Page 14 of Need for Speed

Jovi throws his hands up in the air. “Great, thanks a lot!” Jovi storms out of the bedroom, past me, and straight to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

“He wants to join the Marines?” I ask Axell.

Axell rubs his hands over his face. “Yes, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have done that. He didn’t want to tell you like that and I had no right to do that.”

“Are you okay with him enlisting?”

“Yeah, I am. If that’s what he really wants then yes,” Axell replies.

I shake my head. “But it’s dangerous.”

“Sadie, it’s just as dangerous here. If he’s here he’ll start racing, it’s in his blood. He’s been itching to race for years now. I’m surprised we’ve managed to hold him off this long. At least in the Marines he’s being paid, getting an education, and creating a future for himself in the midst of that danger.”

I don’t know if I can handle the thought of Jovi enlisting. “I have to go see Seth and try to fix things with him. Tell Jovi I’ll come by and pick him up for lunch.”

Chapter 6

Sadie

I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Seth, but I knew I had to say something. Hollis had been right in reminding me that Lyndsay and Seth are both consenting adults and maybe, she will be the one to change him. Seth wasn’t always the guy he is now. He went to college right after high school. Seth had gotten into UCLA and our dad had convinced him to go. He even lived in the dorms. It was there that he met Laurel. She was a cheerleader and used to the finer things in life. She also wasn’t very good at staying faithful. Laurel and Seth were two wrongs and as the old saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right.

I think they both really cared about each other but neither knew or wanted to change their old ways. They were so independent that neither would let the other help. They also had an issue with opening up. Neither understood why the other would ask what they had been up to. Seth and Laurel were just too young and not ready to be in a real relationship and ultimately it tore them apart.

Seth has dated since then but nothing serious. I think he worries about making the same mistakes. Although, I think he’s old enough now that he should be able to see those mistakes ahead of time and not make them, at least, I hope.

I pull into the parking lot and make my way to his door. I knock, but no one answers. His vehicles were here so unless he got a ride with someone else, he’s avoiding me, not that I blame him. I did overreact the other day, but I can’t apologize for that if he keeps avoiding me. After knocking again, I grab my phone and dial his number. I hear the ringer from the other side of the door before he manages to silence it. I bang on the door. “Seth,I know you’re in there. Open the door so we can talk.” I hear the lock being turned and as the door opens, I see my brother standing there looking more hurt than I expected. He doesn’t move aside to let me in.

“What do you want?” he asks.

I sigh heavily, “Well, for starters I wanted to apologize. I overreacted the other day when I found out about you and Lyndsay. It threw me for a loop and I was worried about you guys.”

“No,” Seth says while shaking his head. “You weren’t worried about me. You were worried about me hurting Lyndsay and you know what sucked the most was that you honestly believed I’d hurt her. I’ve known Lynsday for how long? I know what she’s been through and who she really is and it hurt that my own sister thought I’d be that much of an ass to someone like her.”

“I’m sorry. I had no right to question you. I do know that you’d never hurt her, and I was wrong to think you would. I had no right to get involved with things between the two of you since you are both adults. I think I’m partly angry and disappointed with myself and I wanted to take it on you to make myself feel better.”

Seth cocks his head to one side while studying me. “Did it work?”

I shake my head, “Nope, still miserable only more.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better Lyndsay ended things with me.”

My head whips up. “What? Why?”

“I told her what happened with us and she said she didn’t want to come between us.”

“Oh no,” I say while dropping my head into my hands. “I never wanted for that to happen.” Seth gives me a questioning look. “I really didn’t.”

“You look like hell,” Seth comments while opening the door all the way and moving aside, inviting me in. He grabs us some drinks and we take a seat on his patio overlooking the beach. “So, what’s wrong?”

“What’s not wrong?” I say with a shrug. “My life has become a mess and I’m not sure I can fix it.”

“You can fix it but you have to start by telling Axell everything, and I mean everything.”

“I know,” I whisper. Seth remains quiet letting me come to terms with it all. “I just don’t want to lose him, but if that happens then I can’t blame him after all these years of my lying.”

Seth leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I know you lied but at the same time I think it was your coping mechanism. Your life got really messed up thanks to Josh and everything he put you through. I think that by the time you were able to talk about it, you felt it had been too long, so you let the lie continue.”

“What if Axell doesn’t see it that way?”

---