Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
ROME
It’s hard to keep my attention elsewhere.
Especially with Tessa sitting directly across from me at her parents’ dining room table.
No more than three hours ago, I had her in my bed without a single piece of clothing on. That's all I can think about. Each time she wraps her rosy lips around the end of the straw, I have to force myself to look away.
She’s doing it again.
I chew my bite of salad slowly, not even noticing the acidic bite of the vinaigrette dressing. The fork slips from my fingers and clatters to my plate.
Everyone glances up from their food, even Vivian.
Tessa has me wrapped around her pretty little finger, and from the looks of her grin behind her napkin, she knows it.
Vince clears his throat, pulling the attention away from me. “Have you taken a look at the weather this week? It’s going to be cooler than the previous year for the upcoming race.” He pulls out his phone with his wife pursing her lips from him using it at the table.
Tessa’s fork hovers in the air in front of her mouth, seemingly frozen. She looks as if she’s been caught doing something she shouldn’t, and unless her father turns his phone and there’s photo proof of us together, then it’s fine.
However, I’m not sure how long we can keep this up.
What even is this?
“It’ll get down to forty-nine the night of the race, according to this model.” Vince furrows his brow while gazing at his phone screen.
The color on Tessa’s face has drained. She’s less lively, and I don’t really like it.
“Grip is going to be touchy,” Noah adds.
I’m still staring at Tessa.
It isn’t until she nudges me with her foot that I snap out of it.
“Yeah, means we can’t fully trust the sim this week,” I add.
“You’re breaking the rules!” Vivian shouts, drawing the attention to her. “No talking about racing at the dinner table! That’s all you talk about! It’s all you care about.”
Van sighs, “Vivian.”
Her bottom lip wobbles, and then she slips out from her chair and takes off through the back door.
Tessa stares after her niece with a frown.
Again, I don’t like it.
“That’s what I’m referring to,” Rose says softly to Van. “She’s been having these emotional outbursts lately.”
I look past my plate at the opened back door. “Can I go after her?”
Noah chuckles. “Since when are you a therapist?”
“You?” Van questions suspiciously.
My shoulders tense, and I shift my gaze to Tessa. She stares at me with those curious doe-like eyes, and it knocks down one of my carefully constructed walls. “I used to do the same thing as a kid.”
“I remember that,” Vince notes.
Tessa looks from me to her dad, her brows pulled inward.
Unfortunately, he knows a lot more about me than anyone else at this table.
Or at least, what I was like as a kid.
Van drops his shoulders. “If you think you can fix it…”
I scoot my chair out. “I’m not sure I can fix it, but I can relate.”
Beck catches my ear on my way to the door. “Okay, fine. Rome isn’t as big of an asshole as I thought he’d be.”
“No, but his dad sure is,” Graham says.
If only they knew half the shit Vince and I know.
Then there’s the fact that he spiked Tessa’s drink for a better advantage against our team–something I can’t seem to admit to anyone, not even her, because the truth of the matter is that I’m partly to blame.
It’s no longer a rival between Pierce Racing and Vanstone. It’s too dirty and corrupt for that now. It’s something much more dangerous, and if the FIA doesn’t catch on soon, I may have to follow through with my threat and ruin myself just to ruin him.
Faint sniffles pull on my heartstrings the closer I get to the tree in the center of the Halstons’ backyard.
With steady steps, I walk across the soft grass until the tree branches are a canopy above me. Instead of telling Vivian to climb down, I place one foot on the trunk with my hand on the branch above and pull myself up to her.
She wipes her wet cheek and turns away. “Go away.”
“You know, I think you’re just as stubborn as your Aunt Tessa.”
Vivian remains quiet and flips a braid off her shoulder. She does her best not to sniffle again, because she doesn’t want me to know she’s crying.
“When I was your age, I had my very own hide-out deep in the forest. I made it myself.” I turn, and my legs dangle off our branch. “It had a blanket, some water bottles, and snacks.”
It had a photo of my mom too because I was so naive that I thought having her photo with the torn edges was going to make everything better.
It takes Vivian a few minutes, but eventually her childish voice cuts through the silence. “Why in the forest? So no one could find you?”
I shake my head. “No one cared to come find me.”
And there goes another wall tumbling down for a Halston.
She turns to look at me, her tear-streaked face the first thing I notice. “That’s sad,” she says.
“It is, and it’s not something I share with just anyone.” I raise my brow. “So you better keep my secret.”
She stares at me before looking at the grassy ground beneath us.
I hear footsteps in the distance, but whoever it is stays hidden. It isn’t until a familiar floral scent swirls with the light breeze that I realize it’s Tessa.
Reaching forward, I tug on one of Vivian's braids. She glowers at me, and I grin. “Besides me, does anyone else look for you when you run away?”
She nods.
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
“Do you know why?” I ask.
She turns away and shrugs. “Because…”
I tug on her braid again, and she looks over at me. “Because they care about more than just racing.”
She thinks for a second. “Do you?”
I toss a piece of bark at her. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Her nose scrunches, and she tries to hide a smile, just like Tessa does ninety percent of the time.
“I once heard Aunt Tess say that you were an arrow and cared about nothing except winning.”
I repeat the word in my head and chuckle. “An arrow?”
“Arrogant!” Tessa whisper-shouts from below.
Vivian peers at her and smiles wide. “Catch me.”
Without warning, she slips from the branch and lands in Tessa’s arms with an “Umph.”
“What are you doing up there with him?” Tessa asks her. “Don’t you remember our motto?”
What motto?
Vivian nods excitedly.
Tessa pokes her belly. “Start it...”
“Girls rule…” Vivian gazes at her aunt, who just so happens to be peeking at me with a pretty smile on her face.
“And boys drool,” Tess finishes.
They high-five, and Tessa whispers something in her ear. Vivian’s eyes light up, and she hops out of Tessa’s arms, barreling toward the door, leaving me with my sneaky, glitter-eyed eavesdropper.
“What did you say to her?” I ask.
She glances at the back door. “I told her that Uncle Beck was taking her to get milkshakes for everyone.” Her soft laugh settles me in every way. “It was a lie, but he can’t say no to her.”
“Kind of like how I can’t say no to you?” I mutter.
Tessa rolls her eyes and then looks at the trunk of the tree.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I ask. “Get up here.”
She peers behind her and then back to me.
I cock an eyebrow with a silent challenge and watch her walk over to the tree with a grin plastered on my face.