Ryan's POV

Three fucking days without Kelsie. It was killing me, but I was determined to give her some space. At least a few days anyway. I wanted to call her or text her so bad, but I forced myself not to. I was in Chicago this week. She and Mason should be here. They were supposed to have been here.

I checked her Twitter and Instagram, but she had gone radio silent. She had not tweeted anything since last Sunday, the last night we were together. I tweeted something out, something basic, not tagging anyone, hoping she was still checking, although she was not posting, I hoped she would get my message.

"Yo man. What's up?" Bubba barged into my bus without knocking, like usual. "You alone this weekend!" He asked, looking around the empty bus. "Kelsie and Mason stayed home?"

I nodded. "Kelsie and I broke up." I said, but I really didn't feel like going into detail.

"Man I'm sorry to hear that. I liked her a lot. She was good for you. So was Mason. Great kid."

"I'm still talking to Mason, and I've seen him a few times. I'm not giving up on Kelsie. I'm just giving her space. I'll talk to her after the weekend." I vowed.

"I wish you luck man. I'm gonna get out of here, but if you want to talk about it, you know where to find me." He slapped me on the back, and I thanked him. I was glad Bubba knew me so well, and understood when I needed to be alone.

Now I just had to figure out a way to win Kelsie back.

********

Kelsie's POV

The rest of the week was just as miserable. Mason was still angry with me and barely spoke to me. He spent most of his time in his room. I know he and Ryan had been talking. I saw a tweet that Mason made that Ryan replied to. It wasn't anything about me, just a comment that said he would talk to him soon.

I hadn't posted anything on Twitter since last Sunday. I checked it a few times, but I really had nothing to say about anything. I had a few notifications, but nothing from Ryan. He had been pretty quiet too. I wondered what he was up to. I clicked on his profile and my heart literally stopped when I saw his tweet from two days ago.

Ryan Blaney:
Great song. Great concert last month in Charlotte. Reminds me of someone very special.

Of course this was directed at me. The night we met, him knowing this was one of my favorite songs. God I missed him so much. I really wanted to hear his voice. The race would be starting soon. Despite how I felt, what had happened with Ryan, I was still going to watch the race. I hoped Mason would get over his anger at me enough to watch with me.

I finished lunch, Mason's favorite chicken tacos. The memory hit me right in the gut. This was the first meal I had cooked for Ryan. The first night we were together. God I missed him.

"Lunch almost ready mom? I'm starving." I didn't even hear Mason come into the kitchen. I was happy he was actually speaking to me, even if it was only about food.

"Yep." I replied, handing him a plate. I thought he would take it up to his room, like he had been doing the last few days, so I was pleasantly surprised when he sat down at the table and began eating. This was definitely progress.

I was even more pleasantly surprised when he took a seat next to me on the couch as we watched the pre race show. They didn't talk to Ryan, but they did show him during the singing of the national anthem. He looked so good. Mason and I should have been there, but I had to be stupid and insecure. I was filled with so much regret, but I had no clue how to fix it.

Mason still hadn't spoken to me, but I took comfort in the fact that he was here with me and not locked up in his room. I had a hard time focusing on the race. Ryan wasn't in the lead, so no one talked about him or showed him. I became lost in my thoughts. Regretting ending things and wondering what I could do or say to fix it. All the while telling myself I was not selfish to want him back. I felt the tear roll down my cheek. I had really screwed everything up.

My attention was drawn back to the race when I heard Jeff Gordon exclaim "Car hard into the outside wall. It's the 12 of Ryan Blaney."

My heart sank, and all I could do was put my head in my hands and sob. All of my emotions let loose.

"Mom, mom. He's okay. He got out of the car and he's walking to the ambulance." Mason said, putting his arm around me.

I looked up just in time to see Ryan climb into the ambulance and the door close before they went to the replay. It was indeed a hard hit, looked like he cut a tire. Regardless, his day was over. My shoulders sagged in relief knowing that he was okay, at least from what I could tell anyway.

"You really love him don't you mom?" Mason asked quietly. I nodded. "Then you need to talk to him. He loves you. He told me so. He really misses you too. Y'all can work it out, I know you can."

I hugged him tightly, so grateful that I had such a smart, insightful son.

"I will honey. I promise I'm going to talk to him. Obviously not right this minute, but later."

"I'm sorry I've been such a brat mom, I was just so mad. I love you." He said, hugging me tightly.

I hugged him back, squeezing him as if my life depended on it. "I love you too baby. I'm going to do everything I can to make this right."

We continued to watch the race. They talked to Ryan when he got out of the infield care center. He said he was fine. He cut down a right rear tire. Nothing he could do, he was just along for the ride. He was obviously disappointed that his day had ended early.

I tried to watch the rest of the race, but I just couldn't get into it. Mason had lost interest as well and was playing on his phone. I needed some time to think. I need to figure out what I was going to say to Ryan. I prayed he could forgive me because I really wanted
him back. I watched about about another fifty or so laps, but I really wasn't interested. I grabbed my phone and headed out to the front porch. I always seemed to do my best thinking on my front porch swing.

Riley had followed me out. He climbed up on the swing with me and placed his head in my lap. He whined softly and I stroked his head. "Don't worry boy. I'm gonna work on getting you and your buddy Sturgill together." I promised. He whined again. "I know bud. I miss Ryan too."

Suddenly, he lifted his head, his ears perked up and he bolted off of the swing. He had spotted a squirrel in the yard, and took off before I could grab a hold of his collar. The squirrel ran across the street and Riley took off after it. A truck was barreling down the street, coming way too fast. "Riley!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.