Ryder

Chapter 16

That was just fucking weird. First of all, why is Arch even here, and second, why the fuck is he trying to play nice? There's something underlying here; he's up to something, and I'll keep an eye on him until I figure it out. I can't have something blowing up in my face, exposing me, or worse, leaving me without my shot at the team.

If he's trying to play nice to pull the rug out from under me, I must watch my back. I don't trust that motherfucker as far as I can throw him.

I head back to the van, following him in the shadows, but he goes straight to his motor home and into his bedroom. After a few minutes, the lights go off, and nothing. I wait for half an hour, but there's no movement, so I head back to the van. There's a little more space in it without the toolboxes, so I undo the mattress from the side, toss it on the floor, strip down to my boxers and grab the sleeping bag, slipping inside it.

I don't sleep very well. Arch has got my back up, he's a snaky fucker, and I've been on edge with this sudden shift in his attitude. I don't believe that people change that quickly. And certainly not a guy like Archibald Bartholomew III. Even his fucking name has an attitude problem.

When I wake up, I'm starving as I didn't eat last night, so I grab the cooking stove and step out of the van. The cold tarmac feels nice under my feet, and the cool air that breezes across my skin makes me feel awake, alive. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and enjoy the slight chill of the morning air.

A small cough breaks me from my thoughts, and I slowly gaze over my shoulder to see Arch standing there. I turn and rest my hands on my hips. He physically gulps, and his eyes slowly drop down my body before he stands staring at the floor.

"Morning." He smiles a little but still doesn't look up at me.

"Morning." I smirk.

"Breakfast?" he asks and nods towards the car park exit as I turn and follow his gaze.

I turn back to him and point down at the lit stove at the side of me. "Breakfast."

He smiles, nods, and walks away. This is getting weirder and weirder. Two meals he's asked me to have with him. I pull out the camping chair from the back and slide into it, tossing the frying pan and bacon on the gas stove. I rest back in the chair and lay my head on the back, taking deep breaths and smiling up at the sky. I love the feeling of being outdoors, the wind in my hair and caressing my skin. It feels almost sensual. Jay and I go camping a lot, and I love being around nature. The quiet… it's serene.

Once I start to hear the bacon crisping, I slide some cobs out of the bag and add brown sauce. I groan around each bite. I sit there, soaking in the morning air, when I hear someone walking past. I crack one eye open as I see Arch walking by. He stares as if he's waiting for me to open my eyes, and I continue to watch him through the crack in my eyelid. He slows down and bites his lip as if he's going to say something but then thinks better of it, and starts to walk away before stopping, turning, and coming back towards me before worrying at his lip again and turning to leave.

"Just fucking say it, will you." I laugh out, but still, I don't open my eyes. I see him watching me, every inch of me, and I slowly tilt my head to face him. "Well? Cat got ya tongue?"

"Pardon?"

I laugh and shake my head. "What do you want, Arch?"

I rise slowly from my seat. I cross my arms over my chest, standing, still only in my boxer shorts, and glare down at him.

"I'm starting to think you have a crush on me." I laugh out, but he flushes.

"I… I… I… I wondered if you were going up to the track?" He sounds hopeful, and it confuses me. I frown at him.

"Yeah," I say with an element of sarcasm in my tone. I mean, that's why we're fucking here, isn't it?

He hovers, and I frown again. "Oh, you mean now?" He nods. "With you?" He nods again, and his cheeks flush slightly. I scrub at the scruff on my chin. "Yeah, I could probably go now. I just need to change."

I sling the back door open and grab my jeans, sliding my feet into them and sliding them up to my hips, tucking my boxers down my legs. I fasten them up. When I look up, he's watching me with a strange look on his face. I sit on the back of the van and throw on some socks and my combats, tucking the jeans into them.

I stand and turn my back towards him, grabbing my long-sleeved t-shirt out. I spray some deodorant before I slide it down my arms, but before I put my head in, I flick a look at him, and he's staring, biting his lip as he's looking at my back. I frown at him but pull the top over my head and grab my wallet, sliding it into my back pocket. I lock the van, stuffing the keys in my other pocket.

I start walking but he doesn't follow, so I turn.

"Are you coming or what?" Fucking dude's being weirder again.

We head up to the entrance to the track, and I veer off to speak to the team. I'm here to secure my place. It's not about riding, well, it's not just about riding. I also need to connect with the guys so they can see what a good fit I am.

I chat with a few of them, and Arch just hangs back and smiles but doesn't really chat. Then the recruiter guy comes over, and I speak to him, and he flicks a wary gaze at Arch, but I know where he's coming from. He was all bravado, show and the big ‘I am', and I'm not sure what happened, but something isn't right. It's like he doesn't know who he is anymore, but you know what they say: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I'm gonna watch this motherfucker like a hawk. The damn bloke seems to of had a personality transplant. Well, more like a personality removal. Now, he just doesn't seem to have one at all.

I head out to the side of the track to get an unobstructed view, and Arch comes and stands beside me. We've barely spoken, but he's followed me around, almost like he doesn't know where to go and what to do.

We watch the first race, and the team takes first, third and fourth. I grin and nod, waving over at John, the guy who runs the team. I give him a thumbs up, and he winks at me. I smile. Arch flashes a look, but I shrug it off and carry on watching the next heats. The team takes second, fifth and eighth. Not such a great round that one, but the bigger names are coming up tomorrow, so it will get more interesting then.

The last heat starts, and it's fiery from the start, jostling to win places, pushing and shoving into corners.It"s brutal, and I love it. As they take the tabletop jump, too many hit it simultaneously, and they come a cropper in the air. One bike ends up being knocked sideways, so as he comes down, the bike lands on him, and I'm sure I hear the crunch from here, but the final blow is from one of the back riders who's already in the air and comes down hard on the rider. There's a scream. The marshals dive onto the track, throwing the red flags around to stop the race, but it"s carnage.

I would say broken hip, collarbone, sternum and definitely one, if not both legs. If he's unlucky, it could be a broken back. I'm over the fence, and I set off running towards the mayhem as a few of the team members arrive. We need to separate the bikes, but we also need to wait for the ambulance crew.

We make a wall around them so the spectators can't see too much, and I look around, and Arch is just looking in sheer panic where I left him. I don't have time to babysit him. I turn back to John as we open the circle up for the paramedics. They assess the situation and tell us what to do. We're going to have to remove the bike to see what's happening underneath. I see the guy underneath, and I squat down and take his hand.

"Hey, Dave, right?" His eyes flick to mine. "I'm Ryder, okay?" He squeezes my hand. "Okay, I want you to keep your eyes on me. They're gonna move the bike and see what we're dealing with."

The paramedic feels around Dave's neck and slides a brace on while I shuffle to the side out of his way. "Just keep your eyes on me, okay?" He nods the slightest amount, but that's a good sign. They all grab the bike, but I stay down on the floor, gripping Dave's hand tighter. "I've got you."

He closes his eyes. "Hey, stay with me, okay, Dave? I need you to keep looking at me. Stay with me."

His eyes stay trained on mine, and I stroke his hand backwards and forwards as they remove the top bike. The other rider is bruised, but he'll live. It"s Dave that got crushed by his own bike, only for another fucker's bike to land on him. The paramedic nods to his colleague, who radios to the fire truck that's waiting close by. I hear them mention ‘jaws of life' and know they're gonna have to cut the bike off him. I reach behind my neck and grab the scruff of my shirt, ripping it over my head. I quickly let go of Dave's hand for a second, leaving my shirt dangling off my other hand, and I lay it over Dave's face, lifting the end up so he could still see me.

"Don't wanna be watching that, mate." He nods again. "So, talk to me, Dave." He swallows.

"Y-you're one of the n-n-new guys."

I shake my head. "Nah, not yet, but I'm trying. Any tips on how to get in?"

He grunts. "Don't wipe out." He tries to laugh, but it starts a coughing fit, so I do my best to calm him down while the spectators are being led away by the marshals.

There won't be any more racing today. As the people dissipate, Dave rasps, "Can you call my girlfriend?"

I nod, pulling out my phone. He coughs out the number, and when she answers, I put it beside him. "Hey, baby." I hear him start talking, and I turn to the paramedic.

"What hospital will they take him to?"

"Air ambulance is on its way, and they'll take him to Addenbrookes."

I nod and wait till I hear him say he doesn't know where he's going, and I tell him. He sighs as he tells his girlfriend, and then I hang up. I can hear the chopper in the distance, and the fire crew have already started removing bits of the bike. I lay down beside Dave. I distract him, and he tells me about things he does at home when he's not riding. After what seems like an eternity, we get the all-clear to move away so they can put Dave on a backboard and get him out of here, but he squeezes my hand. His eyes flare, and he's terrified. I turn and look at the crew.

"Can I go with him?" They nod, and I keep hold of his hand while they lift him and take him to the chopper. He's loaded into the back of the helicopter, and I slide into the seat. They strap me in, and I reach back down, taking Dave's hand.

"Thank you." He mouths at me, and I nod. We fly in silence. Once we land on the roof, they take the headset off me, and I get out and follow them inside,

"Dave, I will wait till your girlfriend gets here, okay?"

"Thanks, man. I owe you one."

Once I find the waiting room, I settle in and call Mum. She offers to come get me, but I know I won't leave till his girlfriend gets here, so I tell her I will keep her in the loop. One of the nurses brings me a coffee after they hear I've come in with him. They say they're not supposed to let me know what happens, but they'll at least let me know when he's out of surgery. I sit and wait and wait some more when John pushes through the door.

"Fucking hell, Ryder, thanks for that. You really stepped up today. What do we know?"

I give him as much as possible, and he sits beside me. "I'm offering you a place to try out for the team. We need people like you. People who stay calm under pressure and who put the team first. We're accepting about four into the academy, and there will be one place at the end. You deserve it. Just keep it to yourself, yeah? We"re doing a press conference in a few weeks."

I go to speak, and John shakes his head.

"Don't bother. I know that's not why you did it, but the fact that you did it all means a lot. You're the type of guy we want on our team."

I'm shocked, to say the least. That's not why I helped Dave, but I get this overwhelming feeling that I was just in the right place at the right time. It could have just as easily been me.

We sit for a while till Dave"s girlfriend arrives, and then I head outside to leave, leaving her with John. When I get outside, there's a Range Rover with blacked-out windows parked in the drop-off bay. I pull out my phone to call my mum, but the window rolls down. Arch is in the driver's seat.

"I thought you might need a lift."

"You did, huh?" That is all I manage to sceptically get out. He waits for me to get in, then sets off driving. We travel mostly in silence. He keeps glancing at me, but before long, I've dozed off. I'm wiped.