Chapter 37
Annalise
“Travis, calm down,” I say, knowing that’s the worst thing to say right now.
While I try to angle myself in front of Max, out of instinct, he moves to my side, edging himself slightly in front of me.
“Why would I calm down, Anna, when this … guy,” he spits, “is obviously somewhere he shouldn’t be?”
“Am I?” Max asks, his voice markedly darker than it was moments ago.
“Yeah,” Travis answers, approaching the both of us. “You’re too fucking close to my sister.” As soon as Travis says this, his eyes drop to our joined hands. Max hasn’t let mine go, and while it’s probably best that I pull my hand away, I can’t.
“Your sister has a mouth of her own, and if I were too close, she’d be the first one to tell me.”
Travis moves to get in Max’s face, but Alyssia holds onto his arm, stopping him.
“Don’t tell me shit about my sister,” he seethes. “You don’t know jack shit about her.”
“Travis, that’s enough.”
“How about we not do this here?” Alyssia says.
“We’re not doing anything because he’s leaving.”
“No.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Alyssia and I say at the same time. Trav looks at his wife, and my heart falls to the pit of my stomach. He hasn’t looked me in the eye since this exchange began.
“Why would I let him stay? He’s obviously here to stir shit and he’s confused my sister into—”
“Into what?” I ask tersely, not liking the way he’s talking about me as if I’m not standing right here.
“He’s clearly fucked with your head to mess with me.”
Now, Max and I speak in unison.
“Never.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Travis tuts. “Right. So this,” he waves a hand between the two of us, “is real?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “No. First you came over to Amato to fuck with me, and when that wasn’t enough, you sidle up to my sister, run game on her to—”
“And you think I’m that na?ve? Or stupid?”
“What?” Travis blinks and looks at me as if seeing me for the first time.
“I can assure you that your sister is none of the above,” Max says. “Nor is she a pawn in whatever grand plan you think I’ve contrived to get inside of your head.”
“Then what is she to you?”
“The love of my life.”
A gasp comes from Alyssia who quickly covers her mouth with her hand.
“Liar,” Travis throws at Max.
Max steps forward. “There’s not a damn thing I have to lie to you about.”
“Right? Then what the fuck is this? I come out here to find you two sneaking around at my son’s birthday party.”
“We weren’t sneaking,” I say, lamely, because that kind of is what we were doing.
“You need to leave,” Travis says, his voice filling with finality.
Max’s eyes drop to mine. There’s a question in them: Are you okay?
My heart swells with love at the tenderness in his look.
“I’m okay,” I say out loud, through the thickness in my throat. “I’ll be okay.” The last thing I want is for him to leave but, it’s what’s best for right now.
“You son of a …” Travis trails off. “You think I would hurt my sister?” His tone is incredulous.
Max stands in front of me, blocking my sight of my brother.
“I would kill you before I ever thought of hurting my damn sister.”
“Hurting him would be hurting me.”
It’s as if my words have a freezing effect over Travis. He goes completely still. Max as well. But I stare straight at my brother, so he knows I meant everything I just said. Even though I flinch when I see a hint of hurt in his eyes.
“Travis, we should give them some privacy,” Alyssia says, breaking up the silence. She gives me a sympathetic look. “To say goodbye to our last guests.”
“I’ll go.” Max squeezes my hand before his eyes drop to the pendant he just placed around my neck.
I run my fingers over it, giving him a half smile.
He pulls his hand away, one finger at a time as if the separation is as painful for him as it is for me. But this is a conversation I need to have with my brother alone.
“I’ll walk you out,” Alyssia tells Max while giving Travis a silent look.
I push out a heavy breath when it’s just the two of us.
“Trav—”
“What the hell was that, Lis?”
A lump forms in my throat. Travis only calls me that nickname when he’s really pissed off. Like when we were ten and I broke his favorite toy model car. It’d been signed by Leo Abruzzi, another one of the greatest F1 drivers to ever step foot on a racetrack.
Squaring my shoulders, I look him in the eye. “It was exactly what it looks like.”
His eyebrows spike. “You’re seeing him.” It’s not a question, so I don’t respond. “How long?”
“That’s not important,” I say, mostly because I don’t have an actual answer for that.
“You know he’s using you, right?” Travis quickly spits back. “I don’t care what he said just now. The bastard is using you.”
“Don’t call him that,” I seethe. “And don’t say that in front of him,” I tell my brother. “You should know what it’s like to have your relationship with your father thrown in your face.”
Our father is still alive, and while Travis is in a completely different sport than Dad, he has still felt the sting of comparison from time to time.
Everyone expects greatness from a child, especially a son, who is the offspring of one of the greats.
It gets that much worse when the legend is no longer alive.
“Great, you’re defending him.” Travis snorts.
“Wouldn’t you defend Alyssia if someone was talking shit about her to you?” I don’t think about the question before I blurt it out.
Travis’ eyes swell to almost double their size. “You’re comparing what you have with him to me and my wife?”
I hate the way his tone says he clearly believes what he and Alyssia have is more important, more solid than my relationship with Max. Yes, obviously they’re committed to one another and are literally a family, but he says it like Max and I are just fooling around.
The realization hurts more than expected. Travis should know me better than that. I’ve never liked casual relationships with anyone.
“You could’ve fooled me,” he says when I tell him as much.
“Don’t be an ass,” I say. “This doesn’t have to be a big issue if you don’t make it one.”
He snorts a derisive laugh. “I don’t have to make it a big thing?” He points to his chest. “I’m not the one who’s been sneaking around for months. Or was it years?”
That question causes me to reel back like he’s just struck me.
“It hasn’t been years,” I say through gritted teeth. “And you know it.”
“Do I?” he throws back.
At this point, both of our voices are rising.
“Do I know that for a fact, Annalise? Because the sister I thought I knew wouldn’t lie to my fucking face every day while smiling with the guy who regularly tries to sabotage me.”
“He has not—”
“Hey, hey,” my mother says, rounding onto the pathway in our direction. “What’s going on here?”
I groan when I look up to see both of our parents along with Tristan standing behind Travis.
“Why are you yelling at your sister like that?” Dad asks, Travis glaring at him.
“Why don’t you tell him, sis?” Travis says, challenging me.
“It’s because your son is an asshole,” I respond while glaring at Travis.
“I’m the asshole when you’re literally playing fucking footsies with my biggest rival.”
“Watch your mouth,” Mom and Dad interject. “Both of you,” Mom finishes, scolding us like the time we were seven years old and she caught Travis holding me on his shoulders so that I could reach the double-chocolate chip cookies off of the top shelf.
Tristan was supposed to be our lookout, but apparently, he got bored and went to read in his bedroom.
“Annalise, what is your brother talking about?” Mom asks.
I shake my head, annoyed because I don’t want to have this conversation with everyone right now.
“Max and I are together,” I say flatly.
“Max Ferreira?” Dad asks, incredulous.
I nod.
“He’s using her,” Travis says. “He knew it would fuck with me to know he’s with my sister. That’s the only reason he went after her.”
“What if I went after him?” I throw at Travis. “Is the only reason someone would be interested in me to get to you? That’s it? I have nothing to offer anyone besides my connection to you?”
For the first time, Travis’ anger slips, the fire in his eyes dulling to a simmer.
“You know that’s not what I mean,” he offers. “But he is a conniving, piece of sh—”
“I told you not to talk about him like that. The same way I would never let anyone talk shit about you, I won’t let you say whatever you want about him.”
Mom and Dad seem to be shocked by my declaration. Even Tristan’s eyes widen.
“Now, she’s defending him again.” Travis tuts as if my defending Max is a betrayal. “I see where your true loyalties lie.”
“What?” I jut my head backward, surprised by the tone he’s taken on.
“How do I know you haven’t been talking race strategy with him?”
“Travis,” my mom snaps, offended on my behalf.
“No, Mom. It’s true. I’ve been giving Max every pointer I can think of,” I say. “I mean, it’s not like you two aren’t on the same damn team or anything and your team principal shares your strategy with the both of you,” I scream at him.
“No, it’s all me, telling him every little thing about your approach to racing so he can win. You’re the only topic of conversation between us.
“I lay in bed at night thinking about the next tip I can give him to beat you because my entire life revolves around you.”
I’m heaving by the time I finish.
Travis remains quiet, eyes narrowed at me for almost a full minute.
“I guess you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“Travis.” Dad’s voice is grim, heavy with the tension between my brother and I right now.
“Because you’re fired,” Travis finishes before turning his back on me and walking away.