by Evie Harper
Rex looks to the ground then left and right as he curls his hands into fists over and over again. The tension running through his body is easily seen, I knew this bargain would be hard for him. I wonder if Rex knows what he will do with his life when revenge didn’t dictate it anymore.
“Deal,” Rex growls.
I nod, my body relaxing. First step done, now just to win the race.
Rex and his crew walk away to ready his car.
I pass my keys to Pace and say, “Take Chevy to the line-up; I’ll be right there.”
Kel goes with Pace while Mack comes with me to register for my race with Rex.
At the starting line, Chevy is lined up next to Rex’s red Nissan Skyline.
Mickey, the president of Speed Wars, comes over and looks under both our hoods and then in the trunks to make sure we aren’t packing any more than the allowed two tanks of NOS.
When Mickey is done, he pulls Rex and me to stand between our cars to talk.
“Now, boys,” Mickey starts in his croaky voice. “This is an illegal event, so no shit from either of you. I don’t want to be calling the cops or the morgue to come pick your bodies up off the road. Straight-lined races, no running each other off the strip. You feel me?” he says in a serious tone.
I look to Rex with hard eyes until he nods, and I look back to Mickey. “We’ve already made a bargain. We’re in this to race and nothing else, so no trouble from us.”
Mickey nods and Rex walks off.
Right before I’m about to do the same, Mickey grabs my arm and pulls me to him, slaps me on the back and mutters, “Good luck, kid.”
I tilt my chin to him in gratitude and walk over to my car.
A blonde chick in a tiny bikini yells out, “Get ready, gentlemen! Light goes green in five minutes.”
I walk around to the driver’s side of Chevy, all the while watching Rex as he stares right back at me.
Each of my brothers hoots and pats me on the back.
Fear and excitement rush through my body, both battling each other to have the upper hand.
I sit in the driver’s seat, buckle up and start Chevy. I look over to my left at Rex as I hear his car begin to rev.
Mack moves around Chevy and sprays water on each tire. When he’s out of the way, I make sure my handbrake is up and my foot pushes down on the accelerator. The engine revs and it’s all I can hear.
My wheels begin to spin and smoke billows from my tires, causing them to stick to the cement and improve our traction.
Rex does exactly the same before we both move up and sit on the starting line. We release our accelerators and let the cars idle, waiting for the racing lights to turn green.
I try to steady my heartbeat, but I can’t calm the furious storm. So much rests on this race, more than I’ve ever bargained with before. Ten seconds that will decide my fate.
I grip the steering wheel firmly. My breathing increases.
Orange light.
I stare down the long cement strip in front of me. Four-hundred meters to win this race, to end this war. Too much to lose and so much to gain.
Yellow light.
Rwar. Rwar.
I shift into first gear as sweat trickles down my neck, and I tighten my grip on the steering wheel once more.
Green light.
I shift up to third and stomp on the accelerator. My wheels spin and Chevy shoots out from the starting line. Wind slams into my face. I’ve never felt so alive.
As I quickly change through the gears, Chevy swerves slightly to the right and I gently correct her steering before pushing my foot all the way to the floor, changing up into fourth gear. I look to my left and see Rex is winning by about half a meter. I switch my gears up to fifth and shoot past him.
Finally, a smile graces my face when I can see the finish line in sight. But as I’m about to hit my button for a push of NOS to ensure my win, Rex shoots straight past me.
“Fuck!”
I push my button and I’m flying past Rex, but I know he will push his second NOS any time now and we’re only seconds away from the finish line.
I push my second just as Rex comes up beside me. I shoot off and cross the finish line with Rex right behind me.
My heart is jackhammering in my chest as I begin slowly braking and shout, “Yeah! Wahoo!” I fucking did it. I beat Rex. Fucking finally, this shit can end.
I turn Chevy around and watch as Rex does the same. I follow him and park just to the left of his car.
Kel, Mack and Pace race over and begin hooting and banging on Chevy in unison as a beat of celebration.
I exit my car with a huge grin and am congratulated by each of my brothers.
I turn around and find Rex standing there, arms crossed and a huge smile on his face. Surprise doesn’t cover what I’m feeling. I thought he’d come at me with a knife for losing, but instead he’s grinning. What the fuck?
“What’s so funny, Rex? You lost. You do know not coming first means you lost, right?” I mock.
“I know I lost the race. But have I lost the battle? No, I don’t think I have.”
“We had a deal,” I seethe.
“Oh, I will live up to that bargain, brotha. I’ll let the death of my father go.”
I calm slightly at Rex’s words.
“But I will not let your betrayal go unpunished. You deceived me, Slater. You were my best friend yet you plotted against my family. I will have my revenge,” Rex sneers and then grins. “What if I’ve already evened the score?”
Rex’s smug smirk tells me he’s talking about Piper. A roar pounds up through my chest and out my mouth as I lunge at him. I slam Rex against his car and grasp both sides of his jacket, nose to nose, both of our chests heaving. “You won’t touch her,” I sneer.
“What if I already have, brotha? What if she’s already dead?” Rex’s grin is devilish, one I know all too well. He got to her.
I push off him, hard, causing Rex to slump to the ground roughly. My chest explodes and my whole world falls apart. I look around me at the people staring, at the dust in the air, at the cars in the distance.
Piper.
I grab for my chest at the exact moment I know my heart plummets to my stomach, as if I thought I could catch it first.
My mind is screaming at me to get to Piper to try to save her, but my panic is holding me back. Laughing at me, taunting me, reminding me that I actually thought I could let her go when really I can’t even bear the thought of living in a world where she doesn’t exist.
In a blur, I hear Pace yelling that the home phone isn’t connecting. I look to see Rex on the ground, laughing, almost cackling.
In a split second, the harsh world comes back into focus and I see everything for what it is: a world where I never win, where I’ll always be the underdog.
I look to Rex and growl, "I told you why I did it! Why your father had to die. He was a rapist, and he deserved to die. Now you've gone after my girl? I can't let you walk away from this." I look down to him with what I'm sure are black eyes, murder running through my veins. I feel it pumping through my blood like worms sucking me dry. "If you’ve gone after her, if she’s hurt, you better run," I growl. "You better run fucking fast, because I'm coming for you. I'm coming for you and your whole fucking crew. By the end of the day, I'm gonna to be washing your blood from my body and laughing. Laughing because your daddy still controls you even after his death. You won't take off your fucking rose-colored glasses and see him for what he was, a fucking sadistic asshole!" I end on a roar.
Rex's veins pop and his nostrils flare with anger. "Liar!" he booms at me. "My father was a leader. He was going to own Louisville and that's why you killed him. You wanted the turf for yourself. You are nothing but a greedy, motherfucking murderer and when I have my chance, and I will one day, I'm going to do the same to you. My life's mission is to kill you and your whole gang. But first, you will feel my pain!"
Rex’s crew stands beside him as he gets off the ground, united and willing t
o die for Rex’s doomed revenge.
“I will destroy whoever gets in my way to find you and desecrate your body if you have taken her from me!” I yell as my brothers pull me back toward my car.
Breathing heavily, my muscles are tensed and ready to strike, to knock my brothers to the ground to get to Rex and beat the smile off his face.
Mack’s hot breath hits my ear. “Slater,” he whispers angrily whispers. “Get in the fucking car. The house phone is a dead dial tone. We need to get to them now. We will deal with Rex later but right now, Piper needs you.” At his words, I turn my murderous eyes from Rex to Mack. Piper.
I push my brother away from me and get in Chevy. I start her up and before Mack has his door shut, I’m reversing and fishtailing out of the airstrip and away from Speed Wars.
I feel as if my blood is physically rising from my veins, spurting up like hot lava.
The car sways so I pull her to the left to correct my direction and end up swerving all over the road.
“Fuck, Slate,” Mack growls.
A horn blares from behind us and I know it’s Pace telling me to get my head on straight.
I can’t lose her. I can’t lose another.
It’s a forty-minute drive home. I’ll do it in twenty, but every second will be fucking torture.
Chapter Ten
Hum to me.
Piper
After Della and I have packed my suitcase, we decide to head downstairs and make some sandwiches. We heard the guys leave about half an hour ago, so we decide while we wait for them to get back, we’ll watch a movie in the living room.
I take a seat on the single sofa to the left of the flat-screen TV which sits in a large wooden unit.
Della begins to search through the DVDs in the cabinet to the right. She pulls out How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, and I smile and nod. I love that movie.
Della laughs and says, “I don’t know who I have more of a crush on, Matthew McConaughey or Kate Hu—” Della jolts forward as if someone just pushed her. Her eyes widen in shock and she holds her stomach as if she’s going to be sick.
“Della?” I ask and stand to help her stay upright. I’m almost to her when glass explodes around us. It’s then my hearing picks up the sound of bullets, and they’re everywhere.
I run and hide in front of the wooden TV unit as wood splinters and sprays all over the room. I grab my head to protect my eyes and face and begin screaming loudly, over and over again, but the bullets don’t stop and nobody runs inside to save us. My body shakes furiously while I scan the room for Della and find her lying on the floor, unmoving, with blood seeping through her pink top from her stomach.
I remove my trembling hands from my ears and begin crawling over to her. Suddenly there is quiet and nothingness, only the ringing in my ears.
I reach Della and pull her top away from her stomach. She cringes at the movement and blood spills from her wound.
I look around for something, anything to stop the bleeding, and I spot a t-shirt laying over one of the lounges. I jump up, grab it and place it quickly over her bullet wound to slow the blood flow.
Della is shivering, crying and staring down at her bloodied stomach. “Della, y-you need to hold this to y-your wound. I need t-to call for an ambulance.”
Della nods, pushes down on the t-shirt and lays her head back down on the ground. I hear her let out a sob as I’m sprinting into the kitchen.
I pick up the cordless phone and begin dialing 911, leaving behind bloody fingerprints on the keys. I stutter badly to a woman who picks up the call and she tries to calm me, but it doesn’t work. I just keep screaming and stuttering for someone to come now, that Della is shot and she needs help. Finally, she says the ambulance is only two minutes away.
I race back to Della and drop the phone to the ground with the operator still on the line.
I kneel by her body and my eyes widen at the blood that has spilled in the few seconds I was gone.
Della has paled and is now ghostly white.
I close my eyes briefly and tears escape from both sides. No, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.
I gently remove Della’s hand from the shirt to her chest and press down firmly with my own on her wound. “I-It’s okay, Della. An ambulance i-is almost here,” I whisper to her and begin stroking her hair gently.
She looks up to me with a small smile and glassy eyes. “Hum to me, Piper,” she requests, just above a whisper.
My heart’s breaking, but I do as Della asks. I take a big breath and start to hum a song from my childhood, something I’m sure my mother used to sing to me since it’s always stuck with me.
I still when I hear sirens and glance to the broken window. The ambulance is here.
I look back down to Della and see her eyes are now fully closed. “Della.” I shake her shoulder but she doesn’t move, and her hand slides away from her chest. “Della!” I scream.
Suddenly, there are two men in the living room surrounding us and one of them is talking to me, but I don’t hear his words. I continue to shake a lifeless Della and scream her name.
Slater
I see my house in the distance. Speeding down my street, I swerve up onto my front yard and don’t bother turning off the car before I’m out and jumping my fence. Mack is right beside me, and we both freeze at the same time as crunching noises come from underneath our shoes.
A tingling begins to spread all over my skin and suddenly I feel as cold as ice.
There are holes everywhere, all through the front of my house. The windows are smashed.
Drive-by.
“Fuck. Della! Della!” Mack shouts and runs up our front stairs. I’m right behind him and we find the door is wide -open.
Mack keeps shouting while he races up the stairs to Della’s room. Pace and Kel are in the background yelling out for Della and Piper. I feel as if my throat is frozen; I can’t yell, talk or swallow. My breathing is shallow because I refuse to openly take a breath until I know what I’m about to face.
Please, God, don’t do this to me. Haven’t I been through enough?
I enter the living room and the first thing I see is blood on the wooden floors.
I fall to my knees and heave in a heavy, destroyed breath, a loud sob escaping.
Pace kneels beside me and looks to the blood. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he screams. He picks something up next to him and I look over to see it’s the house phone, covered in blood. Did they get help?
He puts it to his ear, presses End Call then hits re-dial.
“It’s 911. They must be at a hospital.”
“Clarke Memorial,” I stay with a strained voice. “It’s the closest hospital they would be taken to.”
All my brothers race out of the house but I stay for a second, staring down at the blood.
My sister’s or the woman I’ve fallen for?
Life never gets easier; each battle won just means another waiting around the corner.
Chapter Eleven
A promise.
Piper
“Argh!” I punch the stupid pay phone, not noticing the pain I’m sure is there but can’t be felt over my aching chest. How the hell am I supposed to tell Slater what’s happened when I don’t have his mobile number, and the stupid telephone operator won’t help me because apparently his number is private?
I glance down to my blood-soaked shirt and a sob rips from my mouth. They took Della away and they won’t tell me anything. She was unconscious all the way to the hospital, her body limp and lifeless.
Another cry escapes my mouth and this time I don’t stop it. I let them go and lean on the wall next to the pay phone.
Those bullets were meant for me, not Della.
Slater could lose another sister, and it’s going to destroy him.
I turn and look around the waiting room. It’s empty, only stark white walls and uncomfortable grey seats.
I slide down the wall and sink to the floor while I continue to cry. There’s nothing else to do. Della cou
ld be dying right now, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.
My tears flow relentlessly for a long time, making a stream down my face, hitting my chin and then descending, falling wherever tears fall. I wish they would take this overwhelming sadness with them.
Will Slater hate me? Will he wish it were me instead of Della? I do.
My heart splinters while I imagine Slater’s face when he finds out he may lose another family member. I look to the ceiling and whisper, “Haven’t they been through enough? Your games are too much for some.”
A beep sounds around the room, which means someone is coming through the doors. The anxious wait to see if it’s Slater and his brothers is torturous. Time moves painfully slow, and it’s not until his body is halfway through the door that a cry bursts from my lips and my torment bounces off the walls around me.
Slater’s eyes slice straight to me. He races across the room, sinks to his knees and cups my face with his hands. His eyes search my body then goes back up to my face, his focus landing on my glassy, red eyes.
The anguish and terror in his expression causes another sob to burst from my lips.
“I-I-I’m s-s-so sorry. I-I-I’m so sor-r-ry,” I stammer as I shake my head in his hands.
“Shhh, baby, shhh,” Slater soothes as he scoops me up and places me in his lap. “She’s going to be okay.” Slater repeats those words in a thick voice as he rocks us both.
Slowly, my ragged breathing calms and I glance up at Slater and detect how frightened he is. My heart twists at seeing him so lost, this out of control. He has always shown his strength, boldness and courage. This side of him, his weak side exposed, his vulnerability... it’s beautiful yet painful to see.
It’s time for Slater to have a safe place; it’s time for me to be strong. I even my breathing and sit up in his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck so his face is hidden with my body, and I allow Slater the ability to let go, privately. Minutes pass by before I feel his shoulders rise and fall and a wet sensation begins to slide down my chest, but no sound is made from him. Slater finally has a moment where he can lean on someone, if only just this once.
