My laugh was sharp, bitter. “Are you for real? You think I’ll crawl back to you? Pretend none of this happened?”
His eyes narrowed, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of silence.
“Talk to my agent, Mr. Demeri,” I said, spitting his name like poison. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—congratulations again. You deserve each other.”
I didn’t mean it as a compliment.
And judging by the flicker in my mother’s eyes and the way Russell’s jaw clenched, they knew it.
***
I sat on the couch in Ale’s dim living room, nursing a second glass of whiskey. City lights flickered beyond the window, throwing a thin glow over the open scrapbook on the coffee table.
I’d treasure it—Kaia’s letter, the album—like I treasured Dad’s trophies.
The key turned in the lock. Ale strolled in and flipped on the foyer light. He peered into the living room, then stopped in the doorway. “Ash? Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“My mother and Russell are getting married.”
Ale crossed the room and snatched the bottle. “Guess this isn’t a celebration. I’ll join you anyway.”
He poured, clicked on the floor lamp, and sat beside me.
“Salud.”
I clinked my tumbler against his. “To . . . I don’t know. The happy past?”
He shook his head. “To your bright future.” Ale sipped, then ran his fingers over the scrapbook. “May I?”
“Yeah. Kaia left it for me at Russell’s.”
He leafed through the pages and smiled. “I’d give a lot to be loved like that, mi niño.”
I took a long pull. “Make sure you don’t fuck everything up if you ever are.”
He closed the album gently and set it aside. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you did the right thing. You put her first, even if it hurt you both. She’s too young, Ash. She needs to spread her wings. Study. See the world.”
“I fucking know that, okay?” Tears blurred my vision; I didn’t care Ale saw. “I want that for her. But if what I did was right, why does it feel like there’s a giant hole in my chest? It’s been weeks, and it’s only worse. She left me a letter, Ale. She loves me even though I hurt her. I did nothing to deserve that.”
He sighed. “She clearly disagrees. The best thing you can do is make sure your sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the accident didn’t have to end your career. Think about what’s next. Decide what you want and go for it.”
“Did you get an offer?”
“Not yet.”
It was alwaysnot yetwith him. His stubborn optimism used to piss me off; now I clung to it.
“I don’t know what I want, Ale,” I whispered. “I feel numb. Lost. Like nothing matters anymore.”
He twirled the glass, nodding. “You won’t feel like that forever. Once you’re healed, we’ll try our luck with Vortex.”
Vortex? RevGlobe GP team? No fucking way.
I laughed.
