Tales of the Underground: Velocity - 35. Chapter 35

Under Ground Aliases

The Reaper- Jamie Free

Velocity- Elijah Warren

Gears- Jacob Palmer

Gizmo- Matty Sanders

*The boys use these to guarantee no one outside the underground finds their real identities*

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I stepped down from the car, the barrel of the gun still warm from its recent use. As I looked into the crowd I caught a mix of looks some were terrified, others impressed, there were even a few who wanted more. I made my way over to my team still keeping the dark intense look I had used to scare off the other team.

Jax walked up to me and I handed him the small gun “So you finally got what you’ve wanted huh?”

“Not yet” I answered “I may run this shit, but I’m not officially number 1. Not yet.”

I saw the disapproval grow in Jax’s eyes “That whole thing was reckless and stupid” he barked

“It was necessary and you know it” I argued back “If you wanted to, you could’ve stopped it at any moment but you didn’t. No one will try and pull that shit on me or any of us ever again.”

Jax rolled his eyes “Let’s not get carried away” he lectured “You’ve opened up a big can of worms here, a can that may make things more dangerous than safe.”

“Does that mean I finally get a ghost?” I asked staring into his angry eyes “I mean, now that I’ve broken open that can of worms I’m gonna need defense right?”

“You just shot a man” he spit “What the hells the matter with you right now?”

“Nothings the matter. This is the underground. I did what I had to…Besides I shot him in the leg. He’ll be fine” I turned away to look at him lying on the ground “I’ve done much worse” I trailed off

“You’ve also done much better” he replied beginning to walk away “But I’m not going to be the one to lecture you tonight, I think there’s someone 10x better waiting to yell at you.”

As he walked away Matty began to walk towards us holding a fat envelope full of money

“Let’s get the fuck outta here now” he spit knowing things could only escalate from here.

I looked over towards the team and waved them to the car. Jacob kept his head down while Eli stared at me the whole way through, his deep blue eyes piercing right through me.

I reached out for Eli to come over “Hey, why don’t you drive tonight? I’m kinda tired” he ignored my words but got into the driver seat anyway.

I took one last look around the crowd before climbing into the passenger’s seat. It’s good to be the fucking king. Eli put the already running car into first gear and sped out. It’s good to see him so comfortable with the car. It seems like just yesterday I was teaching him to drive. Now a day it seems like he’s just as skilled as me…maybe even better. I reached over the hold his empty hand but he pulled it away and placed it on the gear stick. I tried to get a good look at his face but he refused to look over.

“Stop poking a bear” Jacob mumbled

“Shut up” I responded barely turning around

“You should listen to him” Matty whispered into my ear

“What? You too?” I could feel my nerves starting up “You’re always on my side.”

“Not tonight” he said looking out the window

I reached out one last time to try and hold Eli’s hand but he swatted it away “Would you fucking stop and listen for once?” he said finally breaking his silence

“Told ya so” Jacob said pleased with himself

“You shut up too” Eli bit “What the hell is the matter with any of you? Why are you all just sitting there pretending like nothing out of the ordinary happened tonight? Why didn’t any of you put a stop to it?” I’ve only seen this fire in Eli’s voice a handful of times before. Jax’s warning of pissing off the wrong person rang in my ears as I realized how much trouble I was actually in.

Matty let out an involuntary snicker.

“I don’t see what’s so funny” he yelled raising his voice “I get It, I’m still kinda the new guy. But god damnit I’ve been going to races for months now, and I haven’t seen anything as bad as I’ve seen tonight.”

“We don’t question Jamie anymore” Matty answered “He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to keep us all safe.”

“Have you lost your damn mind?” Eli argued back “Keep us safe? He got a gun pulled on him because he doesn’t know when to stop.”

“Babe relax” I began

“No Jamie” I could hear the clear frustration in his voice “You don’t get to do this.” His voice started to slowly break “You don’t get to shoot a man then pretend like you’re the innocent one. I’m so sick of this shit with you. I stood up for you relentlessly, hell I almost lost Stephanie because of it. I honestly believed that you changed.”

I felt guilt begin to flood my brain “I have changed” I forced out

“Being good and laying low for a few months, then randomly doing something this fucked up isn’t change Jamie” I heard sparks of anger grow in his voice “You just…you just tricked me.”

“Alright!” Jacob yelled breaking it up “It’s been a long night, just shut up and deal with it tomorrow.” Eli opened his mouth but Jacob began speaking before Eli could fill the open air “Jamie, I told you to leave him alone and Eli you knew Jamie was a piece of shit when you started dating him. If you believed he changed it’s because that’s what you wanted to believe and not what actually happened. You guys want to hash it out? That’s fine. Just do it when me and Matty aren’t here to witness it.”

“Sorry” Eli sighed. The rest of the car ride was silent. Eli quietly weaved through the late night traffic with the same precession I used when I race. It was clear that he wanted to get out of the tension filled car as soon as possible. The guilt that rushed me slowly turned into anxiety as I realized how bad I had messed up. I could care less about the guy I shot, but the fact that Eli had to witness it. That what I kept finding myself hung up on. Finally we arrived at Matty’s house where Jacob insisted on also getting out. Matty offered to lend him his bike, and Jacob graciously accepted the offer. It was clear that the two of them wanted out of the car as soon as possible.

Eli put it in gear and headed back to his house before granting me access back to my car.

“You really are a good driver” I said finally speaking up. Eli kept his eyes focused on the road. “Look I don’t know…”

“Just save it” he sighed

“No Eli I…”

“I said save it. Why are you so difficult all the time?” Eli shouted interrupting me again

“Fine you want the truth?” I said trying to get my words in

“I guess” he grunted

“I don’t know if I’ve changed over these past few months or not okay? I have no fucking clue. But Jacob’s right, you know I’m a piece of shit. More importantly you’ve heard of what I’m capable of.” I picked up my helmet from the ground and pointed out the crack that reminded me of the dark soul that lived inside “Congratulations, you’ve finally seen it firsthand.” For the first time since the underpass Eli looked over at me “You decide what you’re gonna do. You want to leave after one set back even if it’s a huge one, you go ahead abandon me.”

“You really are this stupid aren’t you” I sighed ready for Eli to slaughter me with his words “No wonder you’re in all remedial classes. I’m not gonna quit on you, but there’s no way I can just sit here and pretend like nothing happened tonight. You and I have to put in a lot of work to get back to where we’ve been these past few weeks. Tonight, watching you shoot that kid then torture him…it’s just something I never imagined you being capable of. Sure I knew there was some sort of darkness inside of you” I watch as his gaze stared out onto the open road “I just never imagined it could be this dark.”

“You have no idea” I mumbled “I’ve been trying to get things under control, and I thought it was working but I guess not”

“Maybe we have to work on getting your soul under control” I watched as the gears turned in Eli’s head “I got it! Come over to my house at 8:30 tomorrow morning.”

“No Eli…”

“Hey, if you want things to get better then you have to listen to me! I said I won’t quit on you, but I can’t handle another night like tonight.” I could hear the grief and anger in his voice “It’s my way or…”

“Alright fine” I said not wanting to hear the end of his sentence “I’ll be there”

Finally he pulled up to his house “and make sure to dress nicely.” We both got out of the car and met at the front of it. I leaned in to kiss him but he pulled away “Sorry, I can’t…not right now.”

I nodded, understanding where he was coming from “I love you” I confessed watching him walk away

“I love you too” he said not bothering to turn around.

I sighed knowing it was what I deserved and climbed back into the driver seat of the car. I took the wad of cash Matty had left for me in the back seat and put it in my jacket pocket. The whole ride home all I could think of was how mad Eli was at me. Sure, he said he wasn’t going to quit, but his words didn’t match his body language. For the first time in my life I realized it was time to get my shit together. If I lost Eli I don’t know who I would become.

As I pulled up to my house I was startled to see the lights still on in my kitchen. Please have just been left on, I prayed to myself. I quietly pulled into the driveway, and got out of the car. My anxiety began to grow even farther as I grew worried of who would be waiting for me on the other side of the door. I quietly opened the old wooden door, but the loud creek woke up my oldest sister who had fallen asleep at the kitchen table.

“Jamie” she mumbled “It’s almost 4 am, where the hell have you been?”

“Did you sit here all night waiting for me?” I asked agitated by her actions

“I heard you sneak out at 11, you had me worried sick you jackass!” she said finally waking up

“Well no one asked you to stay up.” I answered placing my keys on the counter.

“No one had to. Where were you?” she pushed

“Don’t worry about it Jess.” I said beginning to turn away

“You can talk to me. It’s okay if you were out with Eli all night, it would just be nice to get a heads up.” She said grabbing onto my arm

I ripped my arm away “Don’t worry about it!” I repeated

“What’s gotten into you lately? We used to be so close, but lately you’ve grown so further. You’ve turned cold to us.” I stayed quiet and tried to walk away but she latched onto me again “We’re family Jamie, you can trust us. You don’t have to hide stuff from me.”

“You’re not mom Jess” I said with frustration beginning to boil over “So stop acting like you are! You don’t have to worry about me! I’m not a baby anymore!” I could hear my voice beginning to grow louder as I lashed out at her “When I say don’t worry, how about you don’t worry about me! There are 3 other kids in this house who need attention, focus on them!”

“No, I refuse to let you slip through the cracks!” She gave my arm a tug to pull me back and accidently pulled my jacket back. The large stack of clash flew out of my side pocket and fell onto the floor “What is this?” she asked in shock “Where did you get this?”

I quickly swiped it off the floor and shoved it back into my pocket “Just leave me alone”

“Is this how we’ve been able to afford nicer stuff? Is this how you have things like that leather jacket and can afford those upgrades to your car? Is this why you have upgrades to your car? This can’t be from that junkyard.” I watched as her mind raced a million thoughts a second “Jamie…where were you?”

“Why are you guys fighting?” I heard a small voice mumble from behind us

I turned to find my youngest sister standing in the doorway “Jane we didn’t wake you did we?” I asked, scared of another thing to feel guilty over

“Mhm” she nodded

“I’m so sorry, Jess was just sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong” I spit pushing in one final jab at my older sister.

“She does that” Jane said laughing

I walked over and picked her up, she instinctively grabbed onto me and let her weight fall into my arms “You’ve gotten big” I teased “Come on. I’ll take you back to bed”

She rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes “You smell like smoke and dirt” she mumbled

“I know” I whispered opening the door to her room that she shared with another of my sisters “I was working” I confessed

“They make you work this late?” she asked innocently

“Sometimes” I quietly answered. I laid her down onto her bed and she pulled the sheets over her. “Good night” I said heading towards the door.

“Aren’t you gonna stay with me?” she asked “What if something comes for me?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the question “It won’t, besides Liz is right there sleeping” I replied pointing at my other sleeping sister.

“Yeah but she can’t do anything. You’re big and strong” I blushed at her compliment

“Alright fine” I decided, lying down at the side of her bed.

I couldn’t help but smile as she reached down and grabbed onto my hand. I’m not sure if I’m capable of changing or not, but moments like this. Right here, right now, taking care of my baby sister…I sure hope I can.