Wildly Driven

Chapter 2

It had been exactly a month since the accident and we were trying to get back to normalcy, which was too much to expect anyway. 

Nothing was the way it was before - everything had changed since that moment of adrenaline rush where my Dad had thought that keeping everything at stake for the sake of a race was alright.

My mind always boggled and I blamed Dad for making life hell for a simple high school going girl. It was not fair and he didn't have the right to alter my life like this. It was too much. And the fact that he didn't run this idiotic idea through me always took me to the edge, making me curse my Dad loudly in the hallways at times.

But then again, when had he talked to me about the races or the bets or the tracks? Heck, he barely had the time to check on me when he was addicted on those shiny tarred roads.

What was it that made those tracks so beautiful that he forgot about his only daughter who was his only family now? With no family, other than each other, I didn't know why he always kept me at home while he raced his ass off in the tracks.

The earnings were great and I wasn't complaining. But the only thing that was missing from my life was that I didn't have emotional stability at home even when I had a better life than most kids at the tracks.

I still remember the day I had went down to the hospital in spite of Dan telling me to stay put. After all, he was my only family. Tears running down my face, I had rushed together when Dad was put in a stretcher, leading him to the ICU. Questions spiraled in my head and I wanted answers before I lost my sane mind.

I wanted some assurance and looking at Dan or Calvin, the manager, I wasn't so sure. I had rushed to the doctors and nurses to see if they could give me some certainty about Dad's condition. When they only shooed me away, I had turned mad, shouting at the hospital, doctors and every other person I laid my eyes on.

When I had finally settled down, the doctor came towards us. Dan and I, both stood up, acknowledging him. He told us to follow him to his cabin for a detailed discussion and we walked behind him like spell bound rats, hoping that everything was okay, as my tears ran down my cheeks.

"I have good and bad news." The doctor had said, pushing his glasses further up his nose, as we sat in his chamber in nervous anticipation. "The good news is that your Dad is perfectly fine, Scarlet."

I let the breath out I didn't know I held. "Oh my God! Thank you so much!" I beamed, wiping my tears away.

That meant, every thing was back to normal and there was nothing to worry about. A few bandages and a few weeks of rest, Dad was good to go, right? That was the usual routine Dad had when he crashed. This time was no different. Or was it?

"But the bad news...?" Dan left the sentence in mid-air and my stomach knotted once more.

"We have done everything possible Daniel." The doctor said, looking at Dan. "I'm not saying that he won't recover at all, but what I'm saying is it needs some time. He would have to come for regular check-ups and—"

"What the hell has happened to him?" I shouted, standing up and pushing the chair away. This doctor was testing my patience. I wanted to hear him say that it was nothing and needed only a few days of rest. "Why don't you cut the chase and spit it out already?"

"Scarlet!" Dan placed a hand on my shoulders, gesturing me to calm down.

"He has damaged his bone in his right leg." The doctor said. "He won't be able to walk or do anything with his right leg for a while."

My whole world had stopped at that, but Dan was very considerate. He came to our house everyday to make sure that I was adjusting along with Dad with the new settings. And this For a while seemed long enough.