Adrenaline Racer

Chapter 16

I hold the trophy in my hand, tracing my finger over the engraving that labeled second place. Another fan came up to me, smiling so big and bright. She stared up at me, admiration in her eyes.

"You're one of the best new racers I've ever seen," she says to me, jumping up and down. Without a word, and runs right into me, hugging my middle.

I am shocked by her action, but also so grateful.

"Thank you," I say to her, leaning down a bit and lightly hugging her back.

Her mother calls her back. She pulls away, looking back at her mom. She looks up at me with another one of those adorable smiles.

"Bye," she says quietly. She quickly takes off after her mom.

I sigh, watching the two leave. They were the last people left in the stadium, besides the crew, who were all cleaning up after the race. I stare around, the sun igniting the bleachers and race track as it set.

My smile fades as I turn on my heel. Still no sign of him. He had ditched me, completely forgot about me, and hadn't even texted or called to say sorry.

Rage and sadness both take over my mind. All I can think about was the fact that he promised he'd come. And he had broken it.

I lugged the trophy under my arm. I can hear the sounds of the cleaning trucks, the shouts from the crew as they carried back equipment and tires.

And out of the roar of the cleaning and fixing, I hear his voice.

"Oh my gosh, I missed it... Luna?" He shouts around. I glance behind me, and his eyes meet mine. They turn soft at the sight of me, and I turn my head quickly, my pace speeding up.

"Luna." He says to me, his voice breathy. I hear him start to walk toward me, trying to get to me.

I close my eyes, trying my hardest to ignore him. I keep walking. My garage was just in view. Maybe he would take a hint...

"Luna!" He shouts at me, his footsteps quickening, "Luna, please."

My heartbeat speeds up, my emotions roaring in me. I blink my eyes a bunch, trying to keep back the tears. But it fails.

"Luna, wait," Aaron says, his hand on my shoulder.

Anger boils over in me, and I pull my shoulder away from his hand, turning around. Aaron backs up a bit as I glare at him.

"Aaron, you're too late," I hiss harshly.

I whirl around again, my feet working faster than I can register. I move quickly over the pavement, walking away from Aaron.

"Can we at least talk about this?" Aaron asks, walking after me yet again. I open the giant door to my garage, setting the trophy on the workbench and heading over to my car.

Aaron follows me into the garage, watching me as I rush around the car. I shake my head at him.

"Luna, hear me out," he says yet again, as if I actually want to listen to this. Tears are now threatening to roll down my cheeks, but I do my best to hold them back, "I got held up at school. I wanted to be here, believe-"

I chuckle dryly at Aaron's words, cutting him off. My eyes pull away from the car for a seconds, looking up at him.

"You're full of it, Aaron Walker," I tell him, shaking my head. I set my palms on the hood of the car, the cool metal in my hands.

Aaron opens his mouth to say something, but gives up. He looks down at the floor, knowing there was no way of winning this argument. He knew what was wrong.