She's With Me

by Jessica Cunsolo

  Aiden shrugs. “Make him pay. Still am.”

  “Aiden, I don’t want you to—”

  “This isn’t just about you, Amelia. This is about Simms. He messed with me and mine, and for that, he’s going to pay.” Aiden interrupts me, a steely determination in his eyes.

  Me and mine.

  “But, Aiden, I don’t want this to get out of hand. I don’t want you hurt or to give them any reason to hit back harder next time. Adding fuel to an already blazing fire won’t fix anything,” I say.

  I’d still rather leave it be and not kick the sleeping lions. I don’t want to give them a reason to find out about me. Observant Aiden, the only person at the table to sense my hesitation, seems to understand that I don’t want this getting back to me.

  “Don’t worry, Amelia,” he says. “It won’t look like revenge. It’ll just look like any other day at the Tracks.”

  I must’ve given him a skeptical look because he adds softly, “You’ll be kept out of it. I promise.”

  Aiden doesn’t take promises lightly, and despite my uncertainty, I’m unable to do anything other than put my trust in him. I believe that he knows what he’s doing. There’s a reason people are scared to cross Aiden, and that’s because he always comes out on top.

  “Fine. But I’m coming,” I declare.

  Aiden doesn’t even take a second to think about it before he growls out, “No.”

  “Yes, I am.” I stubbornly hold my ground.

  I need to be there to make sure he’s okay, and to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Mostly, I want to see and experience the Tracks—to understand what makes up this huge part of his life, see him in his element. Really, though, I want to support him.

  “You’re not.” He narrows his eyes at me.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I said so.”

  “Don’t use that on me! I’m not five!”

  “Face it, Amelia. You always end up finding trouble. Or it finds you. Either way, I won’t be around to make sure you’re okay,” he replies honestly.

  “Please, Aiden? I’ll be good, I swear!” I beg.

  “No,” he states, deadpan.

  “But what if—”

  “No.”

  “But how about—”

  “No.”

  “But when I—”

  “No.”

  “UGH!” I throw up my arms in exasperation. “You’re impossible! You know that? Like, if I was Kaitlyn, I’d say that I literally can’t even right now.”

  At the mention of Kaitlyn, the boys exchange a knowing look.

  “Wait, Kaitlyn’s going to be there, isn’t she?”

  Aiden sighs. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re not coming.”

  “Of course it matters!” I explode. “Aiden, you’re being stubborn. Tell him, Mason!”

  Mason, who’s currently sitting between Aiden and me, looks back and forth between us, seeming unsure of whether to go against Aiden or back him up.

  “I’ll stay with her the whole time,” Mason cautiously suggests.

  “Yes! I’ll stay with Mason! And Noah and Julian and Chase can stay with me too! That’s four guys making sure I don’t get into trouble. Plus, Anna and Char will keep me out of trouble. I’ll be good, I swear!” I send Mason a grateful look and look up at Aiden with pleading eyes.

  He studies me with his indecipherable gray eyes before sighing and running his hand through his hair in defeat. “Fine. But you stay with Mason the whole time. I mean it, Amel—”

  “I will, I promise!” I cut him off, sharing an excited smile with Mason.

  “Seriously, Amelia, I have enough to do already and I can’t be worrying about you the whole time.”

  “Pinky swear.” I reach across the table and grab his hand. He allows me to lock my pinky finger with his, sealing my promise in order to ease his worries, all the while ignoring the growing sense of dark foreboding knotting through my stomach.

  16

  It takes about an hour to get to the Tracks, so we decide to meet at my house. Charlotte’s parents don’t know where we’re going, so she said she’s sleeping at my house. It’s not a complete lie because she is, in fact, spending the night.

  “They sure are taking their sweet time. It’s getting really cold out here,” Noah complains, having arrived here twenty minutes ago wearing jeans and a fitted T-shirt.

  “Didn’t you bring a jacket?” Annalisa asks Noah.

  “No.”

  “We can stop at your house to grab it before we head up to the Tracks,” Charlotte suggests.

  “No way. My mom is home.”

  “So?”

  Noah scoffs, as if it’s the most obvious answer in the world. “I could never admit I’m cold to my mom who told me to bring a jacket ‘because it’s November.’”

  I can’t help but laugh at Noah’s impression of his mom. Yeah. I totally get that. But I text Mason to bring Noah a sweater. Hopefully he hasn’t left yet.

  Our banter is cut off by the beautiful sound of Aiden’s black Challenger pulling into my driveway, his headlights illuminating the porch we’re sitting on. He turns the car off and gets out, then walks over to us.

  He looks as gorgeous as ever in his fitted black T-shirt, black leather jacket, and dark jeans, his masculinity and dominance unmistakable. However, he doesn’t look too happy about this whole thing; all day he subtly tried to get me to change my mind, but I’m too stubborn for my own good sometimes. Mason’s Range Rover pulls up, and he shuts off the SUV and gets out. He looks confident and charming as always in dark jeans, a fitted white long-sleeved shirt with only three buttons on the top, which are undone, and a black leather jacket.

  “Finally! You took forever,” Noah exclaims. “You better have the heat on in the truck!”

  “Sorry, I had to turn around and get some idiot a sweater.” Mason smirks and throws Noah a black sweater, which lands right in his face.

  “Dude! You’re the best!” Noah laughs as he puts the sweater on.

  “Don’t thank me. Amelia’s the one who told me to bring it.”

  Noah looks at me before tackling me in a bear hug, planting overexaggerated slobbery kisses all over my face. “Oh thank you, thank you, Amelia!”

  I laugh and push him off me, wiping his spit off my face. “No problem, Noah. I wouldn’t want to face my mother’s wrath either.”

  Aiden and Mason suddenly wear matching scowls.

  “All right! Let’s get this show on the road!” Chase stands up from where he was sitting on my front steps and walks toward Mason and Aiden. “Who’s going in which car?”

  “Anna and Char are with Julian. Amelia—”

  “She’s with me,” Aiden finishes for Mason in an authoritative tone that leaves no room for protesting.

  Everyone turns to look at me. I have absolutely no problem with that—not a single objection. I like spending time with Aiden, especially one on one, and to be completely honest, I feel the safest when I’m with him.

  “Okay. Then Noah and Chase are with me,” Mason finishes, his voice a little disappointed.

  “Great. Now that that’s settled, can we please get in the heated truck?!” Noah exclaims, jogging over to Mason’s Range Rover and impatiently waiting for us to follow his lead.

  Sitting in Aiden’s car, I put my seat belt on and wait for him to push the start button so that I can turn on my butt warmer. Best. Invention. Ever.

  “Last chance to change your mind,” he says as the engine revs to life.

  I shake my head. “No backing out now.”

  “You stay with me tonight. When I’m not around, you stay with the guys. Okay?”

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” I say, just to see what he’ll say.

  “I know you don’t,” he says, surprising me. “B
ut you can’t be alone tonight. There are a lot of sketchy people there. A lot of Silvers we don’t get along with. Plus, kids from some other schools that aren’t too great either. Most people are pretty cool, and I’m not expecting that much trouble other than Simms and his asshole friends. But with your track record of finding trouble, I’ll feel better knowing you’re with someone I trust.”

  “What about Char and Anna?” I ask, trying to move my train of thought away from how amazing Aiden is to me.

  He takes his eyes off the road for a second to glance at me. “You really think Chase would leave Charlotte’s side?”

  “I guess you’re right. Plus, I doubt Char would do anything to get herself into trouble.”

  “And Anna’s been a couple times, but she won’t get herself in trouble.”

  I look out the window at the scenery, the trees blurring together in the distance. “What are you going to do tonight?” I ask quietly, referring to his resolution to get back at Ryan.

  “Just what I said I’d do. Make him pay.”

  Aiden has a look of determination on his face, the scowl back in place from just thinking about Ryan. This anger is from more than just what Ryan did to my car—this goes way back. There’s more to the story, but I don’t want to press Aiden. No matter how much he hates Ryan, I still don’t want him getting hurt over any of this.

  “I don’t want you to get in a fight,” I admit softly, running a finger gently over the knuckles on his right hand, which is resting on the gear shift, the spot rough from being busted and bloodied from fighting. His face softens, an unknown emotion running across it. He flips his right hand over and catches mine, intertwining his fingers with my own.

  “I’m not going there with the intention of fighting,” he tells me.

  “But what do you mean when you say you’re going to make him pay?”

  I try not to feel disappointed when he releases my hand to shift gears, trying to convince myself that I don’t already miss his warm touch.

  “I’m literally going to make him pay. Race him and up the initial racer’s bet. By a lot.”

  I smile, understanding his plan, and my worries and stress lighten slightly. I should’ve known. Aiden isn’t stupid.

  He knows that fighting them won’t do anything. Of course, Aiden would most likely win and he’d probably feel better getting some punches in, but then what? Yeah, he would have kicked Ryan’s ass, but is that really an effective way of getting them back? I mean, it’d probably feel fantastic, but handing Ryan’s ass to him in a race in front of his friends and peers and walking away with a shit ton of his money would probably feel a whole lot better.

  I can’t wait to see Aiden wipe the floor with Ryan’s smug, arrogant face.

  By the time we get to the Tracks—after we all went to a drive-thru for coffees and teas—it’s around ten o’clock. There are crowds of people gathered in groups around different cars that are spaced out on the grass. From what I can tell, the majority of the people here are in their late teens to mid-twenties. The space itself is just as Mason said it was at lunch: deserted country roads. The actual road is still in good shape, but it’s clear that this place is so out of the way that no one would wander onto it unless they knew what it was used for.

  Despite being dark, the roads and space are still dimly illuminated by the brightness of the moon and from the headlights of the various cars. It’s obvious that not all cars are used for racing; many people are here with their regular vehicles to support their friends, bet on the racers, and just have somewhere to go on a Friday night.

  Aiden parks on a stretch of grass and turns off the car as Mason pulls up beside him. I get out of the Challenger and stretch my legs, seeing Julian pull up beside Mason.

  There’s only one run-down building close by that looks like it’s still kind of used, but other than that one, there aren’t any structures around. It’s mainly an open field with roads intersecting and turning for miles. The sound hits us, engines from a blue and an orange car racing each other grinding away.

  The distance and speed they’re traveling make it hard to make out the models, but the bright colors make it easy to tell them apart as they travel farther away from the main part of the track. There are some sparse areas of trees in the distance that block the view of the road, but for the most part, if you have good eyesight you can see the racers, even at the farthest point they look like tiny toy cars. People are standing on top of cars and trucks, trying to get a better view of the race. They’re shouting and cheering for the cars, hoping that the person they bet on wins.

  As I scan the crowd, my eyes stop on a bright-red Mustang in the distance, a group of people and parked cars around it. Ryan’s leaning against it, his arm draped around Kaitlyn as he talks to a bunch of other guys who I’m assuming are his friends from Commack Silver High. Kaitlyn isn’t the only girl in the group, but she is the only one dressed like she’s ready for a night at a club.

  Isn’t she cold? Can people from hell even get cold? I notice that Makayla is the only other one of her friends here; the other girls must be from Commack. Some of the guys with Ryan are the party crashers from Noah’s Halloween party. One of them catches my eye and glares directly at me, sending a shiver down my spine.

  Dave.

  I subconsciously step closer to Aiden, who’s in the middle of a conversation with Mason and Noah. Dave follows my action and notices Aiden, clearly remembering how he handed him his ass without even breaking a sweat, and he unconsciously brings his hand up to rub his jaw.

  “I shouldn’t be here. What if he’s here?”

  I look away from Dave to look at Annalisa, who’s speaking to Julian in hushed tones off to my right. I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but her nervous tone worries me. She’s usually so strong, confident, and fierce—it’s odd to see her so worried and unsure.

  “We haven’t seen him here in a while.” Julian comforts her as he wraps his arms around her. “Even if he is, you know I won’t let him anywhere near you.”

  I look away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment.

  “Amelia.”

  I’m brought back to reality when Aiden calls my name, and I look up at him standing beside me. “I’m going to talk to some people. Stay with the group, okay?”

  “Friendly people?” I ask, a worried expression on my face, hoping he didn’t notice my stare off with Dave. He has enough to worry about without needing to think about that asshat.

  “Yeah, they’re friends,” he says with an entertained smirk, seeming to enjoy that I’m worried about him. “I’ll be back.”

  He heads off in a different direction, his dark outfit making it easy to lose sight of him in the crowd. The group of us talk for a while and watch the various races before I start to squirm. Damn it, Amelia. You just had to get the extra-large green tea, didn’t you? I think to myself.

  “Hey, Mason?” I ask and he looks down at me. “There isn’t a bathroom I can use around here, is there?”

  Noah laughs. “Yeah. It’s called the trees.”

  I must look mortified because the guys break out laughing.

  “Calm down, k-bear,” Mason says. “There is one, but I’m warning you, it’s kind of gross since no one really takes care of it.”

  I contemplate holding it before ultimately deciding that I can’t. “I don’t care. I need to go.”

  Mason shakes his head in amusement. “I’ll take you. We’ll be right back.”

  He leads me on a two-minute walk through groups of people—nodding hello to some on the way—to that run-down building I saw when we first got here. It’s only one story, and there are cars parked around here too.

  Mason opens the door to the dimly lit building and points to the first door on the left. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”

  I nod and hurry inside, gagging from the smell. He was not kidding when he warned
me that it was gross. I lock the door and hurry up.

  “‘It’s cold outside,’ you said. ‘Extra-large will warm you up,’ you said. Stupid, tiny bladder,” I mumble to myself as I quickly use the gross bathroom, wash my hands, and pull the door open.

  As I walk out of the building, I slather my hands with the sanitizer that I always keep in my purse. Where’s Mason? He was right here. Where did he go? I scan the area, looking for him. I find him in the distance, flirting with a dark-haired girl in knee-high boots and booty shorts. Even from where I’m standing, I can tell that he’s charming the socks off of her. I can’t believe he can’t keep it in his pants for two minutes! Seriously, he left me alone at an illegal racetrack to talk to a random girl. And after that whole thing of how I shouldn’t be left alone.

  I’m torn between whether I should go over to him or not. I don’t want to be that girl—the one who acts all jealous and possessive over someone she isn’t even with, but I promised Aiden I’d stay with Mason. Stupid boy letting his stupid hormones be the priority.

  Before I can decide anything, a rough hand clamps down over my mouth and an arm wraps around me in a steel grip, trapping my arms at my sides and pressing my back tight against a hard body.

  Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

  I try kicking the person behind me but it’s no use as they drag me backward with force. I’m frantic, mentally begging Mason to look over, hoping that he noticed someone grab me. The last thing I see before I’m dragged around the corner to the back of the building is the back of Mason, who is still flirting with the booty-shorts girl.

  I can’t help but panic, and feel my eyes water.

  He found me.

  This is it.

  I’m going to die.

  This is not how I end. I did not go through everything I did just to die alone, weak and afraid, behind a bathroom at some illegal racetrack where no one will find my body. I absolutely refuse to go down without a fight.

  Just you and him, Thea. You’re not a scared little girl anymore. You train and work out in preparation for this exact moment—you needed and wanted to be ready for when Tony found you.