She’d hardly been inside for five seconds before she spoke. “Are you okay?”

I stopped. Standing in place I reached up with my hand and rubbed the back of my neck. “Fine. Yeah.”

“Well,” she began, walking towards me. “You don’t seem like it to me.”

Before she took another step, I spun in place and faced her. “I thought you said we didn’t have to talk about it. I’ve got nothing to say. Anyway, why are you so interested all of a sudden?”

Holding a folder, Ava crossed her arms in front of her body, interlocking them together just below her waist.

“I know,” she began, looking away from me for an instant. “It’s probably none of my business, but…”

I nodded, cutting her off before she could say another word. “You’re right, it isn’t.”

My response caught her by surprise. She snapped her gaze in my direction. I could see a mix of hurt and confusion in her eyes, but at that point, I didn’t care.

“Dyson, you don’t have to be rude about it. I’m here to support you.”

I exhaled and walked by her, sitting down on a couch that ran the length of the interior. “Yeah, well, I don’t need your support, and I didn’t ask for it.”

She’d traced my steps with her eyes, watching me until I sat down.

The hurt and confusion I’d seen in them moments earlier changed once again, this time into a look of shock. She stared at me for a second before turning her back and looking out a window opposite from my position.

I dropped my head a bit, shaking it and exhaling at the same time.

“Look… I, um, I didn’t mean it. It’s just that this isn’t anything you need to be concerned about.”

She didn’t turn around to look at me.

“Is it true? What Darren said out there?”

I leaned back in the couch, crossing a foot on top of my knee and flopping my arm over the back of it.

“What part?  Darren’s got a big mouth. He says a lot of things.”

Ava turned and faced me. “I mean the part about you being reckless. Was he telling the truth?”

“Ava, listen, I don’t come into an exam room and tell you how to do your job, do I?”

She shook her head. “Don’t try to change the subject. I just asked you a simple question, that’s all.”

“But that’s the thing you don’t understand. It’s not a simple answer.”

“Well then, can you explain it to me?”

“No,” I grunted, slapping my hand down on top of my knee. “I’ll just say that I’m not being reckless, and that’s all there is to it.”

Ava frowned at my answer, but before she could reply, I continued.

“I’ve been racing cars almost since I was old enough to stand. I’ve never felt more in control of what I’m doing or more on top of my game than I do right now.”

She nodded but the frown remained. “I just… Well, I’m worried.”

I bit my lip, shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re not listening to me. There’s nothing to worry about. Frankly, I find the whole conversation a little bit insulting.”

“Insulting? How is the fact that I’m concerned about you insulting?”

I looked away from her, waving her off as I did. “You know what? Just forget about it. I don’t want to have this conversation. I appreciate the concern, but trust me, it’s unnecessary. I’m fine.”

Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed Ava reach up towards her face. I turned and looked at her, just in time to see her swipe at the bottom of her eyelids.

“Now what?” I asked.

“It’s nothing,” she replied, shaking her head. “That all just came out the wrong way. I’m sorry.”

Confused, I looked up at her. “What are you talking about, Ava? What came out the wrong way?”

She sniffled. “You’ve done so much for me, Dyson. I’m not very good at these kinds of situations. I just really appreciate what you did for me with Gene. I know that your driving is none of my business, but I would say the same thing to any friend of mine. That’s all.”

I had no idea what Ava was talking about. Somehow, there was more to it. Why she was pretending otherwise all of a sudden I didn’t understand. I pulled my foot off my knee, placed it flat on the floor and stood up. Afterward, I took a few steps in Ava’s direction.

“What’s going on with you? Why are you acting so strange?”

AVA

Dyson drew close to me. I’d only come in here to see if he was all right, but since we’d begun to talk, I realized I’d taken it too far. The idea of him being reckless at speeds like this—I couldn’t help but think of how my sister died.

Intellectually, I understood how he drove was nothing like the chaotic, not to mention illegal, world of street racing. But somewhere inside of me, the notion of speed equaled death. Still, there was no way to explain it to him, and it wasn’t fair of me to try.

“I’m sorry,” I began, glancing towards the exit of the motor coach. “I shouldn’t have been sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.”

Before Dyson said a word, I turned and tried to leave. I’d only taken a step or two when he circled around in front of me, blocking my way.

“Oh no,” he began, raising his finger and wagging it in my face. “Something has changed since you walked through that door a few minutes ago. What is it?”

“It’s nothing, really. You’re reading too much into this. I didn’t mean to accuse you of being reckless, out of control or anything like that.”

Dyson exhaled a long breath through his nose, sliding his hands into the pockets of his fire suit. He stood there, clearly expecting an answer from me. But I never talked about what happened, not with anyone, really. The pain of that night, even all of these years later, still felt raw.

Dyson continued to stare at me for a few more seconds.

“I’m not letting you out of here until we hash this out, Ava. Now tell me what’s really going on.”

I lowered my head, turning my back towards him and walking a few feet away.

“I don’t know where to start,” I whispered. “I don’t even know how to start.”

“Bullshit.”

I squeezed my eyes tight, resisting the urge to scream at him. A hard lump gathered in the center of my throat. I held on for another second before at last, the inevitable occurred.

“It’s not bullshit! Okay?” I cried out, balling my hands together into fists.

Almost before the words sputtered from my lips, the tears came. I reached up to my face, smearing and wiping. But I couldn’t keep up and soon my entire body convulsed. Just then, Dyson walked past me and disappeared into the bathroom for a second before reemerging with a box of tissue. He walked in my direction and passed it to me.

Clutching the box in my fingers, I ripped out several sheets.

“T-Thank y-you,” I said, wiping at my eyes while sobbing.

That went on for much longer than I wanted it to, so much so I felt compelled to say something. Yet each time I tried, the words wouldn’t come. Eventually, Dyson reached towards me, wrapping his fingers around my shoulders.

“Ava, what the hell is the matter?”

I just shook my head, looking at him through eyes clouded with sorrow.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Dyson leaned away from me for a second. “Did I say something to upset you?”

Not long after, the initial surge of emotion drained away. I still struggled for breath between sobs. “I-I’m so sorry. This has n-nothing to do with you. I-I don’t know w-what came over me.”

Reaching for the tissue box, Dyson pried it from my fingers, but before setting it aside, he said, “Here, take a few more of these.”

I nodded, forcing a sad smile to my lips. I reached for the tissue, taking several and wadding them up in my palm.

“Thank you.”

He nodded and turned away, placing them down before looking at me once again.

“Let’s sit down,” he began, pointing towards the couch. “I’ve got time before I have to go back to the track.”