Just one more lap and I'd be cruising down the lane at breakneck speed, possibly killing myself. But oh, the adrenaline rush don't stop at nothin'.

I slammed my foot on the godforsaken accelerator, releasing the brake as I did so. I zoomed forward, nearly colliding with Harvey Baltimore. He smirked at me because I could swear I saw him with a maniacal smile on his stupid face.

Pressing my lips together in disgust, I swerved left, keeping close to the circuit. My hands were steady on the wheel and I could feel the engine roaring as the finish line loomed in front of me. I was so close. Another lap and I would win.

I could not afford to lose this race or I'd be kicked off of next year's Grand Prix. I had two more races to go this cycle and after my recent scandal at the wedding altar, the FIA was done with me. They had no interest in my moral reasons or my logical opinions.

It was either winning the remaining races or patching up with the Devil herself and I would do anything to avoid the latter. I had to win today and absolutely nothing was going to stand in my way.

Much less Harvey stupid Baltimore.

Before I could process it all, I found myself neck to neck with Harvey's gleaming black Ferrari. We were still fifty miles away from the line but if there was anything I knew about Harvey, it was that he would kill to win. Favian, my closest friend and teammate, had gone down against him and if it wasn't a crime, I would have strangled Harvey by now.

He was so going to stand on the second place pedestal. I would make damn sure of it, the rat. I revved my engine and then there was nothing but smoke, the screech of tyres and fire in my eyes. I raced alongside Harvey, my concentration never wavering from the finish line.

I could hear the crowd roaring my name, the endless chants mixing together into one deafening sound. I was so close now, Harvey on my heels. The lap was almost over and I just had to cover a few more miles. I would win. This was too easy.

I saw the finish line go upside down before I felt the impact. My car lurched forward and flipped, the engine spluttering and one of the tyres falling off. Harvey sped past me, his smug smile worse in my upside down vision. The head of the car crashed into the cement and the entire glass of the windshield rained shards on me.

My head burned from the impact of bone and metal and before I knew it, a steady trickle of blood was slipping down the side of my face. My arms hurt from where they were stuffed in an uncomfortable position and I could feel a broken rib or two.

The adrenaline from before simmered and lessened the ache a little. Every sensation was heightened and I choked on the burning smoke and my face prickled with pain. My eyes fluttered before they gave out completely and I fell into a deep sleep, my mind rushing with images of Harvey, Favian, the finish line and a strange distant light.

🥂

When I opened my eyes again, a sharp pain shot through my skull and I pressed my eyes closed again. Someone stirred beside me. They reached out to touch my hand and I made a low choking sound in my throat. I felt my lungs smouldering and the numerous bandages bearing down on my arms, chest and legs.

"Dan? You with us?" A voice said and I moved my fingers slowly, signalling that I was listening.

I heard them let out a sigh of relief. With a painful hammering in my head, I peeped my eyes open and saw the outline of a caramel skinned, black eyed and tousle haired guy sitting next to me.

Joshua.

"Josh, hi," I said, gulping after every word I spoke.

"No, don't talk. I came as soon as I heard. The doctor's advised you to rest as much as possible." He stopped, seemingly noticing how hard I kept flinching after every second. "Do you want me to call someone?" He asked, cautiously.

I shook my head slowly and motioned for him to help me sit up. He got up from his armchair and bent down to pull the lever that would push my backrest into a sitting position. When I was comfortable, I folded my hands on my lap.

"I lost, didn't I?"

I must have looked dejected and down because Joshua came around to my side, placing his arm across my shoulder. He clicked his tongue. I knew he wasn't going to answer my question.

"Look, the doctors said it would be best if you took a break for a while. That was a nasty fall and thankfully, you broke a rib and sprained you wrists. The bruises should heal in a week but you need to get away, especially after what happened with Favian—"

He trailed off and I looked down into my tangled hands. I hadn't been able to save him then and I hadn't been able to avenge him now. Hell, I almost joined him today. And all because of that foolish swine—

"Harvey crashed his car into mine, didn't he?"

Joshua stayed silent, quietly acknowledging what I had known all along. One day I was going to get even with him and he wouldn't know what hit him. But before my murderous train of thought could swerve into darker territories, Joshua pressed a button next to my bed and a doctor flanked by a nurse came in.

"Mr. Mendoza, how are you feeling?" She said with a gentle smile and started taking readings off the beeping monitors around me.

I nodded. "Much better than I was five minutes ago," I said coyly.

She definitely would send a discharge note if I played my cards right. Instead she shook her head patronisingly.

"My good Sir, if you think flirting is going to make me write out an all okay order for you, you've been mistaken. Now, Alice, send this down to the lab and see that it's done." She handed a paper to the nurse and she disappeared into the corridor.

Dr. Surya, according to her name tag, now properly turned to me. Before I could get in a word or two, Joshua spoke up, "Doctor, if it's okay, may I ask you a question?"

Doctor Surya nodded. "Please, do."

Joshua looked at me sheepishly before he regained his normal, charming stance. "In the emergency room, you told Dan's manager that he needed rest and possibly a month or two before he got back to racing. I was wondering if—"

"Yes?"

"Well, you see, I'm getting married. In a month. In Hawaii."

Joshua looked at me again, afraid I would vehemently protest. But I was too stunned to say anything. I had absolutely no idea that one my best friends was about to take a huge step forward. How could I have been so aloof?

Favian, something whispered inside me and I felt immediately ashamed. I had never moved on and I had thought no one else would either. I had largely distanced myself. It had only fed my anger and look where that got me.

Joshua sighed. "Doctor, what would you say to Daniel travelling to Hawaii? It would give him a change of scenery, loads of rest and friends and family around him. He'd even have tons of things to do to keep his mind off of things."

Doctor Surya, ran her tongue over lips, thinking intently. "Yes, I suppose it would help Mr. Mendoza." She looked at me then and quirked an eyebrow. "Looks like someone's going on a wedding vacation."

Joshua's face lit up at that and he grinned at Doctor Surya. It hit me then, the FIA, the horrible scandal, the warning. I would be out of a job before you could say wedding and no one wanted to play those odds, much less myself.

"All that's fine but the FIA isn't going to like it. The press will go crazy; you'll have nonstop coverage at your wedding and all of it will be about me." I made air quotes, "Disgraced at the altar, disgraced at the circuit. I don't want you to deal with that nonsense."

I shook my head but Joshua tutted loudly. I looked up at him and he started laughing, much to my annoyance and Doctor Surya's surprise. He walked over to me then, clearly amused and said, "Why do you think everything's about you?"

Doctor Surya coughed. "I'm going to leave you two to sort things out. I'll write down a discharge note for Mr. Mendoza here." She smiled at me before leaving. "You'll be up and running in no time."

I turned to Joshua, my attention fully restored. "What do you mean?"

He patted my right hand, where the IV pierced the top layer of my skin. It looked pale and transparent. Maybe I had been slacking on my health for too long. Maybe giving into the idea of Favian and Harvey had asked too much of me.

"You've got your manager to thank after this. The FIA had clearly stated that if you lost this race, you'd be out of the next Grand Prix for all the scandals and losses after her," he said suggestively, "and Favian."

I looked away again, out of the window that offered a view into the hospital grounds below. Children ran around in circles, some with oxygen tanks and others with a body part bandaged. Even in the face of such pain, they seemed to be happy. Free, I thought and Favian came to mind.

I hoped he was free wherever he was, too.

"Dan?"

I blinked and nodded, asserting my presence. Joshua seemed satisfied and he continued talking. "Basically, they want you to have a break, given that you technically did not lose the race. I've got—"

That got all of my attention and I sat up straighter. "What?" I asked, a low hum to my voice, a mixture of relief and fright. "What did you say?"

Joshua looked like I had lost my marbles and thousands of kids had just trampled all over them. "I said," he said, spelling out each word slowly and carefully, "that you did not technically lose."

My hands went limp and a huge burden seemed to step off my chest. Later I would remember how it felt so close to having a fat man dancing in Prada heels on your lungs. "But I did," I whispered, unable to process the fact that I still had a job.

"That's the thing. No one thought you'd have an accident, of all people. You've always been careful," he said, his smile rueful and quiet.

"Gee, thanks."

"Well, the board fixated on losing and you had an accident because of Harvey. All that is fair game but he really did push his car into yours so he's been suspended for the next race. It's being held next month so you get off till then!"

And as Joshua nearly shrieked at the prospect of having one of his childhood friends at his wedding, I couldn't help but pin on the fact that I got to be there when Favian did not. It didn't seem fair to me at all but when I saw Joshua grinning, I decided to be there for him.

"Can't wait," I said, although I knew I definitely could.