Tales of the Underground: Velocity - 18. Chapter 18

I could feel Jacob staring at me trying to read what I was feeling. I know he could understand what I was going through, he had to.

I dropped of Matty first and motioned for Jacob to come sit in the passenger’s seat. When he got there he picked up the helmet off the ground and started playing with the damaged visor.

“Don’t tell me you can fix that too?”

“No, and even if I could maybe it should stay broken.”

I gave him a weird look “Why’s that?”

“To remind you how dangerous you are when you lose your temper. I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but I don’t like it.” He confessed

“I’ve always been short-tempered, this is nothing new, besides didn’t we settle what happened last night.” I looked over but Jacob didn’t look agitated or angry, just concerned.

“This isn’t about last night. This is about the way you acted after your race tonight. You won, why did you have to go out there and make an ass of yourself?”

I shrugged my shoulders not knowing how to answer the question. “He disrespected me. If you’re gonna go up against me, I want you to race me not just pussy out.”

“Can you blame him? The first guy to go up against you in the 20+ league got hit by a pedestrian and we both know too damn well what happened to the second. I’m done saying that those were the wrong things to do, but put yourself in his shoes. Would you really want to go up against a racer with that reputation?”

“If he was scared then he should’ve let someone else take the race. It’s as simple as that.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, I could tell he was starting to get irritated “No Jamie, it’s not, and you know it. What is this side of you? Where is it coming from? You’ve got so many people who love you. You even have a boyfriend who adores you. Shouldn’t you be happier than ever?”

I don’t know what I hated more that he was right, or that I didn’t have an answer to those questions. “I am happy”

“Then where’s all this anger coming from?” Once again I shook my head not having an answer to the question “Maybe you should talk to Eli about it.”

“Jacob, no” I said starting to get annoyed that he would even recommend something like that.

“You don’t have to tell him about the racing if you don’t want to. Just tell him that you’re angry and you don’t know why. Tell him you’re starting to lost control of yourself. Please Jamie, you have to do something about it.” Jacob pleaded.

“There’s no point, he can’t do anything about it.” I sighed

“You don’t know that unless you try, maybe just talking with him about it will help.” Jacob was almost begging me at this point.

“No. That’s my final answer. I get it you’re worried, but I’ll be fine.” Not even I believed a word of that.

“Just at least promise me you’ll think about all of this.” I nodded and Jacob gave me a friendly jab to the arm to lighten the mood “You’re so hard headed sometimes, you know that?”

I smiled “I love you man, you and Matty are the brothers I never had.”

“I love you too.”

The rest of the car ride was silent. I could tell Jacob was still concerned but we had done enough talking for the night. I just hope whatever he and Jax are planning isn’t anything stupid. When I got home I pocketed a few hundred dollars and left the rest of the money in an envelope outside my dad’s door.

When I got up to my room I looked around and took a deep breathe. Maybe I should talk to Eli about this all? ...No that’s fucking dumb, I’ll be fine. I tried my best to convince myself everything would be okay but I could still feel the anger inside of me. I just need to sleep. When I woke up the next morning for school I found a text waiting for me on the burner.

“Great race, you’re off until late next week. Let you know when we get more details.”

I was actually kind of relieved to have a few days off, maybe that’s what I’ve needed. Besides I need some time to spend with Eli, I haven’t even seen him since Friday night. A huge smile crept across my face thinking about our date tonight, I don’t even know what I’m going to wear or where I’m going to take him. I quickly got dressed and shot off to school knowing that if I got there early enough I could spend some time with him.

I sat outside his locker and feel asleep waiting for him. I woke up to someone tapping me on the head. I opened my eyes and saw Eli standing over me.

“What did you camp out here all night?” He said once again mimicking one of my past jokes

“You’re very original.” I said smiling at the sight of him.

He sat down next to me and threw his backpack on top of me to wake me up fully “So where are we going tonight?”

“That’s a surprise.” I said hoping he wouldn’t try and question me

“So you don’t know yet?”

Damn, I swear he could read me like a book when he wanted to. “I didn’t say that”

“You didn’t but your eyes did. You’re such a bad liar.” He laughed and briefly tried to fix my messy hair.

I shook my head and my hair fell back into place “Hey! No touching my hair.” I said jokingly

“Oh please I’ll touch you all I want.” His face began to turn red when he realized he had used a poor choice of words.

“Eli!” I said with fake shock “I didn’t know you were so wild.” His face turned even redder and he looked away.

“Stop! You know I didn’t mean it like that!” he was so embarrassed, I couldn’t help but laugh

“Relax, after all maybe I want you to touch me” I said starting to feel a little embarrassed

Eli turned towards me and smiled “You’re so gross.”

“Oh please like you don’t think about that kinda stuff.” He looked away quickly “You do! I could see it in your eyes!” I shouted

“You’re being such a bully today Jamie!” Eli said pouting.

“What? If you can’t about sex with me who can you talk about it with?” I teased. He really was uncomfortable about the topic.

“You don’t need to know that.” He mumbled

“So you do talk about it? Ew you definitely talk about it with Stephanie.” He pulled his backpack off of me and hid his face in it.

“Jamie! Stop!” I could hear him trying to hide some laughter.

“Alright, but I think I’d be a lot more fun to talk about it with.” I said with trouble in my eyes. He looked up and nodded. I gently laid my head on top of his for a second “but I’m in no rush, whenever your ready is good enough for me.”

He giggled a bit “Good, because last I checked we haven’t even had a real date yet.”

“Well dinner tonight will change that.” The bell to start the day rang and we went our separate ways. I honestly don’t care who saw us act like that, let the rumors circle. I’ll take care of whoever decides to take a run at us.

The day come and went just as any other. Me and the guys joked around at lunch, I stared at Eli, Eli stared back. Everything seemed to be getting back to status quo.

Before I left school I caught up with Elijah to let him know I’d be picking him up around 6 for dinner. When he asked where we were going I just told him to dress nice. I’m gonna put some of that money I’ve been pocketing to good use and take him to the nicest restaurant around.

The second I got home I called and made reservations. I think they thought it was a prank at first but after a few minutes they finally set them. I got as much homework done as I could but I couldn’t help but get wrapped up in thoughts of Eli. Being with him just made me feel lighter, he made me feel as though everything would be okay. He really is the only person left who had any chance at keeping me from falling too deep into anger.

When it finally became time to get ready I showered and threw on the nice clothes my dad would always make me wear whenever he could drag me with him to church. I checked myself out in the mirror and laughed, I never thought I would be voluntarily wearing them. I went out to my car to get rid of any evidence of racing, there really wasn’t much I could do about all the damage on the sides from recent collisions or the roll cage but I’m sure I can make something up. I search my car top to bottom trying to find my helmet but it was nowhere to be found. Jacob must’ve taken it with him last night. I have a bad feeling about this but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I let out a deep sigh and drove off to get Eli.

Before I pulled up I drove by and made sure his dad wasn’t home, I may be able to bullshit Eli but I definitely can’t bullshit his dad. When I made sure everything was safe and sound I pulled up and text Eli to come out. When he appeared in the doorway I could help but stare, he looked perfect tonight. He had a little bit of a preppy mixed with hockey look going on. He climbed in and gave me a peck on the cheek.

“You’re gonna get us in so much trouble driving without an adult in the car.” Eli said staring at me.

“Well hello to you too.” Eli rolled his eyes and strapped in.

“My dad would freak out if he knew you were doing this.” Ever since we were kids Eli was always the good kid with a golden conscience, whenever I would try and do something stupid he would always drop whatever he was doing to try and stop me. I wonder if he could’ve stopped me from fucking around in the underground. Too late now.

“Let me worry about that” I said with a smile.

Eli’s attention shifted from the permit to the roll cage. He grasped the iron bars that surrounded my seat and spanned the ceiling above us. “What is this?” I could see concern start to grow in his eyes.

“It’s to keep the car from falling in on itself. Since it’s so old it’s starting to fall apart, ya know?” I lied knowing he would easily accept it.

“Oh okay. I guess that explains all the scratches and dents on the side too.” I feel bad lying to him, but I don’t really have much of a choice.

“Exactly, this poor old thing has seen some hell! You should’ve seen the condition it was in before I even started taking care of it. But don’t worry she’s safe to ride in.” Eli nodded easily accepted my lies. He didn’t really know much about cars so he just assumed it was all normal.

“So where are you taking me?” Eli asked with a smile

“I’m afraid that’s still a surprise.” I said returning the smile. I took off and drove nice and patiently, after all there was precious cargo in the car. I let him control the radio and listened as he sang along to the music. It was one of the moments where you didn’t need words, you just let life happen.

When we pulled up to the restaurant I saw his eyes light up. “You’re taking me here?”

“Yup, nothing but the best for my baby” I answered with a smile.

“No, Jamie you can’t, this place has to cost a fortune.” I once again saw concern start to grow in his face.

“Don’t you worry about that, I have it covered.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the surprise in his eyes.

We stepped out and headed in. The hostess was surprised at our age at first but showed us to our table anyway.

Eli shifted a little in his chair. “Jamie, are you sure about this place?”

“Of course, now stop worrying so much. Like I said before, you deserve nothing but the best.”

“How am I ever going to make this up to you?”

I shook my head a little “You make it up to me every day. No matter how big of an asshole I am you never give up on me. I’m the one who owes you.”

He reached across the table and grabbed my hands “That’s because you’re not an asshole Jamie. You can play the part and act like a big tough guy but I know you. At the end of the day you take care of the people you love, and I would be crazy to not see that.”

I couldn’t help but smile at those words. I really hope he’s right.

As the waitress took our orders I couldn’t help but stare at him. He’s just so perfectly put together, from his smile, to the words he says, and especially the light in his eyes.

Eli began to laugh “So you just gonna stare at me all night?”

“Why? is that a problem?” I said joining in on the laughter.

“Not at all.”

“Good, because I can’t help it. So how were tryouts?”

“Hard but fun, I really don’t think I could ever dislike being on the ice. There were a lot of good kids this year though, I really hope I make the team. The roster comes out tomorrow.” Eli said starting to get a little nervous towards the end of his sentence.

“Dude you definitely made it. You’re one of the best hockey players in the state. I’m sure the coach is bragging to all his buddies about this short blond kid that can move the puck like it’s nothing.” I smiled meaning every word of it. Eli was the always the best hockey player in our age group growing up, there’s no reason to think he still wouldn’t be.

Eli began to smile and relax a bit “You really think so?”

“Of course, you’re too shy about it.”

“Then maybe I can give you a lesson on being humble sometime.” He joked

“I’d like to see that.” I said laughing

Suddenly I saw Jax with a woman walking to be seated down one of the rows of tables. Our eyes connected and I started to get a little restless.

“Jamie, do you know that guy?” I guess Eli caught our little stair down.

“Yeah, he’s actually one of my coworkers. Excuse me for a second.” Eli nodded and I got up and headed for the bathroom, Jax got the hint and excused himself from his table.

He walked in and shook my hand “What are you doing here?” I said patting him on the arm, it was funny to see him all cleaned up and wearing a suit.

“I’m out on a date, I assume you’re here for the same reason.”

I nodded and noticed a ring on his finger “Wait you’re married?”

“That’s none of your business.” He said with a smile “So that kid out there is your boyfriend huh?”

“Yup, that’s Elijah.”

“He’s actually pretty cute, good job kid.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t doubt my abilities to get guys.” I said with a smile. I started walking out of the bathroom and back to my table “You’re wife is beautiful by the way.” I saw a modest smile cross his face.

I wandered back and sat down. Eli gave me an odd look “So are you and him close or something?”

“Yeah, you could say that. He’s probably one of my only sane coworkers.”

“So what do they have you doing there anyway?” Shit, I didn’t expect him to actually ask about it.

“Mainly just work on cars all day, nothing too special or exciting.” I really hate lying to him, but he really can’t learn about my nightlife. He can barely handle me driving when he thinks I don’t have a permit, it would kill him to find out I’m actually The Reaper.

“Oh okay, that sounds cool. You’ll have to teach me a thing or two about cars. Dad won’t even let me get my permit yet, says it’ll just distract me.”

“I would like that. Maybe I’ll even teach you how to drive.”

Eli began to laugh to himself “What do you know about driving? I mean don’t get me wrong you’re a good driver, but I don’t know if you could teach it.”

I started laughing at the irony of what he had said. “Maybe your right”

“So, have you spoken to Jacob about Stephanie yet?” I could see hope fill his eyes.

“A little bit, he said she was pretty but he also said she’s a crazy bitch. So I think we have our work cut out for us.” I watched the hope spread through his face. He really did only see the best in people.

“We can work with that. We just have to get them to talking to each other.” I could see his mind racing at a million miles a minute “OOOOO maybe we can set them up on a double date, we’ll be there with them and make sure it goes well!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his excitement “Woh, slow it down babe. Jacobs kinda bit a little bit mad at me lately so I think we should just give him time to cool down. Besides we need to focus building our relationship before we help build theirs, ya know?”

He began to nod “Alright, that makes sense. What did you do that he’s mad at you?”

“Why does it have to be something I did.” He tilted his head and made a face “Alright Alright. It’s mostly my fault but it’s nothing important, he just doesn’t always see eye to eye on my choices.”

Eli started to get a little anxious “It’s not because of me right?”

“No of course not, he likes you. He actually wanted you to weigh in on something but it’s not that important.”

“Weigh in on what?” he asked a little less anxious.

“Don’t worry it’s nothing important. Just a little debate, you know how he can get.”

Eli started to giggle “No, but I know how you can get. You get so hard headed and narrow minded you forget to see the big picture, and then when you think you’re right you don’t want to hear any different. Maybe you should just relax and try to see things from his side.”

I wish things were that simple, but they’re not. The anger I have has helped keep me alive, I can’t just get rid of it. Besides I’m fully in control of myself.

Finally our food came and we began to eat. It really was nice just to sit back and eat with him. We spoke about meaningless stuff like who has a crush on who or what who said about who. I wasn’t much of a gossip but I loved watching Eli tell stories, he always makes things so overdramatic and crazy. Every now and then I would look over and see what Jax was doing, his wife really was beautiful. It was nice to see him genuinely smiling. When the check finally came I snatched it before Eli had the chance to look at it. I put down a hundred dollar bill and we made our way out. It really wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be. He was worth every penny.

Eli started to fall asleep on the ride home. It was nice to see him so comfortable. When we pulled up to his house I gently woke him up.

“You know, my mom and dad are gonna be out of town on some stupid retreat tomorrow if you want to swing by.”

I couldn’t help but feel a smile creeping across my face “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, and we did just have our first date.” He began to blush a little.

“I’ll be there.”

He leaned in and gave me a kiss “Play your cards right and maybe there will be some of that.”

“Alright now you’re the one being gross.” I teased. He gave me another kiss and walked up to his front door, I watched to make sure he got into the house before pulling away.

I quickly made it back to my house before I had a chance to fall asleep at the wheel. I guess dinner wiped us both out. I ran upstairs before anyone had the chance to catch me dressed so nicely and went to bed.

It seemed like whenever I was with Eli things always went right. Maybe his love can save me after all. The one thing I know for sure is that he’s the thread I’m still hanging onto, and I don’t think I’ll ever let go.