Fighter

Chapter Five - Clear Drinks

"3, 2, 1, GO!" I slammed the gas and before she finished saying go, I was already gone. I swerved between cars as I quickly gained places, ignoring Peter's plea to slow down. I smiled to myself as I felt all the pieces of my life fall together, everything may seem bad but no matter what, I know I always have this track for a home. I laughed in joy as I drifted around the corner, inches from the leading car; as I pulled to the left, I realized we had one lap to go. I decided it was time to stop playing, I shifted gears, and I was gone. I passed the lead before he could even blink, and as I sped around the track for the last lap, I realized that racing was like a second nature to me, I loved it.

"AJ! You passed the finish already!" Peter yelled, pulling me out of my thoughts and away from my zone. I pulled the e-brake, and pulled the steering wheel at the same time, causing the car to do a giant u-ie before stopping. I heard Peter breathe a sigh a relief and a quick report on the radio about the racers before I started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" I just shook my head. If Peter had been with his brother, he'd be dead right now. Dj drove the passenger side of the car into the stands and the right side of the car is basically gone. He's never driving here at this track again.

"Your brother was bragging about his driving skills, was he not?" He nodded, "Well you'd be dead right now if you would've been with him, not me. He drove the passenger side into the stands, there's nothing left of the right side of the car. He's fine, he got out okay, but he's never driving at this track again. My track has no tolerance for drunk driving or racing. How much did he drink before he got here?" Peter looked shocked, he shook his head.

"My brother didn't drink anything, he's not allowed to. He drank water out of a water bottle, that's it." Then it clicked, vodka.

"You clearly didn't realize that it was vodka then. Alright, fair enough, you're allowed back, not him though." I stated before putting my helmet on, and climbing out of the car. The crowd parted as I stormed over to the accident.

"Dillon Jones!" I screamed, roughly grabbing him off the ground by his helmet visor.

"Do you realize that if I hadn't taken your brother with me, then he'd be dead?" I asked, getting in his face, finally able to smell the alcohol on his breath.

"If you hadn't taken my brother, this wouldn't have happened." He snapped back. I sighed, looking at wreckage behind him. Half the stands were gone, engulfed in flames, his car was on the verge of exploding, but the fire department had it covered. I grabbed the microphone from Dan's hand, and got everyone's attention.

"From this point forward, Dillon Jones is banned from racing on this track. In two weeks, he will never get behind another racing wheel again. If you see him anywhere on this track, you get me or security, understand?" The crowd agreed. I got security to escort him off the track, to where the ambulance was waiting to check him out. I shook my head. Of course the day I come back, this happens.

"Why are you so bitchy?" I heard a deep voice ask behind me. I turned to see that it was Zakk.

"'Cause it's better to let no one in and not get hurt then it is to let everyone in and constantly get let down. I don't need to rely on anyone for my happiness. That's why." I walked away before he could say anything, and hopped in my car. I honked to move people out of the way, and drove off. I checked my clock and discovered it was already almost eleven. I've been at the track for hours, yet it felt like minutes.

I sighed as I took off my helmet, and threw it into the back.

I'm not ready to go home, I thought to myself. Knowing them, they'll still be there, and I don't want to deal with it. I sighed again, guess I'm going for a late night drive then. I turned around in the middle of the road, and headed away from the house I hated with a passion. I thought a lot, but one sentence stuck out the most.

Until they're gone, I'm not going back.