𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕃𝕖𝕗𝕥 𝕋𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕤

Seventeen

Who the hell does he think he is?" Bailey's voice rose with anger, her frustration palpable. "I mean, seriously. What made him think I have the power to tell Alan what to do?"

"Bails, I don't think he meant it," Avery tried to calm her best friend down, her tone gentle.

"That doesn't make it okay, Avery," Bailey shot back, her emotions raw.

"I never said it did," Avery replied softly, understanding the depth of Bailey's feelings.

"He can't just take his anger out on me," Bailey's voice trembled with indignation.

"Bails, give yourself the day to cool off, and then talk to him," Avery suggested, her voice soothing. "Let him know that you're not okay with him taking his anger out on you."

"I just don't want to make the same mistake I made with my last relationship," Bailey confessed, her voice wavering with vulnerability. "It took me so long to heal from that. I don't think I can go through that again."

"Bailey, you know Chase isn't like your ex," Avery reassured her, her tone filled with empathy. "It was just a heat-of-the-moment thing. Give yourself a day or two and talk to him when you're both calm and level-headed."

"You're right," Bailey conceded, her anger beginning to subside.

"I always am," Avery chuckled softly, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a touch of humor.

~~~

"I messed up, Ryan," Chase sighed, taking a long swig of his beer as if it held the solution to all his problems.

"Yeah, you did," Ryan replied casually, absently scratching behind Sturgill's ears.

"Dude!" Chase exclaimed, shooting his friend a look of mock offense. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side!"

"What?! Did you want me to lie?" Ryan retorted, grinning mischievously. "You messed up, dude! You blamed her for Alan's call; what did you think the outcome would be?"

"I know! Rub it in, why don't you?" Chase groaned dramatically, slouching further into the couch cushions.

"Hey, I'm just giving it to you straight," Ryan said with a shrug, still wearing that annoyingly smug grin.

"How do I fix it?" Chase asked, his tone pleading for guidance.

"I'd give her a day to cool off and apologize," Ryan suggested, suddenly serious. "You want another beer?"

Chase nodded eagerly, already feeling the soothing effects of alcohol on his frazzled nerves. Ryan obliged, fetching two more beers from the fridge before returning to the couch.

"And promise her you'll never do it again," Ryan added, his tone firm. "It'll work out. Don't worry too much about it, okay?"

"You're right," Chase admitted, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Can I record you saying that?" Ryan teased, pulling out his phone with exaggerated theatrics. "Avery always says I'm wrong."

~~~

A few days later, the teams were back at the track, the atmosphere tinged with tension. Bailey and Chase found themselves tip-toeing around each other, their interactions awkward and stilted. Both knew they needed to address the elephant in the room—the incident from the previous race—but neither knew quite how to broach the subject.

Bailey stole glances at Chase from across the hauler, her stomach tying itself in knots with every passing moment of silence between them. She could practically feel the weight of their unspoken conversation hanging heavy in the air.