Not Alone Any More {Chase Elliott || Sequel to Only the Lonely} ✔️

xii.

"shit." chase cursed, his face heating up. "i don't even know what happened."

that was a lie, he knew what had happened but if he had told them that -- especially over the radio -- he would probably lose his job.

"bring it back in." alan sighed. chase couldn't help but notice that there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

chase's stomach churned as he brought his car back to the garage. he didn't want to have to face his team, the engineers that had spent so much time perfecting his car. he didn't want to have to see the stress in alan's face while he figured out how to fix the car, how to fix the mess that chase had made.

but mostly, he didn't want to have to face kathryn claire. he knew that she could read him like an open book so she would instantly pick up that something had happened inside the car. he was afraid of the "i told you so" whether she would actually say it to his face or not.

chase pulled his car into his stall, putting it in park, flipping the switches to kill the engine. he sat there for a moment, trying to find the courage to go assess the damage-- to see the consequences of his flashback.

alan pulled down the window net, "the damage is cosmetic, dude. just scraped the wall a little. are you still good?" his eyes studied chase, trying to discern what was going on with his driver.

chase nodded slowly. he wanted nothing more than to get out of the car. but the thought of all the rumors and the speculation that would come if chase got out of the car and said he wasn't okay now that he had hit the wall were enough to make him answer, "yeah, i'm really sorry.  i'm glad it was just cosmetic."

alan leaned in further, "what happened, chase? the data tells us it was driver error that sent you into the wall."

chase frowned, trying to think of an excuse. "the smoke caused me to lose focus, the smell-- it just..." chase trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

alan nodded slowly. "do you think it was a one-time thing?"

chase nodded quickly. he had no clue if it really was but he didn't want alan to grow so concerned that he alerted rick. "i promise, i'm good."

alan nodded slowly. "i guess i'll have to take your word. let's get some laps down."

"10-4," chase flipped his visor down, flipping the switches to bring his engine back to life. "get it together," he whispered to himself as he pulled his car out of the garage, steering it through the garage area.

the churning in his stomach had been replaced with an edge, making it impossible for chase to relax and focus. he took a couple of deep breaths as his car climbed the banking. he felt his body relax a little -- muscle memory -- as he picked up speed.

chase cleared his mind, putting what had happened earlier in a box that he could open again after practice. but now, he knew it was time to focus.

and for the first time in a long time, chase felt like he had something to prove. he needed to prove to alan, to kathryn claire and most importantly, himself that being in the car was the best thing he could do. he had to prove to himself that that wreck would not define his career, to prove that the wreck would be forgotten because he was going to bounce back stronger.

he was used to proving himself, though. people always assumed that he had his cup ride served on a silver platter. while his dad's legacy did open doors for him -- he wouldn't deny that -- but in every level of racing that he competed in, chase had always had a target on his back, he always had to prove that he was more than bill elliott's son. he had to prove that he was chase elliott and he was worthwhile in his own right.

now he had to prove it to himself.

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I just want to let you know that I've changed the updating schedule from every other day to every Tuesday and Thursday!