Tales of the Underground: Velocity - 6. Chapter 6

Me and Matty stepped out of the car and tried to gather all the confidence we could. It’s funny usually we wouldn’t dare take the car out during the day, but we didn’t really have much of a choice. I could see Mattys red hair gleam in the sun and sweat begin to bead down his face.

“How can you be nervous? Aren’t you supposed to have like no soul or some shit?” I joked knowing it would bother him.

“You really have to learn when and when not to joke around man” Matty said getting annoyed. Good, I need him mad. Make no mistake Matty is just as irreplaceable as Jacob, and I could tell Eli’s comment about his part in the team was getting to him. “Just let me do most of the talking when we get in there alright?”

“Sure thing” I said confidently to show I trusted him fully. Getting to see Matty at work was going to be a treat. I could tell he was working on some sort of plan.

When we walked in we were immediately greeted by the same guard who “babysat” me last night.

“Glad you weren’t arrested last night.” I heard the man say “They call me Jax by the way” he said extending his hand

“Well, it’s nice to officially meet you” I smiled and shook his hand “This is my partner Gizmo” I pushed Matty forward a little and they shook hands

“Gizmo? You kids really need to work on your names” Jax said rolling his eyes. Out of all of the guards I never really imagined one would be nice. “Follow me. The boss will be relieved you got away from the cops.” Jax lead us down a long narrow hallway opened a big door.

There sat Pit behind a huge desk full of papers and bottles of alcohol. I could tell he was more pissed off than usual. There’s no doubt that last night’s raid had cost him a lot of money. I have no idea how he got away but I’m glad he did.

“Take a seat.” Growled Pit “I heard you left last night’s races in cuffs Kid, what happened?” I couldn’t tell if Pit was genuinely concerned or just wanted to make sure I wasn’t put off by the whole incident

“A cop caught up to me and took me down, it was no big deal” I started “They asked a few question and searched me but couldn’t find any real reason to take me in” I lied hoping it would give me more street cred. Besides they can never know I have an in with the cops!

“Good, the last thing I needed was them taking away another one of my big racers” Pit said as though he actually cared about my wellbeing. After last night I was finally beginning to realize I was just another stack of cash for him. “Do you have any idea how much money that little stunt cost me last night?” Pit asked angrily

“After losing all the profits and having to bail out your guys probably close two hundred grand, but that’s not really important to us.” Gizmo said abruptly. Both Pit and I were shocked by how bold he was. “All the two of us care about is getting The Kid back into the races”. Matty wasn’t interested in playing around. He wanted this over with as quickly as possible.

They began to talk shop and compared notes on the earnings of the 18+ league and the 20+ league. The prices were a huge difference, instead of taking home close to $3,000 a race we would start pocketing $7,500 for small races and a little over $10,000 for big ones even after the house took their cut. Matty grinned and suddenly I could see more then dollar signs in his eyes.

“Alright, but you do realize if Kids going to compete in these races, he’s gonna need a better car right?” Gizmo said finally unveiling the plan he had hid up his sleeve. “and seeing as you have a junkyard full of em, I imagine you wouldn’t mind sparing him a newer one.”

Pit began to laugh “If I gave every racer a new car every time they needed one, I would go out of business in a month.”

“We’re not looking for a new car, just a newer one” Matty started to get a cocky grin of his own now “besides Kid is one of your best racers isn’t he? This can only help you”

“Yeah and if I don’t comply?” Pit said starting to get a little annoyed by Gizmo’s attitude

“Then we take our skills to Pennsylvania, it’s only about an hour’s drive and I hear they pay even better money” Gizmo knew he had Pit trapped “After all, I’ve never heard of them getting busted by the cops.”

Pit face was red with anger “Fine! You want a new beater, come back tomorrow with your mech and have him pick one out!” Pit began to shout “but make no mistakes you don’t make the demands, I do!” Pit shifted his focus from Gizmo to me “and for fuck’s sake Kid start to think a little more. I can’t have any more of my racer’s getting arrested especially over stupid shit. When you’re done here you’re to go to the DMV and get your license.” Pit demanded like it would just be that easy

“I can’t just go and get my license, I’m only 16!” I argued “I’m a good half a year away!”

“I called in a favor” Pit said “tell them I sent you and you’ll have no problem.” He started looking me up and down “You sure you’re even 16? You look like you could pass for a 14 year old.”

“Heh considering the favor, I’ll take that as a compliment” I laughed

“Now get out of my office both of you! I have to find us a new safe place to race.” he ordered

On our way out I made sure to shake Jax’s hand. It can’t hurt to try and have at least one friendly face around here.

On our way back we stopped at the DMV. It really was as easy as Pit said it would be. The man behind the counter pulled me into a back room and snuck me a counterfeit license.

“Not even an expert can tell the difference” The man assured me “Now tell your boss that’s the last favor he gets from me. I don’t know what you did to get into this shit at such an early age, but good fucking luck getting out.”

I’d be lying if I said those words didn’t scare me. Do I really know what I’m getting myself into? Every day things seemed to get worse and worse.

I looked down at the small plastic rectangle in my hand. I couldn’t believe it, I actually have my license! I don’t know how I’ll explain it to people but here it is! Matty and I proudly marched off to my car and I dropped him off at home before stopping at my own to shower and head off to Eli’s.

When I finally got home, the normal chaos of my house froze. I gulped knowing what was coming my way.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!” my oldest sister began to yell “How could you take the car without an adult in it? You only have your permit you dipshit!” she lectured

“Actually Jess, read it and weep” I said pulling out my new license

“Where the hell did you get that?!” she demanded

“The world finally recognized what a good driver I am” I said smiling

“I bet you called in a favor from that fag friend of yours dad” she spit “Is that why he was here last night?”

“Hey! Don’t call Eli that, you ass!” I shouted back unsure why I was getting so defensive over him. “Besides you don’t need to know how I do things” I teased. I knew not knowing everything would drive her crazy and it only made my smile wider.

I ran up to my room and prepared for Eli’s house, suddenly nothing I owned seemed nice enough. Why did I have to dress like such a kid? Everything I own is either black or a hockey t-shirt. Whatever it’ll have to do. I rushed downstairs grabbed a quick bite to eat, hopped on my bike and left for Eli’s. Even though I just got my license I figured I shouldn’t push my luck. After all I don’t know if Cpt. Warren would be able to tell if it was fake or not.

When I rolled up to the house my heart started pounding, I haven’t been here in years. Suddenly all the memories flooded back to me. I couldn’t help but just stand there for a few minutes. Finally found the confidence to approach the front door and ring the bell. I could hear Eli scurry to the door and open it.

“I didn’t know if you would actually show.” he said trying to play it off like it didn’t matter to him.

“Would I ever lie to you?” I teased

“Yes, yes you would” he said laughing

As we walked into the living room, I saw Eli’s mom sitting there on the couch reading a book. She looked up and her eyes met mine.

“Jamie Free!” She exclaimed “What a lovely surprise! I’m so glad to see you!” She ran up and gave me a huge mom hug.

“Hi, Mrs. Warren, It’s nice to see you” I said trying to escape the hug that had lasted longer than I expected

“Do you need something to eat? You look so thin! And oh my! Your hair! You really let it grow!” oh no, I forgot how nice Eli’s mom could be.

“Mom stop! He’s fine!” I heard Eli plea

I looked up and saw an old picture on the mantle. It was Eli and I holding up the championship trophy both smiling like we had just been drafted. It was scary how everything in my life kept bringing me back to that day.

“You know that’s your mom’s favorite picture of you, I still remember when she took it” Eli’s mom remarked. I guess she saw me staring at it. My eyes started to water “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine” I interrupted, wiping the tears away “They’re good memories” I smiled

“Come on man, let’s go shoot around” Eli said grabbing my arm and pulling me away before his mom could start to talk again.

It felt good being back in that house. We went down to the basement where we would always hang out as kids. It looked exactly like I remembered. The only new addition was some synthetic ice Eli’s family had installed in front of his net. It was pretty cool, the type you could drag a puck across without too much friction but you could still walk on without slipping. Eli tossed me one of his spare sticks. God I haven’t held a hockey stick in a long time.

“Let’s play 3 post” Eli said “If you still remember how to play that is” he joked

“Of course, I may be rusty but I could still out shoot your ass” I said giving him a tap on the leg with my stick.

3 post was a common hockey game kids played when they didn’t have a goalie around. Each player had to try and hit each of the posts before the other, trust me it’s a lot harder than it sounds. We played a few rounds to warm up. Elijah won the first 2 but once I found my rhythm I won the next 3.

“Alright, let’s add a little twist” Eli started giving me the same mischievous look from earlier in the lunch room “For every post one of us hit, we get to ask the other a question and they have to answer it honestly.”

“Fine” I shrugged. I had a bad feeling about it but I knew how to handle Eli, he wasn’t a threat.

I cradled the puck and took my first shot *PING*

“Alright, was your plan this afternoon when you confronted me your own, or did Stephanie come up with it?

Eli’s face started to turn red “A little bit of both” he said looking down

“Elijah” I pestered

“Alright fine, it was hers”

He lined up and took his shot *PING*

“Do you think my voice is annoying?”

“What?” I asked confused by the question

“My voice, is it annoying?” Eli did have a high-pitch voice, it wasn’t the worst thing but it wasn’t exactly the best thing.

“Yes, especially when you ask dumb questions” I joked “but I can’t imagine you sounding any different.” Eli looked relieved when I said that.

*PING* my next shot rang right off the crossbar and popped up over the net

“Do you really think I’m The Kid?” I asked looking directly in his diamond shaded eyes

“I don’t know” He shrugged

“Hey! That’s not an answer.” I pressured

“What?” He said laughing “I don’t! It would explain why you’re always sleeping and saying you’re busy but at the same time messing around with the underground just isn’t you, ya know? You can keep saying you’ve changed all you want but I don’t buy it” he finished confident in his answer. I wish he was right.

*PING* He really was on top of his game tonight

“Do you like Stephanie Wilkens?” He nervously asked

“That’s not fair! You can’t ask questions for someone else” I demanded

“We never said that!” He stated

“Hell no! Girls have cooties! You know that better than anyone else” I teased sticking out my tongue. Eli laughed along and started playing around with one of the pucks.

I aimed at his stick and took my shot. It rammed the puck off his stick and deflected into the nearby post.

“OH THAT COUNTS” I screamed “Why do you want to hang out with me so bad you had to come up with a dumb bet?” Now my nerves started to act up

Eli started to bite his lip then looked up into my eyes “because you’re a lot of things Jamie. Dumb, arrogant, cocky, big mouthed” It sounded like his list was never going to end “but the one thing you’re not is a homophobe, and I thought if we hung out that maybe I could prove that to you” He nervously finished

I couldn’t help but laugh at that answer. He really did just want his old friend back. I watched him line up for his shot again but this time I really stared at him. It was no wonder I found him cute, he had it all, the brains, the athleticism, the light hearted attitude towards life. I really think I’m starting to develop a crush on him, and for the first time in my life I don’t think it’s such a bad thing. His shot was as accurate as his words and with a loud *PING* he hit another post.

Eli began to shuffle his feet on the fake ice. I could tell he was scared to ask the next question.

“Well are you gonna ask me something” I pushed with a friendly smile to try and relax his uneasiness

“Do you honestly thing I’m broken?” he asked. He sounded like he was so scared he was gonna hurl

I froze, I should’ve know that was going to come back to bite me in the ass. I could feel him staring at me waiting for a response.

“Forget it, it’s getting late maybe you should go.” he said leaning his stick against the wall. Tears started to form in his eyes

I can’t let him walk away crying two days in a row can I? “No!” I blurted out “I don’t”

“Then why?” he said tears starting to stream down his face

“I was angry. I just needed a punch to land and I knew saying that would do the most damage. I didn’t mean it I promise.” I said not daring to look up.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Why did you stop being my best friend?” I could hear his voice breaking with each word he said

Once again I froze not sure how to respond “Look when you came out I was going through a lot” My own voice started to shake “my mom had just gotten diagnosed and things were getting bad fast, I couldn’t handle so much change at once.” I said knowing damn well it was more of an excuse then an answer.

“oh okay” Eli whispered knowing the same

My heart started to race. I saw all the moments of my life flash before me. I knew that if I didn’t act now it would be something I regretted for the rest of my life. I started walking up to him “That’s not all” my voice started to crack under the pressure “I was scared”

“Scared of me?” he asked tears beginning to return “because I’m gay?”

“Well yeah, but not like you think.” I answered with tears now starting to fall from my own eyes.

“I don’t understand” I could hear his voice start to give in and his lip started to quiver even more than it had been.

“I was scared because I’m gay” I confessed, I don’t know how to explain how I felt. I could barely even hear the words coming out of my own mouth. It was almost as though I wasn’t even in control of my own body.

“What?” Eli muttered in complete disbelief

I stepped forward and pulled him in close. I gave in to fate and our lips met.

For the first time in a long time I finally felt like I was doing the right thing.