“Any other questions?”I ask, pointing toward the back of the crowd.
“Arden’s car is looking faster.Reckon you can get more points today?”
“Reckon I can try,” says Matt.And then we’re interrupted by Archie in a move that feels perfectly timed, perhaps coordinated.He whispers something into Matt’s ear.
“Duty calls,” Matt says, pointing toward the garage with his thumb, while Archie nods for me to follow him.I move slowly with them, Matt striding ahead and Archie by my side.
“I...Archie,” I say, grabbing his hand when we slip inside.“I fucked up.”
He stops, puts a hand on my shoulder, glancing over at Matt to make sure he’s out of earshot.
“Yeah, okay,” says Archie.“You fucked up, and now you know how those rats take your words and twist them and pretend you said shit and invent sources.”
I suck back breath, my eyes widening.
“I get you were just blowing off steam with an old friend.”He pauses to shake his head.“Jack Sheppard is finished in F1.No one will talk to him again after that.”
I sneak a glance at Matt, who looks completely deflated now that he’s out of view of the cameras.His shoulders fall forward, eyes on the floor as he spins his new helmet in hishands.I feel my eyes mist a little, my heart squeeze, and then a wash of complete despair.Please, God, please help him forgive me.
I glance at my watch.One hour until we race.
“I have to speak to him,” I say to Archie.
“After the race,” he replies with a smile.“I’m really rooting for you both.You’re one of the good ones, Chloe.”
“Thanks,” I whisper.
CHAPTER 24
Matt
Keep pushing, Matt!”Archie’s voice crackles in my ear.But I can tell by his tone he’s worried.I came in late, I avoided everyone, and now I’m driving like I’m unhinged,and not in a good way.
I try to navigate each corner with as much accuracy as I can, but my scattered brain continues to distract me.The car is responding quickly to every precise turn, but every imprecise one too.She’s really a beautiful car now.Incredible what Chloe and the team have managed to get done in her short spell here.
Shame it’s wasted on a shit driver like me.
No sooner are my thoughts on Chloe than they pounce on her betrayal, and my body stiffens, as if bracing itself for the hurt.The car careens dangerously close to the barrier.
And then I remember that the whole world knows I’ve been too gutless to face my friend.That I let a few difficult moments scare me off from doing the right thing.That I should have camped outside that damn hospital until I could get in.
And Noah.This young kid who has fought his way to the top with no support, just his own hard work.I should never have betrayed him either.It’s not who I am.
I suddenly snap back to the track, and as I approach turn twelve I realize I’m coming in too fast, my rear tires losing grip.I skid into the Haas, which has been threatening to overtake for the past lap, clip the front, then spin off the track, the gravel violently shaking the chassis as I struggle to regain control.
Stavros.I gasp as I’m transported back to that race, back to the thunderous clap as our cars clipped each other and Stavros was tossed into the air, landing upside down and skidding into the wall.Then came the flames.
“Matt, pull back!”Archie shouts, but it’s too late.I veer onto the track, rejoining the race with several cars now ahead of me.
“We can still salvage this,” he says, trying to keep me focused.
“I clipped my wing,” I say.
“We’re checking.”
I grit my teeth, pushing hard to make up for lost time.The disappointment stings, but I don’t have time to dwell.
“Come on, Matt!Eyes forward, let’s claw back some places,” Archie urges.But it’s no use.My brain is just too jumbled.The despair and hopelessness I felt before I came to Arden, before I found my feet again, before I fell for Chloe is back with a vengeance.My heart not on the track, but off it, somewhere, feeling bruised.A little bit more damaged, just as I was starting to heal.
