50 Shades of Pain ✅

Chapter 44: Atlanta

Alex lets out a sigh as he walks into the hauler, leaning back against the door afterwards. He watches as the replay pops up on the monitor as the television had been left on, watching as the Ally 48 slid up the track. He takes a deep breath, thankful he held on the car, his nerves wacked as he only pictured one result when it first happened on the track.

He then makes his way through the hauler, slipping off the top of his firesuit in the process. Many would have believed he was stripping out quickly in having an oh shit moment on-track, but thankfully it hadn't followed through with one of his own there. 

He slips off the legs of the firesuit, glad both underwear and shorts underneath had remained dry through the slip up, putting the firesuit on its hanger and putting it in the closet. He didn't need to look back towards the coverage to know that he was in for a long day on Sunday. He just needed to find his way to the front (if possible) one lap at a time, and make up for the mistake that was made.

He then pulls out his phone, figuring he'd spend time checking a couple messages as he waited for Blake and the crew to come back. He knew they needed to spend some time discussing what happened, knowing adjustments were definitely necessary ahead of tomorrow. There was no way he was driving a car as evil as that felt all day tomorrow, especially with a pack of cars around him. 

He sees the usual text messages that he expected, with a few friends complimenting him on the save that he made. He had to chuckle at Jake saying he should check his drawers, now seeing why they got each other so well. There were even a couple that tried to offer confidence in the day ahead.

There was also a text message from an unknown number mixed in all of those. Normally if he saw a number he did not recognize, he deleted the message right away in chalking it up to a wrong number. However, he couldn't do that in this situation. The fact it was signed said all that he needed to know.

Nice piece of driving there. But news flash - he won't be cleaning up your mess because he'll be with Ryan, dreaming of me. - Kaitlyn

"Alex?" Alex hears as he reads the message, feeling his breath hitch in his throat as he couldn't help but feel every bit of worry. 

If she knew where Chase lived from their time together, had been able to visit his shop property, followed by finding his number, what else did she know? And when did that information become too much to lead to trouble? When was it going to turn into something physical instead of just a series of messages? When she was going to push the envelope?  

"Alex?" He hears his voice called again, knowing whom that belonged to immediately. It was the only person that could bring him comfort right now as he stood there frozen in the middle of the trailer in his t-shirt and shorts. But couldn't he find the words to say in response? 

"I'm okay," he finally lets out, phone falling on the counter before him out of his hands. He didn't want to be near the message anymore. He didn't want to be near anything that made him think of her. He wanted to erase every single thought that flooded through his mind in that second immediately. 

"Are you sure?" Chase then reaches the phone, knowing Alex turning that away from him was never not a good sign. He began to think about possibilities, ready to kick someone's ass if they had gone over the line in comments following what happened on-track. It could've happened to any of them. Actually, a bunch of them wouldn't had saved the car like Alex did and been going to a back-up for tomorrow. There was applause and compliments needed for what they had seen. "Kaitlyn." 

"She has my phone number...." Chase began to ponder every possible way that could have happened - could she had snuck it from his contacts from when they were together? She was a psychopath, having followed through whatever she could to control him when they were together. She had found ways to hurt him, even after they broke up by what happened. What if there were pieces that remained in her collection from that time? 

"It's going to be okay." Chase takes the phone, screenshotting the message, before forwarding it to the officer they had reported the series of notices at the shop too. "Alex, you don't have anything to worry about." 

"She has come to my shop and now she has texted me. She has already gone after you once before. How can you be so calm right now? If she can do that, what else is possible?" Chase takes a deep breath, trying to erase that very question from his mind. He couldn't think of his own feelings about Kaitlyn. He couldn't rehash the pain he had gone through. He couldn't think of the possibilities. There was only one thing he needed to be doing right now as he looked before him at the panicking pair of eyes.

"Nothing is going to happen, okay? They're going to find her before it gets that bad and arrest her for harassment. Everybody around you is aware of her. She comes anywhere near you or any of us, and she's arrested for breaking the terms of the restraining order. She will also get her ass kicked, because nobody wants to test any luck with her again." Chase then reaches for Alex's hands with his own, pulling him close to him. "I have always taken care of you, and when I said things would be okay, they have been okay. You need to believe me, Alex. Everything is going to be fine."