Page 31 of Wrecking Boundaries (SteelTrack Racing #2)

“Drivers, to your vehicles,” says the tinny voice over the loudspeaker.

We’re at an outdoor track, one hastily assembled with wood planks and hale bales in keeping with the event’s casual nature. It’s also a lovely spring day, perfect for a poor race performance.

“You ready to win this thing?” Jake asks me.

“I’ll do my best,” I say, crossing my fingers behind my back.

“Let’s bring home the trophy,” he says with so much excitement I almost feel guilty.

I only feel a little silly climbing in the go-kart. It’s a light-hearted event meant for laughs, and I will take it to new levels of embarrassment. Jake’s head might even explode.

“Can you hear me?” Jake asks.

Each team has its own microphone to communicate during the race. He’ll be on the spotter’s platform while I’m on the track.

“Echo, echo. Roger that. This is Alpha One, reading you loud and clear, Alpha Two.” I even throw in a hissing sound for good measure.

“Sarah, this is serious.” Poor Jake has no idea.

“Roger that Alpha Two. I know how to use a headset. They aren’t complicated. Alpha One out.”

Jake’s heavy sigh nearly hurts my ears. “So, it’s going to be like that, huh? Okay, then, Alpha One, this is no different than practice. I’ll guide you through the turns and tell you when to press on the throttle or brake. You did great then, and I think we have a real shot today.”

“It’s going to be a fantastic race,” I say, hoping my tone is both positive and noncommittal.

“You got this.”

“Sure do.”

“Drivers, start your engines,” says the announcer once more.

I press the little blue button.

Sometimes, you’re stuck in an absurd situation and can either wallow in the embarrassment of it all or lean into the bit.

At the gunshot, I press on the brake. “This is a great start, Alpha Two.”

“You’re supposed to move,” he yells into the headset.

I choose to lean in.

∞∞∞

“Tight corner ahead. Slow down,” Jake tells me.

“Roger that, Alpha Two.” I press down on the throttle. “Oops.”

“Mistakes happen. It’s fine,” he says. I admire his effort to remain calm. “We’re less than halfway, so there’s plenty of time to move up the pack.”

“The pack of what?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

“Cars, Princess.” His voice deepens. “Karts. The pack of karts. Stay in the center. Max throttle down this long stretch. Don’t let anyone pass. We’re still in contention for a top finish. ”

“That’s great!” I press on the brake. “My foot slipped.”

“That’s not a problem. Accidents happen.” He sounds pained, and I almost feel bad. “Now. Go full throttle. I want to beat him.”

Yeah, that little slip there isn’t missed, and I no longer feel bad. “On it. Let’s go.” I do as asked, careening right into a wall of hay bales. “You didn’t tell me those were there.”

“I thought you would see them. It was a giant wall right in front of you.” Jake sighs. “Okay, Alpha One, I’ll keep you posted on wall locations moving forward.”

Guilt niggles, so I put effort into the next few laps, and we gain ground.

“We’re almost halfway,” Jake says. “First stage down.”

“Roger that, Alpha Two.”

“Are you going to call me that for the entire race?”

“That’s a negative, Beta Minor.” He won’t appreciate that one.

“Let’s go back to Alpha Two. Head back in for a pit stop. I’ll be waiting.”

I finish the lap and head back to my designated stall, where Jake waits with a water bottle in hand.

“Drink,” he orders. “It’s important to stay hydrated.” I take a sip, and he pushes on the bottle, hoping I’ll drink it quicker. “We’re almost out of time.”

“I’m not that thirsty.”

It’s a breezy day, and I’m barely putting in effort. It’s not that exhausting.

“Humor me.”

I roll my eyes and drink it.

“Listen, you’re in 21st place out of forty. Most drivers here are inexperienced. They focus on staying in the middle rather than making progress. Slow on corners, then pass on the outside. Can you do that?”

I’m not even going to try. “We got this,” I say, giving him a thumbs up.

A few stalls down, Maddie waves, and I return it.

“Don’t do that,” Jake barks. “She’s the enemy. All of them want to beat you. Remember that.”

“Is this how you think at the beginning of every race?” I’m honestly surprised and probably shouldn’t be.

“No, I’m toning it down. This is a fun event, remember?” He taps on the back of my kart. “Go! Go!”

How do I even respond?

∞∞∞

“How are we doing?” I ask.

“Gotta be honest, it’s not great, Princess. Driver on your left around this corner.”

“On it.”

I navigate and make the pass the time. Jake’s defeated tone amuses me, but there’s some guilt, too.

“You did it,” he says with genuine shock. “You passed someone.”

“What’s next?”

“I’m afraid to tell you. Promise you’ll take this seriously.”

“Are you crazy? We’re kicking ass today. Who is it?”

“It’s your friend, Maddie. She’s right behind you. Pull to the right, and you can block her.” There’s a long pause, and Jake whispers, “Please try. ”

“Kicking ass.” I move to the left.

“Right! Right! I said right!”

“What was that, Alpha Two? You’re fading.”

Maddie approaches on my right and waves.

I return it. “You’re doing amazing,” I yell, hoping she can hear me over the wind.

“So are you! This is a fantastic race.”

We both slow down.

“I think Jake is crying right now.”

“Boone is having a panic attack.”

Jake’s scream briefly overtakes our conversation. “What in the hell are you doing?”

I ignore him. “Is Lily enjoying herself? I’ve hardly seen her since the race started.”

“She’s a full two laps ahead.”

They block in professional races to help teammates out, right? Nothing in the rules says we can’t do it here.

“Do you think we can help her go for three?” I ask.

We steer toward each other, trying for a high-five, but can’t quite stretch far enough, so we wish each other good luck and return to our exceedingly poor performance.

“Alpha Two, do you copy?”

“I’m in physical pain right now, Princess. My organs are shutting down. Will you tell me what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Deny, and if that fails, obfuscate.

“Your brother is as far from me as possible, and I still hear him yelling. He’s as confused as I am. What’s going on?”

“She’s my best friend. Is it so strange that I’d want to give her a quick shot of encouragement? Can you tell me where Lily is?” Another great tactic is changing the conversation.

“She’s three laps ahead. You aren’t going to beat her. Our performance today isn’t enough.”

“No, but we can help her win.”

∞∞∞

“How did we do?” I ask.

“I’m a broken man. You broke me. There’s nothing left.”

“Yes, but will we win?”

“I lack the capacity to answer your question,” Jake says.

The track is mostly empty. I turn into the final stretch, and Maddie pulls up beside me.

“We’re competing for last place,” she tells me.

“High-five from a distance.”

We take our feet off the throttle by unspoken agreement and slowly creep over the finish line. It’s a photo finish for last place.

“What was that? You two did this on purpose.” Jake’s at the finish line waiting for me. His messy hair and red face hint at what he’s been through. His arms move like a squawking chicken.

“I tried my best. We aren’t professionals like you, Jake. This was very stressful.” I climb out and stretch my arms and back. That was a challenging run, especially considering how little I tried. “Who won?”

Jake’s arm jerks as he indicates the winning couple.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. She worked so hard for the win.”

Across the yard, Julian swings Lily before setting her down. His arm remains casually draped over her shoulders .

“No, no, she didn’t. She was bad,” Jake says. “You two helped her.”

“Isn’t that what you do? Help teammates out when that’s the best option.”

“Deliberately throwing a race is against regulations,” he says. “It’s deeply unethical.”

“I’m not a professional; this isn’t a real race.”

Boone and Maddie are nearby, paying us little attention. Their body language also suggests they’re engaged in a similar conversation.

“When did you two plan this conspiracy? I can’t believe you two fixed it. This is a scandal, Sarah.” Jake sounds genuinely upset. It’s possible I underestimated how seriously he’d take the whole endeavor.

“Look around, Jake. No one cares.” I spread an arm to show no one is paying us any attention.

“Let’s go.” Jake nods with his chin to a hay bale wall further away. “We can talk in private.”

“If private means get naked, we can’t do that here.”

“Sometimes private means private, Princess, let’s go.”

I meekly follow while hysterically laughing on the inside. Sure, it was an embarrassing performance, but does that matter?

“You two publicly fighting over a charity race right before we go public didn’t seem like a good idea,” I explain as soon as we’re alone. “Maddie agreed, so we decided to do it together.”

“Witnessing it was brutal, a form of torture I never want to repeat,” Jake twines a lock of my hair through his fingers as the competitive energy leaves his body. The cocky smile appears, and his frustration is gone. “I’m lucky you both are so wise.”

“Wisdom is great for many things, but not for chasing away my crisis of nerves.”

He strokes my cheek. “Problems don’t get any easier by ignoring them.”

“Some do.”

“Not this one, Sarah.” Jake sighs. “The best way to avoid a wreck is to drive through it.”

“You made that up.” He’s also correct. We even talked through how to break the news. “He’s going to freak out.”

“He’ll remember he loves his sister. Trust me, I’m an expert on older brothers.”

Jake taps my chin, and our eyes meet. He kisses me like he wants to pass on some of his courage. It’s working, too, because the panic fades.

“Let’s go tell Boone,” I say.

“Tell me what?”

No. “Boone.” I struggle to say another word, but my throat closes up. Why aren’t my lungs working?

“We were on our way to tell you,” Jake says. He grabs my shoulder, pulling me closer to him, and I’m grateful because my legs don’t feel right.

“I can see that,” Boone says. His eyes move between us, and I wait for the inevitable explosion, but it doesn’t come. He stands there, and I feel like a little kid again, begging him not to tell Mom and Dad so I don’t get in trouble.

“Jake and I are together,” I finally say, knowing how inadequate it sounds.

“Now you’ve told me,” Boone says and walks away.

I begin to follow until Jake puts a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t, you’ll make it worse,” he says. “I’ve seen that look on your brother before, and I guarantee you haven’t.”

“When?” I know the answer before the word leaves my lips.

“Two weeks ago, when I wrecked him.”