Broken Hill Hurt: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 3)

by Sheridan Anne

  Yeah. This is exactly what I need.

  “What are we doing here?” Brooke says, giving me a sideways glance as I bring my car to a stop.

  We haven’t been coming here as much as we used to, though that certainly has something to do with the fact that Nate no longer has a car to race. Something he’s still very sore about, but I’m sure he’ll be right back here in only a few months. After all, he’s been spending every waking hour working on his Mustang.

  I’ve never been here without Nate and I’m sure if he knew about this, he’d have a few things to say. He once told me that this place is filled with the wrong kind of guys. The majority of people here tonight are from Haven Falls, and, well… they breed them differently there. They’re rough. Unforgiving. They’re exactly what I need tonight.

  I look back at Brooke with an excited grin that comes shining out through my eyes. “We’re racing.”

  “What?” she sputters, laughs, and shrieks all at the same time. “Are you feeling ok? I know you want to be a little reckless, do some crazy shit, but I assumed that meant hooking up with some random guy or trading out Vodka for Tequila, not getting involved in illegal drag racing. This is ridiculous, not to mention dangerous. You remember what happened to Nate a few months ago, right? He nearly died.”

  “Oh, come on,” I tell her as I cut the engine and open the door. “It’s not that big of a deal. It’s called having fun. I’m letting loose.”

  “If you want to let loose, then go ask any one of the guys around here for a joint. We’ll go somewhere and smoke it. We don’t need to be putting ourselves in that kind of danger.”

  “Chill,” I groan. “It’ll be fine.”

  “No,” she says as we walk forward. “This is not fine.”

  “It’s not like I’m planning on winning. I’ll be careful. I just want the adrenaline of the race and then we can go to this party and you and Jesse can help me guzzle vodka until I’m hospitalized.”

  “Jesus,” she grunts under her breath. “I’ll be cutting you off way before it gets to that point.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Have it your way. But if I don’t forget, I’m personally holding it against you.”

  “I’ll try my best,” she says, rolling her eyes.

  I take her hand and we squish our way through the throng of people and I have to say, it’s times like these that I miss being with the boys. The crowds just seem to make a path when they’re around, there is none of this squishing bullshit where you get elbowed in the boob.

  We break through to the race and look down at the track. There’s one midway through the race with a green car way ahead, the same way Nate would be if he was on this track tonight.

  Damn it. There I go thinking of Nate again. I’m seriously fucked.

  I search through the bodies down at the track, searching for the familiar scrawny body of the guy who runs this place. It doesn’t take long. He’s the only dipshit around here with thick glasses, a tie, and a clipboard.

  I point down towards Aaron. “I’m going down there. Are you coming?”

  “Holy crap. You’re actually serious about this.”

  “Um, yeah. I didn’t come here to watch a bunch of dickheads try to beat Nate’s time. I’m doing this with or without you, but I’d prefer to have someone to laugh about it with tomorrow.”

  “Fine,” Brooke groans. “But you owe me.”

  “Noted.”

  With that, we start making our way down to the track and before we know it, I‘m reaching out and tapping Aaron’s shoulder, trying to get his attention over the deafening sound of the engines on the track. “Hey,” I call out.

  Aaron turns and narrows his eyes on me, probably trying to place me. The recognition doesn’t take long. It never does. “Oh, hey,” he says, a little confused. “You’re Nate’s girl. What’s going on?”

  “I want to race,” I tell him, straight up.

  “Oh,” he says, surprised before looking down at his ridiculous clipboard. “I can make that happen. I thought Nate wasn’t going to be ready for a few months?”

  “No,” I say. “Not him. Me. I want to race my R8.”

  His eyes widen in surprise. “Really?” he grunts. “I didn’t know you race.”

  “I do now,” I tell him.

  “Alright,” he says. “I have another newbie looking to race. I’ll line it up after the next one. have your car down here in ten minutes and line up at t-”

  “I know the drill,” I tell him cutting him off and looking away, hoping he doesn’t see how damn nervous I am.

  “Good,” he says as I notice a set of dark eyes staring me down. I gasp as Aaron goes on about some stupid newbie rule about not backing out. I grunt and nod, but let’s be real, I’m no longer listening. Nate is here and he’s looking right at me.

  I can’t look away, especially from the hardness within his eyes. This is the old Nate. The one who used to torment and bully me. His eyes rake over me as he lifts a cigarette to his lips which only serves to piss me off. I mean, it’s only been a week and he’s already fallen back into his old ways. But the way he’s looking at me now, trying to work out why the hell I’m here talking to Aaron is seriously pissing him off.

  My breaking point though, is the whore of a girl currently draping herself all over him. He’s completely ignoring her but all it does is piss me off. Nothing now will possibly change my mind about this race. I need it like I need my next breath.

  His eyes narrow and he takes a step forward which is when I promptly decide that I can’t handle this right now. Talking to him, especially when he’s like this is going to be devastating and that’s something I don’t want to deal with right now.

  “Got it,” I tell Aaron, not even sure if he had said anything that requires a ‘got it’.

  I grab Brooke’s hand and start hauling her away. “What the hell?” she demands, yanking her arm back away from me. “What’s going on?”

  “Nate’s down there,” I tell her. “He was about to come over.”

  “Where?” she grunts looking back over her shoulder.

  I can’t help but do the same and my eyes instantly lock on his. There’s a longing behind his eyes which has me desperate to go to him and fall into his arms, but I can’t. Not anymore. He watches me as I drag Brooke back up to my car and I can’t help but notice his relief. He doesn’t like me here and I can tell by his relief, he thinks we’re leaving. If only he knew.

  This is going to be an interesting night.

  We drop down into my R8 and I look back to him, only, he’s now lost in the crowd. I start up the engine and we wait a few minutes. Brooke starts getting fidgety and I look over at her. “What’s wrong?” I question with a groan, hating that I sound so bitchy.

  “Don’t do this,” she begs. “I… I just. I can’t. Please don’t make me.”

  “Brooke,” I grunt. “I’m doing this. With or without you. It’s your choice.”

  Her eyes flash towards the track before looking back at me. “Tora,” she sighs. “This is stupid. You’re going to get us hurt. Let’s just go.”

  “No,” I yell out, surprising myself. “I’m doing this. There’s no way in hell I’m backing out now. Especially with him here.”

  “Well, I’m not going to let you kill me over some stupid bullshit with Nate,” she yells back at me.

  “Good. Then go. I don’t need you here.”

  “Are you serious, right now?” she grunts in disbelief.

  “Dead serious, Brooke. I don’t want you here if you’re going to try and talk me out of this. I’m doing it and you have all of three seconds to decide if you’re with me.”

  “Then no,” she says, hastily unclipping her seatbelt and pushing the door open. “You’re on your own. I’m not letting you risk my life for this stupid bullshit.”

  She climbs out the door and turns around just so she can slam it, making me jump with the noise. I watch as she stalks off and I can’t help but narrow my eyes on her. I don’t need her anyway. Sh
e pulls her phone out of her pocket and starts dialing, probably to get a lift out of here.

  I ignore her and push my foot down on the gas. After all, I have a race to win.

  I start creeping down to the track and just like they do for Nate, people start clearing the way for me, probably terrified that if they don’t move, I’ll probably run their asses over. Though, with my mood right now, that’s a very real possibility.

  I pull up on the track and my nerves start to seep in.

  Brooke’s right, this is ridiculous but the adrenaline starts pulsing through my veins and I have to admit, I absolutely love it. There’s no way in hell I’m backing out now.

  I bring my car to a stop on the line and wait as some loud white car with a dude driver pulls up beside me. He grins across at me and I swallow back fear. What have I got myself into? This isn’t going to go well.

  I look up at the crowds, all cheering and chanting as the newbie race is announced.

  I see a familiar back and the second the word ‘newbie’ is said, Nate spins around with wide eyes. I watch him look on in fear as a woman walks in between our two cars, preparing to get this race started.

  Nate starts running as my heart threatens to beat right out of my chest.

  The woman looks to me. “You ready?”

  I nod, eagerly. She looks to the other guy. “You?”

  He nods and revs his engine just to be a douche, wasting precious time that I need to get this thing started before Nate busts his way out here.

  She raises her arm with a white handkerchief between her fingers.

  Too late.

  Nate breaks out onto the track. “Stop,” he yells, racing forward to stand before my car.

  The woman turns around in shock as I rev my own engine, the universal sign to get the hell out of my way. “Move, Nate,” I tell him.

  “Get the fuck out of the car,” he demands, slamming his hand down on the hood of my R8.

  “Or what?” I demand.

  “What the hell is going on?” the woman says while eye-fucking my boyf… my ex.

  “She’s not fucking racing, that’s what,” Nate says, still refusing to move as the crowd starts getting louder, wondering what the hell is going on down here.

  “Get out of my way or I’m going to bowl you the fuck over,” I tell him.

  The guy in the white car beside me pulls himself up through the window of his car and sits on the edge. “Dude,” he says over the top of his car to Nate. “Fuck off. We’re racing.”

  Nate ignores him and keeps his ferocious glare trained on me. “Get the fuck out of the car,” he demands again. “You’re not fucking racing this dickhead. He’ll run you off the track in two seconds.”

  “What the hell do you care?” I seethe as Aaron comes running down onto the track.

  “What the hell is going on down here?” he demands, looking between me, Nate, the woman, and the other driver. “When I schedule a fucking race, I expect to see one.”

  “She’s not racing,” Nate tells him. “Over my dead fucking body.”

  “Sorry man, but you know the rules better than anyone,” he says. “Once your tires are on the track, that’s it. You race. No matter what.”

  “Fuck, man,” he growls, putting the fear of God in the scrawny guy's eyes. “You let her do this? Look at her. Do you think she looks like a fucking racer? She’s going to get killed out there.”

  Aaron shakes his head. “I’m sorry, man. It’s not my problem. She said she wanted to race and there was a spot. It’s not my job to filter through teenage girls’ emotions when their boyfriends piss them off. The race is going ahead. I don’t give a shit who’s driving, but that R8 will race.”

  Nate groans and storms towards me before practically tearing the door off the frame. “Move the fuck over,” he demands.

  “No fucking way. I can handle this. I got myself in this mess, I can get myself out of it.”

  “Move, Tora.” The look in his eyes tells me that this is the last time he’s going to ask, next time, I’m not going to like what’s going to happen.

  “What the hell is going on down here?” another voice says.

  I look over to find Jackson on the track and look back at Nate to see him seething. “You put her up to this,” he accuses before racing forward. Jackson’s eyes briefly flick to mine before he winks and I see it for it is. A distraction.

  I look over to the other driver. “You ready?” I murmur as Jackson yells at Nate, keeping him distracted, which honestly, with the fury pulsing through him, it’s not a hard task. It’s definitely a dangerous one though.

  The other driver nods and settles back into his car. The woman with the handkerchief raises her hand and drops it a second later. I hit the gas as Jackson dives for Nate, hauling him off the track as I fly past him.

  Holy shit. He’s going to kill me but the grin on my face makes it worth it and I can’t help but wonder what my dad would think of this. I mean, this takes ‘acting out’ to a whole new level.

  A second into the race, it actually dawns on me what the hell I’m doing. The white car speeds past me and suddenly all thoughts of sticking it to Nate fly right from my mind. My adrenaline is pulsing through my body and despite how dangerous this is, there’s no way in hell I’m sitting back and losing.

  I press down on the gas harder and push my R8 to its limits. I start gaining on the white car as my hands begin to sweat. This isn’t me but it feels so damn good.

  The other guy hits the first corner and backs off, but I’ve watched Nate do this so many times. You don’t back off, you accelerate through the corner and hope to God you don’t spin out.

  I hit the corner and do exactly what Nate would do. My back tires go wide and I pull hard against the steering wheel, trying my hardest to keep control. My heart races and I hold my breath the whole way around, but eventually, I somehow come out the other end unscathed.

  I briefly wonder what’s going through Nate’s head right now watching me do this, but I couldn’t care less. He can go fuck himself.

  Coming out of the corner, I manage to sit right behind the white car. As if he’s watching me, he presses down on the gas and I do the same.

  The overwhelming need to prove myself rages through me. I want to win. I need to win and no matter what, I’m going to win.

  We fly around the next two corners with me right on the guy’s tail. He’s starting to get nervous that he can’t shake me and I love it, no matter how dangerous that makes him. He can’t have a girl beat him on his first race. It would kill his chances before he even gets started.

  I pull wide and hit the gas. My R8 creeps forward and just as the next corner comes, I’m toe to toe with him. I could probably look over and see him scowling at me, but I wouldn’t dare lose my concentration like that. I’m so out of my depth that a simple act like that would probably kill me.

  We hit the corner at the same time and I quickly realize that being on the outside of this guy who’s struggling to control his car is not where I want to be, especially when he takes it way too wide.

  His car lurches towards mine and I have no other choice but to slam on the breaks as his car cuts out in front on mine. My breathing comes hard but it’s not over yet. He’s busy trying to right his car which gives me an opening.

  I don’t waste a single second.

  I shoot forward and push my way past him.

  I only have one more bend and a straight to go before crossing the finish line. I can do this.

  My eyes flick up into my mirror and see he’s right behind me. If I slow down even a fraction, he’ll hit me, so I do the one thing my brain is telling me not to do. I speed up.

  I hit the last bend with way too much speed that gives him an advantage to creep up beside me. I somehow manage to come out the other end and that’s when it’s really on. There’s one more straight and we’re side by side.

  This is going to be freaking close.

  My heart pounds to the point where, if I could feel anyth
ing, I’m sure it would be painful.

  I shoot my car forward. This is it. I see the end. I’ve nearly come full circle and I don’t doubt Nate is waiting right there, ready to rip me a new asshole.

  The finish line comes closer and I give it absolutely everything I’ve got. My car roars with the excitement of being pushed to its limits while the adrenaline still pumps through my body. My hands grip the steering wheel with white knuckles as my breath comes in hard and fast.

  My car pushes forward an inch past the white car and if I can hold onto this, I’ll win.

  Not a second later, I cross that line before slamming on the break.

  “Holy shit,” I whisper to myself as my pulse in my ears pounds so loudly I can’t hear the people screaming and cheering outside.

  I distantly notice people running down the hill but I can’t make anything out. My door is ripped open, someone grabs my elbow and hauls me out of the car. There are people everywhere but I can’t make out any of their faces.

  I need to get out of here. I need a second to breathe.

  I rip my arm out of the hold of whoever has me. Something deep inside tells me it’s probably Nate trying to yell at me, but right now, I just don’t give a shit. This is too much. I need to go.

  I break through the crowd all trying to get at me and hurry up the hill, away from the craziness of the races where I can finally take a second to myself. I can’t believe I just did that. My heart finally begins to slow and my hands stop shaking.

  That was intense. It was fun and reckless but I’ll never be doing it again. Hell, I don’t know what makes Nate do it every damn week. That shit is ridiculous.

  I get through the other end of the crowd to where it’s just a few people loitering around when someone latches onto my elbow and pulls me back. I rip my arm away, terrified of who could have a hold of me and spin around.

  “Whoa,” Jackson says, holding up both hands as a show of innocence. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I was calling your name, but I guess you didn’t hear me over the noise.”

  “Oh, um… sorry,” I grunt, looking away and hoping he can’t see how desperately I want to break down and cry. “I guess I owe you a thank you,” I tell him, distantly noticing the bruise coming out across his jaw.