Page 33 of Need for Speed

“After everything that Josh put her through it messed her up. You figure she was still a kid basically. She was pregnant, beaten and uprooting her whole life to get away from him. On top of that Shelly, our mother, moved here to the smallest ass town that on the planet knowing she’d be ridiculed for her situation. Moving to Aynor only worsened things for her. After she had Drake it became evident that she was suffering from postpartum. She didn’t want anything to do with Drake, she’d stay in bed in a dark room all day, barely eating or drinking anything. Shelly decided it was best to try and check her into a facility. Once she was in there, they diagnosed her with post-partum and a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While she was in the facility Shelly convinced her that it would be best to sign the right to Drake over to her. Of course, in her mental state she agreed, and I don’t disagree that it was best at the time, but Shelly used it against her. Before she was released Shelly reached out to my dad after over a decade and told him that he needed to take Sadie. Of course, our dad was more than glad to. He had looked for them for the first couple of years then finally gave up hope. Although, we didn’t expect for her to be in the shape she was. I was worried about her coming here to L.A., then she met you and that worried me more. I knew your reputationand given her history, well you can’t blame me for expecting the worst. You proved me wrong though. You fixed the broken in her and you brought light back into her eyes. You were really good for her.”

I let Seth’s words sink in. “She mentioned the postpartum, but she didn’t tell me the rest.”

“Of course, she didn’t, it wasn’t her proudest time. She wasn’t Sadie then. You know she tried to get him back,” Seth comments quietly.

“Drake?” I ask.

Seth nods slowly. “Remember when she went back to Aynor after graduating from nursing school?” Seth asks, and I nod in response. “She went to talk so Shelly about getting her rights back. She was in a spot where she could take care of Drake now, both mentally and financially. Of course, Shelly wouldn’t let that happen and Sadie being the nice person she is, she left him there because Shelly convinced her it was unfair.”

“I wish I would have known that years ago. I would have helped her fight.”

“I know you would have, and I think she knows that as well. At that point though she was so afraid that you would see her differently. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. I’m not saying what she did was right, but she felt it was the only way at the time,” Seth explains.

I nod, and we sit a few minutes in silence before Seth says he’s going to head home to get some sleep. I need to get to the shop. Tillman’s car will be done today but Seth’s words weigh heavy on me, so heavy that I don’t even hear the music blaring in my car. Each day it’s become easier and easier to understand and accept Sadie’s decision which means that each day we are moving forward.

****

I call Tillman right before we close down the shop. “Hey man, I see you’re back to your cell phone.”

“Yeah, couldn’t stay away forever. Anyways, the car is done,” I tell him.

Tillman let’s out a whistle. “I’ll be damned. You still at the shop.”

“Yeah, I’m closing up but if you want to come and check it out, I’ll head over to JamesTown and get some food until you get here,” I reply.

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll be there shortly.”

I finish closing the shop up then use the door that connects the two buildings to get to JamesTown. I’m just finishing up my food when Tillman takes a seat across from me. I push what’s left of my cheese fries over to him. “These damn things are addictive.”

“I know,” I tell him. “How have you been?”

He nods while he continues eating the fries. “Good, just been busy racing. Making a hell of a killing here lately. We’re down racers so I’m racing almost every night.”

“That’s good for you though,” I comment.

He nods his head again. “Yeah, so let’s go see this car?”

We get up from the table, I clear and clean the table before leading Tillman through the hallway that connects the buildings. I turn on the lights and his car comes into view. He lets out a low whistle of appreciation. “Damn, that looks good. I hope she purrs as good as she looks.”

I laugh while approaching the car. “Oh, she does.”

Tillman opens the door of the car and slides in. I hand him the keys and he starts the engine. It roars to life and the smile on his face makes it all worth it. “Damn, this is perfect.” I smile then walk around to open the garage door. He backs the car out, rolling down the window he hollers out, “Get in!” Once I’m in the car Tillman’s excitement is contagious. He pulls out of theparking lot and takes off down the street. Luckily, there’s not much traffic so we fly down the road. Tillman drives with ease. He’s like me. Speed and racing come easily to us. Flying down a road at heart stopping speeds is second nature.

“Do you like the car?” I ask.

“Hell yeah, I love the damn thing,” he tells me.

Eventually, we circle back around to the shop. We both get out of the car and Tillman hands me a check. “Thanks. I really had a fun time working on this car.”

“I’m glad we were able to catch back up. I know you don’t race anymore, and I respect that decision but it’s nice to know we can still be friends,” he tells me.

“Of course. Man, if it wasn’t for you, I probably never would have gotten Sadie back.”

Tillman shakes his head. “Yeah, but then you wouldn’t be in your current situation which hasn’t been the easiest on you.”

I shrug in response. “True but I love Sadie and I’m starting to understand her decisions back then. This situation hasn’t been the easiest, but I still don’t regret my decision to choose her.”

Tillman smirks at me. “Good, I was hoping you’d say something like that. I’m glad to see where you’ve ended up in life. I’m proud of you.”

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