Short Track Lovin' ✅

Chapter 82: "Guilty."

Thursday, November 16 – Florida

"Just think – the last time we're going to have to make this trip," Chase comments as he opens the door, allowing Sarina to head in first, before following closely behind her.

"Thank God," she replies, waiting for him to walk alongside her. "I just want to forget about everything..." He wraps an arm around her shoulders as they walk down the aisle together. While he wanted to make things easier for her, he knew he also had to be honest, knowing it'd be best for their future. 

"You know that you can't just do that. You just avoid addressing those emotions, and then they eat at you. We both know what happens then." They sit down in their seats together and she looks immediately into his brown eyes.

"There's no way I would ever do that to you, again. I'm not running." He smiles, giving her hand a squeeze. That right there attested to how far they had come over the past year.

"And you know that you can always talk to me about anythin-"

"Absolutely." She then takes a deep breath as they watch her brother be led into the court room and to his spot.

"Now presenting the honorable Judge Reynolds," the clerk says and they stand, watching him take his spot. Chase had to admit that he didn't want to see this judge ever again, either. But if he got the job done, then maybe their time will be worth it.

"You may be seated," the judge states, which everybody in the room follows suit. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, your honor," the head juror says as Chase wraps an arm around Sarina's shoulders, giving it a squeeze. She could only hope the jury swayed in their favor.

"On the charge of poisoning Ryan Blaney, how do you find Mr. Chris Dryer?" The answer was obvious in Chase's mind as Ryan had testified to seeing Chris, being handed the bottle, and feeling the effects afterwards.

"Guilty." Sarina flashes a quick smile back to Ryan, who simply gives her a nod of approval. So far, so good.

"On the charge of poisoning Chase Elliott, how do you find Mr. Chris Dryer?" Chase takes a deep breath. This wasn't so obvious as they were basing on the fact that Chris had motive from previous dealings, and would be the only person with access to lace the bottle.

"Guilty." Chase couldn't help but be pleased that the jury was smart enough to put the pieces together. Maybe things were finally falling into place.

"Thank you. Combined with your previous guilty pleas, you will be spending the next 70 years in prison. You will have no chance of parole, given your antics previously displayed to the court room in other situations. A note has also been placed on your file in regards to psychological pleas. Court adjourned!"

Chase and Sarina trade a glance, sharing a quick hug, before walking out together. Chase just held her hand the whole way, knowing a whole series of emotions were trying to flood her brain. Obviously it was great for this all to be over – but what about the fact that he was her brother, regardless?

"Are you okay?" He asks once they get outside and she just nods her head.

"I'm just ready to get to the trac-" She answers and he squeezes her hand. The simple answer would be agreement, but he knew better than that. He knew what to do from his own experience. 

"Stop using something else as a distraction or a way to ignore. Tell me...." She glances down, taking a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy to say, and it was why she'd rather just focus on the weekend ahead.

"As much as I love him somewhere inside of me, I am so glad that this is over. I am glad that he is going to be locked away. I'm glad that he can't hurt anybody else. I'm glad to also have you in my life, too. Maybe it's time for my happily ever after...." He pulls her close, kissing her cheek.

"I plan on giving you a happily ever after, as long as you promise to tell your boss to stop using my lines." She then looks at him confused. "Did you not hear what he said today at the press conference?"

"I thought you ignored NASCAR newsy twitter...." He rolls his eyes as that was normally the case.

"Curiosity got to me when they asked him what he thought of Brad Keselowski." She then laughed, knowing that response would probably be priceless.

"Oh Gosh...." Chase pulls out his phone, bringing up the response.

"Sometimes you just don't like a guy. Fact of the matter. I never ran into Matt Kenseth. I don't think Matt Kenseth ever ran into me. There is a respect factor out there on the racetrack, and you can certainly do a better job sometimes when you're around some of those guys that you may or may not necessarily like, but as once a wise man told me, I think it was Chase Elliott, I race those how they race me." She just rolls her eyes, but had to chuckle a little at his wording.

"He's good...." Chase puts his phone back in his pocket, eying her once again. "Trust me, I'm okay. I'm fine. I got my emotions out before. Like I said, I'm just glad that it worked out and now we can focus on us."

*********

Homestead-Miami Speedway – Sunday, November 19

"Stay focused, believe in yourself, believe in this team," she tells him. "You guys can do get up there and fight for the win. Be safe, and see you later. I love you." She then gives him a kiss.

"I love you, too," he replies with a smile. It was nice to get a little pep talk before the event.

Taking her usual seat on the pit box, she hoped she was in for a decent day.

She watched as he began to make up ground immediately, making his way into the top-10 during the first half of the first stage, placing sixth. He then kept up there throughout the second, scoring a solid ninth. The final stage would go steadily, as he kept himself solidly in 11th, before making a late charge on a restart with 40 laps to go to place fifth.

A series of smiles beamed off pit road in how far they had come over the weekend, really proud of their performance. More importantly, it gave me a good boost of momentum entering the winter ahead of next season.

As everybody finished up celebrating, Sarina snapped a selfie of her and Chase on pit road together, with the championship party going on in the background.

@Sarina18: Absolutely amazing season this year. I couldn't be more proud of myself and @KBMteam for a great year. First career win, many top-10s, growth as a driver, and a solid top-10 in points. What more could you ask for a rookie season? This guy, though, is beyond amazing. It was so great watching him run well and get right up there. I guarantee next year that he will win a race – there's no questioning that as I know he's going to #DI9 hard. Next year, ladies and gents, one – if not both of us actually, will be celebrating right there. But for tonight, it belongs all to Martin and Sherry. Sherry, you're absolutely amazing. For everything that you've been through, everything that you've battled, and the smile that always seem to grace your face. Thank you for being an inspiration to so many people, including myself. Make sure to enjoy tonight.