Page 81 of Battle Scars

“Okay,” he chuckles. “We gotta watch out for that Dark Horse.”

“You know it.” I wink.

Jett touches my cheek with his index finger, and then he’s off, chasing after Bobby, and I’m left wondering again if I should dare to hope. Or will I be the one left stuck in hell when this is all over?

I just don’t know.

What I do know is that tomorrow, I have a race to win.

TWENTY-NINE

CAN I?

Gabe

Is it fair to have had it all and still want more? I don’t know the answer and maybe I never will. All I know is that I want Addie. and I feel so insanely guilty for it. How can I be so greedy to have had a great life with Macy and still yearn for more after she’s long gone? Can I want more? Should I?

No matter how many times I spin the questions in my head, I’m left with more questions and guilt than when I started.

THIRTY

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?

Adrienne

“Room service,” someone shouts with a knock at my door.

I look out, and Eli is standing guard outside the hotel room next to a young man with a room service cart.

I pull the door open and let them both in. I sign the room tab slip and leave the man a healthy tip as well.

“Thank you,” he says before hustling back out the door.

“Everything okay?” Eli asks once the door clicks behind the room service kid.

“Of course,” I lie with a smile. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know,” he answers as he watches me carefully. “You just seem… off.”

“Thanks.” I laugh. “That’s just what every girl wants to hear.”

“You know what I mean.”

“It’s probably just race nerves,” I reply. “I need some carbs in my body and a good night’s sleep, and everything will be fine tomorrow.”

“You’re sure?”

Somehow, he knows I’m freaking the fuck out about everything but the damn race.

“Of course.”

Eli sighs and shakes his head, before muttering, “Whatever you say,” and then he heads back to his post in the hall.

I walk over to the table in the room and uncover my supper. I ordered pasta with grilled chicken and broccoli to fill me up before tomorrow’s race. I nibble here and there, but I’m just not hungry.

Kingston’s words from earlier keep playing through my head like a broken record.

“Don’t give up on him.”