Page 4

Axell

Racing gave me a sense of power that I no longer had in my life.

It also didn’t hurt that I was the best. I wasn’t being cocky just honest. No one wanted to race me and whoever did always lost. I could drive a car better than anything else in my life.

I talked in the language of speed and cars better than I could talk to any human I knew.

My dad instilled two things into me; cars and music and both had always been my saving grace until I had found Sadie. Giving up racing when she voiced her fears was a no brainer for me. As much as I loved racing and craved it, I needed Sadie more than anything else in this world.

Racing had also led my life down a dangerous path.

Because I was so good with an undefeated record at the street races and I seemed to have no concern for myself, I was approached by some guys.

The type of guys that you know you should avoid, not look in the eyes, turn around and run in the opposite direction, type of guys.

However, I was numb on the inside at the time.

I choose to be numb because it was my only option.

I had to remain strong for my family and the only way to do that was to remove my feelings, to numb myself, so I did.

Roberto and Manuel approached me one night after I had won yet another race.

My winnings for that night was close to five hundred dollars.

Of course, when you’re a teenager that seems like a ton of money.

I was celebrating with my brothers, Bowie and Jagger and some of our friends when the two men appeared.

I noticed them standing along the street attempting to fit in but sticking out like a sore thumb.

For starters they were in their late twenties while the rest of us were in high school or college.

The oldest being twenty-three. The other thing that made them stick out was the fact that they were trying to dress down but even in their jeans and t-shirt they looked far too expensive for this part of town.

After celebrating for a bit everyone started to disperse with the decision to head to the beach.

As I made my way to my car the guys approached me.

One spoke very broken English while the other spoke none at all, but they still managed to compliment me on my driving while offering me a job.

I remember feeling like I was in some movie or waiting for someone to jump out and holler “gotcha” but no one did.

Before they left, they handed me a card with a phone number on it.

If I decided to take the job, then I needed to call that number.

I didn’t even know what the job was just that they promised me over a thousand dollars to race plus half of my winnings.

I had no idea the kind of mess I was getting myself into by even considering the offer.

I guess at the time though I didn’t care.

Sadie didn’t know about that arrangement for years. As I pull into the shop my phone starts to ring. I look down and see my younger brother’s name flashing across the screen. “Hey Ace, what’s up?”

“It’s been a hell of a morning. I got no sleep last night.

We got a call that Kynlee’s little sister, Brooke had a pretty bad fall from a horse, back in Texas.

She wasn’t going to go since the wedding was this weekend, but I told her I’d get it all rescheduled, then helped her book her flights and what not,” Ace explains sounding a little winded.

“Damn, I hope Brooke is okay.”

“Yeah, me too. I actually called for another reason,” Ace comments.

I chuckle. “I figured you did.”

“Here’s the thing. I told Kynlee I’d get the wedding rescheduled which as far as guests isn’t too hard since it’s mostly just our friends and family, but I don’t know how to reschedule the rest of this crap,” he says in a huff.

Laughing at him I say, “Okay, let me check in at the shop since I just pulled in then I’ll meet you. Where are you?”

“Inkredible.” Ace replies, the tattoo shop he owns.

“Okay, do you have a list or something of who we need to get a hold of?” I ask.

A loud laugh comes through the phone. “A list? I’ve got a damn book over here!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll be there in a few. Just chill for a bit,” I tell him.

I hang up with Ace and run into check on the shop.

I can hear the sounds of Starset from out here.

I don’t like to be too strict on my crew because they are great and for the most part, they have pretty good taste in music.

As I enter a few of my employees holler out and wave.

I stop by the main office where I see the secretary, Elsa, sitting on the phone.

I step inside and she waves. “Good morning, Elsa. How’s everything? ” I ask her.

“Pretty good. Got a full roster but have almost everything in stock. Here’s a list of what we are using and then some of the things that have become flagged because were out,” she tells me.

Elsa somehow created a system for us to keep track of parts.

A lot of customers are returning customers, so I like to try and keep the most basic parts on hand, so they don’t have to wait as long to get their vehicles back.

Elsa keeps count of the things we use and lets me know once we are getting low or out of an item.

The system works great and gives our shop a good reputation despite the part of town it’s located in.

Customers know that more than likely they’ll get their car back quickly if it’s something minor.

“Great job. I’ll get this stuff ordered. Anything else? If not, I need to go help my brother with some stuff.”

She shakes her head. “Nope, that’s it. Jagger and Bowie are both on the floor so if we need any signatures, I’ll just grab them.”

“Sounds great. Have a good day,” I tell her as I leave and head to my office. I sit down and get everything ordered. Before I leave, I go in search of my brothers. Spotting them I head over. “Hey, I’m heading out.”

“Already?” Bowie asks.

I nod. “Yeah, did you hear about Kynlee’s sister?”

“Yeah, bad news right before the wedding,” Jagger comments.

Bowie and I both nod in agreement. “Yeah, it is but they are rescheduling the wedding which is why I’m leaving. I’m heading over to Inkredible to help him get things rescheduled. I’m sure he’s losing his shit by now.”

Bowie laughs. “Probably but if anyone can help him…it’s you. Call us if you need anything.”

“Will do,” I tell them before leaving the shop and heading back to my car.

I made a quick stop to grab some subs from the local deli then head over to meet Ace.

As I enter the shop the music goes off letting the artists know they have people up front.

I quickly call out and let them know it’s just me, so they don’t have to stop what they’re doing.

Ace appears looking stressed, his hair is in disarray from him pulling on it. “Well it’s about damn time. Where the hell have you been?”

I hold up the sack and drink holder. “Getting food so we can figure out what you’re doing.

” We head back to the room that he uses to tattoo in.

After getting situated we go through Kynlee’s book and get just about everything moved a month up.

Everything except for the band which is already booked for the night.

“Damn it! What do I do?” Ace says, pulling on his hair again.

“Breathe. Call Kenndrix and see who else Kynlee would like? We’ll figure it out.

” I tell him. It’s odd to see my brother stressing over a wedding.

I was certain that he’d never get married.

Losing our mom had affected him the most, but then Kynlee came along, and he changed.

She brought a different side out of him just like Sadie did for me.

****

Sadie

I get to work early so I grab a cup of coffee from the employee lounge and a protein bar and head outside to sit in the sand.

While sitting there I watch the waves coming back and forth, constantly in a tug of war.

That’s how I feel right now. I’m in a tug of a war but Axell doesn’t even know about it.

I know he’d rise to occasion and become my knight in shining armor but there’s a part of me he doesn’t know.

The part of me that I left in South Carolina when my mom shipped me off to L.A.

It’s been almost fifteen years and I’m afraid the truth can’t come out now.

I don’t want Axell to see me differently and I’m afraid he would if he knew about the girl I used to be.

He knows I had a wild streak, but he thinks that’s where the story ends but it doesn’t.

Is anything ever that simple? I’ve been living a lie for so long that I had started to believe it myself, but history has a way of resurfacing when we least expect it and biting us in the ass.

“Hey you!” I hear Lyndsay, my co-worker and best friend, call out to me as she makes her way out to sit beside me.

She looks over at my measly breakfast and shakes her heard.

She hands me something warm wrapped in foil.

“Here, I figured you’d have one of those again and I didn’t think I could bear to watch you choke it down. ”

“I don’t choke it down,” I reply which is pretty much true because I barely taste anything anymore. I only eat because my body requires it.

“Okay, then I choke while trying to watch you eat that. Those things are nasty, and no one should have to eat them unless they just have to,” she says with a laugh. “I made breakfast burritos so humor me and just eat the damn thing.”