CHAPTER FIFTEEN DASH

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DASH

"I'm fine!" I say a little louder than I should have as I push the nurse away from me.

Her eyes narrow on me slightly. "Sir, we have to make sure that you don't have any serious injuries."

I shake my head, fighting the dizziness I feel. "I don't. Give me my clothes; I'm leaving."

"You were dressed in some sort of leathers," she says with a frown. "We had to cut them off you."

Fuck! "Well, find me some clothes so that I may leave." I'm sure this happens all the time. They have to have some extra scrubs lying around somewhere.

"Sir…"

"No," I snap. "You can't keep me here. I can discharge myself."

She nods her head with a long sigh before she turns and pulls the curtain back, walking out of my little cubby. I let out a puff of air as I rub my head. I have a pounding headache. It's like the worse hangover imaginable. Although I did not drink a drop, I crashed my bike. How? The brakes. I had none. My body hurts, but besides that, I feel okay. The helmet and the leathers probably saved my life.

A male nurse walks in as he reads over my chart. "I hear that you are refusing treatment and want to leave."

"I'm not refusing treatment. I don't need treatment." I've flipped cars before. Hell, I crawled out of one that was on fire before I was sixteen. I crawled out of it with my best friend, Blake, and then we ran home praying to avoid getting into trouble. We were stupid. Of course, my dad was going to see that his car was missing from the garage. I know what my body can handle. "I'm fine. I just want to go home."

He nods his head. "I understand, but it will take time. You have company out in the waiting room. Would you like to see them? That way they can see that you are okay."

"Send in Mr. Knight," I instruct, and he leaves with a nod. I need to speak to him.

Lying back, I let out a long breath as I rub my left arm. It's sore as fuck. It's what I landed on before I went rolling onto the grass. Thank God, it was the grass that stopped me.

"Are you feeling okay, son?"

I look up to see Mr. Knight walking into my little curtain room. I nod. "Yeah, just sore."

"The nurse said that you are refusing treatment."

I roll my eyes. "I'm fine. I just wanna go home."

His silver eyebrows that match his silver hair pull together. "Are you sure?" he questions. "I know that you are the only one who knows what your body is feeling, but I'd hate for there to be some serious damage and not know it."

"Thanks for your concern, sir. But that is not why I wanted to see you." I'm trying not to get pissed. It wasn't his fault that I wrecked, but I want out of here and my headache is getting worse.

"I'll make it happen," he says after a few quiet seconds. "But first, can you tell me what happened?"

"It was the brakes."

"The brakes?" he asks as his eyebrows draw together in confusion.

"They were out. I tried to slow down to go into the turn and there was nothing there."

"You didn't mention any problem with them after the first run." He sits down on the end of my bed.

I shake my head. "'Cause there were no problems. The bike was fine before then."

"Hmm." He looks up at me. "Our main concern is that you are okay." He stands. "Take a few days off. Recover. The bike has already been delivered to the shop. I will have it looked over and see if we can find the problem." He goes to walk out, but I stop him.

"How bad is it?" I didn't see much of the bike, and I couldn't hear much with my helmet on, either.

"Well, let's just say that I'm gonna have another one built for you."

"I'm sorry," I say as I hang my head. He gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I have already fucked it up. That's me.

"Don't be sorry," he says kindly. "This stuff happens. I'm just glad that you are okay. Take some time off…"

"I can be back at it tomorrow," I interrupt him. I'm not gonna back down or take time off.

He chuckles. "Recover, son. When the bike is ready, I will let you know and we can go from there."

"So, you're not kicking me off the team?" I ask, letting out a long breath.

"No," he says without pause. "This is part of the game, Erik. This is what guys like us live for. The adrenaline. The risk. I gave you this offer, and so far, you have kept up your side of the bargain. So, I will keep mine."

I nod my head in understanding, but I don't miss the threat. He said that I had kept up my side of the deal.

No drugs.

No alcohol.

No getting in trouble with the law.

What about falling in love with his daughter? Wonder what he would do if he knew that part about me? That I've been hiding a secret from him.

I lie back in the bed and let out a long breath as he walks out. I want to speak to Tabatha. But bringing her back here would be a bad idea. I just spoke to her father. He will inform her that I'm okay and that I'm going home. I will call her the second that I'm released and have her come over. Give me a little nurse action. I smile.

"Oh, my God," Valerie screeches as she comes barging into my room. "Are you okay?" she asks wide-eyed as she comes over to my bed.

"Fine." I push myself off my bed. "Who sent you back here?"

"Are you sure? You can barely walk." She ignores my question.

I glare at her. "I'm really fucking tired of being asked the same question, Val. I said that I'm fine."

She lowers her eyes to the floor and sighs heavily. She's so submissive that it's almost funny. She has always been that way. "I just worry about you," she whispers. Sure, she does.

I pull the hospital gown tighter around myself. "What were you doing up at the track?" I remember thinking ‘oh shit' when I looked over to see her standing by Tabatha and Mr. Knight. That was when I brought the bike in. I saw Tabatha start to walk away, and I knew that Valerie had opened her mouth. I just didn't know what all she had said.

"I text you and told you that I was coming to the track."

"No, you didn't," I say remembering her text. "You text and said you were back in town from your Spring Break vacation. You never said anything about the track. And I didn't tell you that I was there. How did you know that I was there?" I demand, getting pissed all over again.

Valerie and I go a little deeper than I've let on. We have been on and off since our senior year in high school. And at one point, we were gonna be together forever. Thank God, plans change.

She swallows nervously, and my jaw tightens. "I called my father. He said that he had spoken to your dad and you were gonna be there."

I turn away from her and fist my hands by my side. "Why do you continue to do this?" I say between gritted teeth. Our parents are friends and that's what makes getting rid of her so hard. They all think that we are a match made in heaven. If they only knew what a little vindictive slut she is and how deep my hatred goes for her... "You know where I stand." She's known since the moment I broke off our engagement. Our parents just think I wasn't ready. They don't know that I caught her fucking a guy in his parked car outside of her parents' house. I learned a lot that day. She was the slut everyone said that she was, and I really didn't love her as much as I thought. I turned around and walked away without as much as a swing at the guy. She wasn't worth it.

I feel her hand on my back, and I spin back around to face her, afraid she may hit me where I'm already sore. That's one thing about Valerie. You don't turn your back on her; she will stab you then blame it on the person standing next to her. I learned that the hard way as well.

"How can you continue to say that?" she asks as tears start to fill her black eyes. "I love you."

I place my hands on her shoulders and give her a little shake. "I don't love you, Valerie. Not anymore."

Her bottom lip trembles, and she sucks in a deep breath. She pushes me off her and I sway. God, I'm gonna fucking hurt for weeks. "Is it because you love her? Because we were just together a week ago," she cries. That has been my weakness with her in the past. Sex. She's willing to give it however I want, whenever I want.

"Dash…?" We both know exactly who she's referring to and I can't let her think that. Tabatha is great, and yes, I have feelings for her, but I wouldn't call it love just yet. If Valerie knows that I like her, then she will run with that information. I won't allow that to happen.

"No," I say softening my voice. "I don't love her. I don't even know her." I run the back of my knuckles down her cheek how I know she likes. Her skin feels ashy and her makeup is chunky from her tears and from her wiping her face with her hands.

She gives me a weak smile that makes my stomach flip in agony. You just gave her hope, you bastard. Take it back. "I just don't have time for this. For us. I need to work on getting a new bike built and getting back on the track. I can't race for Mr. Knight if I'm not a hundred percent in the game."

"I guess that makes sense."

Bingo. Stupid bitch! She was always easy to manipulate. And it helps that I always know the right things to say to her. Whether I want her to storm out of my house and leave me alone for days or spread her legs when no other bitch is around. That part of her is a plus.

"My parents want you to stay with us."

"What?" I can't do that. That would piss Tabatha off.

"They spoke to your parents. They can't come home for another few days, and they want you to stay with us. Make sure you are all right. My parents agreed to take care of you."

I sigh heavily. Everyone is working against Tabatha and me. Will she go to her dad and try to get me kicked off? Will she tell him what we did the night of my party and what we have continued to do over the past week? What will Mr. Knight think of me? He will probably think the same thing that Tabatha thought in the beginning—that I used her to further my dream. I don't know her well enough to know what plan of action she will take. But Valerie—I know exactly what she will do; she will try to ruin my life. She will destroy what I have with Tabatha and my dream of racing for Knight. I know what I have to do, but for the time being, I will tell her what she wants to hear.

"Okay," I say, and she gives me a huge smile. "I'll stay with your parents, but only for a few days." Lie.

She throws her arms around me, knocking us into the wall. "Fuck," I curse loudly before shoving her off me. I bend over wrapping my arms around myself.

"I'm so sorry," she screeches.

"Goddammit, Val," I hiss trying to take in a breath. Pain shoots up my back and my side. My head pounds harder than it did before and my vision starts to fade in and out.

"I forgot," she cries.

I stay silent as I take a few deep breaths. Once I'm able to control my racing heart and the pain subsides, I straighten and narrow my eyes on hers. I refrain from cussing more as tears run down her face. "Just stay away. Don't touch me," I bark, and she nods her head quickly.

"I truly am sorry. I just…"

"I don't care."