Page 4 of Homecoming

The lights went off and all the twenty cars on the grid rolled out forming a single file to go around the track one time and to bring the tires to the optimal temperature.

I started swerving a little to try and get the temperature to skyrocket.

This was the most exciting yet dullest part of any race. The excitement came from the fact that when we stopped on the grid, the race would soon start. The boring part? Well, it was because we were on the track but were not allowed to race.

I watched the tail of the safety car in front of me. It was the only one since I held the P-1 position for the start.

Up until that point, it was a good weekend, except for the text I’d got a few hours ago. I still hadn’t opened it. But, sure as shit, it was doing a number on me.

“Will you remember me?”

The sweet voice of a girl I had once held most precious fifteen years ago echoed in my helmet. In my head.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

Where the hell did that come from?

I hadn’t thought about Lola for a long time.

“Everything all right?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah, yeah.” I was quick to shut down the concern. “She just gave me a little dance,” I said, referring to a car. It was the most benign thing I could think of.

“Well, that promises a good race,” Kevin chuckled.

“Hell, yeah,” I feigned excitement.

“You won’t forget me, right?”

“How could I forget you, you’re everything to me?”

Again, that sweet voice rang in my mind.

I promised her I wouldn’t ever forget her. And I honestly thought I wouldn’t. But for the last fifteen years, I hadn’t thought about her. Until now.

Fucking hell.

I knew the moment I had seen the alert on my phone and who had sent the text, it would mess with my mind. I just didn’t expect it would drag her out. And it was before I even opened the message.

Fuck!

I bit my tongue so the words wouldn’t come out and alert Kevin and the guys in the pit again.

Once the race started, there could be no distractions and no thinking about what happened.

It had to be only me and the track. Otherwise, I would end up in a wall.

“Thirty-second mark,” Kevin's words broke through my mental turmoil.

Dammit!

We were standing at the start, and I didn’t even know how we got there.

When did we finish the lap?

If I didn’t do something about my inner turmoil, I would put every person on and around the track in danger. One second was more than enough for tragedy to happen around here.

I shook my head a little, trying to get the memories out of it.