Page 90 of Away We Go

I know this. I’ve watched every race he’s ever driven in and have watched many of his crashes at home on the couch, peeking through my fingers. It’s just that being here and experiencing it, it’s worse than I could have ever imagined.

He also means more to me now than I could have ever imagined.

“How long till we get there?” I lean forward in my seat, willing James to go faster.

“We’re almost here.”

The local hospital looms up ahead and James swears under his breath at the scene in front of us.

“Vultures,” he grinds out.

He parks the car a way back from the front entrance and turns to me, halting my exit with a gentle hand on my arm.

“If you go running in there, looking like you do, they will never leave you alone.”

Right now, I don’t give a fig about the media swarming to get the breaking news. I just want to get to Nicky.

“James—”

He shakes his head. “Let me go in and see what’s happening. There’ll be a way to get you in without causing a frenzy.”

Everything inside me screams for me to ignore him, to forgo reason and rush inside. But I know that isn’t the right move, that it isn’t what Nicky would want. And so, I swallow down my retort and nod.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

James sprints through the reporters in front of the hospital, not too gently pushing away anyone who gets too close. I keep my eyes trained on the entrance and wait for his return, refreshing my social media feed to see if anyone is reporting any updates I haven’t yet heard. So far, all that’s being reported is that Nicky was conscious and able to walk away from the crash.

That has to be good news, right?

Matt

Any news?!

I gulp at the message flashing on my phone. My poor family will be watching this race in the middle of the night in Melbourne, freaking out about the crash and all the unknowns.

Cherry

I’m at the hospital now. Will keep you updated.

Matt

He’ll be fine, Cherry. Nicky is tough.

I nod and bat away tears. He may be tough, but he’s also only human with a body that can break, just like the rest of us.

A sharp rapping on the glass next to me startles me.

“Come on.”

James waves me out of the car and I jump to follow him.

“So, here’s what I know,” he says as he walks in front of me, keeping an arm around me to hold me behind his larger frame. “They’ve taken him in for some scans to rule out internal damage, but mostly, he’s fine.”

I swallow hard, giving up a thank-you prayer to whichever deity will take it. “He is?”

James takes a sharp left just before the entrance and hurries us down a side alley. “There’s no head injury; no broken bones. He hit that wall with a force of 50Gs, so they brought him here as a precaution.”

My ears are still ringing and I struggle to keep up with James’s long legs. Although the words he’s saying are reassuring and…good, I just can’t help imagining if things had gone the other way. Just the thought of it is unbearable.

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