By the time I pulled around and parked, Daisy was standing alone by Jax and Carly’s blacked-out Charger.
She definitely looked more pissed off than when I left her.
“What happened?” I asked.
“My dad is pissed. Thanks so much for helping with that, by the way. So, I guess it’s time for our public breakup.”
“Why? Because of your dad?”
“Because it’s over? What reason do we have to keep the facade up? You’re good with Holt now, and I came to the realization that I have friends that I like, and I don’t need to keep up this stupid show.”
The words hit me harder than I expected, my chest nearly caving in. It wasn’t like I ever thought it was a real relationship, but I still liked spending time with her.
I gave a harsh laugh, my chest tightening, turning it all into anger. “So, you’re just going from pleasing your friends to pleasing your dad? I’m useful when your friends need something to gossip about, and now that he’s pissed about this, I’m useless again.”
“No, Kye. That’s not it at all.”
“No?”
Her face fell, and she stepped closer, but I stepped back. “I mean, we agreed to fake the whole relationship for two things. Now we have those things, so wouldn’t this be done?”
The entire rest of the day I had planned for dropped out from under me. The week, the month, everything I had wanted to do with her vanished.
A sheriff’s car crept down the side of the track towards us. I knew her dad would be out driving around, meeting with people, and apparently ruining my life some more.
“Fine. I think that’s your ride,” I said, nodding towards it.
“I rode with you.”
“Like I said, I think that’s your ride.” I pulled out my keys again. I still had more races to get to, but there was no reason to drag this out. I wasn’t sure if I would even find the words to drag this out more. I was about eighty percent sure we just broke up, which meant I had no obligation to take her home.
I had no obligation to do anything.
I could feel my heartbeat picking up with each step. I would lose myself to racing today. I would get so lost in going faster that I would forget about her.
I turned the car over, not looking back as I pulled on the small marked road, passing Sheriff Wells and flipping him off as I went.
It had been six days since Daisy decided to tell me it was all still fake for her.
Six nights that I had barely slept. Six days, I had barely gotten through without texting her. And each day that passed was pissing me off more. I threw the wrench I had been using on a bolt that was refusing to come off, not caring as it bounced off the tire of the car Fox was working on.
“What the fuck, Kye? Knock it off.”
“It slipped.”
“And nearly hit me. Don’t come around me starting shit because you’re mad at the sheriff, or maybe it’s Holt. Who fucking knows because you won’t tell us anything.”
“Maybe I don’t want to tell you anything because all you like to do is run your fucking mouth and gossip about shit.”
He turned back to me now. If he was shocked, he barely showed it. “You think I’m running my mouth? It’s not like I’m talking and gossiping just to be a dick. Unlike you, I care about what’s happening in my friends’ lives.”
“Oh, you can fuck off with that,” I said. “You think I don’t care because I don’t want to hear all of you whining over your fucking girlfriends? They whine less than you guys do.” He stepped up to me now. Fox was a few inches taller than me, but I didn’t care. I also didn’t care that he was one of my best friends.
I was about to hit him.
“Just because you’re mad that you want to whine over a girl now because she ended the stupid charade you had going on doesn’t mean you can come around and start shit with me.”
I charged forward, slamming my shoulder into him, but Fox knew me and swung up, hitting my jaw hard.
It only spurred me on, and I pushed harder until he fell back against the car.
Before I could hit him, I was being pulled back.
“Alright, children,” Jax said, grabbing my shirt and ripping me back until I was tripping over my own feet. “Kye, go the fuck home.”
“I don’t want to go home. How the fuck am I supposed to go there and sit around thinking about her being there? What the fuck do I do when she won’t even respond to me?”
“You wait,” Jax said.
“For what?”
“For her to respond? Or maybe you tell her that it isn’t a charade anymore? Have you even said that you want to date her for real?”
“Of course, I haven’t said that. That’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous because you haven’t said that, or ridiculous that you want to actually date her.”
