Short Track Lovin' ✅

Chapter 7: Her Story

Summer 2015

Chase could only lie beside Sarina on the bed in shock as he heard her story, and why she was the person that she was. He could understand the quiet, reserved personality that she had now in rarely talking about her feelings. He could understand why she put all of her focus into her racing, rather than dwelling on other things. He knew it'd take a while to fully digest everything that she had shared over the past hour or so.

Though with the story out in the open, he knew he couldn't leave the night on that note as neither would be able to sleep with that on their minds. So, he took the liberty of letting her tell the story of her racing background. Racing was something that brought her joy, perhaps an escape at times. He was willing to let her enter that world before they fell back asleep if it made her feel better.

"So, what happened once you got to North Carolina?" He asks her. "You can't just keep living on your own at 15 with not a lot of money. No track would let you race without an adult consent based on your age." She then laughs in hearing those words, remembering the thoughts that had entered her mind once she moved down south from New York. It was actually strange to think about how this came together so easily.

"You read my mind boy because I thought about that as soon as I moved to North Carolina," she tells him. "I thought about faking my name, but knew that they'd ask for proof with birth certificates since other kids had gotten in trouble recently for doing that." Chase shook his head, remembering the tales that had found themselves in the news. Parents wanted their children to move up the ranks quicker, so they started forging the ages just a bit to get their children in a higher class. However, tracks immediately caught on – whether due to insurance or other parent catching them – and it became standard now for tracks to ask for proof.

"You could've got a fake ID." She then looks at him surprised, not expecting that comment from Chase. He was the good boy that didn't think of doing the wrong thing. "I'm kidding. I never did that myself, nor advise that. But what did you do?" She then thinks back, remembering her first couple of days in North Carolina.

"When I first got down there, I stayed in a homeless shelter for a couple of days. There was a nice lady – Rebecca Knowles – that let me stay there, despite knowing that I was underage and should be reported to children's aid. I told her that I had a situation with my parents and was going to be moving in with my aunt, but she was out of state on vacation. She agreed to let me stay for a week without complaint, thinking that my aunt would be back." Chase thought it over. He hated to hear about her lying and deceiving people, but understood that she had to do what she had to do at that point to survive. Besides, having a roof over your head is important. He also wondered what would've happened if she shared the truth – and couldn't bare of thinking somebody taking it the wrong way.

"So obviously that story was a lie, and I'm guessing that Rebecca caught on?" Sarina shakes her head no, remembering when she went to see Rebecca a couple years later and told her the truth, thanking her for the time being. Let's just say that it was shock to say the least, and almost resulted in Rebecca giving her a full lecture.

"I found myself wandering town during the day, looking for something, debating how I was going to survive or rather I should just turn myself in as a runaway. Then I saw a post at a local garage. This late model racer had a posting up that he was looking for a mechanic to work on his cars while he raced. Does the name Tony Leons sound familiar?" Chase smiles, knowing that Tony was her car owner for a couple of seasons, before he sold his operation to her before the start of the season as he was getting out of racing. It was unfortunate, as he was one of those owners you could always trust to do the right thing and for the good of the sport. He had also been someone who helped a lot of talents catch a break along the way.