Careless and Reckless — Chapter 23

After completely thrashing both Wyatt and Eli–five times in a row because Eli thought it was a fluke and demanded several rematches making him look even more stupid–I got Wyatt to take me home. Eli decided to come with us so I got stuck in the back seat, totally unfair if you ask me.

"You comin' with Wyatt to the track on Wednesday, sweet cheeks?" Eli asks me after nattering with Wyatt for about five minutes.

"The track?" I ask, a confused expression on my face.

Before Eli can respond Wyatt cuts him off. "No she's not Eli, she's not ready for that."

I scowl at Wyatt even though he can't see me. "That's for me to decide, not you," I snap, now rather irritated. Who the fuck does he think he is making decisions for me?

"Actually, green eyes, I'd be the one taking you so it is my decision," he replies in a cocky tone.

I scoff at him. "The smart arse comments aren't appreciated," I say dryly.

"Neither is your tone."

"Arsehole."

"Bitch."

"Cunt."

"Cocksucker."

"Really man, that's the best y' got," Eli says with a roll of his eyes, butting into our argument.

"Shut the fuck up," Wyatt snarls back at him. "This doesn't concern you. Stay out of it."

Eli doesn't seem to take offence by this, he just scoffs.

"Fine what do you suggest, oh great insult master," Wyatt says in the most sarcastic voice I've ever heard him use.

"Well," Eli starts, completely ignoring the sarcasm, "I'd choose something a bit more classy like...oh I don't know... a cum guzzling demon slut."

Wyatt and I both stop to give him dry looks. "Really," we both say in unison.

"Geez, tough crowd," Eli mutters.

"Anyway, would one of you be so kind as to tell me what the track is?" I say in the fakest polite manner imaginable.

Again, Eli is about to reply but Wyatt cuts him off. "Nope," he says, popping the 'p'.

"Come on," I whine, "that's so unfair."

"Well too bad," Wyatt says in a clipped tone, I must've pissed him off more than I thought. Oops.

The rest of the drive is done in silence. Wyatt's too pissed to speak, I'm busy sulking and Eli can probably sense the tension and is actually being smart by not saying something stupid right now.

Once we reach my house, it doesn't take long since Wyatt speeds even more than normal when he's angry, no one makes any moves to leave the car. After a few minutes of silence, Eli is the first to speak. "I'm going to go have a smoke," he grunts before slipping out of the front seat and walking away, leaving Wyatt and me alone, cheeky bugger.

Neither of us makes a move to speak, both too stubborn to give in. After a few minutes of tense silence, I finally speak. "You're an arsehole, you know that?"

He scoffs. "So I've been told," he spits out bitterly.

"Okay, something is clearly bothering you. Just spit it out already!" I demand, my anger coming across loud and clear.

He lets out a humourless, dry laugh. "You think something is bothering me? Well, you're fucking right, something is bothering me. You! You're being so stubborn. I made a decision with your best interests in mind. I do want to take you to the track but not yet. You're not ready for that, it'll freak you out."

Anger is radiating off me but it calms a little at his last few words. Either way, I refuse to let him have the last word. "I'm too stubborn?! Well, you're not exactly perfect either! You've got such a short fuse, I mean I said one thing you didn't agree with and you get mad. You need to learn to calm down," I growl at him, standing my ground. I'm glad Eli left when he did, I doubt I would've been able to do this with a stranger in earshot.

He scoffs. "Whatever," he takes a deep breath as though he calming himself down. "Look, I don't mean to get mad but you're just not listening. I'm doing this for you, just trust me on this."

I let out a groan. I'm not giving into what he said. He was being a complete arse. Yes, I trust him but he should let me decide things for myself. "Are you going to tell me what the track is or not?" I snap, completely fed up with this conversation.

"You're a smart girl, why don't you figure it out yourself," he says in a condescending tone, clearly irritated with me.

The scowl on my face deepens and I audibly growl. Letting out a frustrated grunt, I rip open the car door and slam it harshly behind me, stomping away from the car towards my house, refusing to look back.

My vision is blurred by tears of anger so I don't notice something in front of me until I've already walked into it, typical. Large hands quickly grab onto my forearms and steady me to stop me falling. Blinking up at the person, I see Eli looking down at me, a look of concern etched into his features instead of his usually happy-go-luckily expression.

"What's up with you, sweet cheeks?"

I sigh, knowing it's pointless to take out my anger on him. This isn't Eli's fault. "Wyatt is a complete arse, that's what," I state, seeing no point in lying and saying 'nothing'.

He lets out a low chuckle. "He usually is, don't worry about it, that's just Wyatt for you. He's a royal pain in the arse," he smiles, making me let out a light laugh.

"You look so much better when you smile," Eli says to me, making me blush, my shyness starting to surface again.

"Thanks," I utter awkwardly.

"No problem," he laughs. "Huh," Eli starts, thinking out loud, "it's kinda weird, now that you're not all mad you've gone quiet and shy, nothing like how you were earlier."

I shrug at him, not knowing how to reply.

"Whatever," he dismisses. "Anyway, I can tell you about the track if you want, I'm assuming Wyatt wouldn't." I nod at him. "It's nothing special, just where we race, it's in the name I guess. Wyatt's killer on a motorbike, he's never lost and me, cars are more my thing," Eli tells me.

"Wait, is that even legal? And isn't it super dangerous?" I ask, sudden worry and concern flooding through me. Pathetic, even though I'm angry at Wyatt I'm worrying about him. Pull yourself together, Ari.

"No and yes but it's fine, don't stress. We've both been racing since we turned seventeen and neither of us have had any injuries," he reassures me.

I nod. "Okay," I breathe out. "So would I be able to come and watch?" I ask. I know it's stupid, dangerous and illegal but it's just the kind of reckless thing I should do. I wonder what James would think if he knew I went to an illegal race track.

Eli scratches the back of his neck. "I don't know about that one, Ari, you'll have to convince Wyatt," he tells me just before we hear a loud car horn. "That's Wyatt, I better get going before he drives off without me, see y' Ari," he says and runs off.

I let out a huge sigh and walk down the path to my house. Once I'm inside, I run to my room and immediately flop down onto my bed, letting sleep consume me, not even bothering to change into my pyjamas.

~*~*~

I haven't spoken to Wyatt for almost a week, it's currently Sunday. I know he went racing on Wednesday, I remember Eli mentioning it but I couldn't bring myself to ask him about it again, my pride getting in the way. It feels kind of weird being on bad terms with Wyatt and I don't like it, I hate the thought of him being mad at me but then again he was a jerk so he had it coming.

I think I need to go for a run to clear my mind, Wyatt is driving me nuts.

I quickly get changed into some leggings, a tank top and my running jacket–it's way too cold not to have one–before running downstairs, slipping into my trainers and grabbing an apple. Alice and Hugo are both out with friends so the only one I say bye to is my mum, giving her a kiss on the cheek. I scarf down my apple whilst heading for the door. I shut it carefully behind me and start the familiar route to the park, the mild nine o'clock weather nipping at my skin.

Twenty minutes in and I'm at a comfortable pace, jogging around the park, bobbing my head to the music in my earphones. I'm so focused on the music that I don't notice someone in front of me until it's too late. I run into them and almost fall back but luckily they grip my forearms, stopping me from tumbling backwards.

"I'm so sorr–" I cut myself off mid-sentence when I look up to see who caught me.

Wyatt.

A look I can't decipher is plastered onto his face. "Green eyes?" He breathes out before pulling me into a tight embrace. Utter shock washes over me and it takes me a moment to compose myself. When I do I hug him back, enjoying the warmness and comfort he radiates.

Our intimate moment doesn't last long. I hear someone clear their throat behind me so I pull back from Wyatt. When I do I think I can feel all the colour drain from my face. In front of me stands Jessica, a smirk plastered on a face, her eyes alight with mischief.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?"