An Unfortunate Mix-Up ✔️

Chapter 43: Checking In

Alex leans back against the Ally Chevrolet, smile fixated on his face. 

There was no worries anymore. There were no more questions to ask. There were no more thoughts to clash through his mind. In a matter of moments, he'd be in his comfort zone behind the wheel of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, leading the field to green for the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel. 

Taking a deep breath, he just needed to take care of the car. He needed to learn what he could about the draft, take advantage of the 60 laps he was about to get on track. However, he needed to keep all four fenders on it, not scratch it or find any trouble that may be out there. It was all about getting to Sunday with the Daytona 500 pole still in his grasp.

He was stuck on his thoughts, thinking over his strategy in his mind, remembering what he and Blake Harris had spoken about in the variety of scenarios that could possibly play out once the green flag dropped. 

His thoughts only froze when he noticed his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on pit road, discussing things over with a couple crew members. It wasn't odd to see Chase out here early as he had a good rep with a lot of the guys in the shop, whether his own crew or other HMS crews. It made sense he'd want to get a good view of what happened in the first Duel to get an idea of what to expect for the second. 

However, there was no thinking about racecars as soon as he caught his attention. Everybody else on pit road might as well not even been there. Instead, his mind thought back to the first time they saw each other at the hospital - the dark glance between each other, the pain and worry shared in that moment. It had been the only conversation - not within team meetings that is - the pair had, and it was the only thing that lingered in Alex's mind.

Taking a deep breath, Alex knew he should be focused on the task at hand in the next matter of moments. However, he couldn't ignore the thought that clouded his mind as he willed himself to stop leaning on the racecar and make his way over to where his teammate stood.

"Hey," he simply says as he makes his way over, catching Chase's attention as the pair trade a small pair of smiles between them. 

"You've been here the past four years so you better know the game plan by now," Chase replies back, staying the course of track talk which was no surprise. It was the usual game plan for them right before a race - but that was before what had happened.

"I know the task at hand - don't worry." Alex takes a deep breath, knowing this was growing harder to say than he had envisioned in his mind. "Chase, I wanted to tal-"

"We don't need to do this here or righ-"

"It wasn't your faul-"

"Ale-"

"Chase, you have to believe me. It wasn't your fault what happened, okay?" Chase goes to say something else in response, only to be stopped as Alex holds his finger up. It normally wouldn't worked as they were quick to rebuttle against each other, but this was one of those exceptions. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you one bit for being a little late. I don't blame you one bit for what happened, okay? It's not your fault. In a way, I'm glad that you were a little late." 

"What do you mean?" Alex thinks it over once again in his head, as he keeps his eyes focused on his teammate. This was a rare thought that he got, but it had been something he had repeated to himself for multiple days in a row since everything that happened.

"If I wasn't there, Jay would've had to go through that alone. It could've been worse. They may have done more than what they did - not having someone else to watch out, take care of, perhaps not want to harm as much as their original target. Derek was after him, targeting him and was going to find a way. I just gave him someone to lean on through the process." Chase watches his teammate curiously, caught off guard by the confession as he had planned everything he wanted to say in response in the first moments they saw each other afterwards. Now he was flabbergasted and didn't know what to say.

"Or perhaps Derek wouldn't had got-"

"Derek was determined. He would've found a wa-"

"His unit may have been there to sto-"

"Chase, we can't play the what if game, okay? There's no way that you can as I can think of a million other versions to add to what you told me. Some things happen for a reason, and the universe for some reason believed I needed to be there for him - as a friend. Maybe it's to get through those days. Maybe the days that followed - such as him needing to give me advice to remind himself to follow it. We may not ever know the reason, but please don't play the what if game or blame yourself. It's not going to help anyone." Chase nods his head, accepting, as at the end of the day, that didn't matter as they stood there together on pit road in that moment.

"I'm just glad that you're alright, and able to be here this weekend to kick ass. I don't know if I could handle Kyle being the ring leader for the drafting plans." Alex couldn't help but chuckle a little as they looked down pit road to where Kyle stood talking with Jeff. "Seriously, I'm glad you're okay."

"Chicks dig scars, right?" Chase just shakes his head in disbelief as the pair stood there smiling together. "William told me he isn't answering anymore late night odd calls for you anymore." 

"I can tell you that when I called him to say you were missing, or I thought you were missing - fuck, I was a complete mess. I was going to call Rick but I called Jeff first, and then I called our teammates. I couldn't bring myself to call Mr. H because I just felt so ba-"

"It's not your fau-"

"I know..." Chase then glances over at Alex watching him, also knowing their conversation would be cut short soon with the race about to start. "Alex, if you need anything know, someone to talk to or anything, please let me know. I promise I won't let you down this time."

"I appreciate it, honestly Chase." Alex then puts his hand on Chase's shoulder, catching the emphasis on the last set of words delivered. "You didn't let me down so stop carrying the guilt with yourself and don't worry about me, I'm fine. I've got it under control."

Alex then walks away back to his car, taking his helmet off the roof with a deep breath, knowing it was time to climb in and do what he did best.