One For The Road - Chapter 52: Chapter 52

Drake, Drake, Drake.
Griffin was right that it was an asshole move to assume that he could kick me out then ask me to come back at the last moment, and we could just pretend that nothing happened and I was born to fight robots. But with my return to NASCAR so close that I could feel the steering wheel in my hands, I couldn't get caught up in my heart and give in.
I told myself that I would get my way, whatever it took. And all Team Sacrilege was (if I could even still call it that) was a distraction.
"You know, you've been back in town for a few weeks now, and the only party we've had is the one you crashed," Griffin said.
"I wouldn't mind one." I laughed. "It's not gonna be here, though. This place is trashed."
Dust and cobwebs littered the corners of the house, and as much as I wanted to show everyone in Baton Rouge the trophies I worked for and remind them I was still relevant, it was gonna have to be a Gallagher-Moore party, not a Moore-Gallagher one.
I shut the front door. Even though Drake was right about me, I still wanted every second of the next few days to try to talk myself into making the logical choice of letting him and Josiah go.
"Was Penny up in the trophy room with us earlier? She's being a little too quiet right now," Griffin said.
I shrugged.
"Penny," he called. "You don't have any garbage here, do you?"
"Besides you, no." I smiled.
Griffin laughed, but before he could say anything about how I, too, was garbage, Penny came trotting around the corner with something brown in her mouth.
Oh god.
"What the hell are you eating? Drop that," Griffin said.
And just like she was asked, Penny set the questionable brown thing at my feet.
"What the fuck?" I squatted down to the floor. A dead lizard. I looked up at her, and her tail wagged behind her.
Fabulous.
Griffin laughed. "At least she likes you."
I never thought I'd win the approval of Griffin's dog before pretty much anyone else's.
I gave her a scratch behind her floppy, pointed black ear. "I like you too."
Although her breath smelled like shit, she was one of the cutest dogs in the history of ever, and I didn't mind sharing Griffin with her. It only meant that Griffin liked cute things, and therefore, I was cute.
A couple days later, with a party for no goddamn reason set for later, Griffin and I ran through the house to make sure everything looked clean. I dusted off the Martinsville grandfather clock trophy he won when I was a rookie. Maybe I'd win one for myself soon.
Every driver understood just how much each trophy meant, even the ones with fifty wins nearing the end of their careers. And every single NASCAR Cup driver was invited to our party, even the ones we didn't like. Although we all lived across America and had different strengths and styles, we all had one goal in mind: win.
NASCAR's roots were in the rebel spirit of America, the ones who didn't give a fuck and had one life to live as fast as possible. Moonshiners running from the cops was just the beginning of the sport, and for anyone to claim that I didn't belong for whatever reason—the vagina, the mouth, the intensely fun spirit—all it meant was that they had no idea what the hell we were all about.
I was our past, maybe not the present, but I would be damned not to be the future.
My old team and Griffin's were also invited. There was no way the cars would go if it was a one-person sport, and it took an army just to cross the finish line. Engineers who put together a car that was fast and as safe as it could be and a crew who kept four functional tires on the track were important to a successful team.
Before long, the lights were dimmed and the music was turned up, the coolers were stuffed and the snack trays were set out, and people began to filter into Griffin's place.
Just like the good old days.
Rookies, future Hall-of-Famers, and everyone in between—they were my people, not a robot-fighting team from Canada. And maybe this party would finally get that bullshit feeling out of my heart. They needed me a hell of a lot more than I needed them.
"So, Katie, any reason you're here?" a voice said from behind me.
I turned around and looked over the back of the couch. "Because the party is half mine, Tyler."
As much as I didn't want to invite him, Tyler Bailey was a driver and therefore we just had to hope he wouldn't show up. He failed us there.
He sat down beside me. "There are lots of rumors around the garage that you'll be joining us at Team Moretti next season. You haven't inked a contract yet?"
I shook my head. "It's beginning to feel like maybe he doesn't want me anymore. You heard anything else?"
"Damn, that's a pity. You know what else I heard? You're fucking Gallagher."
"Sounds like you're pretty damn obsessed with me," I said.
"Considering it's the exact reason we broke up, I thought it was interesting. That's all."
I took in a breath. "Look, I don't know where the hell you heard that, but it's not true. After the year I've had so far, I just want everything to go back to the way it was."
"Katie, we dated for a year. You're not fooling me." He paused. "There's never been a normal that you like. You're always looking for something better."
"And will I find it with Moretti?"
He shrugged. "You're gonna have to try. There ain't a thing that's perfect for you since I wasn't even good enough, but if you like most of it, you just have to deal with the little things you don't."
Hm.
Tyler and I had a horrible thing for a while, and it was fun to love and hate until we both couldn't take it anymore. Most of the time, it killed me that he was still a frontrunner for the championship after what we had been through, but maybe there was something genuine in his comments.
But he also wrecked me so I wouldn't win at Talladega, so was there anything to read into?
"Sponsors, Katie. You can piss off everyone everywhere, but as soon as you piss off the money, you're done. You need to grow up and realize that," he continued.
Daniel told me the exact same thing, and I was pretty sure he was out to get me. He was Truscott's nephew, after all.
"But what about the drug testing? Does everyone really want me to believe that it's random? They were singling me out, and it's bullshit," I said.
"You have to think about the big picture. Who did you piss off by saying that the drug tests were unfair and Truscott was trying to make you look like an ass by making you drive an Alcoholics Anonymous car?"
"Apparently everyone."
"You pissed off AA, you fucking idiot. You pissed off your hometown, which is where your other sponsor was from. Whether you're an alcoholic or not is still up for public debate, but you have to understand what this is really about, Katie."
I set down my glass of sangria. Of course, he had to ruin it for me. "But what was with the drug tests?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that you made yourself look like a bigger ass than you actually are."
"Just why the hell are you telling me all this?"
"On the off-chance that Andre does sign you, I don't want you to make my team look as stupid as you did to RTR."
I rolled my eyes. What else did I expect from him? "Fuck you."
I got up from the couch, and as more people came in, a fog of smoke wafted through the house.
"Jesus, who the fuck is smoking in here? Go outside. Who the hell raised you?" someone said, and I knew that voice too well. It was the same one who had a sweet Mississippi twang as she stole my job.
Elizabeth.
Once again, she wouldn't have been on my usual invite list, but she was a driver, as fake and undeserved as that title was.
I didn't have time for her. I kept on walking into the kitchen where Griffin sat with a few guys from his team at the island. One of the seats next to him was still open, so I took it.
If I remembered correctly, the one at the very end was dating Elizabeth the last time I saw them, and although I hooked up with him once, I was only pretty sure his name was Craig.
"Hey, Kate. Did Bailey finally piss you off?" Griffin asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. He's just so goddamn obsessed with the way I'm definitely going to ruin Team Moretti. Why the fuck did you let me date him for a year?"
He laughed. "Sorry. I wasn't gonna let you marry him or anything, but sometimes I just have to let you do the stupid thing you want to do. But the track always leads you back to the start-finish line, so I figure I'll just wait there."
"I don't do that many stupid things."
"No, you don't, but when you do, it's something to watch. I mean, Vegas and robot fighting. It doesn't get much cooler than that," he said.
I smiled. It really didn't get much cooler, but driving cars at two hundred miles an hour was one of the few things that bested it.
"Hey," probably Craig said to me. "Have you seen Elizabeth?"
"I didn't see her, but I heard her yelling at someone who was smoking in the house," I said.
"Well, she's someone else's problem then," he said and went back to his drink.
Oh? It sure sounded like they were having issues.
It didn't really matter all that much to me what she was up to, but a little smirk snuck up on my face anyway. Who was the queen of the world now?
Griffin and Craig went back to the boys to talk about their plans for the offseason when it finally rolled around.
"I don't know, I'll probably take my girl somewhere nice for a few weeks," Griffin said.
"Girl? Just one? When did that happen?" Craig laughed.
Somewhere nice sounded good for a while, but my girl sounded pretty damn great for a much longer while.
But before I gave us away before I was really ready, I ran my hand up the outside of his thigh. "I'll be back, okay? I just want to make sure Penny's all right with all the noise."
"Penny? She sounds hot," Craig said.
I smiled as I headed upstairs to the guest room that used to be mine. After the gift of the dead lizard, we were clearly friends, and I wasn't going to ruin that, even if there was no chance she'd remember the one time I tried to get her to calm down during a party.
"Hey, Penny. Is the noise too much for you?" I asked, but she didn't come out from under the bed. Cutie. "I don't blame you. This seemed a lot more fun in theory."
She still didn't come out, and someone knocked at the door.
"You're gonna have to wait a second. Go back to the party," I said.
"Katie? It's Elizabeth."
I rose my eyebrows. "I didn't—I have a boyfriend."
"Oh my god, no. What the hell?" she said and opened up the door just enough to look in. "Can we talk?"
"Why the hell would you want to talk to me? We don't like each other."
"Katie, you're the only person at this goddamn party who would even come close to understanding. I fucked up."
Wow, that made me feel good.
"You know, there are about a hundred other people down there who have fucked up at least once in their lives," I said.
"So, with the drug testing, they found something, and I don't know what to do," she said.
We were still on this bullshit? I thought I would have gotten out of it by now.
"What the hell are you on? You look pretty clean to me," I said. "It's not the end of the world if it's just alcohol. They'll just tell you to stop drinking before work. Believe me, I know."
"I'm pregnant, you bitch."
My eyes widened. "Oh my god. Do you know who the father is?"
She crossed her arms. "Of course, I do. I'm not a slut like you."
"Okay, so only one of us is pregnant, and it's not me, so are you sure you want to call me that?"
She let out a breath. "What am I supposed to do? They're not gonna let me race this weekend or until I figure it all out."
I sat down on the bed, where Penny was still hiding, and I gestured for Elizabeth to join me.
They weren't looking for that with all the drug testing they put me through, right? It was only a coincidence that they found out Elizabeth was pregnant before she even knew.
There was no way in hell it was a coincidence.
I always knew they were trying to catch me with something. I lived life, just like anyone in my situation would, and I spent my money and time on things that made everything feel better. Was that such a sin?
"So do you have any idea what you want?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I'm not ready to be a mom. I have my whole career ahead of me, but what if someone finds out?"
"Well, you shouldn't base your decision on what other people might think."
"Sponsors, Katie."
I rolled my eyes. "Even them. They don't know what's best for you, even if they think they can mold you into a perfect little doll who plays nice with the boys."
She didn't respond to that.
"I know what I would do, but that's not the right choice for everyone. You're the only one who can make the decision," I said.
"You wouldn't have the baby?"
I shook my head. "No way in hell."
She fell silent again. There was a lot of pressure on both of us, but in the moment, she was carrying more than her share of the burden.
"You don't have to pick now, and I don't want to sway your decision at all. But I think it'd be cool if we could settle our differences on the track," I said. "I'd offer to go get us drinks, but that seems inappropriate at the moment."
She nodded and waved her middle finger at me.
But with her out for at least the weekend, that ninety-five car would be vacant once again. And wouldn't it just be dandy if I could get my black and yellow gloves on it once again?