“Right …” I sigh.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone as long as you come to the tracks with me.”
“Did he ask you to do this?” I say, raising a brow.
“Maybe …”
“Argh,” I growl.
“I’m doing this as a favor to you, not to him. I know how much you guys want each other, so I’m playing the intermediary here. You can both tell me your darkest secrets and desires, and I get to play matchmaker. Sound good?”
“No!”
She laughs again. “All right, all right. I promise I won’t do anything stupid. I just want you to come with me. He told me he wants you to be there when he wins. I think he just wants you to know how much he needs you.”
“So, he got to you, too …”
“He gets to everyone, Em. You, of all people, know he has that effect on people.”
“Manipulative bastard.”
“That’s one manipulative bastard who wants you the most. I’d say that’s a catch,” she muses.
“Okay, stop. I know how much he wants me and how much I want him, yada yada yada. Can we please get to the point? This is embarrassing.”
“Not until you say yes.”
“Fine,” I mumble.
“So you’ll come with me? Yay!” It’s almost as if she’s doing a little happy dance. “All right, meet me out front.”
***
An hour later
Everybody’s screaming and shouting Chris’s name as he and several other bikers wait for the signal. Alyssa is biting her nails next to me, the anticipation becoming too much for her, while I’m sitting here, still pondering what to do with our little ‘situation.’ I admit, I didn’t want to be here, but now that I am, I feel the enthusiasm bubbling to the surface. I don’t want him to lose. The last time that happened, he got drunk and we had hate-sex. I can’t imagine all the shit he’ll spew at the press when they ask him how it went. Oh, no … that’ll be a shitstorm I’d rather avoid.
He has to win. Not just for himself, but maybe a little bit for me too because I like to see that proud look on his face. It actually makes me feel good to see him smile.
And smile he does. When he spots me in the crowd, he seems surprised, but then he grins. He mouths ‘this one is for you, babe.’ My cheeks turn red as he sends me a wink and blows me a kiss. The girls behind me lose their minds, but I don’t care, as my heart jumps up and down at the thought that he’s aimed his affection at me.
It’s almost time, and everyone around me is getting anxious, including me. I can see Chris focusing on the job, as he lowers his visor and starts his motorcycle. The humming of the engines fuels the adrenaline pumping through my body.
And then they take off.
Biting my lip, I watch him shoot across the tracks like a lightning bolt, faster than I’ve ever seen him race. It’s as if he’s on fire, ahead of all the others, but they soon close the distance. They’re all fierce and masters of the track, slipping and sliding along the curves, passing each other with just an inch of space. It’s nerve-wracking to watch.
The crowd is cheering and the sound is deafening, but I’m really pumped up now. I didn’t know it could be this much fun to watch Chris race his ass off. I’m actually cheering for him, too.
When he almost touches the ground with his knee, another racer manages to pass him so tightly that their motorcycles briefly graze each other.
And then the most horrifying thing happens.
His bike starts to swing erratically across the road, the handle rapidly going left and right. Chris attempts to get it under control, but his strength alone is not enough to stop the motorcycle from spinning out of control.
From then on out, everything feels as if it’s happening in slow motion.
People scream, yelling his name, crying for mercy.
My fingers wrap around my face, tightening, holding on for dear life as if it’s the only thing tethering me to this world.
I can’t believe what’s happening.
I stare in horror at what seems like a nightmare unfolding.
Chris.
This can’t be happening right now.
Please tell me it isn’t true.
His bike catches a hard layer of dirt and flips over sideways, scraping along the road. I hold my breath as I see Chris tumble across the track, bikes passing him, some barely managing to miss him. The bike keeps spinning with him still on it, his body limp, even though his hands remain gripped on the handles.
When the bike stops, the crowd grows silent. Dust blows up from the ground, covering the scene in an ominous cloud.
My fingers dig into my skin as I glare at the onslaught.
Pieces of metal lie scattered across the road; the cloud still hiding his bike.
People around me stand up, but I can’t move. It’s as if I’m completely frozen, glued to my seat. This feels like a nightmare that’s too real to be true.
I never thought this could happen.
And now it did.
Chris was in an accident, and I don’t even know if he’s alive.
My skin prickles with goosebumps as Alyssa grabs my arm and gasps. “Chris … Oh, my god.”
Her voice sounds like a faint echo. A repeating sound at the bottom of a dark well where I’m trapped with no way out.
Chris.
Is he alive?
“Em,” Alyssa says.
I don’t know what to do.
I have to see him. I have to know if he’s still alive. If he’s hurt. If he’s okay.
Anything.
But I can’t move. It’s as if I don’t even exist anymore.
“Em! Snap out of it.” Alyssa jerks my arm, forcing me to move.
It doesn’t feel like I’m me anymore, but somehow, some way, my face turns toward her.
“We’ve got to go down there!” she says. “Let’s go.”
She drags me up from my seat and down the stairs, but I’m still completely fazed out after what just happened. I can still see the crash in front of me, as if it’s repeating again and again in my mind.
Everything that comes next happens in a blur.
Chris being hauled from underneath the wreckage.
His bike completely mauled.
His body lying limp on a stretcher. Doctors surrounding him, giving all kinds of medical attention.
And I’m just walking after them like a zombie, staring at Chris, wondering if I’ll ever see his smile again.
Chapter 34
Emily
I’m sipping coffee like it’s my only life support as I sit here in the waiting room. The clock on the wall ticks by slower than a slug. My fingers thrum on the Styrofoam cup as I stare at the door in front of me. At some point, someone is supposed to come out of there and tell me everything is okay.
He has to be okay.
“It’ll be okay,” Alyssa says, as if she can hear my thoughts. She rubs my back and smiles at me. I smile back, but all I feel is fear. Fear that I’m about to lose the only person who really matters to me.
Suddenly, I spot Tricia rushing through the hallway. She stops when she sees me.
“Emily!”
“Tricia, you’re here.”
“Oh my god, what happened?” she says as she comes toward me. “Do you know anything?”
“No, they took him to the OR,” I say, as she hugs me tight. “The bike is torn to shreds.”
“But he’s okay?”
“I don’t know.” I sigh.
“I called Frank, but he’s stuck in traffic, so he’ll get here later. Adrian and Leonard are on their way, too.” She sits down beside me. “I wish I had been there to support him when it happened.”
“I’m glad you weren’t. It was horrible to watch.” I swallow away the lump in my throat. “I’m still shaken up.”
“I can imagine.”
“I’m sure the doctors are taking good care of him,” Alyssa says with a smile to cheer us up. “He’ll be all right.”
“Yeah …” Tricia and I both nod at each other, trying to make each other believe those words.
“God … and to think I was actually mad at him,” I mumble, staring at the floor.
“Mad at him? For what?”
I shrug. “You know …”