Page 62 of Hyperspeed
With Kai . . . he gave me thislook, and it just seemed like he got it.Him, of all people. Like he’d been through some “tougher stuff” of his own and it was okay to share. And for the first time in a while, I didn’t feel like a freak, like no one would understand.
I didn’t feel so alone.
And it felt weirdly validating.
It was then I realised I hadn’t felt the nerves in a while. Not since Kai had entered the room. I was relaxed in my chair, and I wasn’t fidgeting or focused on the volume of my breathing.
I feltnormal.
It might not have been much to anyone else . . . to Kai. But to me? It was everything. And it made my chest feel a little lighter.
“My dad came home from work one day,” I explained. “He walked in with this beat-up piece of metal, and my mum almost made him throw it straight back out again. But he was determined to show me.
“So he calls me over, and it’s a rusty old go-kart, like the kids use before they graduate to proper vehicles. Six-year-old me was mesmerized; I’d never seen anything better. Since we lived in a high-rise downtown, I couldn’t take it outside—can’t exactly kart in a dodgy alley—so I used the hallway outside our apartment instead. And I swear I zoomed up and down there for hours after school.”
“I’m sure the neighbours were pleased,” Leighton chuckled, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with her.
“They didn’t mind. The maintenance guy was a whole other kettle of fish, though, especially after I wore the carpet down to shreds.”
Kai barked out a laugh, and I snapped my head towards him. His smile was genuine, softer than his usual cocky grin, like he was remembering something from his own past, something we might’ve shared.
For a moment, it was like we weren’t so different after all.
“When I turned eleven, my parents surprised me with a trip to a real karting track. They’d saved up for months, and I drove around that track for hours. Turns out, though, while I was driving my mum had a chat with the owner—this Vorkan called Alvoth. She offered to clean for them on weekends if I could come with her and drive around the track.”
“Seriously?” Kai’s expression was one of disbelief.
“Yep. I went with her every weekend until I turned eighteen. Alvoth was pretty cool. He helped me upgrade that rusty kart my dad brought home and showed me some vehicles he’d built. He raced in the underground circuits, and when I finished school, he paid me to help him build. I tried to give the money to my parents, since they’d done so much for me, but they told me to keep it, to put it towards my future career.
“I don’t think my grandma was thrilled. I mean, I know she wasn’t. Still isn’t. She’s a worrier, y’know?”
“That’s grandmothers for you,” Leslie giggled. “When I told mine I wanted to be a writer, she asked why I couldn’t be a doctor instead.”
“Right?” I let out a soft, amused exhale. “When she found out I was racing in the underground leagues, I swear she nearly cut my tail off. Actually threatened to at one point. But I think she’s changed her tune these days, especially now I have a win under my belt.”
I glanced at Kai from the corner of my eye, a smirk tugging at my lips. His expression was unreadable, lips pressed into a tight line, but I caught the flash of something in his eyes—maybe amusement, maybe something else.
Whatever it was, it made the air between us feel a little too charged, like there was more to this conversation than I’d intended.
“What was it like racing in the underground circuits?” he asked.
I raised my eyebrows, shocked he didn’t know.
“You’ve never been?”
“Nah. Not sure it’s my scene.”
I scoffed. “I mean, they’re more dangerous than the ASL. They’re not regulated, and there’s no medical shuttles on hand to patch up every little graze.” I cocked my head, pretending to think about it. “Huh, I guess you’re right. It isn’t your scene.”
This time it was Kai’s turn to scoff. “I can handledangerous, rookie.”
“I don’t think you can, Mercer.”
“I drive alongside you, don’t I?”
“Only when your tyres aren’t melting.”
“Or when you’re not pushing me off the track.”
