If only you knew
how much
how hard
how often
I hurt...

Mae

I was hurting. My body was flaring in pain. I opened my eyes slowly but everything was still blurry; I couldn't see clearly. How did I get here? Where even was here?

I moved to pick up my arm and it felt sore. I felt movements on my right side, so I moved my head and got an ache in my neck. Now, I had a headache.

I opened my eyes, squinting them to focus my vision and it started to come back. Looking at who was next to me, I saw a familiar face.

"Zach," I whispered. "I was worried that someone else found me. How did you know where I was?"

"I was getting the money, and I didn't see you. I was so worried about you. I left the building and there you were, slowly passing out. I was so glad that I was the one who found you." He held out his hand which carried two white pills. "Here, take these. They're aspirin. You have to race in fifteen minutes."

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" I took the aspirin in my hand with the water he had and swallowed them. I hated taking pills. I took too many one time when I was twelve. It was after Mitch had gotten mad, and I took twenty of my ibuprofen, thinking I would overdose. I laid down on our couch that was in the garage because Mitch locked me in there, and I hoped I wouldn't wake up.

Eventually, I did wake up and a part of me felt disappointed I woke up. Until I realized that it was Zach who woke me up and remembered how Zach would be alone.

A couple of days later, Mitch started yelling at us because the house was dirty, and I told him what I did because I was so mad, and I wanted to hurt him, but he didn't believe me. He said that if I did do that, I was stupid.

"You were knocked out! I actually didn't think you were going to wake up to race. I was tempted to drive away to the storage, but I knew when you woke, you would have killed me," he smiled, innocently, but he knew damn well that I would have kicked his ass... when I felt better.

"The aspirins are gonna start working. We'll go to the storage and switch cars. Do you have my keys?" He nodded and handed me my keys. I could feel the rumbling of my car underneath me as the engine turned over.

"Do you think you could win?" I glanced at Zach and from that small glance, I could tell he was worried. I was too, but I needed to act confident. Especially, if I wanted to win the race.

"Yes," I told him, completely confident, and he nodded, starting to feel confident himself. I opened the storage door, automatically and drove in.

The storage building was made for two units. Both are connected but both are in different names. I had one that I parked my Camaro in. Which was under the alias, Lexi. And the second one was under the alias, Alec because that's what my other car was called. It's a guy's name because my car is a guy.

Alec was a black and white Koenigsegg Agera R. The Agera R hypercar features a 5.0L turbocharged V8 engine that produces one-thousand-one hundred and forty horsepower. This car can hit a top speed of two-hundred and seventy-three miles per hour. It's one of the reasons I wanted the car.

Last year, Razor gave me this car. He let me choose any car I wanted, so I chose one that was fast and hadn't come out yet. He had connections, so I was able to get the car.

Before, I was driving with Lexi, but I replaced her with Alec. Alec was faster and the system I put in him was more advanced than Lexi's. Zach suggested 'Lexi 2.0' for the name of the second update on my software, but I decided Alec. His software can never be taken out; if it does, not only will the software not work but the car will shut down. It's a kill switch.

We got out of the car and walked to the door that connected Lexi's garage with Alec's garage. Alec's garage had two floors and the second floor is where I kept him — the first floor was stored with furniture and other things to make it seem like a real storage. I was surprised when I found out about the bottom unit because the guy who I bought it off of never mentioned it.

"Did you bring the money?" Zach asked as we walked to the car.

"Yeah, it's in Lexi. Can you go get it? It's in the trunk." He nodded and walked to the car while I checked Alec over to make sure everything was okay. I could've always asked him to check over everything but it was kind of something I did to help my nerves.

Zach walked in and everything looked good in Alec. We got in and drove out before the storage doors closed.

We headed to the meetup and once I got there, I placed my left foot on the brake and my right foot on the gas, making my car rev to announce I was here.

"Would you look at that...," Zach said because the guy I was racing had the same car as me the only difference was his was red and black. After parking my car next to his, I pulled my hoodie on and opened the door. "Okay. Are you serious?"

I was confused because the guy that we were racing was the same one from the fight. We walked in front of him, and I was glad he couldn't see my face because to say I shocked, would be an understatement.

"What the hell?" Same, brother. Same. I looked at Zach, and he was just as shocked as I was. The guy laughed and realization crossed his features.

"You're confused aren't you?" My brother nodded while I stayed still. The guy looked at me, squinting his eyes, trying to see who was under the hood, but I knew he couldn't because he just shook his head, giving up. "Why hide, King? Are you afraid that you may be too ugly to show the world?"

The guy was grinning, crookedly while Zach got mad. He wanted Zach to get mad. He knew what he was doing. It dawned on me; by getting Zach mad, it was showing how much Zach cared for me, how close we were. Finding out who Zach cared for, can lead to who was under the hood.

I nudged Zach, and he looked down at me, seeing me shake my head, slowly. He nodded and breathed in through his nose, cooling his anger.

"No. There's a reason for every action, isn't there?"

"Very well. By the looks of it from him." He pointed at Zach. "I can tell you met my brothers. Dylan and Declan. I'm Deacon. You may know m-" he didn't finish because Zach cut him off.

"Can we start with the rules? I know you like to play your way."

"We'll have three rounds. The first is a race around town; the second is a race in town. And third-" he smiled, smugly, looking at me then Zach. "You have to escape the cops chase that'll happen. The chase is inevitable."

"If the last round is a cop chase most likely you two will separate, how do you know who'll win?" Zach asked.

"Well, we'll have to send a picture of the car in a safe location and text the word 'safe'. Whoever gets a call is the winner. But for you, I'm assuming you won't talk?" I nodded at Deacon's question. "Well then, I guess if you win — which you won't because I never lose — then Brandon will tell you once you answer. He's trustworthy. He doesn't care who wins. He claims this bores him anyway."

Deacon glared at the guy who would be announcing the winner, who I'm assuming was Brandon. Brandon shrugged and nodded while leaning against Deacon's car.

"Okay, give us the number."

"Give me your phone," I handed my burner to Zach. He handed it Deacon. Deacon laughed at the little scene. I didn't trust him. Or his brothers for that matter. I mean triplets?! Wow! Like damn that had to be painful. Although I mean, it did have to be painful for our mother as well so...

Deacon handed the phone back to my brother, and Zach handed it back to me, so I put it in my hoodie for safekeeping. 

"Okay, let's go it's eleven-thirty," Zach inputted.

"Oh, and one more thing. You have to send the picture before midnight. Each round should only take about ten minutes. I have help to escape the cops." He pointed to a different guy.

"Hi, I'm Ryan," Ryan smiled and waved. Deacon looked at him, and Ryan lost his smile and looked at me. "Keep your enemies close right?" He asked Deacon.

"Ryan."

"I'm just kidding," Ryan laughed.

Ryan.

I was curious if this Ryan was the same one who tried to hack my software. He pulled out his phone, and Deacon was looking at him as if he was waiting for something.

"The roads are clearing up. All throughout Winery will be green lights when you start racing," Ryan said.

"He can help you if you want." He pointed at Zach. I nodded and headed back to my car with Zach. We got in, and I started my car.

"You know I can't help you right?" Zach asked while we lined up.

"I know. That's why I have Alec." I laughed.

"Gee thanks," he grumbled.

"You're the one who said you can't help," I chuckled, turning away from an eye-rolling Zach. He smiled.

I heard Deacon rev his car, so I revved mine and it was about the same volume. We heard the air horn, and we both took off.

We keep switching off, I was in the lead. We were almost close to the second round, and I really needed to win.

We crossed the meter and he won. I was shocked. I never lost any rounds while racing.

"Damn it!" I shouted while I took off, going into town now. I wasn't sure if I could win.

"It's okay. You're gonna win. Use Alec."

"No, I only want to use him for the third round." I drove faster, pushing sixty-five. I felt nervous driving fast in between blocks because someone could run out to the street.

We were almost done with the second round while I was staying in the lead. He passed me, but I sped up and passed the second finish line.

"I won," I breathed out. There was a huge weight that lifted off my chest because I won the second round but it soon weighed me back down.

"And you're gonna win the third one as well. You've go-" Zach got interrupted by the sirens in back of us. I looked to the right, and Deacon turned right, having the cops split up.

"Alec, activate."

"Activated."

"Which route?"

"Calculating."

"Calculate faster!" Zach shouted.

"Turn right on Blueroad and keep going for three hundred yards," I followed every direction he told me. "Stop the car."

"What?!" I shouted while driving. He's never told me to stop the car before.

"Trust in me, Mae. I have never let you down. Stop the car." I hesitated. "You have three seconds before it's too late." I punched on the break and my body got restricted against my locked seatbelt while I waited. "Reverse and go sixty-three miles, Exactly. No more, no less."

Damn it! I put the gear in reverse and pressed my foot on the gas. The police cars were still coming but once I was close, they swerved away. "Now, swerve right and turn left." I did as he said and saw the storage in the near distance.

"Did we lose them, Alec?"

"Not yet, Mae. The storage is near. Pull in now. I already have the first floor raised." I pulled in to Alec's storage, hearing the sirens in the distance as I parked the car.

"Thank you, Alec. Deactivate," I breathed out as the storage door closed. The adrenaline was still coursing through my body, making me feel shaky.

"You're welcome, Mae. Deactivating." I turned off the car and got out. I looked at Zach, and he looked scared. He always had that look after a race. It usually took him a couple of minutes to relax again.

I took my phone out and took a picture of my car, sending it to the number before texting 'Safe'. We went to the side door that connected the storages together and walked out after flipping the second light switch to lower the second floor of Alex's storage. I closed the door because the floor won't lower if the door was open.

My phone rang, so I answered it. "You know you're something else, King. I guess you can keep your title because you won the race. Keeping your title and fifty grand. What I would do if I was in your place," he laughed. I hung up and started stomping my feet out of excitement.

"You won?!" Zach yelled. I nodded, and we hugged while smiling. I let out a sigh of relief and let go of Zach.

"No, we won. Zach, it's starting to look up for us. After all these years. It's starting to get better."

"I know. I'm so proud of you, Mae. You may not know it or think it, but you're stronger than me. Mentally and physically," Zach told me and it was too serious. We just won! We shouldn't be this serious.

"I know," I nodded, cockily, and he pushed me a little, laughing.

"But for real, I'm proud of you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, "I'm proud of you too. I can't thank you enough for saving me so many times. I try to say thank you by buying you stuff but it never feels like enough."

"There were times I couldn't save you, Mae," he put his head down, shaking it, slightly. "I should've saved you."

"Hey, look at me," he tilted his head up with a saddened look in his eyes. I knew what times he was talking about. The main times he was talking about. "You don't have to be the hero all the time. Besides, I wasn't the only one who he pointed a gun at."

"Yeah, but out of those times, you were the one who got shot."

"I'd rather have him shoot me than you. If he shot you in the same places he shot me, your future career would have been over," he pulled me in for another hug and blew his nose in my hood. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"What? I didn't have a tissue," he said and shrugged.

"You'll wash my hoodie when I get home," I demanded.

"I'll think about it," he said. He didn't like it whenever I told him he had to do something. He won't want to do it because I told him to do it. Before we got in the car, I opened the storage door, so I could drive out

"FREEZE! Put your hands where I can see them!"

We put our hands up as the light from the flashlight blinded me. I looked down, trying to regain my vision. They finally put the lights down, which were not necessary because I had lights on in here.

"Los Angles Police Department, would you mind if we asked you a couple of questions and look around?" The one in the middle asked. There had to have been at least ten cop cars.

"Well, considering that we're underage, we don't have a parent or legal guardian, and you don't have a warrant to search the premises, no, you can't." Zach knew what he was talking about. The police looked frustrated because they knew we got them, but I knew Zach was just pulling their strings. "But since we have nothing to hide, go ahead." Zach smiled.

"Thank you, I got it from here, Sergeant," another guy came and told his 'sergeant', and he left.

"Well, considering that there's not much here. There won't be a need for so many police." He turned around and called some of them away.

"So what kind of questions?" Zach asked and now, there were only three cops left in here but the rest were still waiting in their cars.

"Ones that we can get information about. I'm Conrad."

"I'm Steve."

"I'm Chrissy." I felt a little better there was a girl here. It was easier to relax, and she seemed nice. Steve, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to arrest me because I wasn't speaking.

"Well, I'm Zach and this is my sister Mae," Zach smiled and put his hand out for the cops to shake which they did. 

"Why are you guys in here?" Steve asked, looking at me, but Zach answered instead.

"This is our storage," Steve was still looking at me and it was starting to get me mad. I looked into his eyes and it turned into a staredown until Zach nudged his elbow into my arm.

I looked at my brother, and he smiled, giving me a look that meant relax or you'll blow it, so I took a deep breath and smiled at the cops.

"But what are you doing in your storage?" Steve asked, again, still looking at me.

"Fixing up the car," Zach stated and something in Steve snapped.

"Why don't you let the girl answer! Unless she has something to hide." Conrad put his hand on Steve's shoulder, shaking his head slowly.

"It's just that we're looking for The Street King," Conrad spoke. "And we believe that one of you could be him; considering, this is where his car led."

"Especially, since you're wearing a hoodie." Steve looked like he was right on the money.

So now it's a crime to wear a hoodie. Watch out Mae, this guy's good.

I smiled because I wanted to laugh but hid my laugh by biting the inside of my cheek. I looked at my brother and it looked like he wanted to snap Steve's neck, but I knew he was trying to keep his cool. Zach took a deep breath then replied.

"First of all, Steve," Zach said, saying Steve's name venomously. "Mae's not going to answer you. And second, it's my hoodie, she was cold."

"Why? She's afraid she might say something that's going to give away the truth?" Steve smirked.

Shut up, you turd!

"No, you idiot!" Zach snapped. I put my hand on his shoulder and slowly shook my head no. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you an idiot-" Steve interrupted him.

"You're right, you shouldn't have."

"No, you didn't let me finish. I shouldn't have called you an idiot, that'd be an insult to idiots." Zach smiled, smugly. Steve stepped forward, but Conrad pulled him back and shook his head.

"Stand down, Steve. He has a reason to be mad. You're offending his sister," Conrad looked back at us. "I'm sorry, but we need her to answer some questions too."

"She won't. She's mute," Zach told them, and Steve opened his mouth, but Zach put his hand up to stop him. "Don't ask. I know you want to but it's only going to upset her."

"Do you mind if I look around?" Chrissy asked, softly. I appreciated her soft tone, so I nodded instantly. She went over to the family boxes while Zach talked to the cops. She took off the lid and reached for the photo album.

"What's that door?" Conrad asked. Chrissy stopped her hand and looked at the door. When she put the lid back on, it felt like a weight lifted off my chest. If she would have lifted the album, she would have seen the license plates I switch out from time to time.

"It connects to a different storage but the storages are sold differently. The other one isn't ours. We've always kept it locked, so they won't come in here," Zach answered. We looked back at the police officers, and they were all standing in front of us, looking at the door with a wanting look. "You can look. We won't tell."

They nodded their heads and pulled their guns out along with their flashlights. I looked at Steve and you guessed it. He was still watching me, so I raised my right eyebrow.

"How gracious of you," Steve mocked. I smiled and turned my head a little. He was still staring, making me lose my fake smile.

"What?" Zach asked, knowing what I wanted to desperately shout at Steve.

"It's just most girls would get scared if they saw a gun." Steve teased, but I shrugged. It's not like I haven't seen them or like I haven't been shot with one before. Besides, not everyone is going to squirm when they see a gun.

Steve unlocked the door and stepped in. Zach and I followed them in to make sure they didn't see anything. They were looking around with their flashlights, so I turned the lights on to make it easier for them, but they pointed their guns at me, forcing me to put my hand up.

Conrad and Chrissy pointed their guns at their surrounding while Steve had his gun pointed at me. His bullshit was getting to me. I put my hands down and took a step closer.

He still pointed his gun at me, so I took another step closer and smirked. He cocked his gun and my smirk never fell; I only took another step closer. Zach put his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off, angrily.

No way was I letting this cop win. He has been pissing me off ever since he got here. I don't trust him. For all I know, he was crooked.

"STEVE!" Conrad and Chrissy were pointing their guns at him while I put my hands back in the air. "Drop it, Steve!" Steve did as he was told, and I smiled innocently. I turned around, smirking as I walked to Zach, and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Mae. I don't know what's gotten into him," Chrissy told me as I turned back around. "He'll be on desk duty from now on. Well, we can tell there's nothing here and in yours as well, so we'll be leaving now."

Zach and I nodded as they walked out the door. I turned off the light and walked out of Alec's storage. Conrad and Chrissy walked out already, but Steve was slowly walking out. He stopped walking: with his back facing us, he turned his head to look at me.

"Sorry about what happened to Mitch," he didn't sound sorry. He walked a little more and stopped again, speaking to us with his back facing towards us. "I guess it's what happens when you owe money. Tell Damien a friend says hey." He walked out and went back to his car. They all drove off but before Steve left, he slowed by our storage, smirking and sped away.

I looked at my brother and asked, "What the hell do you think that was about?" He looked back at me and shrugged.

"He's probably crooked." We got into the car, and I drove out of here. I was halfway home at a stoplight, and I felt was so tired. I could already feel my bruises coming.

Ping

I looked around and in the back, right corner, I saw a cop. I look harder through my back window at the cop to see that it was none other than our friend Steve. I shook my head.

"He's following us," I told Zach, and he looked back.

"That's disgusting," he said, completely disgusted. I laughed because of how he said the word, and he laughed too. "Don't go home."

"He's a cop, Zach. He probably knows where we live. He worked with Mitch."

"What do we do?" I tried to think while I pressed the gas to drive. I look in the rearview mirror, and he was still following me.

"Do you remember what the name on his plaque said?"

"Yeah, Finley. I got it just in case. I guess it was a good thing," he smiled. "Why?"

"Because I wanna run a background check on the guy," he nodded. "Lexi, activate."

"Activated. There is a cop following you. Would you like a plan to escape?" Lexi asked.

"No, I want you to run a background check on a cop named Steve Finley."

"Calculating." I took detour turns to delay us from going home. I saw a gas station, so I pulled in and Steve did the same but parked further away. "I found his record but it looks clean. No priors. Nothing. Perfect student. Always straight A's. His record is clean. Too clean. There are traces that lead to some firewalls, but I have not tried to breach them. Would you like me too, Mae?"

"No, it's fine. I've got everything I need. Thank you, Lexi. Deactivate."

"You're welcome, Mae. Deactivating." I looked at Zach and shook my head."That's what I thought. His records too clean. He is crooked."

"Steve's probably not even his real name and the way he knew Damien."

"And he knows something about Mitch's death. It's bothered me ever since Steve mentioned him. Do you think... he... you know?" I asked, not able to finish the sentence because it felt like forbidden words.

"Killed Mitch?" Zach asked, and I nodded.

"It's possible," I said, shaking my head slightly while raising my shoulders. It wasn't out of the ordinary. "I have a feeling this all points to Damien. Steve had to have known that Damien knows me. Why else would he say that?"

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A/N: I hope you're liking my story so far. There are so many more things to come. I'm so excited to write them. Thank you to the people who keep reading, commenting, and voting.

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