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“Only if you leave. Make her leave.” Not being able to help him made this harder. There was a wall building between them—one that didn’t want to come down. She was leaving tomorrow for Florida for racing trails. If they don’t settle this, she was afraid she’d lose him for good.

“Is that what you want, Mr. Meniere?” She heard the nurse and wondered if it was truly what he wanted. her. Gone.

He couldn’t stand the way River looked at him like he was ruined. Fragile. Damaged. There Are a dozen other words he could come up with for the expressions she gives him. He. Did. Not. Need. Pity. “Yes, I want her fucking gone and don’t let her back in.”

“I’m sorry, River. If he doesn’t want you here, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

And the wall gained height. “Don’t worry about it. I was leaving anyway.” Grabbing her things, she looked at Riot one more time. “I’ll see you around, Meniere.” It didn’t surprise her when he didn’t respond. This is what he wanted. Her gone. “You’re a miserable son of a bitch, Johnny. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“River.” The pain was in his voice.

Tell me to stay. Please. Don’t let me go.

“What.”

“Please…” Turning to face him, she dropped her hand from the doorknob as he continued. Before she could move towards him, she’s rocked by his next comment.

“Don’t come back.”

It was the look on his face that broke her. He was serious. He wasn’t just pissed off. He was as serious as a heart attack. Her voice faltered as she said, “Okay.”

Six months ago, she would have crumbled to the floor. Not today. Today she was just done. It was a short walk to the elevators, which she was glad of. There was an overwhelming desire to crumble to the floor and weep. Instead she stepped into the elevator, hit the first-floor button, and watched as the door closed. She looked at the woman who was staring back at her, and her head was up high.That’s right sister, we aren’t being put low this time.

The sun hit her face, reminding River she was still kicking. She reached for her phone to call Riot’s dad and tell him she’d been told to leave, but she’s distracted by a message from Laurel.

L- I’m going to take everything you have.

R- The joke’s on you. There’s nothing left to take.

L- Want to bet on it?

Tossing her phone in her purse, River walked away from the hospital, thinking about how badly she wanted to throat punch the bitch.

***

Florida

Sitting at the bar, River listened to some of the other racers talking about bike specs. She was pleased with the changes DD had made to the bikes over the few past months. The pre-season testing went off perfectly, and the bikes were feeling great. Clutch was perfect with its tension. Brakes had a nice easy feel as well. The new brand of tires made a huge difference.

Tipping back her beer, River’s eyes caught a newsreel—it’s something about Cypress. “Hey, can you turn that up for me?” She tilted her drink towards the bartender as she listened to TMZ. Her mouth went dry as Laurel talked to one of the reporters outside Riot’s hospital. The shot cut from images Laurel and Cypress to a torn picture of Riot and River.Dramatic much?Her stomach turned as she listened to Laurel go on about how she and Riot had always been close friends, and she had been there the whole time helping him heal while River deserted him to chase after her own career. Bitch.

Grabbing her phone up, River called Riot. When she didn’t get an answer, she became madder than hell. Her demeanor must have changed immensely because her teammates were staring at her as she slammed her phone down over and over again on the bar. When she looked up, catching the manager glaring at her, she knew she should walk away. That’s when the next fun little entertainment news came on discussing the “fact” that she had bailed on Riot, leaving him to pick up the pieces alone. They said there were rumors of River falling into a bottle of vodka every night as a desperate cry for help. River laughed.

“Hey River, I thought that was a Bud Light bottle you were pouring yourself into,” laughed Joensy.

Waving him off, she continued to listen to the pathetic attempt at a story. “Hey, this week boys, it’s me they’re crucifying. Next week it could be one of you.” They needed to watch which one of the track tramps they took home tonight. Any one of them would sell a racer out to the vultures to make a fast buck. She picked up her phone and messaged Riot.Have you seen the news tonight?”

A short time later, a message from Riot came through. She was so excited to hear from him. That’s when the shoe River kept waiting to drop finally hit the floor. The text read simply:Sorry, Laurel just understands where my head’s at right now.She knew then that there had been one more thing Laurel could take from her.

Shaking her head, River tossed a twenty on the bar and left. Sometimes you won, sometimes you lost. For River, she felt like she was losing pieces of herself at every turn.

Back at the hotel room, River curled into herself as she let herself cry for every hurt feeling she had suffered over the past months. Somewhere between the sobs that sent her into a string of nightmares and the bright sun waking her in the morning, her heart settled on what River’s mind knew all along. She and Riot were over the minute that crash happened. Some days she thought he wished he died in that wreck right along with Cypress.

Good luck, Riot.

Chapter Six

Present day

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