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“Why are you telling me all of this, Gunter? Dyson and I aren’t speaking, and at this point, that’s fine with me.”
“I’m telling you all of this because you’re the only one that can help.”
I looked up towards the ceiling, closing my eyes and shaking my head.
“Why does everyone keep saying that? He doesn’t listen to me. I’ve tried everything I can to get through to him, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want to drive Formula One anymore, Gunter. There’s nothing that you or I or anyone can do about it.”
“I disagree, Ava.” he replied. “Everyone knows what is going on between you. I know you may not believe it, but you are the only one who can talk him into coming back.”
I let out a deep exhale. I didn’t know what else to say to him. None of this made any sense to me.
“Even if you are right, Gunter, Dyson is still suspended. And now, after this latest crash on his motorcycle, I don’t see that changing.”
“That’s the news I was just about to tell you.”
I turned away from the window and started to walk to the other side of my room.
“What news? What are you talking about now, Gunter?”
“I’ve already talked to Dieter. I’ve withdrawn my complaint against Dyson. If you are able to convince him to come back, they will allow him to race. The simple truth is that the team needs him.”
I stopped in place, shaking my head, more confused about things than ever.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Gunter.”
Gunter remained quiet for a moment. “Just say that you are going to talk to him. Just say that you are going to try.”
“I can’t promise anything. I need time to clear my head. Not that it’s any of your business, but Dyson really hurt me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Ava. We haven’t spoken much, but you strike me as a goodhearted person, not to mention beautiful. Dyson can be an asshole, but I don’t think he is a bad person. If I did, I wouldn’t be going to these lengths.”
I sighed. “Gunter, I-I’ve got to go.”
With that, he thanked me for my time and wished me luck if I talked to Dyson again. After I hung up, I stood there for a moment. I really didn’t know what to do. The only person I could rely on right now was Jillian. I exited my bedroom and walked into Jillian’s a few seconds later, closing the door behind me.
“I really need to talk. Do you have a few minutes?”
Sitting at her desk, she turned and looked at me. “Of course. What was that call about?”
Over the next couple of minutes, I told her what Gunter had asked me to do. I explained that he’d managed to get Dyson’s suspension lifted. The only thing that remained now was to convince Dyson to return to Formula One.
After I finished speaking, Jillian looked at me in silence for a few moments. “Well, I’ve already told you how I feel, what I think. I don’t like the way Dyson has been treating you, Ava. Just because he’s upset with racing, it doesn’t give him the right to treat you the way he has. Don’t you see where I’m coming from?”
I nodded. “I do, yes. I’ve told myself the same thing. Believe me. But until he had his first crash, things were good between us—great. In my heart, I think he’s just hurting.”
Jillian waved me off. “Ava, sweetie, you can tell yourself whatever you want to justify it. I understand you want to help him. It also says something about what a good person you are that Dyson’s main rival called you to help him.”
By now, I’d sat down at the foot of Jillian’s bed. She stood from her chair and walked over towards me.
“And I guess that I have to take your word about how he’s been behaving since he wrecked. The thing that bothers me is how he’s taken out his emotions on you.”
I looked up at her. “I know. It bothers me too. So much so that I almost told Gunter that I didn’t want to help anymore.”
“Mmm hmm,” she began, staring down at me. “Does that mean that you decided to help after all?”
I shrugged, dropping my hands in my lap and looking down at them. “I still don’t know. I have to decide soon though. Time is running out before the next race in New York.”
AVA
I spent the next day or two disconnected from everything related to Formula One. I hadn’t made any promises to anyone, and the more I thought about Jillian’s point of view, the more I began to feel like she was right.
I had enough to deal with in my own life. Now that Simon’s school situation looked to be set in stone, I had to do what I could to get him in the best public school possible.
In addition, I went in and spoke to Dr. Wilcox about getting my old position back. He’d hired some temporary help and was still under contract with them.
Originally, he hadn’t planned on my return until after the conclusion of the race in New York. He offered to break the contract and bring me back early, but to do so would’ve been very expensive for him. I didn’t feel right about it. I’d manage to get by until then, so I told him not to worry.
The downside to having this unexpected bit of free time on my hands was that I found it difficult to put Dyson out of my thoughts for long.
Making matters worse, Marco called and messaged me multiple times a day. The team was already in New York, testing and getting the cars ready for the final race.
It was about midmorning when I left home, heading out to run a couple of errands before picking Simon up at school later that day. Exiting my apartment, I walked in the direction of my car, squinting and fumbling around in my purse looking for my sunglasses.
“Oh,” I groaned, looking down inside my bag. “Come on, where the hell are they?”
I stopped in place, searching for another second or so, until at last, I found them. I pulled them out, looked both ways and then took a single step towards my car before freezing in my tracks.
Less than twenty feet away, leaning against the side of my vehicle, stood Dyson. Even from a distance, he looked like hell. Bruises and cuts covered his arms and face.
We stood there in silence, just looking at one another. I felt torn between wanting to hug him, thrilled to see him alive, and wanting to kick him in the balls for treating me like he did the last time we were together. After another moment or so, I swallowed hard, whipped my purse strap across my shoulder and marched in his direction.
He eased himself away from the side of my car, wincing at the same time. At that point, I really wasn’t interested in hearing about his pain or injuries, only telling him what was on my mind, once and for all.
“What are you doing here, Dyson?” I began, pointing my index finger in his direction. “Do you have any idea, any, how mad I am with you? Because if you don’t, you need to. You owe me an apology, and it better be a damn good one, or otherwise you can just get the hell out of here. Do I make myself clear?”
Dyson never took his eyes off me. He slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.
“You’re right, Ava,” he began, shaking his head and looking down at the ground. He kicked at a piece of loose gravel on the pavement. “Everything you said, you’re right. I was a piece of shit. I didn’t mean what I said. I’ve missed you, and I was a fucking idiot. I don’t expect you to accept that from me, but it’s true.”
He paused for a moment, looking up at me once again.
“But I did mean what I said about racing. I’m done with Formula One for good.”
I’d crossed my arms at my chest while I listened to him.
“Are you finished, Dyson?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Without hesitating, I uncrossed my arms and slapped him as hard as I could, once on each cheek. Stunned, Dyson reached up and touched the side of his face.
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “I deserved that and…”
“Shut up, Dyson,” I replied, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Just shut up and listen to me.”
He raised his hands in front of his body in a gesture of mock surrender.
“I slapped you twice for a reason. The first one is for treating me like you did, and the second one is for giving up on yourself.”
He slid his hands back in his pockets once more. I continued.
“You know how I feel about you. I’ve made that clear. Do you want to be with me? Just tell me right now. I don’t have time for any more games.”
He nodded at me. “Yeah, of course I do.”
Once he’d finished, I took another step towards him, poking him in the chest.
“Okay then,” I began, licking my lips for an instant. “You need to get back on that racetrack. Because I’ll tell you right now, the last thing I’m going to do is come and pick your body up from the morgue because you pull another ridiculous stunt like that motorcycle crash the other day.”
I paused for a fraction of a second. Dyson tried to say something, but I put my hand up in front of his face.
“I’m not finished.” I began, increasing the volume of my voice. “This is how it’s going to be. You either go back to racing, or don’t bother coming back here for me because I’m not interested.”
Done with what I wanted to say, I stepped back and crossed my arms, feeling liberated. Dyson just stood there, his mouth hanging open a fraction, with a look of disbelief on his face.
