hold half a million dollars?" I asked.
Annie nodded. "I thought you said that the prize was a million."
"Well, some of it had to disappear thanks to taxes both from the government and myself, but you know all about how taxes work. You're Canadian," I said.
"I also know how not getting shot works because I'm Canadian." She laughed.
"Okay, just shut the fuck up." I crossed my arms. "That's not funny."
"I–" Annie stammered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Are–are you okay?"
"Just get Drake. I just want to talk to him."
"He's in the garage with Josiah. Here." She nudged the door open wider, and I followed her in.
She really sucked at keeping her damn mouth shut.
The two of us walked through the house and to the garage, and before Annie could even open up the door, the sound of Sacrilege's motor and Drake and Josiah's laughter came through the walls.
At least they seemed to be in good moods.
"Drake, Josiah, I have some good news," Annie said as she opened up the garage door.
The two of them looked up from their toy, and Josiah frowned. "Shit, that's not good news. That's a fucking nightmare."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up. I'm the best news to ever happen to you idiots, because I have—"
Drake interrupted me. "What the hell were you thinking? We needed you last weekend, and you just left."
"I know it seems bad, but I swear it was for a good reason," I said. "Actually, I think—"
He interrupted me again. "Unless someone died, there's no good reason to ever leave, and you didn't even tell us. How could you just leave us hanging like that?"
I walked down the stairs. "Drake, I'm sorry, but I knew you wouldn't let me go. I'm a grown-ass woman who can make her own decisions, and I didn't need you to tell me that I couldn't leave to race."
"Did you think we just wouldn't find out where you were? Do you think we're stupid? Katie, you live a high-profile life, and all it took was one Google search to find out everything."
"You know I don't think you're stupid. I thought that once you saw this, you'd understand." I held out the check to him. "I just wanted to say thank you for taking a chance on me. That's all. I didn't mean to hurt you."
He paused for a moment and took the check from my hand. He choked in a breath, then looked up at me with wide eyes. "What the hell is this?"
I smiled. "A fuck you to everyone who doesn't think I'm good enough. I wanted it to be invested in something I believe in and people who believe in me."
"Annie, Josiah, could you guys give us a moment?" Drake said.
The two of them left the garage, and their footsteps echoed in the hollow room. Sacrilege was put back together on the floor, but the colors weren't as vibrant as they were when I first saw the robot. I looked over to my Corvette, and there was also a dent in the side that certainly wasn't there before.
I didn't even bother asking about it.
Even though we were alone now, Drake still lowered his voice. "Katie, we're not going to take this. I don't need it, and I don't want it."
"Don't be ridiculous. You can't win anything without money, and now we've got it. I don't know how much it costs to keep a combat robotics team alive, but this is exactly what we needed. You work so hard for this, and I know what it feels like to not have any of your efforts mean anything. It sucks," I said.
"Money can't buy experience, and that's what you need right now. That tournament was going to teach you a lot, and now it's over."
I hesitated. "I know that, but–"
"No, you don't know that. You have a lot to learn about life in general, but I'm really glad to have you back. You're important to this team."
"And you're taking the money?"
Drake shook his head. "Nope. I don't take donations."
"It's an investment. The better we do, the better I do. I'm getting real sick of you thinking that I'm generous or some shit. Hell, I've already kept a decent chunk of the money for myself. I'm trying to get that," I nodded over to my dented Corvette, "back on the road."
Drake didn't say anything for a moment, but neither of us broke the eye contact.
He and I both knew he was lying about not needing and wanting the money. And he and I both knew I was lying about it just being an investment and nothing more.
"I want you to sign a contract. I need to know where your loyalties are after this," Drake finally said.
"A contract?" I smiled and shook my head. "Nope. There's no way in hell that's happening."
I had been there and done that. I couldn't tie myself to one option like I did with Truscott. It was miserable and inescapable, and if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands and ran my mouth, I would have still been stuck there.
Contracts were simply out of the question for a while.
"Why not?" Drake asked. "You wouldn't sign one earlier, and you won't sign one now. Are you just planning on leaving as soon as you get an offer from someone from NASCAR?"
Well, I wanted to keep that option open at the very least.
"Of course not. I just–" I hesitated. Oh, God, how the hell was I gonna spin this? "Drake, what if I'm not cut out for driving robots? I'm a racecar driver."
Nice.
I knew damn well that I could do anything I put my mind to, but Drake didn't have to know that. For all I cared, he could think that I struggled with self-esteem and the concept of change.
There were some people who found something or someone they loved, settled down, and just forgot about the journey until they died. But not me. I lived for getting what I deserved. I lived for the drive.
"Don't be ridiculous. You can figure this out. All it takes is practice, and as long as you don't just disappear right before the next tournament, you'll get plenty of experience." Drake handed the check back to me. "We'll iron this out later. For now, I just want your word that you're going to stick with us. That's all I want."
I nodded. "You have my word."
"Okay." He didn't sound completely convinced, but it wasn't like I truly meant it. As he said, we'd iron it out later.
Later that evening, I sat in the living room with Josiah and Annie, who were cuddled up on the couch. The clocks ticked and tocked just like they always did, and all I could think about how cool it would have been to start my own collection with a trophy grandfather clock from Martinsville. CTV News played on the TV, but I couldn't really pay attention.
I really did the right thing and came back. What the fuck was I thinking?
I shut down any TV appearances or media to celebrate and talk about myself just to fight robots again. Was I actually insane? I had an opportunity to get my life back instead of this fucking madness, and I didn't take it.
There would be an opportunity to change my mind again. It would come along, and as long as I didn't get stuck with promises and contracts, I could get my life back. I was a racer, not a fighter. All I had to do was jump through their hoops and wait. I could wait. I could wait.
I couldn't wait.
"You know why we're keeping you around, right Katie?" Josiah asked, and I jumped at the sudden question.
Play it cool. I was not just freaking the fuck out. "No idea. Is it because I'm hot?"
"I'm pretty sure that's one of the reasons Drake hasn't given up with you. You're a nightmare to work with, you know."
"So I've been told."
"Josiah, don't tell her. She's in a bad mood today for whatever reason. She snapped at me earlier," Annie said.
I sat up straight. "What?"
Josiah turned and looked at me. "You did what?"
"Me? I didn't do anything. She just made an inappropriate joke, and I called her out on it," I said.
Annie bit her lip. "Oh, shit. It's fine, Josiah. It was really over the line."
"What did you say to her?" Josiah asked.
"I just told her that we don't get shot because we're Canadian, which is a little insensitive." Annie grimaced. "It's okay, though. We worked it out."
She didn't have any right to joke about that. Of course, she didn't know the whole story, but she knew enough that it was a touchy subject for me.
But even though Annie lied that everything was fine, Josiah stood up and walked over to my chair. He grabbed ahold of my wrist and looked me in the eyes. "I swear to God, if you snap at her again, I'll snap your neck. Do you understand?"
"I swear to God, if you touch me one more time, I'll leave so you're left with nothing. And I'll take your girlfriend too while I'm at it," I said.
He threw my wrist back down into my lap and walked back to sit with Annie without another word. Tick, tick, tick. It was like his clocks were counting down to his meltdown when he finally killed me.
This whole jump through their hoops and wait strategy was off to a shitty start. I needed to recover.
"So why are you keeping me around?" I asked.
Josiah didn't look over from the TV. "Just shut up."
For once in my life, I did just that. Besides, Annie or Drake would probably be willing to tell me later.