Page 12 of Need for Speed

Chapter 5

Axell

Sadie has been pre-occupied the past few days. I can tell that the news of her mom is weighing on her. Sadie can say it doesn’t bother her, but I know it does. I know that having a strained relationship with her mother has always bothered her. I hate to see her like this, so I planned a surprise date day for us. We’re going to go to the Santa Monica Pier. It’s one of her favorite things to do. It was actually the place I took her to on our first anniversary.

I sneak out of bed, careful not to wake Sadie. In the kitchen I start to make her favorite breakfast; chocolate chip and banana pancakes. Jovi walks in shortly after I begin cooking. “Damn, something smells good,” he says rubbing his stomach.

My baby brother is standing in the doorway in nothing but basketball shorts, his hair in disarray, and stress etched on his face. “You look like you had a rough night.”

He shakes his head and walks over to help me cook. “Monrowe and I had an argument.”

“You want to talk about it?”

He shrugs. “Not sure there is anything to talk about. I told her I wanted to join the Marines and let’s just say she didn’t like that.”

I chuckle. “I didn’t figure she would.”

Jovi sighs heavily. “I love her Ax. I really do. I want her in my future, but at the same time, I have to make something of myself.”

I stop cooking as I place a pancake on the plate. Studying Jovi as his words sink in. “Jovi, that’s not the only reason you want to join the Marines is it? To make something of yourself.”Jovi shrugs and I reach out gripping his shoulder. “Jovi, regardless of your decision to join the Marines or not you will make a future for yourself. You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone and no one expect you can make something of yourself. Sadie and I are so damn proud of you regardless of what you decide to do going forward.”

Jovi nods and clears his throat. “Thank you. So, are you planning something special today?” he asks, while eyeing the food.

“Yeah, Sadie will be leaving after the wedding to take care of some stuff with her mom and she’s got a lot on her mind, so I wanted to give her a day that would give her a break from it all,” I explain to Jovi. He nods in approval and I fix Sadie’s breakfast then head to the bedroom. I lean over and kiss her cheek, “Good morning beautiful.” Sleepily, she rolls over and squints at me. “I made us breakfast then we’re going on a small trip.”

Sadie joins us in the kitchen a few minutes later looking more awake. We eat while talking about Ace’s upcoming wedding, work, and school. I notice that Jovi doesn’t bring up the possibility of him joining the Marines right now and for that I’m thankful. I know that Sadie will support his decision, but she sees Jovi as her own and I can imagine how worried she’ll be over the danger aspect of the job.

When I enter the bedroom, I see Sadie slipping on my favorite blue sundress. It makes her eyes really pop while hugging her body in all the right places. She turns around and looks at me. “Are you really not going to tell me where we are going or what we are doing today?” I smirk and shake my head. A growl of frustration escapes her.

I step toward her and pull her into me. “Trust me, you’ll love it.”

Sadie pretends to pout. “I don’t know. I hate surprises.”

It is true that Sadie hates surprises, but she’ll love this one. I lean forward and press a kiss to the top of her head, “You’ll love this one. Trust me.”

About an hour later, we are dressed and ready for the small drive. The Santa Monica Pier is about an hour drive from here, but it’ll be worth it to see Sadie taking a break. “Are we going to Santa Monica?” she asks with surprise in her voice. My smile grows wider and I nod. Sadie squeals and does a little dance in the passenger seat to show her excitement.

It takes a bit before I can find a place to park but eventually, we do. We decide to check out some of the booths first. Sadie loves handmade things, so this has always been one of her favorite stops. Aimlessly we walk around while Sadie picks up things here and there. I carry the bags of the items she has bought so far. I snagged a piece of jewelry that I saw her eyeing at the booth before but wouldn’t buy for herself. After we finish at the booths, I run the bags back to the car then meet Sadie back where I left her. A stressed look covering her face while looking down at her cell phone. Once I’m close enough I ask her, “Is everything okay?”

She nods her head. “Yeah, just my mom but nothing that has to be taken care of now. I’ll call her once we get back home.” She reaches out and wraps her hand around my waist. “So, are you going to feed me or what?”

My head throws back in laughter. “Yeah, let’s go grab some food then we can go on some rides.” The rides have always been one of my favorites on the pier. We decide to grab some seafood. After lunch we stop to watch some break dancers and live music before heading over to the rides. Sadie grabs my hand and pulls me toward the carousel. This always was her favorite. I relent and let her pull me the rest of the way. I help Sadie hop onto the horse she picks out then take a seat on the one next to hers.

I watch her as we go round and round. The smile lighting up her face right now is exactly what I was hoping to see while planning this day. We head to the rollercoaster however, Sadie is reluctant. A rollercoaster is the closest thing to racing I have found. The way the roller coaster drops and turns making your stomach drop to your feet. Feeling the wind whipping around your face. I listen as Sadie screams at every sharp turn and heart plunging drop.

“Let’s get cotton candy,” Sadie says as we step away from the rollercoaster. I link my hand with hers and walk to the closest vendor stand. We walk around eating the cotton candy and sharing a soda. Stopping every now and then at the game booths while I attempt to win a prize for Sadie. I do manage to win her a little stuffed pig that she instantly names Piglet.

The sun is starting to set over the ocean as we make our way to our last stop, the Ferris wheel. As cheesy as it sounds, I hope that we get to stop at the top. While we stand in line, I sway with Sadie in my arms to the music coming from the live band. We take our seat while the guy locks us in. Sadie grabs my hand as we begin to move. She won’t admit it, but she has a fear of heights. Just like I had hoped, we come to a stop at the top. I grab my cell phone and open the camera to take a picture of us before I press a kiss to her lips.

On the way back to L.A. we listen to the rock station that Bowie does shows on. We sing along to all the songs. Her voice and laughter fills the car. I turn the radio down and grab her hand. “I love you, Sadie.”

She smiles, but I notice that it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I love you too.”

****

Sadie

Today had been perfect. Axell is constantly reminding me of why I’m so lucky to have him in my life and why I love him so much. When you see Axell James the last thing you think is romantic, but he is with me. Even in the midst of the perfect day date with Axell, I can’t escape my past. My mom texted me telling me that Drake would pick me up from the airport once I landed in South Carolina. Reading that text not only twisted a knife in my gut and heart, but also reminded me of why I didn’t deserve a day like today.

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