Page 73 of Finding Delaware

Christian takes the mic and throws an arm over Taylor’s shoulders, his long brown hair coming out of the tie to fall around his face. “We are so grateful to each and every one of you who’s come out to support us over the last week. Y’all are why we get up every day and get on that bike, so thank you for real!”

More shouts and screams.

“Just as we did last year,” Christian continues, “ten percent of the proceeds we’ve made this week are being donated tothe American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”

My smile drops instantly, and a prickly feeling crawls under my skin as Christian hands Taylor the microphone.

“Just remember that you are loved, and you matter.” Taylor presses two fingers to his lips before raising them up to the crowd. “Thank you, Utah! We can’t wait to see you all next year!”

Hundreds of hands clap together, but my ears are ringing underneath the muffs. Everyone starts to move out of the stands, almost in slow motion. My feet are glued to the ground, stuck as waves of bodies push and shove by me. Pressing on me. Crushing me until I’m drowning.

I’m drowning, I’m drowning, I’m drowning–

“HUCKSLEE!”

Noise floods my senses as the earmuffs are lifted off, and I turn to blink rapidly at Logan. He stands beside me, gazing down into my eyes with a furrowed brow.

“Huh?”

His frown deepens. “I said we’ve got to get off the stands, man. People are waiting.”

“Oh.” Looking over his shoulder, I notice the line of angry eyes staring at me to move, and I mumble an apology as I make my way to the stairs. The dwindling crowd is still too much for my ears right now, so I yank my earmuffs out of Logan’s hand and slide them back onto my head. Nausea slightly roils in my stomach.

“You alright?” Logan asks close enough to my face that I can hear, and I just nod as I continue toward the exit on legsthat feel like jelly. Before I can get there, though, Logan pulls me toward a side door.

“Where are we going? Shows over, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He doesn’t stop, just keeps tugging on me until we’re inside a concrete stairwell. “But Salem said to find her once it ended.”

Fucking great. That’s the last thing I want to do right now, but because he’s my ride, I follow him down two or three flights until we pop out into a long hallway. A few doors are lining it, but only one is thrown open with ample noise coming from within.

Logan leads me toward it, and we step into what looks like some sort of staff party. There are tables lined with liquor and food, couches spread out, and televisions mounted on the walls with various event photographs hanging between them. Some people are in black STAFF hoodies, some in dress suits, and some in racing gear, which I figure are the monster truck drivers.

Taylor’s in here. I can feel it, but I force my eyes to stay ahead as Logan takes us over to where Salem is chatting with Christian and another driver. Her hoodie matches the other staff, red hair loose down her back. She turns as we approach, and I don’t miss how her eyes narrow at me before she leans up to kiss Logan. Before I can decipher that look, though, Christian yanks me into a bear hug.

“Huckslee!” He smells like gasoline and sweat. My nose wrinkles as he pulls back with a crooked grin. “How you been,hermano?! Haven’t seen you in a minute. You’ve been looking good out there on the field, my guy.”

Awkwardly stepping out of his touch, I give him a perplexed look. “You watch my games?”

He jerks his chin, and I follow his gaze to see Taylor leaning against a far wall, engaged in conversation. “Baby boy never misses any. And if he does, he gets moody as fuck.”

He...what?

Baby boy?

I don’t really know how to respond to that because I’m pretty sure it’s a lie, so instead, I turn to Salem, who’s staring at me with that same narrowed gaze.

“We’re having a staff party to celebrate the end of the rally run,” she says, grabbing Logan’s hand, “but you guys are free to stay as long as you want.”

Logan leans down to kiss her on the forehead. “You sure? I don’t want to get you into trouble.”

“Perks of being my own boss, remember?” She winks at him with a grin, and I stay quiet as I watch them whisper in each other’s ears. His hands are on her hips, and there’s a softness to his expression that I haven’t seen before.

Growing up, dating wasn’t strictly allowed, so I’ve never seen Logan in a relationship before. His lips are curved into a coy smile, and Salem’s gazing up at him with a twinkle in her gray eyes. They both look happily in love. It radiates off of them from the way they hold each other, as if magnetized.

Somewhere in the darkest pits of my mind, I wonder what the fuck Royce was talking about the night he told me that Taylor was in love with me. And mistakenly, that I was in love with him, too. We didn’t look like that. No, more than half the time, we wanted to kill each other.

“Those are cute.”

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