Fire, the car is on fire.
My spotter is over the radio as soon as I’m starting to unbuckle from the five point harness that keeps me in my seat.
“Regan? Regan. You gotta get out of there. The car is on fire.” His voice is frantic as I’m still fumbling with my harness. Heat licks up around my ankles as I’m finally able to get the belts undone and drop the safety window net down to climb out and land onto the pavement, just as the safety crew and ambulance arrive.
I’m still trying to catch my breath. It was a really hard hit, and I’m still in my helmet on my hands and knees as the fire extinguishers are putting out the flames on my car behind me.
I’m pulled up by one of the paramedics from the ambulance, and I wave to the crowd, who give a cheer, to show them that I’m okay. Well, I’m going to have some bruises tomorrow, but I’ll be fine. I climb into the back of the ambulance so it can take me to the infield care center.
This is really going to put a damper on my championship hopes with a DNF in the books. This is only the second one this year, so as long as it doesn’t happen again, I’ll be fine.
Once I’m cleared from the care center, the race is over, and I get the alert that Taylor won this one. I step outside and Katarina is there, waiting to talk to me.
Fuck, I just want to get the hell out of here.
“Regan, good to see you’re okay and released from the care center. What happened?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little banged up. It’s unfortunate that our day came to a disappointing end. We blew a tire in that turn and there was nothing I could do after that.”
“Did you have an indication that the tire was going to go out?”
“I had just told Shoulderman that I had a vibration, and before we could come up with a plan, it blew out.”
“Again, glad to see you’re okay. Thanks, Regan.”
I walk back to the hauler first where the crew is waiting for me, and I assure them that I’m fine. After a quick call with Dad to assurehimthat I’m alright, I’m finally able to head back to the infield. I’m just ready for this day to be over. To take a nice hot shower and crawl into bed.
As I get closer to the RV, there is a figure sitting on the front steps. I’m not sure who it is, they have their head down in their hands and they are in a fire suit. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle with anticipation. Then I realize who it is.
“Dean?” He lifts his head up to me, eyes full of worry and—fear. “What are you doing here?”
TWENTY-SEVEN
DEAN
Today’s race is a struggle.Everything from handling issues and stops on pit road were a constant battle; nothing was going our way. With Regan slipping through the field, there is a chance that I can still finish ahead of her.
That’s when I see it happen: she blows a tire, goes spinning into the outside wall, coming back down and is hit again, almost rolling over. Just as I take another breath as her car comes to a rest in the grass, I see smoke and now flames coming out from under the hood.
I can’t stop, so I radio Steve. “Is she out of the car?” I frantically ask.
“Yes, she’s out of the car and into the ambulance,” Steve says, bringing my focus back to the race and less on Regan.
The rest of the race goes by in a blur as I’m on autopilot to finish this race. I don’t even know who won or where I even finished in the end. I just know that I need to get to her, see her, feel her, to make sure that she’s okay.
I get out of the car and basically run into the infield to her RV, hoping she’s been released from the care center. The RV is dark with no signs that anyone is home. I sit on the front steps for—I don’t know how long. My head isreeling after seeing her crash so violently, and once again, I couldn’t protect her, just like Daniel. A voice breaks me out of my spiral, and I look up to see her hazel eyes shining at me.
“Dean? What are you doing here?”
The upper part of her fire suit is tied around her waist, and she’s looking at me like I have ten heads. I stand and take two long strides toward her, looking her over to see if there are any visual injuries.
“Are you okay? That was a hard hit and with the fire, I—” My breathing picks up and I can’t focus on anything. All I can hear is the blood pumping in my ears, the wreck playing over and over again in my head. I’ve never been so panicked before. It feels like my heart is going to pound right out of my chest and onto the ground.
“Dean, look at me…look at me.” She grabs the sides of my face with both hands, her touch setting my cheeks aflame. “I’m fine. I’ll be sore tomorrow, but I’m fine.” Her hazel eyes bore into mine, still trying to get me to calm down. My breathing finally begins to slow when she speaks again. “Is that why you waited here?” She releases my face, skin now cold from the lack of contact.
“I needed to know you were okay. I couldn’t not be there. I couldn’t let that happen again.” Tears start to build, and I turn away as some traitorous ones fall down my face. I wipe them away with the back of my hand.
“I know,” she says in a whisper. She pulls into me so that her head rests on my chest and my cheek rests on the top of her head. I release a breath at the embrace, releasing all the tension I had. “I’m fine. You don’t need to stay. Go hang out with the guys. I’m going to take a nice hot shower and relax tonight.”
