One For The Road - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

"Where the hell is Annie?"
Although it had been about two hours since she left, Josiah had only bothered to bitch about her absence and not actually call her. What a man.
But I wasn't going to tell him that. If he found out that I was slightly involved with his beloved servant's disappearance, he'd think that it was all my fault. But I didn't have anything to do with Annie's decision. It was all him.
I promised that I wouldn't leave without telling Annie goodbye, and even though I knew she wasn't coming back (or, at least, she originally had no intention of coming back), the seconds ticked by slowly in the living room. Drake flipped through the channels on the TV, but he never replied to Josiah when he asked where Annie was. Maybe he figured it out.
"Honestly, it doesn't take a couple of hours to buy some groceries, and this is just getting annoying," Josiah continued.
Well, Josiah would know all about that, wouldn't he? It was part of the reason Annie was probably somewhere close to the border.
"Katie, could we chat for a second?" Drake asked.
Fuck. He found out.
I nodded. The sooner someone broke the news to Josiah, the sooner I could leave too.
I was no stranger to conversations I didn't want to have with my boss, but this time, it wasn't about something I did or didn't do. It was about a light who stayed positive at the risk of her sanity because she loved too hard. It was about someone who was what everyone wanted me to be.
Drake and I went back into his bedroom, and with all of my shit cleared out, there was much more space, but it still needed cleaning.
"She finally did it, didn't she? She's gone," Drake said.
I nodded.
"Dammit," he muttered. "Of all times, why the hell would she pick now?"
"She should've given up with Josiah a long time ago, Drake. It's about time she does what makes her happy. It's not like she was trying to be selfish," I said.
"I know that, but she held this team together. She meant the world to me." He shook his head and looked away.
He spent a bunch of time trying to convince me that I was an important cog in the Sacrilege machine, but anyone could drive a robot with a little training and focus. Not many people were willing to put up with that shit show of a team.
"Maybe you and Josiah should have let her know that, because all she wanted was a little security. All she wanted was to feel loved, not just useful," I said.
"I assume you put her up to this. We're just not good enough for you here, are we?"
"I told you that I'm not leaving the team right now, but Annie's gone, dude. I didn't tell her to do anything. She decided that she didn't want to let me go alone."
She was too selfless to let them flounder. She did everything from working to cleaning to cooking to creating without any sort of recognition. She even would have settled for a ring, and Josiah couldn't handle that.
"I told him he should have married her and given her what she wanted, but no one ever listens to me," Drake said.
"And do you think that marriage would just solve their problems? Do you honestly believe that? It would never end well for either one of them," I said.
"Well, where is she now? It's not like she has anywhere else but here."
I hesitated. "She has me."
"Just don't let Josiah know that you know where she is. It won't be pretty." He paused. "At first I thought you talked her into this because you're pissed at me, but this probably should have happened years ago."
I ignored the second half of what he said. "I was a little afraid you'd take this personally. It wasn't you. You piss me off, but you're a good guy, and Annie didn't want to fuck you over."
"It hurts, Katie. She's my friend, and I really do love her," he said.
And there it was: Drake's heart and soul that I wanted so desperately. I spent months looking for it, waiting for him to let me in, and just like I puked up a couple of emotions in a moment of vulnerability, he finally did the same.
Although he was nearly a foot taller than me, my hand reached up to his face, and I brushed my thumb against his skin. Soft.
"I should've looked out for her more. I guess I kind of deserve this shit, don't I?" he asked.
"Fuck no. But it's just the way things have to be for now."
Before I could remind myself just how upset he got with me over one small comment just earlier that day, my gaze met his. As if all the times he told me I was the exact opposite of what he was looking for meant nothing, I was stuck with my hand on his face that was way too close to be comfortable post-half-break-up. Was he feeling this too? My lips brushed his, unsure, but it wasn't enough.
Yeah, he was feeling it too, but was it all too little too late?
Although I was always the one to initiate something between us, he must have known something I didn't. I let out a gasp and my feet staggered backwards from the force of a second kiss, and I didn't need any more permission from him. I had waited long enough to get what I wanted from him, and in that moment, it was as much heat as I could get.
Oh God, what the fuck was I doing? Wasn't there a bigger problem or some shit?
I pulled away. Annie. She just broke up with her boyfriend, and he still didn't know.
"Katie." His voice was low and quiet, and a shiver shot down my back.
Any other time, the mood, the setting, the gentle touch that woke up something not so gentle in my heart, it all would have made for an unforgettable make-up. But things were different. I had Annie on her way to Baton Rouge, and she needed a friend to talk to. She needed me.
"I really have to go now." My chest rose and fell, but it still didn't match the speed of my heart inside. "I don't want to, but—"
But I couldn't accidentally convince myself to stay, especially when I didn't even know how long this sweet moment could last.
He paused, then looked down at the floor. "I understand."
What a man.
I had Drake right all along. The most important part of his life was his team, but it wasn't the robot or the fights or the wins that made it special to him like I originally thought. It was the people on it, and how the hell could I ever fault him for that?
But I had another life to live, and I couldn't tie myself completely to that team or him.
"I just want to tell you that I'm not claiming the other half of your bed while I'm gone. Fill it with whoever you'd like," I said.
"Katie, come on. It took a miracle in Vegas and a mistake in Cleveland to get you there."
I smiled and hoped he knew I was serious. Without saying anything else, I headed back out to the living room where Josiah waited by his clocks.
"So you know where she is, don't you?" He glared at me, and for once, it didn't seem like there was a calculated thought going on behind his eyes. There wasn't anything.
"I don't know where the fuck you would get that idea. She's a grown woman who can make her own decisions without me," I said.
"You stole my fucking girlfriend. I know you did. You always get what you want."
"Nope, you just lost her." I shrugged. "She wasted six years on you. I don't know how else you thought this would end."
He plucked one of his clocks off the wall. "I knew you'd fuck us all."
"None of this is my fault. It's yours." My blood, still hot from that kiss with Drake, ran through my veins. "How bad did you have to piss her off to convince her to abandon everything she has?"
"It's not my fault that you corrupted her, so you better start talking. Where is she?" he asked.
"No idea," I said, and that was technically true. I knew where she was going, sure, but how far was she? Maybe in Mexico.
"Would you guys just stop? There's nothing any of us can do about Annie right now. If she comes back, that's great, and if not, we'll survive," Drake said from behind me. "For God's sake, we've never let adversity kill us before."
"That's why I'm gonna kill the adversity," Josiah said.
I let out a laugh. "What, me? I'd like to see you try."
And if Jesus decided it was my time to go and let the pathetic dumpee succeed, at least I had Griffin to avenge me. And he would, too.
Before I could say anything else, Josiah chucked the clock in his hands at me, and it zipped to my right and bounced off the wall, leaving a mark. Thank God Annie didn't see that.
"Shit, dude, you almost clocked me," I said.
Neither one of them laughed, but I did, both at my joke and his pitiful murder attempt.
"Can I kill this bitch for real?" Josiah asked. "She literally cannot take anything seriously."
Drake held out his hand. "You're not going to throw anything else, and you may not kill her. We still need her."
"And, like, murder's kind of illegal. My uncle's in prison for it," I said.
"What the fuck, Katie?" Josiah shook his head. "Look, Drake, I'll make this real simple. If you don't want me to kill her, I want her out of here and off the team, or I'm gone."
"What do you mean? There's no tournament unless she's with us on Team Sacrilege," Drake said.
"I don't care. I can't work with a girlfriend-stealing asshole who only cares about herself. I was willing to keep her around for your sake, but I can't stand it anymore. She's a piece of shit nightmare."
Well, at least it would be nice to hear Drake tell Josiah to get fucked. He needed me, and he sure as hell wanted me.
"You're not serious." Drake still hadn't raised his voice once. What kind of magical self-control did he have? "Katie is a lot of things, but she's the perfect driver for us."
And I was a cool person too, but whatever.
"Her name is the perfect driver. She's two and two. That's not going to get us anywhere when we're up against real robots," Josiah said.
"Well, you've certainly made your case, but I'd like to hear what Drake has to say. Since he's the captain, that puts him in charge of all personnel, right?" I said. "Do you really want to break this team up more today?"
"All I'm asking is for you two to work together on the same team for one more tournament. You're free to go wherever, Katie, but—"
I interrupted Drake. "Then tell Josiah that. He's the one being a bitch."
Drake looked over at Josiah, who had another clock in his hands. How much damage did he think those would do? He turned back to me. "Maybe you should go. That was the plan all along, wasn't it?"
"Well, yeah, but you still need me for at least one more tournament. You know that," I said.
"I know, but right now, I have to keep this team together. And there are times that you have to give up something now to have anything at all down the road."
What?
My eyes burned. I always lived a certain way—to never forgive or forget—but I broke that for a moment just minutes earlier. And maybe that was why it felt like I got hit by a train. How fucking stupid of me.
"Are you shitting me?" I asked. "This isn't about the team, Drake. This is about doing the right thing."
And there was no clearer right thing than standing up for his so-called friend that he loved, Annie.
"I really don't think you should be lecturing me on doing the right thing," Drake said, and with that, I grabbed my keys.
"Fuck you. Fuck this entire team. I hope you don't starve to death without her," I said. "And I want all of that money back. Every last penny."
I got in my Corvette without another word. What was there to say? I kept their team afloat because I thought we were friends.
Unless I wanted to work myself up to tears, I needed someplace to go before I headed back to Baton Rouge, and although I spent months in Ontario, there was only one place I really felt like going. It wasn't the happiest place for me, but hopefully, I'd run into some of my people there. I wasn't a robot fighter. I was a racer.