Second Chances // Chase Elliott

like jesus does

twenty-four

CHASE ELLIOTT

I walked into the main area of the motorhome and found Caroline sitting on the couch watching an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

"Good morning, darling," I smiled, bending down to place a kiss on the top of her head.

"Good morning," she smiled, looking up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. "Come sit with me."

I sat down next to Caroline and pulled her into my side. We sat there watching the reality tv show for a few hours before it was time to start getting ready for the day.

"You alright babe?" I asked Caroline as she turned the TV off.

I could tell as the time got closer to start getting ready, Caroline was more quiet and more nervous. She always gets like this on racedays but this was a different kind of nervous.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she whispered, smiling as she looked back at me. "Come on, you gotta start getting ready so you won't be late."

Caroline started walking away but I grabbed her arm before she could go any further. I pulled her into my chest and wrapped my arms around her waist as her arms instinctively wrapped around my torso.

"I'm gonna be okay Caroline," I whispered, rubbing small circles on Caroline's back.

"But you don't know that," Caroline said, looking up at me with tears streaming down her face.

I looked at Caroline not saying anything because I know she's right. I don't know what the outcome of any race is going to look like - I can hope for certain things to happen but it's not promised.

"I don't want to lose you," she sighed looking down at the floor.

"Hey," I whispered, lifting her head up so I could look her in the eyes. "You won't lose me. I'm not going anywhere."

I slowly leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Caroline's lips.

"Promise me you'll be careful?" Caroline held out her pinky finger.

"I promise," I said, wrapping my pinky around hers.

"Okay," Caroline sighed, "we really have to start getting ready so you won't be late."

"I love you," I said, kissing her forehead.

"And I love you."

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"It sure is a nice day to go racin'," I said to Caroline, looking up at the clear blue Alabama sky. The track is electric today and I can feel the excitement in my bones - it's gonna be a good day for us.

I got in the car and once I had gotten adjusted, Caroline handed me my helmet.

"Be safe. Kick ass. I'll see you in Victory Lane. I love you with all my heart."

"I love you," Caroline leaned in through the window and kissed me before walking away to go to the pit box.

Alan came over as soon as she left and helped get my helmet on and get all the wires and air supply connected. Once he was done, he headed over to the pit box.

A short while later, we started rolling off the grid to take a few pace laps.

"All right fellas. Let's go to work. Appreciate all the efforts," Alan said in the headset.

"Feel like today's gonna be a good one. Thank y'all for everything."

| stage 1 |

"Nice work there. Stage one winner." Eddie said.

"Need any adjustments?" Alan asked.

"Nothing major. Car feels really good today," I reported.

"Alright, four tires and fuel here then."

| stage 2 |

"Stage two winner," Eddie said as I crossed the start/finish line. "One more stage to go."

| stage 3 |

"Last lap here. The 11 is coming up pretty quickly but you got him."

Adrenaline was running through my veins as I saw the finish line just in front of me.

"He's trying to come up on your door but you're doing a good job blocking," Eddie said.

The next thing I know, I get bumped on the left rear and I lost control of the car. The back of the car went up into the wall and a few seconds later I was hit hard on the driver's side. All I could hear was the sound of glass and metal breaking. The car flew in the air, into the catch fence, and back down onto the track. By the time it landed, I was upside down. My body was being jolted around in my seat and the only thing I could do was close my eyes and wait until it was all over.

"You're on fire bud. The medics are on their way. Hang in there," I heard Alan say.

I caught a whiff of smoke and felt heat inside of the car from the flames. I started smelling oil and knew immediately that there was a leak somewhere.

I need to get out of this car.

I tried my hardest to move my legs but they were pinned against whatever part of the car was still intact. I tried to move my arms to get the window net down to let them know that I was okay but I couldn't move those either. I could hear Alan and Eddie calling my name over and over again through the headset but as hard as I tried, I couldn't say anything.

I'm stuck.

My body was going into shock and my vision started narrowing. I looked up to where I keep Caroline's picture and groaned.

This is it.

"Caroline," I whispered before everything went black.

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I know it's been a while since I updated and for that, I'm sorry! Life has been a little too crazy lately!

I also apologize for a short chapter but I'm hoping to post another one later tonight! The next few chapters are gonna be longer and filled with a lot of emotion. We don't have much longer to go in this story.

Currently working on some other ideas as well which is always exciting!!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!