First, I’ll make my presence known and race this guy who thinks he’s cool just for having the opportunity to go against me. He’s a punk just like I was years ago. I glance over to him, and his cockiness is admiring. In the deepest part of his heart he believes he can beat me. Which would make him a Goddamn hero around here. Hate to burst his bubble, but he doesn’t stand a chance. He’s way too jumpy on the throttle, but I admit, Daddy bought him a nice car.

“You ready?” Dan peeks into my window and I nod. “You do know your plan might mean you don’t have a car to ride home in.” I gently massage my dash, showing faith in my Stang even if Dan thinks she might not make it through all the races I just stacked.

“I have faith in her, she’ll get me home.”

He taps his palm on the open window frame and walks over to start the race himself. The first race and win will be a telling sign to Xavier and his thugs, stay the fuck away, I’ll ruin you. Xavier never learns and even when I beat him to the finish line tonight, he’ll spout some crap. Lies about that night, and that’s exactly the reason I need to grab Paige and get the fuck out right after I cross the finish line. She can’t hear the shit he’s going to spew. The lies with minuscule truth will have her looking at me differently.

The guy next to me roars his engine, and we inch up to the start line. Dan stands in between us in the cage, glancing both ways. I nod; my feet and hands in position to nail this guy from the start. Dan shoots his hands back and my wheels slide to the right before they grip the pavement. Once they do, I’m out and well into the lead. Since it’s a Nitrous free night, I don’t have to worry about him pressing a button and jetting ahead of me. By the time we pass the line and I ease up on the gas, I’d say the race was too easy.

Circling around, I head down the return road and spot Paige by the fence. She’s smiling and clapping with all the others. This warm sensation encompasses my stomach watching her cheer for me. Swallowing it down, I face forward and screech to a stop. Xavier stands in my way. I swear his red freckles are merging into one. His legs spread apart as he stares me down through the windshield.

I throw the car into park and open the door. Dan and two security guys hike through the grass to reach us, frightened we’re about to start a brawl. I’m not that stupid, it’d be me against five, not to mention Nora would probably pounce on my back too. Nora comes alongside Xavier, and the torment in her eyes isn’t hard to miss. God, seeing her is like a knife in the damn stomach. Especially here, right after I raced. I ignore Xavier and concentrate on her long red hair, just like Carly’s.

“Rob.” Nora goes to step forward, but Xavier stops her, placing his arm across her stomach.

“Asshole. Why the hell are you back in our business?” At this point the crowd’s interest piques and a perimeter begins to form around us.

“Your business?” I cock my head. “Is this your track?” I glance over to Dan who’s holding out to see how this unfolds and goes down before getting heavily involved. “Did he invest in the drag track, Dan?” I sarcastically ask and Dan laughs along with a few others in the crowd.

“You know what the hell I meant. This isn’t your scene anymore, remember?” Does he really believe his wide receiver shoulders are really going to scare me?

“No.” I stay firm. The guilt of what I did to them still lingers inside of me, but Xavier isn’t going to bully me from racing.

“Let’s race for it then,” He plays right in to my hands.

“Perfect.”

“If I beat you, you don’t race again around here.” I contemplate what scene he actually means, but I go with it, asking no questions. Xavier and I were constantly competitive with one another. Attending rivaling schools, the hatred was bred in us from a young age. Add in both of our cocky personalities and neither of us had a chance of overcoming it.

“Fine.” I widen my legs and cross my arms over my chest just like him. “Let’s go.” I back step to my car, laughing inside because he’s so predictable by doing exactly what I knew he would.

“I’ll see you in five minutes.” He walks over to me and I don’t allow the smirk to run off my face. Intimidation is key.

“Don’t do anything illegal to that car of yours, X. You’ve never been good at hiding things.” I drop a dig to him, reminding him of the time in high school when he thought he was being sly and then got his ass kicked for illegal oxide in his car. He should recall how I saved his ass that day when three huge guys were on top of him.

“Fuck off.” He shows how easy it is to get a rise out of him. Never has taken much.

“Let’s just go.” We stare each other down. The same green eyes as Carly is disturbing, but he doesn’t need to know that.

Dan comes up to us and we both give him our attention. “You have a half hour before race time.” He turns to me. “Go back to your garage and you,” He points to Xavier. “Go wherever the fuck you want, but don’t think about starting one damn thing, got it?”

Xavier nods because Dan is intimidating as hell. He’s only about five eleven with a gut and a beard. He just has that exterior, mess with me and your ass will get kicked one way or the other. Since I’ve been coming here the past year, and it’s outside of Xavier’s normal tracks, he’s the outsider this time. Maybe not to the racing community, but to this track he’s the foreigner.

Just as I’m about to climb back into my car, Paige comes alongside of me. I sense her nearness before she appears in my vision. Maybe it’s the hushed crowd of X’s friends. Maybe it was Xavier’s furious eyes, or Nora’s broken ones. It could have been her fruity smell that stirred in the wind. She’s here now and I’m not sure how I explain who Paige is without guaranteeing I’ll get a fist in the face from Xavier.

The small entourage Xavier brought with him from our small town stares over at her and I keep my cool. “Who’s this?” Xavier’s voice practically shakes from the amount of anger I’m sure is boiling through his veins. From the corner of my eye, I spot Nora stepping forward and her eyes are fixed on Paige.

Paige sways into me a little and her hand finds mine, making Nora’s eyes follow and she releases a small gasp. “Robbie?” Nora asks and all I hear is Carly’s voice. My throat constricts and that persona I’ve perfected, begins to crumble. When I don’t reciprocate Paige’s hand holding, she draws it back and crosses her arms over her chest. Fuck. My past and my present are way too close in this moment. “Robbie?” Nora asks her unanswered question again, and my eyes fly up to hers. It’s not resentment or anger; it’s curiosity. Damn, she sounds just like Carly and that thread keeping me together frays more.

“This is Paige.” I finally release the lump in my throat.

I watch Xavier appraise her up and down. As though comparing her to Carly, which she’s Carly’s polar opposite, with the dark curly hair, tall figure with olive skin. He and Nora examine her as Paige’s breathing picks up to a rapid pace. She’s not an idiot, her mind is probably wheeling to figure out the clusterfuck I dragged her to tonight. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought her. There’s a reason I never mix my past with my current life.

Reaching over, I link my hand with Paige’s because I can’t stand feeling her anxiety next to me. It was my faulty decision bringing her here. She doesn’t deserve to feel more alone than I’ve already made her feel tonight. “She’s my friend.” I answer the question truthfully.

Leaving out that although your sister haunts me, this girl standing next to me is taking up space in the same heart I gave your sister. To tell Xavier and Nora that I’m scared beyond control that she’s going to make it her own just like their sister did.

Neither speaks a word and I squeeze Paige’s hand to comfort her in this awkward situation. Xavier moves to wrap his arm around Nora’s shoulders. Isn’t this the way it all went down? They found comfort in each other and I was the lone wolf standing in the shadows.