As Annie and I stepped out the front door, I pushed a low tree branch out of our way and stepped down the concrete stairs. I had spent most of my life in a much more urban environment, and although Ohio more known for its flat ass farmland, we had plenty of factories. Hell, Akron was the rubber capital of the world.

There wasn't a better place to take a breath in my life than Ontario, Canada, especially since not too many people gave a shit about me there. But I missed the hustle of cities. I missed home, and although I wasn't quite sure where that was, it was definitely in America.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

Although she said she had good news, she didn't seem as excited as she usually did. Maybe she was beginning to get pissed off with me too. I sure as hell had a knack for doing that.

"You know how I took your car to the garage to get it all fixed up a few months ago? It's finished now, and we can go get it anytime you'd like," Annie said. Her pink hair had an extra shine to it in the sunlight, and because I knew damn well I could never have her, she looked beautiful in a completely platonic way.

I rose my eyebrows. "Really? I almost forgot about my Corvette."

She nodded. "The guys just called me this morning. All they want is an autograph because they really pushed to get it done that fast. It's the least you can do for them."

"Of course. I'm not that much of an asshole." I chuckled, but Annie didn't.

She was pissed at me. Fuck.

"Annie, I'm sorry. It's just that—"

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I," I stammered, "I don't know. Should I be apologizing? I don't normally do this."

"I don't think so. Ultimately, what happened at brunch this morning is not that big of a deal."

"Oh. I just thought that you were upset with me for something, which I'm sure there are plenty of reasons—"

"Katie, you don't have to take this whole Drake thing personally. He struggles with this kind of stuff."

I didn't respond to that right away. I figured that out, obviously, but I thought maybe he'd let me in eventually. There were plenty of times I told him stories about the good and the bad, but I never meant for it to scare him away from me. I just felt like we could have had something for a while, maybe a year if we were lucky.

All I wanted was a connection. We were close to having one.

Just another race I lost, I supposed.

"I guess I shouldn't have pushed it so hard. He didn't want to get involved with someone like me in the first place," I said.

Annie swatted the air. "Come on, you're good for him. It's about time he gets back out there in the dating world."

"Well, that's done anyway. He can get mad at me all he wants for what comes out of my mouth, but the second he starts saying that all I do is make people miserable, I can't take it anymore. Hell, it reminds me of Truscott."

"What?"

"It's not like we really had anything anyway. It was all in my head." I shook my head and took in a breath of fresh air. "That's probably the first time that I was the one who made a bigger deal out of something than it was."

"Does the drug testing ring a bell?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm still convinced I was right about that."

She finally cracked a smile. Thank God. "I'm just teasing you. But seriously, you mean a lot more to Drake than he lets you know. He respects you as a driver, and he won't shut up about how you're pretty."

"That means nothing to me at this point. Lots of people think that. All I want is someone who loves me for me. Not someone who likes me, not someone who tolerates me." I stopped with a thought.

Wait.

I fucking had that. I had that with Griffin.

We continued down the sidewalk. Griffin?

What didn't the man have going for him? He was sweet, semi-considerate, kind, funny, talented, and loyal. Ever since I first met him, I was attracted to his spirit, his life, his face.

I shook my head. Wishful thinking. That was all it was.

But what if—

No. He didn't need me to weigh him down.

It was almost fall in Ontario, and as much as I wanted to talk to Griffin just to make sure I wasn't a goddamn lunatic, I couldn't. September Sundays meant The Chase, and Griffin was definitely busy with preparations for NASCAR's version of the playoffs. I never qualified, since drivers who won a race during the season almost automatically qualified, and the rest of the sixteen spots were given to those who had the most points without a win. Every few races, the four drivers with the fewest amount of points got eliminated from the Playoff Chase, and that brought intensity and excitement until the final four had a one-race championship for all the glory.

Both seasons, I just came up short from qualifying for The Chase, but I had thought that the third time would be the charm. It was not.

I couldn't imagine that Griffin was doing so great. Even though he started the season with a couple wins (including Talladega), he had a bunch of DNFs and technical difficulties since then.

"Katie, I know you're mad, but you should give it another chance," Annie said.

Give what another chance? Drake?

I smiled. "No way in hell. He seemed like a good option when I wanted someone, but I think I deserve more than that, you know?"

She thought for a moment. "I mean, sure, but he's great. If you want the truth, the past few years have been tough on him emotionally. No money, divorce, no wins. It takes a toll on a person."

"Well, he could have told me about that shit. He just assumed that I would never understand or some shit, even though that's about all I'd ever understand with him. All I wanted was to get to know—" Wait. "Divorce?"

I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to react to that. What was there to say to Annie? She had nothing to do with it.

Her mouth fell open. "I thought you knew."

I let out an annoyed laugh. "Why the fuck would I know? I don't know shit about anything here."

And where the hell was an exaggeration? It was true. For every story I told, for every emotion I let free, for every joke I made, I got nothing personal in return. Maybe it was my own fault; I spent plenty of time in a superficial spotlight and loved every second of it. Maybe a real me seemed unattainable.

But what could have been a more honest version of me than a stoned as fuck one in a hospital bed in Alabama? What could have been more genuine than a lost one who was just looking for a second chance?

"Annie, I can't stay here anymore," I said.

We strolled past a tree, and the leaves were already beginning to change color a little, even though it was only early September.

We had a good few months together, and the robot fighting made it a hell of a lot more enjoyable than having nothing to do.

"You want to leave? Why the hell would you want to leave?" Annie asked.

I held my hands up. "Before you start taking this personally, you know that I can't handle being tied down like this. It's a me problem, not you."

"Well, how's leaving going to make it any better?"

I stopped in my tracks. I didn't quite know the answer to that question, but I knew it would fix some things. At least I'd have Griffin back.

My heart jumped into my throat. It didn't matter if I never drove again as long as I got to be with him. Actually, I needed to find a team fast. It absolutely mattered if I never drove again. That meant Elizabeth would win. Fucking bitch.

Annie stopped walking too. "Katie?"

"Listen, you're the only reason I stuck around this long. You deserve better than what you have here." I paused for a second. "You should be doing what you want because you're damn good at it."

"So should you. Let's both go."

My eyes widened, and my feet staggered back a little. "What?"

"I mean it. You're an incredible driver, and everyone should know." She let out a breath. "I don't know much about it, but it's clear that it's what you love."

I didn't respond to that. Sure, I loved racing and speed and adrenaline and fame and parties and fun, but it all sucked when Truscott managed me like a remote control car.

But things would be different with a new team. Of course, it looked like Tyler Bailey would be one of those changes, but maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. He wouldn't be able to wreck me just for shits and giggles anymore.

"What's your plan then?" I asked.

Annie was much more thoughtful than I ever could be, and unless she knew that the risk was worth it, there was no way she would even entertain the thought of leaving.

"I thought you had one," Annie said.

I smiled. "As flattering as it is that you trust me, I barely had a plan for me, and that was to go back to Baton Rouge to make sure I'm not fucking crazy."

I didn't even know that was my plan, but it sounded good as it came out of my mouth. I missed it there anyway. Griffin took care of me, I took care of him, and no one whined about a goddamn robot.

A smile snuck on my face again, but I fought it back down. I needed to think seriously for a moment, and then I could get back to whatever fucked-up imaginary thing my heart was trying to concoct.

With my new Corvette that was ready for the road, I had two cars in Canada, and fortunately, we had two people who wanted out of the hellhole I called the Sacrilege House. And between us, we had one whole functioning brain and the three extra cells I contributed. It would be perfect. All we needed was a plan to execute.

"At this point, you really should know that you're crazy, but—" Annie began, but I cut her off.

"Yeah, I know. Look, Josiah and Drake are stupid. If you want out, they'll never even figure the plan out. It's brilliant."

"What plan?"

"I don't know. I just figured you were thinking about a hundred times faster than me and came up with something. I'm still in the very early stages over here."

"I mean, you did it once already. Remember when you snuck away so you could be in the All-Star Race?"

I nodded. "That was pretty good, wasn't it?"

"Now, Drake and Josiah are pretty much on board with you leaving, but that just means that they're going to turn their attention to finding a new driver for whatever lies ahead," Annie said.

"But they can't do that," I paused to hold in a laugh, "Giant Nut tournament without me. I'm the reason they got in."

"Oh. Well, are you going to do that for them?"

"I don't know. What the hell did they ever do for me besides keep me from driving off a goddamn bridge?" I let out a sigh. Goddammit, I was gonna do it, wasn't I? "I mean, it's not like I actually care about that stupid robot. It's not even alive. It was just built with my money and to my preferences, even though I have no idea what I'm doing."

Annie smiled. "It's okay to admit that you care about Peanut, Katie. She's a cutie."

It was absolutely not okay, and I bit my lip. "Look, I'll do that tournament, but only because I want to be on TV. People will think I'm smart then."

"That's great, except I really don't think that'll happen. I love you, but you're smart in a completely different way."

I let out my breath. "Whatever. And so are you just gonna come with me to Baton Rouge?"

"I don't know, it seems kind of," she hesitated, "American south there."

"That's because it is. It's in Louisiana."

"Yeah, I don't think I'd like it there."

"Oh my god, you want to stay in Canada?"

"Well, kind of."

I shook my head. "This place sucks. And to think I was going to let you borrow my Mercedes."

"Now's not the time for this." Annie paused. "What if I went to Las Vegas? Isn't that where you went when you lost your job?"

As long as she was somewhere where Josiah wasn't, Annie had my full support. Plus, Vegas did happen to give me some luck. I was still undecided on whether it was good or bad.

I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great. I feel like we're really getting somewhere with this idea. After you have a little fun, you can go to school or whatever else you feel like doing. I'm not gonna judge you. I drive a fucking car for a living."

"You're sure this will work out?"

"Of course. They only care about Sacrilege, and all you have to do is say that you're going to the grocery store. They won't figure it out for a while."

"And what about you?"

"I do what I want. They know that at this point."

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Hello everyone! How's it going? Thank you so much for reading!

It certainly seems like we have something brewing, so how do you think this will turn out? Will Annie talk herself out of it? Will Katie find a way to screw it all up? And what about Katie's thoughts for the future and Griffin?