Taming the Street Racer ✔️

43 | dead silence

The next moments swim past me in a panicked haze. Peyton's words sound muffled and it feels like my head is underwater and she's calling out to me. My throat feels like it may close at any second, and my hands tighten on the blanket wrapped around me. Every one of my limbs feel numb.

Tommy, Violet, and Gracie got into an accident. It's really bad, Riv.

The world blurs around me, and all I can do is struggle to put my clothes on. Gray bolts out of bed, and I can't hear the things he's asking Peyton. All I hear is the urgency, the raw panic in his voice. I feel dizzy, pulling on my clothes and watching Gray run rampant around the house, looking for his keys.

On the kitchen counter, next to the dishes from our dinner, I see both our phones lying next to each other. My heart drops and I tap my screen.

34 missed calls from Peyton
52 missed calls from Violet
44 messages from Peyton
103 messages from Violet

With a shaky finger, I tap Gray's screen.

3 missed calls from unknown number
23 missed calls from Tommy
20 messages from Tommy

"Where the fuck are my keys?" Gray yells, flipping over couch cushions and pulling the room apart.

"Tommy has them," I manage to say, remembering their conversation at my birthday party. Tommy and Violet took his car and now there's been an accident and why was Gracie with them and I can't fucking breathe. "Tommy and Violet have your car."

Gray curses loudly and kicks the kitchen island, creating a loud sound that resonates deep in my bones. Peyton is sobbing somewhere near me but I'm hardly aware of her. I'm hardly aware of anything.

There's been an accident. An accident.

"I can drive," I say shakily. "My car is here."

Gray picks up our phones and my keys, and then the three of us are going down to the garage and piling into my car. The radio immediately blasts music from the pop music station I had on, and Gray turns the radio off. None of us speak but Peyton's soft sobs fills the whole car. I need to cry but I can't. I'm miles past the threshold of sadness, and a numb feeling coats my body.

I just drive to the hospital Peyton told us they're at. Tommy, Violet, and Gracie. In the hospital. My stomach tightens.

There's barely anyone on the road at this time so I speed through the night, weaving across lanes haphazardly to avoid the few other cars driving. Gray is a statue next to me, gripping the center console between us with a death grip. Fear is growing in the pit of my stomach, and I can't imagine what he's going through right now.

"Tommy and Violet have been trying to reach you for an hour but you weren't answering," Peyton chokes out, hiccupping with emotion. "Violet called me to get you and she was a fucking mess. I could hardly understand what she was saying over the phone."

Gray turns on his phone and breathes deeply as he reads his messages from Tommy. Then he laughs in the worst way--coldly and cruelly. Then he throws his phone onto the dashboard and rubs his face. I take my eyes off the road for a second to look over to him and see a heartbreaking look of poorly-concealed pain on Gray's face.

"What'd he say?" I ask.

"Tommy and Violet were picking Gracie up from her sleepover," he says curtly, keeping his eyes locked on the road ahead. "Her first fucking sleepover."

I put my hand on his. "Why were they pick--"

Gray jerks his hand out from under mine. I flinch. "Can you just drive faster?" he snaps coldly, folding his arms across his chest. Pain ricochets through my chest and I want to say something but I just speed up. I don't know what to say to calm him down. I don't know what to say to calm myself down.