An Unfortunate Mix-Up ✔️

Chapter 8: Daniel Ivy

CJ walks in the room, watching as Alex tries to go through the exercise of flashing dots on the screen once again. He watches as his fingers try to touch them as fast as they come on screen, hoping to catch them before they disappear. 

It was only a week since the incident - a weekend out of the racecar that didn't seem fair to anybody involved. It frustrated Alex as he hated he was stuck outside of natural habitat all thanks to being tied up with some woman due to a one-time mistake. It frustrated CJ in watching everything transpire, knowing they shouldn't had left the track when they did to leave him suspectable to this person. 

"They say I have a compound concussion," Alex starts, having noticed CJ standing at the door by the shadow that was on the wall. He would've thought it was Jay, but he already knew where the detective was. "It's what happens when your head is suspected to two harsh hits back-to-back in a small period of time. The quick motion causes everything in your head to move two different directions, causing bruising of the brain and such. Or at least the specialist described it somewhat like that." 

"And this is supposed to help you heal?" CJ questions, hoping that was the only reason Alex was doing this right now. Obviously, he knew a distraction from everything was probably a good idea given his personal feelings about what happened - from the attack to being out of the car. However, he didn't need his best friend doing something stupid that made his recovery process worse.

"I am supposed to try and attempt to do this twice a day, 20 minutes at a time..." Alex takes a deep breath, feeling a small headache coming on as he had been there for the time allotted. "If it starts to hurt too much then I am to stop before then. But it's retraining the brain for vision and reaction time, two things that are affected the most by this concussion. Hopefully over the next week - or two sadly, it helps and gets better. He wants me to come back and see him retest." 

"Alex, are you okay?" Alex looks over at CJ, feeling as though the question was asked very off-guard. He knew why, given the discussion at hand and a fellow driver understanding what he was going through. He appreciated the concern, too, and knew if there was someone to talk to, it'd be CJ.

"I hate this. I truly hate this more than anything for a bunch of reasons, CJ. But I know that I am going to be fine. I am going to get through this, get back in my racecar, and do my thing. I told Greg and Noah they can just hold down the fort because I will be back." CJ couldn't help but smile a little in hearing the voice of confidence shining through despite everything. 

"I don't have any doubt about tha-"

"Daniel Ivy." The pair hear a name mentioned from the corner of the room, catching their attention. The detective never spoke, silently keeping his eyes on Alex in watching all points of entry just to be safe. Sometimes, if spoken to first, he would share his opinion of the conversation. However, he was solely focused on the task at hand with them. "Do you recognize the name?" 

"I have never heard of that name," Alex comments to which CJ couldn't help but nod his head in response. It didn't mean his eyes were turned off Jay, knowing anything mentioned was worth of his curiosity as there was certainly a reason why this name was now being spoken of. What did Daniel have to do with what happened, and why would CJ be kicking his ass?

"Lucy told my partner she recognized him from the track hanging with a few other drivers," Jay explains, knowing he'd have to divulge the full details later given the glance he was getting back in return from CJ. He couldn't help but admire the full protective friend role CJ held for Alex, as he knew it was a special bond to share with someone. That reminded him - he never told Mouse he was back in the U.S. "Is there anyway to check attendance records?" 

"NASCAR has a full list of those who have badges, but that doesn't include fans who are in attendance and allowed in other areas. It may be a shot in the dark." Jay then stands up, walking over with his phone in hand, hoping the latest update from Hailey helped because anything to see her sooner would be welcome right now. 

"She sent me a file photo for him in the ID database." He loads the image, flashing towards the men before him, praying for some sort of response. "Do you recogni-"

"Bubba Wallace. He was part of his entourage for a couple events. I remember seeing them together in a couple photos." Alex pulls his phone out of his pocket, loading images from the past couple races that were posted on Instagram. He then hands it over to Jay, which showed Daniel hanging out with Bubba and a few others. 

"Daniel went to the bar and thought Lucy was Felicia, and you slept with Felicia. She clarified the twin identity mix-up, to which then got demanded of Felicia's whereabouts, in the same fashion that you were." Alex could only chuckle and roll his eyes.

"Leave it to Bubba to bring around someone who fucks up my life. Daniel spots us together, thinks its one, and boom - he goes after Lucy, while Randy goes after me. Why am I not surprised?" Jay could only look on confused as CJ lets out the largest sigh. This was not a conversation he was looking forward to having.  He actually still wished Jeff Gordon would've stood up that day and punched Bubba out for Alex.

"I was going to pay Bubba a visit and see if he could tell me more about Daniel, and where to find him - while the district continues to try and locate with other means, as well as the oth-"

"I am coming because if this is his fault, he deserves what's been coming for a long time." 

Alex then walks out of the room, set to grab his coat and shoes before CJ could even say something in return, knowing this was the worst idea they could think of at this present time. There was a reason they wanted people to relax when they had concussions.

Jay, meanwhile, found himself goggling the two driver's names together in hopes of finding this history which Alex spoke of. It led him to a video on YouTube, which caused immediate shock and distain on his face in watching the scene that happened.