“You remembered?” She asks Lev.
I don’t get what he means until he begins to explain.
“The dirt bike was the thing that was familiar. Remember? Atlas gave that to Heather as a present for her sweet sixteen.”
Lev is right. How could I not have recognized it? “Yes. You always used to complain about being left behind when Atlas,Chance, Lev and I went off-roading on our dirt bikes, so Atlas wanted you to have your own.”
Chance, who jogged all the way here with Dad and the sheriff in tow, recognizes it too. “Yeah, and your parents freaked out when they saw it. They didn’t want you to ride a motorcycle. They were barely ok letting you ride on the back of Atlas’s cruiser.”
Sheriff Pullin chimes in. “Yes, we didn’t think it was safe. Have you seen my daughter drive her Mustang? She’s a menace on four wheels; we didn’t want her to get hurt on two. We put the dirt bike in storage after Heather’s birthday, since she threw a tantrum when we suggested that Atlas could return it and get her something a little safer. Then after Atlas’s death and the motorcycle ban, it stayed in that storage unit. The storage facility belongs to a friend, and he was letting us use it free of charge. So, to be honest, I had even forgotten it was there. Heather,” the sheriff says to his daughter. “What’s going on? Why are you here on that bike? You can’t be the person we have been trying to catch, right?”
Tears begin rolling down Heather’s face as she admits the truth. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m exactly the person you were trying to stop.”
I believe her.
But I don’t understand how or why. A part of me almost expects Heather to start laughing and telling us that this is nothing but a sick joke.
But she doesn’t. She keeps crying, her gaze now downcast as most of the people she loves surround her, waiting for an explanation.
“Why?” I finally ask.
The answer is even more heartbreaking than I thought.
“Because of her!” She points her gloved finger at Zara.
“Me?” Shock is written all over Zara’s face. “I don’t understand. I thought we were friends.”
Heather’s grief stricken expression turns into a mask of hatred.
“Friends? With a slut like you? I’d rather die.”
“Heather!” her father scolds her. “This can’t be true. Did someone put you up to this? Did Calvin Fox convince you to stage this farce to affect the outcome of the race?”
She shakes her head. “No. Cal has nothing to do with any of this. It was all me.”
The sheriff doesn’t look convinced. “But the bike that invaded the racetrack in Bridgeport belonged to Fox’s team.”
“I stole it. I waited until the race started and everyone was watching the racetrack, and I took it. It was easier than stealing ice cream from a baby. The security in Bridgeport sucked.”
As if adding insult to injury, Fox had walked up to us, and had been watching all the commotion. “Ha. I told you, fuckers! I’ve been swearing left and right that I had nothing to do with what happened to your brother.” He then looks at Dad. “You ruined my racing career for nothing. I’m innocent, like I’ve been saying all along.”
Innocent is the last word that comes to mind thinking about Calvin Fox.
Zara
This is impossible.
It doesn’t feel real; it can’t be real.
“But why, Heather?” I struggle to keep my voice from breaking.
Her gaze is full of barely repressed contempt. “Why? Because I wanted to show Atlas that I was more badass than you.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “That doesn’t make sense. I barely knew Atlas. I might have exchanged ten words with him over the two days I hung out with you guys after we met.”
“Maybe.” Heather’s vitriolic tone feels like a slap in the face. “Maybe you didn’t notice the way Atlas was looking at you, but I did. He was so impressed with who your father was. He kept saying that if Lev or Chance dated you, he would have gotten to meet that great John Fields. I had just won a very prestigious invitational cheer competition with my high school team, but the second he met you, he had forgotten about that. He was all Zara this, Zara that. Things got even worse after that stunt you pulled on the beach on the back of Chance’s bike. My boyfriend of two years and future fiancé had a fucking hard-on for you. I had to do something to change that.”
That’s news to me. “Heather, I swear I had no idea. But you knew that. You were so nice to me that weekend; you wouldn’t have been that friendly if you thought I was flirting with your boyfriend.”
