Page 74 of Rush
‘Okay,’ Jasper nodded. ‘Before you go, Savi… You’re doing an outstanding job. You should be proud of yourself, because I am and Gabriel is, too. You’ve found your feet.’
She left his office with her head held high and hurried to the trailer, hoping to find her teammates waiting for her. Miko always liked to play chess before a race and she sometimes managed to persuade Kodie to be her opponent, no matter how little she knew about the game.
So, it was no surprise when Savi found them staring each other down over Miko’s Koa wood chess board, a ‘welcome to the team’ gift from Julien, who had got it custom made for her in Hawaii. Kodie’s gift had been a signed wheel arch from a Formula One driver’s championship winning car, and Savi’s was a vintage leather jacket that looked and felt like it was made for her.
‘Am I interrupting anything important?’ She perched on the edge of the sofa.
‘Yeah, I’m about to fuck up Meeks’ reputation of being the best chess player in the paddock. She’s probably going to cry or throw something. You should stick around.’
‘She won the last game and is about to win this one so now she thinks she’s all that,’ Miko added. ‘Needless to say, I’m still the expert.’
Savi watched them as they did nothing. They sat in silence, Miko’s brain working overtime to salvage the game while Kodie sat there looking smug. She finally no longer felt awkward around her own teammates, instead realising that it was still early days. They could iron out their disagreements, learn to love each other the way siblings did, because that’s what this was: a family. And families fought, and they got angry and frustrated, but they were still tied to one another in a way that made it near impossible not to still love them.
‘Girls, could we do something soon?’ Savi sighed. ‘Go somewhere new, see the world away from a racetrack. I miss you both, and I know we’ve had a few hiccups. I just want time with my teammates without the stresses of work getting in the way.’
‘I’m down,’ Kodie shrugged. ‘Meeks?’
‘Yeah, sounds good to me. New Year’s trip to Japan?’ she suggested. ‘My family can put you up in one of our Tokyo hotels and we can immerse ourselves in some culture. It’s worlds away from what the two of you are used to, and when we go to Fuji we won’t get to experience much because it’s such a tight schedule with the race. Iknow New Year is months away but planning the itinerary is half the fun.’
Savi nodded enthusiastically, knowing that Miko would do everything in her power to make the trip as authentic as possible. She’d heard all about her favourite restaurants and the Tokyo nightlife that Miko had experienced at university, and she was keen to see it for herself. Ramen from the packet while she did her high school homework in the basement was the closest Savi had got to Japanese culture.
‘Get booking, Meeks,’ Kodie agreed. ‘And give up on this game, I’ve won.’
Miko threw herself against the back of the sofa and sighed dramatically, giving in to the fact she was losing her title. ‘Fine. Hate you.’
‘You love me,’ Kodie grinned.
Standing up again, Savi excused herself while they argued back and forth about all the wrong moves Miko had made throughout the game. She needed to find Esme and fill her in on all the drama she’d kept to herself the past couple of weeks. This thing with Jesse was still weighing on her mind, and she hadn’t spoken to Esme since. They had the kind of friendship where they weren’t in constant contact, but one text or phone call and either of them would drop everything to be there for the other. Savi was counting on that right now, because as much as she appreciated Marco’s presence in her life, there were some things she couldn’t discuss with him.
She found Esme in the Eden Racing garage, catching her eye and pulling her away from the editing she was doing. She always felt strange being in another team’s garage soshe would hover at the back, feeling like an intruder trying to learn all their secrets. This championship wasn’t like that; the grid was an extended family beyond each individual team or manufacturer. Everyone supported everyone else, stopped for chats and welcomed each other into their garages, hospitality buildings and HQs, but Savi was new here. She hadn’t earned anyone’s respect.
‘Sav, my girl!’ Esme gave her a hug, trying not to knock her over the head with the vlog camera she was holding. ‘How’s life treating you?’
‘Ha!’ Savi let out a fake laugh. ‘Fantastic.’
‘We’re long overdue a proper catch-up. We can use my team’s trailer,’ she suggested, leading her out to it, ‘The guys are figuring out their race strategy in the office, so they’ll be a while.’
She followed Esme up the steps, immediately noticing how stark this trailer was in comparison to either of the ones that belonged to Revolution Racing. It was bright white; the lights were blinding and there was no sign of life except for everyone’s racing gear and a single pair of sunglasses on the coffee table belonging to one of the drivers.
It was horrible. She liked that her own team’s trailers were messy and chaotic and warm because they felt like home, and they all had photos stuck to the walls wherever they could, reminding them of what was waiting for them after race week. The girls had a faux fur rug under their coffee table with personalised mugs next to the coffee machine and the guys had a stack of computer games and Julien’s CD collection next to their television so they couldunwind during their downtime, both trailers providing a safe haven away from the garage and press conferences.
‘Ew, I hate it in here.’ Savi wrinkled her nose, trying to make herself comfortable on the sofa and failing. There weren’t even any cushions. ‘Eden Racing need to step it up.’
‘It’s a brand-new trailer for this season, and nobody’s bothered to decorate,’ Esme shrugged. ‘I agree with you, though. It’s awful. Anyway, enough deflecting, are you okay?’
‘I don’t know?’ Her voice went up at the end, like she was asking herself the same question.
‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you in person, Sav. I should have flown out to you as soon as Marco got in touch. I just thought since you had Mars…’
‘It’s okay. If I had needed you, I would have called and begged you to get on a plane. But you’re right, I did have Marco. And he helped more than I ever thought he could. Picked up the pieces, refused to let me wallow in self-pity for long. He distracted me in the daytime and held me while I let it all out at night, talking things through with me.’
‘I’m glad you had him. And how do you feel now? Honestly. Don’t put on a front with me,’ Esme pushed, smiling softly.
‘Part of me feels like a weight has been lifted, as strange as that sounds.’
‘It doesn’t sound strange, Sav. I get it, and things weren’t right between you for a while. I think part of me is relieved, too. And it’s been hard even for me to lie to everyone.’
‘I’m sorry I ever asked you to lie for me, especially when it turns out Jesse wasn’t even worth the hassle,’ Savi scoffed.
