Page 56 of Race to Me

“Good!” I retort, feeling powerful for the first time in my life.

“Phone,” he barks, holding his hand out. Foster takes it from my pocket, holding it directly in front of his face. He must have slipped it in there after I changed. He imitates dropping a mic, but it’s my phone, and it travels six feet from Foster’s eyes, colliding with the marble flooring below. The glass phone shatters, and I can’t help but laugh at the rebellious look on Foster’s face as he bends his head back to crack a mischievous smile to me.

I grip his hand, having trouble pulling the sleeves of his hoodie up; it’s completely smothering me in the best way. Mom looks desperate as we begin to head towards the back door. They can’t hold us here. “Guys like him won’t help you raise a baby.” she chimes, and I turn my attention to her, my jaw practically on the floor.

Foster’s maniacal laugh bounces off every sharp edge of the house like a knife. He looks both of them dead in the eye, daring either of them to say another word. “Don’t worry, I wear a condom every single time I fuck her.”

My mouth forms an ‘o’, and a collective gasp fills the entryway at his words, but I can’t deny the joy I receive at their shocked faces as they both turn their noses in disgust and step out of our way.

I’ve walked out of these oversized doors for twenty years and for the first time in my life, I’m free.

∞∞∞

No words are spoken as Foster places the helmet on my head, nor as we get on his bike and race down the driveway. There’s nothing to say—no words that can describe that experience. I’m just glad I didn’t have to go through it alone.

We ride off into the night, my hands wrapped firmly around him. We’re like ghosts in the night; lost and no one looking for us. We twist down the dark, winding streets where each sharp bend is different from the last, not knowing if we’ll be leaning left or right in the next few seconds. That’s me now, living in the unknown. Keyword: living.

I allow the warm wind to envelop me. Foster lifts his visor and turns his head to the side. “Scream!” he yells over the wind. I’m too nervous, and I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “Scream, Sky. Let it all out!”

I get over it, the fear and anxiety, and I let go. Screaming and cursing at everything that was as we fly past the palm trees and zip down the flat roads under the night sky until we arrive at our tree.

Everything in my life feels different except for this random area on the side of the road where we had to pull over because of the rain on the night we had our first kiss. He purposefully drove here, and it melts my heart. The thundering roar of falling rain is replaced by quiet night, and the soft ocean tide laps in the distance.

I catch something in Foster’s gaze when he rips his helmet off. Even in the matching midnight of the sky, his dark eyes give so much away to me. “What is it?” I ask.

“It’s nothing,” His tone is clipped. He shakes his head, not wanting to lie to me. “It’s just something your dad said. It doesn’t matter. I just—” He covers my hand with his, leading me to the base of tree.

“You can talk to me about anything.” I assure him.

He leans his back against the bark, with me standing in front of him. He’s so incredibly tall that when he looks straight, I’m nowhere near his line of sight. “You’ve been through enough tonight.” Foster tells me, shaking his head to move the falling hair from his eyes.

I grip his chin and tilt it down. “Talk to me.” I gently order him.

“It’s stupid, but girls like you,” I can tell he hates saying this. “I’m scared of you. And what your dad said, I just—” His palm smacks the rough bark of the tree, airing out his frustrations.

“I don’t understand,” I admit. “Is it Warren?”

Foster pushes a stray piece of hair behind my ear, laughing. “Fuck no. I’m not worried about him.” His jaw clenches. “Maybe I am,” He admits, peering down at me. “I just worry that I won’t be enough for you. That’s why I’ve pushed you away so much.” He pauses. “Like you’ll race to something better if it comes along.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I tell him truthfully, and when his shoulders relax at my words, I take a moment to breathe in his impossibly dark eyes, letting myself get lost in him.

“I don’t let anyone in.” Foster whispers into the night. His typically hard exterior softens for me as he grants me permission to step through his barrier.

I nod in agreement. “Neither do I.” I admit.

He pulls me tight into his chest, his arms wrapping around my body. After a beat of comfortable silence, I have to wonder what I’m doing next, but tonight all I want is him near me. “Are you taking me to Kate’s?” I ask.

“No, you’re staying with me tonight.”he tells me, a crooked grin on his face.Just tonight. “I don’t want to hear it.” Foster playfully warns, but my head is already tilted in his direction.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed at your place?” I joke, knowing last night was a rare exception for him.

He turns his face towards me, his sharp edges illuminated by the moonlight. “That was before,” He sends me an achingly beautiful, dimpled grin. “When I thought you were safer without me.”

Twenty-two

There’s no grand moment when I wake up in Foster’s bed; no enormous weight lifted from me whatsoever. Instead, a swirling mess of emotions courses through my veins. Relief mixed with equal parts fear.

Everything has changed.

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