“Is my brake temp high?”
My father doesn’t answer right away. There’s whispering in my helmet, and I’ve been in the racing world for long enough to know he’s checking with the rest of the crew.
The same corner comes into view, and my hands tighten on the steering wheel.
“Yes or no?” I snap.
“The brakes are hot but stable. Brake the same you have been–”
There’s a shuffling in my ear along with another voice that isn’t my father’s. “Your brake temps are critical. Back off, back off!”
Vince?
He cuts through again. “Listen to me, Rome!”
I shake away the confusion and feel for my brake, but nothing happens.
Panic sets in, the brake seemingly gone.
“Fuck–I can’t!” I press down again. “Dad! I have no brakes–”
Fear spikes, and I brace myself for impact.
I collide against the sidewall with a substantial amount of force, my father’s and Vince Halston’s arguing echoing in my ear.
“Ah!” My brain ricochets off the inside of my skull, pain deepening in my temples as I spin around too many times to count.
White flashes in my vision, and my eyes close.
I come to a stop, and my body grows stiff. Confusion swarms in like a thousand wasps from a nest.
My dad and Vince.
They’re arguing as I chase Tessa around with Graham and Beck.
“Guys, stop chasing Tess.” Van, the oldest of the Halston siblings, always reprimands us. He’s got his glasses perched on the tip of his nose and a notebook in his hand.
“She stole my gum!” Graham argues.
“Did not!” Tessa whines as she slides in between two giant racing trailers.
“Did to!” Graham argues from behind me.
I’m faster than the rest of them, and I can catch Tessa easily.
I glance over my shoulder to see if my dad is watching, because he’ll scold me for messing around instead of paying attention to what’s really important–racing—but I stop dead in my tracks when I see his finger pointed in his partner’s face.
Vince’s jaw flexes as my dad lays into him about something, his finger getting closer and closer to Vince’s face.
“What’s going on?” Noah, the second-oldest Halston sibling, asks while sliding up beside me.
“I don’t know–”
“Stop it!” Tessa shouts.
Noah and I turn to see Graham pulling Tessa by her shirt, and off we go–Noah to pick on his sister along with Graham, and me to end up in the middle.
I cough. My throat is dry, and my lungs are tight.
