Page 83 of Truck You

“Where is she?” A female voice yells from outside the room. A moment later, the door swings open and my mom’s panicked face fills the doorway.

I sigh and bury my face in Mac’s chest. This will not be a fun conversation.

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” My mom rushes toward us but stops short when she realizes I’m in a man’s arms. I haven’t told them about Mac yet. Only that there were some people I wanted them to meet after the race. “We would have been here sooner, but no one would tell us where you were being taken.”

“Mom, I’m fine.” I give her my best smile and hope that calms her down. “The doctor was just about to give me an update on my tests. You’re just in time.”

I glance at the door and see my dad staring at me with a worried expression on his face.

“I take it this is your family?” the doctor says.

“Yes. This is my mom and dad, Anne and Lewis.”

The doctor nods. “Well, this won’t take too long. So far, all your tests have come back clear. No broken bones. Nothing to worry about in the CT scan. Once I get the MRI results and confirm I haven’t missed anything, you should be good. I’m still going to keep you overnight for observation. You hit your head pretty hard. Your arm is going to be sore for a few days, maybe even bruised. I can give you something for the pain if needed. Just let the nurse know if the pain gets worse.”

“It feels okay so far,” I say. They gave me something for pain when I first arrived, even though I said it wasn’t that bad.

“If that changes, let us know. There’s no need to suffer with pain when we can help with that.”

“I will. Thanks.”

The doctor smiles at me before he glances around the room. “Any questions?”

“So her head, it’s okay?” my dad asks.

“Yes. She’s got a mild concussion, but that’s to be expected. Her helmet did its job well.”

“Thank you,” I say quickly, hoping to end this conversation before my parents bombard him with a million unnecessary questions. They worry way more than they should on a normal day. Watching me have an accident probably has their blood pressure ready to pop.

The doctor gives me a smile and nods. “Then I’ll leave you alone. I’ll be back once I get the MRI results.”

The door is barely closed when my mom turns to me with her hands on her hips and a deep scowl on her face. “Please tell me you’re finally done with all this racing business.”

“Mom, don’t start.” I sink into Mac, and he tightens his hold on me.

“Of course I’m going to start. This has gone on far too long. The first race we come to watch, and you almost die in an accident.”

Mac tenses beneath me. I press my hand into his chest, hoping that will calm him. “I didn’t almost die. Nowhere near that.”

“But you could have died.” She insists.

“And you could have just as easily gotten into a car accident on your way to the hospital. But you didn’t. Accidents happen all the time. A racecar isn’t required.”

“But it puts you at a much greater risk. Why can’t you see that?”

“Mom! I’ve been in hundreds of races and this is my first accident. I was not in danger of dying.”

“Well, I still want you to stop.”

I sigh and drop my head back to Mac’s chest. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I wrecked my car. It’s not like I have the money to fix it.”

“Baby, don’t you worry. We’ll build you a new car,” Mac whispers, but he tenses even more as if it hurt him to say them. I glance up at him and he looks sincere. Maybe I imagined the tension because I’m expecting more negativity. My parents have trained me to expect the worst from people when it comes to me racing.

“And who are you?” my dad asks. It’s the first he’s spoken since they arrived.

“I’m Mac. Mac Mutter.” He holds out his hand, but my dad just stares at him. “I’m Sophia’s boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Mom screeches. “Why didn’t you tell us you met a boy?”

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