Driving Me Crazy

Chapter Thirty-Six

Charles

The engine spins to life and blows heat down my spine as the crew prepares my car for the race. We sit on the track and get everything into place before the crew is told to leave. They hold the tire warmers against the rubber of my car and heat them up since I won't have much time in the positioning lap. I let my brain think of anything to relax me while my body tenses from nerves. During the race, there's no pressure. I know what I am capable of and I know how to make it happen, but everything before is so loud. Voices flood my ears while everyone moves around, planning, strategies, everything runs through my head in the last seconds of sound before the silence. The FIA gives the call to get everyone off the track and allow us to start the lineup.

We leave our starting points and do a hot lap to get everything flowing and warm before the actual race starts. This is the first time in a while that I haven't taken the pole position, but Carlos deserves it too. He's worked hard for where he is, it's just sad that Lando isn't up here with us. Finishing the lap, I pull into the designated lines for the second position and wait. One by one the cars follow in behind me, and one by one the lights begin to shine. One after another, they fall in place before they're all glowing. My body floods with adrenaline and my RPMs start to rise as a press on the accelerator, waiting for the lights to turn off. My heart beats heavier until the lights disappear and everything is quiet.

My car launches forward, giving me a good chance to overtake Carlos in the beginning for a fast start. He manages to pull through on the inside line and keep me at bay behind him, proving that this race will be a fight. It gets boring when you don't have to fight for the win, but I need the points more than ever to push me ahead. Turn after turn, Carlos and I push our limits to take first. After five laps I manage to surge past him in turn four and take the lead.

The quiet in my head is even louder now that I've gained a position, but it gets disrupted by the team radio. The sound is fuzzy for a moment and then all of a sudden, I hear Katana's voice.

"How did you even get down here? Please, someone, get security, these people are crazy! Securi-" Her words are cut off by a sharp intake of breath and a noise that sounded like a slap. I slam my hand down on my radio button and quickly ask, "What the fuck is going on?" The team remains silent, causing me to get even more frustrated with the situation. "If nobody fucking answers me, I'm getting out of this car," I threaten, needing answers. Someone's voice quickly comes over the line saying, "There was an altercation in the pits, please stay in the vehicle, everything is handled." My body heats with rage as I shout, "The fuck they are, get the reserve driver ready, I'm done."

While this is probably the worst decision I've ever made, I can't sit in here knowing that Katana is in trouble. And if what I heard was in fact her getting hurt, I'm prepared for the repercussions I will receive for protecting her. I accidentally get the fastest lap as I cross the line before entering the pits and jumping out of the car, allowing the reserve driver to take over and get my car back on track. I rip my helmet off and throw it on the ground, my fireproofing following behind.

For a split second, I can't hear anything other than the crowd, but then I hear her. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Katana asks the woman standing in front of her. She looks to be a couple of inches taller than Katana, but they have nearly identical features, telling me that she is the iconic mother. A man stands behind her with a frown on his face as he argues with security who is attempting to drag them out of the pits. I rush up behind Katana and make my presence known while asking, "What the fuck is going on and why hasn't anyone gotten them out of here yet? This is your fucking job."

I look down at Katana and the side of her face is bright red. As soon as she notices that I've seen, she takes her hand and covers it up in an attempt to hide it from me. I place myself in front of Katana and force her mother to take a step back in order to avoid touching me. "Why the fuck are you here?" I ask, wanting answers for why I had to just give up the first-place spot when they shouldn't have been allowed here, to begin with. The first person to speak is the security to the right of me, "Sir, they claimed that Katana had been kidnapped. We had to allow them according to authorities and then when Mrs. Riley assaulted Katana, we were informed to not touch the situation until police arrived."

I look back at the horrible parents in front of me and ask, "Really? Kidnapped? She's a fucking adult and hasn't been near you in years. Grow up and get the fuck out." Her father steps forward and tries to intimidate me, but I still stand taller than him. Looking up at me, he sternly says, "You don't talk to my wife that way."

My hands ball into fists as I do everything I can to not hit him when I say, "Oh, so I can't talk to your wife that way but you can allow your wife to talk to Katana that way? She can get in her face and diminish her, even assault her for fucks sake, and that's not a problem? You're a child. Get out of my fucking face, this is my space and you've not only trespassed, but you've lied to authorities and assaulted someone. I will press charges if I ever see your faces again. Get the fuck out. Now."

Her father sinks back into his body and grabs his wife's arm, pulling her away. She, however, doesn't want to give up. He carries her away, kicking and screaming. All eyes are on us right now, which gives her exactly what she was looking for. She looks at the camera closest to her and yells, "You want to know who she is? Her name is Katana Riley and she is only dating him for the money. She's probably his escort for all I know. My daughter is a whore. Do you hear that? Katana Riley!"

I spin around while they get dragged out of the area and most likely detained and grab Katana by the shoulders. She stands there, frozen, not necessarily looking at anything while tears stream down her face. "Hey, look at me, they're gone," I say, shaking her to get her attention. Her eyes snap to me, and then to the screen in front of her that shows the ongoing race. "You... You stopped racing... they just... she hit..." Silence meets me as she stands there unable to process what just happened.

Unfortunately, the silence didn't stay. My heart shattered when the words came out of her mouth, "I... I can't do this anymore. I'm going home." She spun around and ran away, and I was too frozen to follow. I just let her run away.