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“I’m pretty sure I’m the one who should comfort you,” I reply and step back, my fingers moving to my mouth and his to my shoulders. Adrian gives me a small smile, which I can tell he doesn’t mean in the slightest.
“It happened right where you were, Nevaeh. I can’t imagine how scary that must have been. I’m sorry.” I shake my head slightly, confusion probably evident on my features.
“Are you seriously apologizing to me right now? Are you crazy?” I ask, and he smiles.
“If by crazy you mean that I saw you taking photos, got hit by Lincoln, and my first concern after was to make sure you were alright, then yes, I am crazy. Plus, I’m fine, I barely felt pain,” he explains while I lift my hand to wrap them around one of his wrists.
His eyes drop to my camera.
“What happened?”
He takes it between his hands to inspect the damage.
“I dropped it when the crash happened.”
The lens is broken and so is the screen. If my body wasn’t still shaking from the incident, I’d probably care more about the camera, but that sadness will come later.
“I’ll get you a new one,” he says, but I frown at him.
“No, you won’t,” I scold.
A moment of silence passes between us before I cross my arms in front of my chest, hiding how my hands are still shaking. I’m going to have to grow a stronger spine if I’m watching all of the races in person.
Crashes happen. All the time.
I’m just not entirely sure how one is supposed to get used to this.
“I guess my kiss wasn’t good luck, after all,” I mumble, and he lets out a laugh.
Sweat drips from his forehead, and I realize he has to talk to his team and take care of his needs.
“Next time you should try giving me one on the lips. It will be more effective and last longer,” he replies, nudging my chin with his fingers to get a smile out of me. It works like a charm.
“Okay, go get yourself checked out. I think you hit your head,” I say, making him give me my camera and step back.
The smile stays on his lips as he walks away.
Chapter 38
Nevaeh
Gabrielendedupwinningthe race with James coming in second, Kyle in third, and Val in fourth. I was so happy for her, I gave her the biggest hug afterward. We didn’t go out to celebrate that weekend. Instead, I stayed in my hotel room, completely immersing myself in my article for Gabriel.
On Monday evening, I submitted it along with the photos I took, but I got no response from Mrs. Lu or Ms. Martin. It’s Tuesday afternoon now, and I haven’t slept much in the past forty-eight hours. It’s one of the reasons why I hate flying, I can never sleep on the plane.
My heavy eyelids barely stay open while I look at my broken camera, trying to see how bad the damage is. The screen is shattered and beyond salvageable. The lens I was using is broken, too.
I scroll through the cameras Papa and Nova sent me as replacement suggestions.
Since I need one for work now, I won’t get around buying a new one as soon as possible, but it has to be in my price range, which makes choosing a new one infinitely more difficult.
Ms. Martin’s name appears on my screen, and I suck in a sharp breath through my teeth. My boss calling me unscheduled is definitely not a good sign.
Maybe she hated my article.
Maybe she’s going to fire me, after all.
Maybe I’m not good enough.
