One For The Road - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

"Can I ask you one more thing?" Annie asked on our way to go pick up the Corvette.
Just the thought of that car was enough to get my heart racing, and in all the craziness that had been going on, I almost forgot about it completely. But the timing was more perfect than anything I could have ever planned.
"Sure, I guess," I said.
"Who was it? The super famous woman you hooked up with?" she asked.
"Renee Patterson."
She hesitated. "Who?"
"She's a country singer. Come on, you have to know her. She's tall, blonde, and enjoys weird colors of eye shadow, but she still looks great with them."
Annie shook her head. "I don't think I do. I'm really not into that kind of music."
I looked up at the roof of the car. "I thought Canadians were into country. Aren't you?"
She laughed. "Don't worry, Katie. Even though I have no idea who you're talking about, I'm sure she's stunning, and I still think you're awesome."
I could live with that.
We ended up in the parking lot of a garage, and there were three other cars parked out there, two rusting trucks and one new old Corvette.
"Oh my god. Oh my god," I mumbled and grabbed Annie's wrist to steady myself in my seat, and I opened up the door to go see the beauty up close. "That car's giving me butterflies in the goddamn vagina."
"Jesus, Katie," she said.
The red paint and chrome glimmered in the sunshine with not a single scratch or dent to ruin the perfect metal. My eyes roamed down the long hood and into the windows, where the tattered old leather seats were gone and replaced with new ones. The rims on the Goodyears, the company I wore on my fire suit and number ninety-five car, didn't have a speck of grime on them. And I still hadn't even heard the engine purr.
A bell rang as the front door swung open to reveal an older man with greying brown hair and a smile without one of the front teeth. "What do you think?"
"I think I'm in love. Griffin's going to lose his shit when he sees this. This is the first time that he'll be jealous of me instead of the other way around," I said, and I rose my eyebrows at my own statement.
Well, it was true, but did I really have to out myself like that? Wasn't that how I got myself in this mess?
"So what year is this lovely lady here? I'm sure you know a hell of a lot more about these than I do," I said, and I looked down at the shiny surface. As soon as I laid my hands on it, the value would drop, but I had no plans of selling it ever.
"That's an eighty-one right there. I never figured you to be a Chevrolet kinda gal, though. You always drove those Fords for RTR," the man said.
"You did your homework on me." I laughed. "I never thought I'd end up with a Corvette either, but when the opportunity presents itself, you just gotta take it."
"You sound like quite the catch, young lady. I'm sure you have men just dying for you."
"Well—"
"Hell, if I was thirty years younger," he trailed off with a laugh.
Even if he were thirty years younger, he wouldn't have had the money to keep up with me. But with the work he put into the Corvette, it was possible that I didn't have the money to keep up with him on this.
In a world where people loved to try their luck with me because I was a good-looking woman, it was only fair that I got to use that to my advantage too.
I smiled. "Now, I like older men. I was just telling my friend about that."
"Yeah, Matthew McConaughey. I still can't believe that," Annie said.
"Skinny hippie? I would have never been your type," he said.
"I'm open to a lot of different types of people. It's probably my biggest weakness," I said. He gave me a stack of papers to sign, and as I went through them, I continued. "Honestly, you did a fantastic job on this car. How much is it going to cost?"
He chuckled. "For you, twenty grand and an autograph."
I looked over at Annie. Yep, I definitely did not have twenty thousand fuck-it dollars in my purse.
But instead of looking as shocked as I did, she took out a checkbook and began to fill it out. "Well, the Sacrilege money is technically yours, so Drake and Josiah can't say shit about this."
I smiled. "And besides, they won't even find out about it until we're gone and it's too late."
"Husbands?" the man asked. I really should have asked for his name, but since it wasn't on the sign out front or a nametag, I didn't bother.
"Nope. One's her ex-boyfriend and the other is my ex-nothing-official," I said. "We're having a good time irreparably burning bridges today."
"Irreparably?" Annie asked.
I nodded as the man gave me a sheet of paper to sign with a Sharpie. "Am I using that word wrong?"
"If you mean that it's okay to hope that Josiah will straighten up his act and want me back, then yes."
"You have to let him go, Annie. He's worthless and a waste of your time. You deserve better."
"Like what?"
"Like learning how to paint the best goddamn painting in the history of mankind, or creating the most comfortable and cute clothes, or doing whatever the hell you want. You don't have to miss out on life anymore," I said.
She didn't respond to that and instead handed the check to the man.
"When we finally get to Baton Rouge, I'll show you a real party with Griffin. You Canadian nerds have nothing on a Louisiana party hosted by a couple American Midwesterners," I said.
She smiled. "Thanks, Katie. That sounds like fun."
"At least, we think they're fun. I can't ever remember." I laughed and turned to the man one last time. "We have a road trip ahead of us, so thank you so much again."
"Road trip? Can't we fly?" Annie asked.
"Why would we fly when it's only an eighteen-hour drive? And that's just according to Google, and I drive fast, so you can probably cut an hour off of that," I said.
"Oh god," she mumbled, and the two of us headed back to the cars. She took the keys to my car, and I took the keys to the Corvette.
This car was just the beginning of a new start for me.
When we got back to the Sacrilege house, Annie took my empty suitcase to fill it with her own stuff. She had to limit it to the essentials, and I'd help her rebuild from there. Whatever art and sewing supplies she could ever want, it was hers once we got to my place in Baton Rouge.
But before I could finish gathering all of my own shit and pack it into the Corvette, Drake caught me. "Do you have a second to talk?"
Gross. "Sure. What's up?"
"Katie, I think very highly of you, and I don't want you to think otherwise. You have a lot of growing to do, that's all," Drake said.
"I'd rather not hear that from you since you don't give a shit what I've already done or how far I've already come." I took a quick glance down at my feet and looked back up at him.
"I've been nothing but patient with you. The thing is that you have all the talent in the world, but you don't have the control to fully make use of it."
"You're looking for a finished product, but you're never gonna find one, especially not me. At least I know that, and maybe that's why I've never been divorced."
Drake's face fell. "Annie told you that, didn't she?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
"Of course she did. She's never been able to keep her mouth shut." He shook his head. "After everything I've done for her and you."
She was doing a great job of packing all of her stuff up quietly, though.
"If you were worried about it happening again, you did a damn good job making sure we never got anywhere near that point," I said. "I decided I'm going back to Baton Rouge. When the tournament comes around, I'll absolutely drive Sacrilege, but I can't stay here until then. I have a lot I need to sort out."
Roger Truscott took a risk by setting up his headquarters in Louisiana, and I did the same by relocating with nothing but a promise of a dream. Twice. But even though I didn't find any success either time, I did find a springboard to potentially bigger and better things. Driving a robot wasn't one of them, but a new contract was a possibility.
"I hope it works out for you. I'll be sure to give you a call when it's your time to shine," Drake said.
I put on a small smile. "Well, thanks."
When I first met Drake, he seemed so warm and inviting, and when I tried to get to know him, I never learned anything new. But now that I was strictly a business partner, there was no warmth at all. There was nothing but business.
My heart sped up in my chest. Maybe my desire for more fucked me yet again, just like it did with Truscott.
No, no. Fuck no. There's nothing wrong with wanting something greater, and somewhere else was always better.
With my plan with Annie in place, when she snuck all of her belongings into the Mercedes and left to go to the store, also known as Baton Rouge, I would soon be on my way back to somewhere else.
"Oh shit, the race," I muttered to myself and took out my phone. From what I knew, Griffin was struggling this round in the Chase, and he either had a lot of points to make up or to win one of the next two races.
"What about it?" Drake asked.
"No, I just—" I trailed off and scrolled through the current standings. Gallagher, thirty-fifth place, fifty points below the cutoff line for the next round. I grimaced. "Looks like it's a must-win race for Griffin next week."
At some point, everybody but one driver got eliminated, but there wasn't a damn thing I could do to help him out in any way.
"Where are they racing then?" Drake asked.
He didn't give a shit. He was only being polite. But I checked anyway and took in a breath. "Talladega."
Of course, he won there in the spring, but that was because the second-place car (a douchebag) wrecked the first-place car (a queen) on the last lap. It wasn't the first time that happened, and it sure as hell wasn't the last.
If I had to schmooze all of the car owners at Talladega, I'd somehow get my revenge on Tyler. And Elizabeth. That fucking bitch stole my car and my title of Hottest Chick in Racing. And I's get back at Truscott for obvious reasons.
Before I could add anyone else to my list, Annie came out into the living room with my suitcase. "I'm just about to get some groceries. Did you want me to put this in your car for you?"
I nodded. "Thanks, Annie."
She headed out the front door without another word. What the hell was going on in her mind? Packing up and leaving really wasn't a big deal for me, but everything she had been promised and worked for the past six years was in the Sacrilege house. No matter what it seemed to me, this wasn't a sudden decision for her. She didn't work like that. No, this was brewing for a long time, and maybe this was finally her chance. It sure as hell was mine, and I had only been stuck there for a few months.
She nudged the low branch out of her way, and she headed out to my car. When the engine started, my heart sank into my stomach, but there was no reason why. Once we both collected ourselves in Baton Rouge, she could go wherever her heart took her, but she'd always have a place to stay with me. After all, she took care of me when I had nowhere better to be.
"If you're only leaving because of me, you don't have to. As long as you're willing to be civil, everything will be fine," Drake said.
I shook my head. "I really do have someone who's been waiting for me, and I want to be there for him when things aren't looking so great for him."
Drake definitely didn't want me around, and I wasn't going to bother him and Josiah any longer. They had their priorities, and I had mine.
He nodded, and before I could take that as my chance to walk away, Josiah came into the living room.
"Where's Annie?" he asked.
"She went to the grocery store. She'll be back soon," Drake replied.
Well, not really, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Not yet, at least.
"Well, you better not even think about leaving without saying goodbye to her, Katie. I don't give a shit about where you go, but she does," Josiah said.
He always did have the strangest ways of showing that he cared, even if it was pretty much the bare minimum, and Annie held onto those much longer than she should have.
"You know I could never leave without giving her a hug. Hell, I spent a few months trying to steal her from you." I chuckled slightly, but it wasn't that funny.
"And nothing makes me happier than your failure on that," Josiah said. He picked up one of his clocks off the wall and adjusted the hands half a second backward. That extra time wasn't going to bring her back, though.
"You ever think about marrying her?" I asked.
"Think about it? Yes. Would I ever? No."
I shook my head. "Then maybe you should have stayed in your lane and gone for a girl like me."
"What do you mean? I would never want one like you. You can't do anything."
When he figured it out, I certainly didn't want to be around, but I was supposed to wait until she came back. And I was going to stick with that for now.
"Well, I did a lot during my time here, whether you realize it or not," I said. And it was true, and he was going to finally see.