Page 12 of Invisible String (The Underground #1)

“I know, but he really wants to join. After practice, I’ll head back to finish the office, then head home.” My mom tells my dad as I make my way into the living room.

“Okay, amor , I’m heading to work. Let me know how it goes.” My dad ruffles my hair. “Good luck at practice, Max.”

Ten minutes later, my mom’s driving at rocket speed. “I’m trying to hurry, Max. I don’t want you to be late for your first practice.”

A dump truck gets in our lane so fast that Mom doesn’t have time to stop.

“MOM,” I yell. She unbuckles her seatbelt when she sees the truck spinning and heading straight toward my side.

She blocks me with her body. Shielding me.

It happens so fast, but slowly at the same time.

Glass shatters. I cover my eyes, and the impact of the car bangs against my head.

The pain in my head feels like weights are anchoring it down.

The surrounding noise is distant. I open my eyes when I hear a man shout, “Are you okay?”

The pain in my forehead has me pressing on it. Wetness coats my skin. I look to see its blood. Everything is spinning. The car flipped. I look to the driver’s side, but I don’t see Mom.

“Mom,” I try to shout, but my voice is hoarse.

“Hey, buddy, are you okay?” A man’s panicked voice startles me.

He unbuckles me.

“Mom?”

“Was your mom in the car with you?”

I nod weakly.

“Okay, I will find her. I’m going to get you out of the car. If something hurts, tell me?”

“Okay,” I rasp. He lifts me up, and I put an arm around his shoulder. My body hurts, but I say nothing. I’m searching for my mom. The truck that hit us is flipped over. The man is getting help. Then I see a woman hunched down, talking to someone. “Put me down.” He does.

I limp to the woman on the ground. My heart beats so fast. “Someone is helping him, hun. The ambulance is on its way. We’ll get you help. Stay with me, sweetie.”

“Mom, Mom!” I call out to her, sprinting as fast as my legs can carry me.

She hears my voice and struggles to lift her head.

Her weak hand reaches up toward mine, and I quickly kneel next to her, grasping her hand tightly in mine with tear-filled eyes.

Blood trails down her mouth, and multiple cuts mar her face. Her mouth opens and then closes. “Mom.”

“I-I—” Her words are gargling with the blood filling her mouth. The woman next to her tells her not to talk. “Love you.” My mom says with a tear running down. She gasps for air. Why did she have to unbuckle herself to shield me?

I can hear the ambulance from a distance. The lady next to Mom whispers something to the man and then closes my mom’s eyes. The lady looks at me with pity and moves closer to me. With my hand still holding my mom’s , she whispers, “The ambulance is here, honey, but your mama is in heaven.”

I shake my head at her. No, she can’t be.

Rainey’s sudden stop on the side of the road has me jolt back to reality.

“What the fuck, asshole,” Rainey screams at the truck in front of us, flipping him off. “Max, are you okay? Your face is pale.”

“I’m fine.” I wipe the sweat from my forehead. “What driving school did you fucking go to? Because you need a damn, redo, sunshine.”

“It wasn’t my fault. He was picking up speed, then slowing down.”

“And you were hauling ass.” My voice is gruff, still trying to be coherent. “I think you’re ready for NASCAR.” I face her, and she scrunches up her nose.

“Ha, ha, ha, so funny.” She throws her hair up, rolling her eyes.

“Get out of the car, I’m driving.”

“No, I can drive.”

I ignore her and get out of the car, walking around to get to her. I lost count of how many times I’ve come close to death. When she sees I’m near, she locks the door.

That little. “Rain, open the dang door.”

She rolls the window. Cars stream down the street without pause. It’s summer, and tourists are everywhere. “Max, you get in the car. You’re being dramatic. I’m a great driver.” Her voice is sassy, which only has me wanting to kiss her stupidly.

“I beg your pardon, but you suck at driving.”

Her eyes widen. “That’s mean. How rude.”

I stick my hand in the car and unlock it.

“Hey.”

“Out.”

“Fine, you grump.” She sways her hips, and her ass hangs out.

Fuck.

Shutting the door, I turn to her, then grip her chin. “From now on, I’ll drive whether it’s in mine or yours. My mom died in a car accident. I’m worried your reckless driving will cause something to happen to you.”

She presses a kiss on my knuckles. “Max, I’m so sorry. Did my driving cause you to re-live those memories? Were you with her?”

“I was with her,” I admit, as much as I want to divert from the conversation. From the day my mother passed, I no longer spoke of her death or celebrated her life. My father changed. He loved my mom and me more than anything. He turned into a completely different man the day he lost her.

“Wow… I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to express my condolences. I know it was years ago. I’m sorry you went through so much. You know, without your mom.”

I put the car in drive. “Yes, it was years ago.” I shrug. “How about you just enjoy being a passenger, princess?” And in need of driving lessons.

As we approach the gurgling stream, my stomach churns at the crowded banks. Groups of people with their own tubes lounge on the grassy shore while others wait in line to rent them from a small shack nearby. I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the chaotic scene ahead.

Lana waves us down and runs to us, the guys following behind. Lana’s gaze rolls over me. “You’re not wearing trunks.”

“No.”

“And you have a shirt on and slides.”

Rainey tries to lift my shirt.

“I prefer not to get sunburned,” I lie.

Rainey nods, stepping back.

“Oh, okay. That’s okay. Who fucking needs them anyway, right? You two took so long that I went ahead and rented the tubes. The only problem is that they didn’t have many available. We would have to wait for people to bring them up when they’re done. I figured one of us could share.”

“We can share, Lana.” Dan winks at her, rubbing her ass. That guy is a punk. I don’t get why she’s seeing him.

“Sounds good to me,” Lana purrs.

“How about we share a tube, Rainey? I’m slimmer, and we’ll fit well in it.” Peter’s gaze eats up Rainey as she rolls her shorts off and unbuttons her shirt, leaving her in a bikini.

“Nah, she’s with me. She fits perfectly on my lap. Don’t you, sunshine?”

“Uh-huh, and in other places.”

Damn, she has a dirty mind, or is it me?

Rainey laces her fingers with mine. Her warmth does something to me. She fills me with something I can’t pinpoint. An emotion I’m unfamiliar with. “Not territorial. Huh.”

“No!”

She wears a cheesy grin. “Possessive.”

“You’re ridiculous. It’s protectiveness,” I mutter under my breath.

We maneuver around a man distributing giant yellow tubes.

I grab one and sling it over my shoulder to carry along with us.

Crowds of people sit on huge family-sized tubes.

I’m so close to saying fuck it and head back.

These past few days, I’ve been getting out of my comfort zone forcefully, all because of Rainey.

I’m allowing her to get under my skin. I kissed her in front of everyone, claiming her.

She’s sitting on my lap now, resting her weight on me.

Her red bikini bottom rides up, causing a surge of arousal within me.

The sound of music fills the air from the speakers on their floats.

We let the current guide us, drifting along the water’s surface.

“Here, have a beer,” Lana offers, passing me two cold bottles.

As we follow the winding stream, its waters grow in strength and width. The gentle trickle turns into a rushing current, pulling us along with its force. We collide with other travelers as the pace quickens, our bodies bouncing off each other like pebbles in a rapid river.

Water splashes all over us. With one hand on Rainey and the other on the bottle of beer, I’m unable to balance us and hold on to the tube handles. The waves get stronger.

“Oh, my gosh. I didn’t think it was this crazy.” Rainey screams.

My hand wraps around her middle. As my fingers lose their grip on the glass bottle, it plummets into the murky lake.

A sudden jolt rips Rainey from my arms and throws her into the chilly water.

Before I have time to process what happened, I see Peter smirking before he jumps in after her.

I can’t trust him. He’s the one who pushed us in the first place, so I take a deep breath and plunge into the unknown depths below.