RACERS

CHAPTER SIX: The Side Nobody Knows

AXEL'S POV

There were three things I hated.

Liars.

Losing.

And people asking questions about my past.

Unfortunately, Isabelle Carter seemed like the type of girl who would do all three without blinking.

I leaned against my car, watching Daniel argue with one of the guys from my crew.

"You're unusually quiet tonight," he said, throwing me a suspicious look.

"I'm always quiet."

Daniel laughed. "You? Quiet? Since when?"

I ignored him and checked my phone.

No new messages.

Not that I was waiting for any.

Especially not from a certain sharp-tongued girl who had managed to insult me, analyse my car, and walk away as though I were just another random guy on the street.

Isabelle.

Even her name was becoming irritating.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" Daniel asked.

I looked up sharply. "Who?"

He grinned. "The girl from the car meet. The one who spoke to you like you were nobody."

"She's nobody."

"Then why do you look like you want to argue with me every time I mention her?"

I pushed away from the car.

"Find something useful to do, Daniel."

He laughed as I walked away.

The truth was, I didn't understand why that girl had stayed in my head.

Girls usually wanted something from me. My money, my attention, my reputation. Some wanted to be seen beside me because they thought it made them important.

Isabelle hadn't cared about any of that.

She'd looked at my car with genuine interest, challenged my opinions, and treated me like I was just another arrogant guy who needed to be humbled.

The annoying part?

She wasn't entirely wrong.

I stopped near the garage entrance and stared at my reflection in the dark window.

For a second, I saw someone I hadn't wanted to remember.

A younger version of myself.

A boy who had once believed that if he worked hard enough, he could keep everyone he loved safe.

I clenched my jaw.

Not tonight.

I wasn't going back there.

"Axel!"

Daniel's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"What?"

He held up his phone. "There's a race this weekend. Big one. You in?"

Normally, I'd have agreed before he finished asking.

Racing was the one place where everything made sense. The engine, the road, the concentration required to control a powerful machine. No questions. No memories. No feelings I couldn't explain.

"Send me the details," I said.

Daniel nodded, then hesitated.

"One more thing. That girl—Isabelle. She asked Mia about you."

I went still.

"What did she ask?"

He shrugged. "Your story, apparently. Why you left school. That kind of thing."

A humourless laugh escaped me.

Of course she had.

"Let her ask," I said coldly. "She won't get any answers."

But later that night, alone in my room, I found myself remembering the way her expression had changed when she'd realised she'd touched a nerve.

She'd looked sorry.

Not frightened. Not embarrassed.

Sorry.

I wasn't used to that.

And I hated how much I wanted to see her again.

I picked up my phone, opened a new message, and stared at the empty screen.

What was I supposed to say?

Hey, the girl who insulted me twice today is still on my mind?

Ridiculous.

I locked the phone and threw it onto the bed.

There was no way I was chasing Isabelle Carter.

If she wanted to know about my past, she'd have to discover it herself.

Because some stories were better left buried.

And mine was one of them.