Page 30 of Trading Paint
Sway stopped by after school on Thursday to help me when Chelsea showed up not long after that.
The door had been locked so I’ll give you one guess as to who I have to thank for unlocking it. Spencer.
“So I’m not allowed to come by but she is?” Chelsea asked standing by the door.
I caught a brief glimpse of Spencer before I heard his annoying booming laughter as he trucked back to the house.
“I’d help you hide their bodies if needed.” Sway said with a smile and a glare at Chelsea.
Chelsea looked ridiculous dressed in a white summer dress. But that wasn’t what was so ridiculous. It was her attempt at looking like she was heading out for a strip club was with heels that could kill someone.
Sway,who’dbeen roughing tires, stood and brushed the rubber shavings from her worn jeans.
“I’m going to go talk to Emma. I’ll be back later.”
My eyes shot to hers, frantically pleading for her not to leave me alone but she didn’t. I growled at her, actually growled and then turned toward Chelsea.
“What do you want?”
“You,”
Chuckling to myself, I turned and walked back to my car to finish welding the torsion bars.
She followed and approached me from behind. Leaning against my back, she wrapped her arms around my waist, slipping them down my hips.
I caught her hand before it slipped inside my jeans.
“I need...you to leave.” I told her trying to control my emotions and not freak out. “I haveworkto do.”
“I can take care of you,” she offered kissing down the side of my neck. It felt good, but it also felt wrong. While her touch physically felt welcoming, the emotions I felt weren’t.
“I don’t think so. I have a lot of work to do here.”
“Are you really that mad at me? I only told Sway she should keep her hands offmyboyfriend. I hardly think that’s cause for the silent treatment.”
I threw the torsion bar across the shop, the crack it made when it hit the metal doors forced Chelsea to step backward, her face frightened.
“Get the fuck out of here!” I yelled without turning around to look at her. “I mean it. You need to leave.”
Her heels clicked loudly as she stomped away, slamming the door behind her.
I knew I would eventually turn back to Chelsea, as I always did but I also knew in that moment that if she so much as mentioned Sway’s name again, I would have thrown the torsion bar at her.
I only wanted to race but because I was seventeen and my hormones seemed to rule over my actions I found myself wrapped up in the middle of this bullshit.
Something had to give and I knew what it was. Me. I couldn’t take much more of any of this and it wasn’t what I should be focusing on.
That weekend was our senior prom and after last weekend I wanted nothing to do with anything related to high school. I needed to be alone. Chelsea wanted me to go to prom and asked endlessly the following day despite my snide comments to her. I could care less what she thought. The one I was worried about was Sway.
I could tell Sway wanted to come with me to Chico but I didn’t want her following me around and forgoing any normal high school experience. When Cooper Young came to me earlier in the week asking if I thought she’d say yes, I honestly told him she wouldn’t go but after some convincing on my part, she said yes to him. I hated that she was going with him but on the other hand I would rather she went with him instead of Dylan.
The drive to Chico was not the same without Sway harassing me about my music choices although Spencer more than made up for it. I almost threw him out once we reached Portland and he stuck in a Britney Spears CD. Not having any pit crew this weekend I endured it.
Justin, whose hauler was parked next to ours, approached me after I made it into the pits while Spencer and I were unloading my car.
“Hey dude, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked leaning against the side of my car, his arms crossed over his chest.
I nodded. I hadn’t said much to him since the wreck two weeks ago in Skagit. Part of me felt I needed to apologize but the other part thought it’s just racing. I never expected anyone to apologize to me after wrecking so why should he?
