Violet, Leelee, and Luke turned to look at me, shocked. “I guess I never thought of that,” Violet pondered.
“Whoever she is, I feel sorry for her,” Leelee muttered and then chugged her beer.
Kurt’s car rumbled by us, and he didn’t even turn his head to look at us. I may have only known Mitch for a few weeks, but I could tell you there was some major family drama when it came to Kurt.
Kurt pulled around the cars, circled around and stopped next to Mitch. Kurt’s windows stayed rolled up, and he didn’t turn his head to look at anyone.
Leelee pulled another beer out of the cooler, popped the top and swung her legs nervously. “You ok?” Violet asked.
“Yeah. I’m good,” she scoffed. “You know how I get for races. I’m just pumped to see Mitch annihilate everyone.”
Violet glanced over at me, and we both knew there was more to what she was saying. Kurt and her bumped heads like crazy, but no one knew why. “Hmm, are you sure your nerves and bouncing legs have nothing to do with that fact that Kurt just showed up.
Leelee rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.
“Princess, you gonna talk the whole time?” Luke asked.
Violet rolled her eyes and leaned into me. “There is something going on between those two, and you and I are going to figure it out.”
“Me?” I asked, pointing a finger at my chest.
“Yes, you.” Violet held up her pinky. “You and I. We’ll totally be Nancy Drew.”
“Um…” She grabbed my hand, wrapped her pinkie around mine and squeezed tight.
“Starting tomorrow, we get to the bottom of this.” She turned back around, her eyes going to Luke, who was looking at us suspiciously and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. I had no idea what the hell had just happened, but I knew the next couple of weeks were going to be pretty interesting.
_____________
Chapter 22
Mitch
I couldn’t believe that Kurt had shown up. He had told me earlier at the shop today that he wasn’t going to race. Now, here he was pulling up next to me like the Pied Piper acting like he was something special. I was hoping he would have rolled his window down, but the fucker didn’t.
I tore my gaze off of Kurt and tried to calm down and get a grip. Going into the race pissed off wasn’t going to help me win. This was probably his game all along.
The flag girl walked in between our cars, her hips swaying as she walked. I used to live for this shit, and now I just wished she would hurry the hell up and get the race going. She walked to the front of our cars, her gaze falling on each driver, giving them a slight nod, making sure we were all ready. She raised her arms up in the air, her shirt barely covering her tits and all I could do was shake my head. She raised both of her arms over her head, and my hand gripped the steering wheel. I held my breath, waiting for what seemed like forever. Her arms dropped, and I stepped on the gas, releasing the clutch and rocketed off of the line.
Kurt pulled out in front, with AZ falling behind him and then I managed to squeeze in between Crank and Kesson. The one good thing about street course racing compared to drag racing was that it didn’t matter if you were last off the line, you could still win. I power shifted into fifth, my foot not leaving the gas and managed to pass Crank before the first turn. I slipped in behind AZ, downshifting into third and skidded around the corner, taking it wide while AZ tried to keep it tight in the corner.
I stomped on the gas out of the turn, neck and neck with AZ. He swerved at me, trying every way possible to get me off of him. “I ain’t going anywhere, fucker,” I mumbled under my breath, speed shifting into fourth, my foot only coming half way off the clutch as I slammed through the gears, flying down the road. It was a short course tonight that we would need to do two laps on till the end.
Kurt was more than five car lengths ahead of us, and I knew it was going to take everything the ‘Vette had to catch up to him.
After three more turns of grinding gears and slamming on the breaks, we were at the start line again, and I roared past the crowd, everyone cheering on their favorite driver.
AZ swerved at me again, and I knew he was getting impatient. Usually, I didn’t mind swapping a little paint for the sake of racing, but not when it’s just AZ being an ass. I steered to the left, dropped down into fourth and managed to roar past AZ and slid in front of him before the next turn.
I wrenched the wheel to the right, the tires losing traction as I careened around the corner. I felt my back tire rub against the curb right before the tires gripped the pavement out of the turn and I shot down the second to last straightaway.
I power shifted into fifth, listening to the car and transmission as I kept my foot on the gas and slammed up the shifter. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to beat Kurt, but there was no way in hell that I was going to lose to AZ.
AZ was weaving in and out of my rearview mirror, trying to find a way to pass me, but his car didn’t have the horsepower to match me. We slid around the last curve. AZ was trying to slingshot past me, slipping into my tailwind, but it didn’t help. He was coming in third again no matter how badly he wanted to win.
The finish line and the massive crowd came into sight, and I pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor, maxing out the speedometer as I inched away from AZ. I crossed the finish line, the crowd going by in a blur and I glanced in my rear view mirror to see AZ slamming his fist on the steering wheel. I downshifted into fourth, pulling off to the side to give him room and he flew by me, headed straight for Kurt.
Kurt swung his car around, pulling a U-turn and headed back to the finish line. AZ was headed straight for him. They both managed to slam on their brakes, inches from smashing into each other. The crowd surged down to the end of the road where Kurt and AZ were both getting out of their cars.
The crowd parted as I pulled up and jumped out. Kurt and AZ were toe to toe, yelling in each other’s faces. “This looks fucking familiar,” Luke said from behind me. “Next thing you know AZ is gonna wanna run for pinks.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest but didn’t make a move to interfere. Scarlett, Violet, and Leelee were lined up behind Luke looking scared.
“I want a fucking rematch!” AZ shouted.
Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Why don’t you get a better fucking car and then we can talk about a rematch. Just looking at that car I know I’ll whip it every time,” Kurt taunted.
“Looks like someone is a sore loser,” Leelee whispered as AZ grabbed Kurt by the collar.
“I can beat your ass any day of the week,” AZ sneered.
Kurt knocked AZ’s hands off of him and wiped off his shirt. “Then it must have been an off night when Luke beat you twice, Mitch beat you last week, and I sure as hell beat your ass tonight. I think you might want to turn around with your tail tucked between your legs and get the fuck out before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.”
AZ pointed his finger at Kurt. “Next week, I’ll beat you and your fucking brother.”
“Good. Maybe next week you’ll bring a car that can actually keep up,” Kurt called at his retreating back. AZ stormed over to his car and roared off, speeding into the crowd that was diving to get out of his way.
“What an asshat,” Violet said. She came forward to stand by Luke, and he put his arm around her shoulders. “Who the hell does he think he is? Dale Eureka?”
Luke, Leelee and I both looked at each other trying to figure out who the hell she was talking about. “Um, who the hell is Dale Eureka, Princess?” Luke asked.
“That super famous race car driver. The one who hit the wall a while back and died?”
“Oh,” Leelee said. “You mean Dale Earnhardt.”
“Where the hell did you get Eureka from?” Luke asked. Violet shrugged her shoulders and giggled.
“Hey,” Scarlett whispered, standing next to me.
I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me. “You doing OK?”
�
��Yeah. Although I have to say, you guys have more drama than a bus full of teenage girls.”
“I have to say I can’t disagree with you on that one.” I watched Kurt, wondering if he was going to come over to us, but he just disappeared into the crowd.
“I’m sorry you lost,” Scarlett whispered, looking up at me.
“You letting me come over?” I asked.
“Um, I thought that was the plan.”
“Then I didn’t lose, Sparky. I’m the luckiest bastard here tonight.”
______________
Chapter 23
Scarlett
“Um, thank you for stopping to let me see Levi.”
Mitch laughed and toed off his shoes by the door. “Coming between you and Levi is the last thing I want to do.”
“Well, thank you. I don’t think most men would be as understanding.” I opened the fridge and pulled out two beers and handed one to Mitch. “I figured after the race you might need a drink.”
“I could use a drink and a pizza.” He laughed. He used his shirt to loosen the cap to the beer and tossed it into the garbage.
I had ordered pizza on the drive over and expected it to be delivered any time. “So, what’s the deal with Kurt?” I hopped up on the counter and took a sip from my beer.
“Hmm, I’m not even sure how to answer that question.” Mitch walked over to the window. “None of us are really sure what his problem is.”
“Does it have anything to do with Leelee,” I asked.
“I think Leelee has a big part to do with it, but why, none of us know. Well, none of us except Leelee and Kurt.” Mitch turned around and leaned against the window sill.
“Leelee acted strangely when Luke talked about him tonight. I think she wants us to believe that she doesn’t like him, but I think that’s a lie.”
“Well, whatever it is, they both need to work it out and move the fuck on.” Mitch took a long pull from his beer and set it on the window. “Now it’s my turn to ask a question.”
“Oh Lord, I better drink this whole thing,” I mumbled.
“Nope,” Mitch said walking over to me. He plucked the beer out of my hands and set it on the counter. “Why the hell did you stay so long?”
“Um, stay where?”
“With your ex, Scarlett.”
“Boy, you go straight for the kill, don’t you?” I prayed for the pizza delivery guy to knock on the door but there was no such luck.
“I don’t understand how the girl I see in front of me, was in a relationship like that for so many years.” Mitch’s eyes studied my face, and he stepped forward and rested his hands on my thighs.
“Well, the girl you see now didn’t have a chance to come out until I left Snellville.”
“And where is Snellville?”
“Um, Washington. I um, grew up there and that’s where I met Manny.” I wiped my hands on my jeans and picked at the seam of my pocket. Talking about Manny was something I wished I never had to do.
“And when did you meet Manny?” His voice was soft as he brushed my hair out of my face and I leaned my head back.
“When I was sixteen. I was with him for nine years.” I swallowed hard, realizing I had wasted nine years of my life on that man. “I never should have talked to him, but he had that whole bad boy appeal, and I was young and stupid.”
“I’m probably going to sound like a complete dick, Scar, but why the hell did you stay with him after the first time he hit you?”
It was an entirely legitimate question, one that I would ask if I were him. “He didn’t actually hit me till I was pregnant. It was like everything changed when I told Manny about Levi. Don’t get me wrong, he was always a bit of an ass, but he never laid a finger on me.”
“He fucking hit you when you were pregnant?” Mitch growled.
I ducked my head and felt the shame hit me. “I know I shouldn’t have stayed, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and as soon as he did it, he apologized up and down and swore it would never happen again.”
“Except he fucking lied.”
“Yeah. Well, he didn’t hit me anymore when I was pregnant at least. It was two weeks after I had Levi that he hit me again. Levi was a horrible baby. All he did was cry and sleep. Except we could never get him to sleep because he was crying so much. I could tell that Manny was at his wits end, and I told him maybe he should go out and get a drink.”
“I’m not sure I wanna fucking hear this, Scar,” he mumbled.
I had already started, so I figured I might as well finish telling Mitch about my horrible choices. “He came stumbling in after midnight, and I had just gotten Levi to fall asleep. Manny woke Levi up when he had slammed the door. He went into a rage about Levi crying all of the time. Blaming me for it. Telling me I was a horrible mother because I couldn't control my own kid.” I wiped the tears from my eyes and remembered that night like it was yesterday. “I had gone into the kitchen to make a bottle for Levi. Manny thought that I had turned my back to him, and he went crazy. He grabbed me by my hair, yanking me off of my feet and reared back with his fist.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Mitch growled. He wrapped me up in his arms, and I buried my face in his neck. “Stop.”
“He broke my jaw in two places that time. I had to tell the doctor and nurse that I tripped and fell on the coffee table. That wasn’t the first time I told that lie,” I whispered.
Mitch held me, rocking me gently in his arms. “Is he looking for you?”
Was Manny looking for me? I really had no idea if he was. He always called me useless and never spent any time with Levi, so I had to believe that he really didn’t care where I was. “I don’t think so. But if he is, he would never think to look here. Hell. I didn’t even know this place existed until I hit the Illinois border and grabbed a newspaper looking for an apartment.”
“Well, I guess that’s one good thing.” Mitch leaned back and wiped the tears off of my cheeks. “He didn’t hurt Levi, did he?”
“No,” I said shaking my head. “That last time he hit me, I saw something change in his eyes. I always used to tell myself that things would get better, that Manny would change, and we’d be one big happy family.” I laughed. It was hard not to laugh at that once naive girl. “I knew the next time he got mad, he was going to do something I could never come back from.”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “He didn’t hurt you in any other way, did he, baby?” He rested his forehead against mine and our eyes connected.
“That’s why I left. I knew what was next,” I whispered.
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Thank fuck.”
“Can we stop talking about him?”
“Yeah. If I never hear his name again, it’ll be too soon.” Mitch had that right. I hoped that was the last time I would ever have to relive that. “You wanna watch a movie now?”
“Slight problem,” I pointed over his shoulder into the living room. “I don’t have a TV or a couch.”
“That might be a slight problem, Sparky,” he laughed.
“I do have a portable DVD player we can watch.”
“OK. We can work with that. Maybe throw a bunch of blankets on the floor to lay on while we eat.”
“Um, I can bring the air mattress in here, or we can eat in my room if you want.”
“Scarlett, you still don’t have a bed?”
“Um,” I mumbled, looking away. “It’s on my list of things I need to buy.”
“What else is on this list?” He asked.
“Um, well, a couch, a small TV, a bed for Levi and possibly a small kitchen table with two chairs.”
“Anything else,” he asked.
“Um, probably some pots and pans.”
“Why don’t we pick up Levi tomorrow and we can check a couple of things off of your list?”
“Nope,” I said pulling out of his arms. I grabbed my beer and hopped off of the counter. “No way, no how, am I going to let you buy me all of that stuff, Mitch. What Levi and I
have may not be a lot, but it’s more than what some people have. One day I’ll be able to buy all of that stuff. Tomorrow is not that day.”
“Alright, alright.” He held his hands up in surrender, but there was a smirk on his lips.
I wandered into the living room and looked out the window. “I may not have everything right now, Mitch, but someday soon I’ll have everything I could want.”
“I have no doubt about that, Sparky. You’ve made it this far.”
“I have, haven’t I,” I mumbled. I turned around and looked at Mitch, who was standing in the middle of my tiny living room, his beer dangling from his fingertips. “Although it would have been a lot harder if I hadn’t met you.”
“I don’t know about that. I just did what my mom always taught me.”
“And what is that?”
“Treat others how you want to be treated.”
“Your mom is a smart woman,” I smiled and took a sip of my beer. “Now tell me, have you always been a saint, Mitch Jensen?”
Mitch ran his hand over his head and laughed. “Do most saints do a stint in jail?”
“Jail?” I gasped. That was the absolute last thing I thought Mitch would say.
“Yeah, there was a time in my life where I forgot everything my mom had ever taught me and decided to raise a little hell.”
“Jail sounds like more than a little bit of hell.” Looking at Mitch he had a rough look to him, but I never would have guessed that he was in trouble growing up. “How old were you?”
“Twenty. You seem more intrigued by this than worried, Scar.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged my shoulders and walked over to him. “I guess it makes you more human in my book. You always seemed liked a saint.”
“I am far from a saint. I was dumb and thought stealing a car would impress Luke.”
I gasped. “You stole a car!”
“Yeah, not my brightest moment. The hell of it is, I was halfway to the shop and realized I had fucked up. I thought if I would just return the car, no one would ever know.”
“Then how the hell did you end up in jail?”
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