The Race For A New Life

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

In the morning, John held a mandatory meeting for the three families. “Okay guys, I know that this situation has gotten worse. But we are in constant contact with several units who are looking for Matt", John said as he looked about the room. Lacy, who looked like she didn’t sleep, was being comforted by her mom. “But… But I don’t understand how we are involved”, she said motioning to her family. Graham turned to her, “He threatened Rae with hurting any and every one that she cared about. So now that he is actually following through on that threat, we need to be mindful of everything.” Russell and Susan were on both sides of Rae. “Lacy, like it or not, we are one big family. So, we all have to deal with this, because everyone is involved one way or another”, said Susan. Lacy crossed her arms and huffed. The meeting continued for about another hour, until they all agreed on safety protocols and keeping open communications at all times.

On their way to the vehicles, Graham and Rae were stopped by Steven. “Hey guys, I just wanted to apologize for how Lacy is reacting to all of this. I think that she even forgets that anything can happen to her”, he said. Rae waved a hand at him, “There’s nothing to forgive. She’s dealing with the loss of a beloved pet. I would probably be acting the same way.” Steven looked around really quick before continuing to speak, “Honestly, I’m glad that dog is gone. That thing wouldn’t shut up.” Graham nodded in agreement, “Too many times I wanted to kick it across the room. It just wouldn’t stop humping my leg.” Rae gasped at him with an incredulous look, “Graham!” He shrugged at her, “What? The only one who loved that dog was Lacy.” Rae rolled her eyes and continued to her car. Both men just shrugged at each other and followed her to the vehicles.

Rae and Darren split up again for her safety. Graham met her at her car, while William was waiting for Darren at his car. “Hey beautiful! You ready to get this show on the road?”, he said as he wrapped his arms around her. She smiled up at him, “Yeah baby, I’m ready.” He kissed her forehead, “That’s good.” He pulled away and noticed an unnatural happy look on her face. “What’s up, baby? Why are you looking like that?”, he then asked. Rae’s smile got wider, “I can officially stop using the crutches tomorrow! Not to mention we are almost done with this race!”, she replied. He kissed her forehead again, “Yes! Yes, we are and I am so happy that you are getting better.” When he pulled back a second time, Rae quickly pecked his cheek with a kiss. “Right! So, let’s get going, handsome!”, she said. With a smile of his own, Graham then helped Rae into the Impala.

Around noon, the racers were on the outskirts of Shreveport. Darren was occupied looking at the weather reports, while William was driving. They were coming up to a sharp curve in the road and William applied the brake. Instantly he noticed a problem, they couldn’t slow down. “Darren! Hold on! The brakes are out!”, he said. Darren looked up to see what was going on and braced for impact. They luckily missed the steel barrier and went into an open field. Unfortunately, a house was coming up fast. “Dude! What do we do? We’re not slowing down!”, said Darren trying not to freak out. Trying to steer the car away from the house, William realized that he couldn’t do that either. He then unbuckled his seatbelt and looked to Darren. “We need to jump out now!” With that Darren also undid his seatbelt and both men jumped from the car. Luckily, they both made it out before the car hit the house.

After seeing what had just happened right in front of them, Graham and Rae pulled over and called their parents. Graham then proceeded to run to his brother and Darren. Soon a couple of ambulances showed up along with the Holmes and Travers elders within a few minutes. The whole process of investigating what had happened took a couple of hours because they had to wait for a tow truck and video surveillance from the last checkpoint. Julia and Susan went with the William and Darren to the hospital. John and Russell stayed and talked with the local state troopers. Meanwhile, Graham got Rae back into the car and went on to Shreveport.

Not long after leaving, Graham pulled into a local diner parking lot and then turned his head to look at Rae. “They are both okay, Rae. The house was unoccupied so that is good.”, he said trying to comfort her. Rae had tears brimming her eyes, “What was wrong with the car?” Graham turned his head back towards the diner, “The brakes were cut.” Rae whipped her head to look at him, “What!” Graham couldn’t repeat what he had just said. All he could do was try not to let his rage consume him. “Graham?”, Rae said with worry across her face. He finally turned his full body towards her, “They are fine, they are alive. Matt will pay for this, I promise you!” Rae’s expression changed to fear at the sound of Matt’s name. Noticing the change, Graham held her in his arms. “This will be over soon, I promise. I promise. I will not allow him to do anything to you. He will pay for his actions. I promise this to you, Rae”, he whispered in her ear.

After having lunch at the diner, Graham and Rae made their way to the Louisiana checkpoint. Rae’s phone begun to ring about half an hour later. Seeing that it was her mom, she picked it up and talked for a few minutes before hanging up. “That was my mom, they are both fine. Both have cuts and bruises, but Darren has a sprained wrist”, she explained to Graham. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “That’s good. I’m sorry about Darren”, he replied. Rae squeezed his hand back, “It could’ve been worse. But I’m glad that they are both okay.” Graham lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it, then put their hands back down. “Me too, beautiful. Me too”, he murmured.

A few minutes later, Rae got another phone call. She gave her phone a questioning look at the unknown number before picking it up. “Hello?”, she asked. “Hey there, baby girl!”, said a gruff masculine voice. Rae froze and Graham took immediate notice. “I’m sorry to hear about your brother, Rae. Honestly, I was trying to get someone else”, he confessed. She looked over to Graham with wide eyes, tears starting to form at the realization. “Matt! Please! Please don’t do anything else! I beg you!”, she said starting to cry. “Oh, baby girl, don’t cry. I will make it all better very soon”, he said on the other end. Rae covered her mouth as she gasped at what he had said. “Matt, I beg you! This has gone too far, Matt!”, she tried to say without crying. She heard him laugh on the other end. “Oh, baby girl, … I have got to admit, I like the sound of you begging to me. But it will stop once you’re back in my arms where you belong! So, until then, I will continue to make my point about who you belong too. Well, baby girl, I need to get going.”, he said. “But I will SEE you soon! I love you!”, and with that he hung up. Rae started to bawl as Graham tried to comfort her the best way he could while driving.

When they got to the checkpoint, Graham quickly shot a text message to his dad. Rae had gotten out of the car trying to put up a front so not to worry Graham. Graham then led her to her room while carrying their bags. A few minutes after getting situated in the room, Graham knelt in front of Rae as she sat on the bed. “How’s your knee, beautiful?”, he asked quietly. She inhaled a deep breath and tilted her head down at him, “What?” He motioned to her left knee, “You know, your knee? It’s something that’s attached to your leg that helps you walk.” Rae gave him a ‘really’ look, causing him to smile at her. “I’m so happy that you know your anatomy of the human body, babe.”, she said sarcastically. He started rubbing her knee trying to put emphasis back on his original question. Rae cup his cheek with her hand, “Baby, my knee is fine. There’s hardly any pain anymore and I appreciate your thoughtfulness.” He stopped rubbing her knee to placed his hand over hers on his cheek, turning his head to place a kiss in the palm of her hand. “But?”, he asked warily. Rae sighed deeply, “But nothing, I’m tired. I know you want to talk about what happened earlier, but I’m too tired to deal with it right now. Okay?” Graham searched her face for minute, contemplating if he should press further, but didn’t. “Okay, beautiful. You get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning”, he softly said. She gave him a thankful smile as he stood. He then leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

John was on the phone when he heard a knock on his hotel room door. Opening it to see Graham, he motioned him in. “Uh huh, okay… Yeah, yeah… Well thanks again, we really appreciate your help. And we will stay in touch. Bye”, John said and then hung up the phone. He then turned to see Graham sitting in the chair by the table, his head in his hands. As John got closer to his son, he noticed Graham was shaking. “Graham? Is everything okay? Is Rae hurt?”, he said as he crouched in front of Graham. Slowly lifting his head from his hands, Graham’s tear-stained face nodded at John. “She’s fine, or at least she says she is”, he answered his dad. John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Well that’s good.” Graham’s eyes harden, “What’s not good is that Matt called her on the way here, after the accident with William and Darren.” John stood up and starting pacing the room, “Oh my god, oh my god.” Graham scoffed at the notion of Matt, “He’s one cocky guy. He’s not afraid to keep tabs on her… And Rae, … She’s trying to show that she’s strong, but I know that it’s really affecting her.” John sat on one of the beds, “How so?” Graham shook his head, “She’s questioned her decision about leaving him. She feels that it’s her fault that he is doing this to us. And now that Darren has been involved, I think that she is really close to the breaking point.” John nodded at this conclusion, “Well she knows that she isn’t alone in this. We need to continue to be there for her.” Graham nodded back in agreement. “Go on to your room, son. Get some sleep and we will figure things out in the morning”, John continued to say. Graham nodded as he waved a hand to his dad and left to go to his hotel room.

Rae had just taken off the bandage from her knee when she noticed a knock at her door. She limped over to look in the peephole to see Lacy. Slowly opening it, she saw that Lacy had brought some toiletries with her. “Hey Lacy, is everything okay?”, she asked. Lacy looked uncertain at Rae, “Yeah, yeah, … well, … not really. I thought that you might want some company. Especially with this Matt thing and now that Darren and William were dragged in, I thought… And well, my involvement as well. I thought that maybe we should team up… You know, strength in numbers kind of thing.” Rae gave her a small smile, “Yeah, strength in numbers. Come on in.” Lacy made her way to the other bed to put her stuff on. “I also wanted to apologize for everything. I have treated you badly and took my frustration out on you. And that’s just not right”, Lacy said with sigh. Rae looked a little stunned at Lacy, “Uh, thanks Lace. It's no big deal, but thanks anyway.” Lacy dipped her head and nodded in ending that awkward tension between them.

Rae made her way back to her bed; she noticed that Lacy was shifting uneasily. “You okay over there, Lace?”, she asked. Lacy pursed her lips and nodded, before moving her body to face Rae. “You know that he’s worried about, right?”, Lacy said. “Who? Graham?”, Rae said with confusion across her face. Lacy shook her head, “No, not Graham. You know that he’s worried about you. I mean Darren.” Rae’s confused look got deeper, “Darren!?” Lacy pursed her lips and nodded again, “Yep, Darren. He’s been worried about you since you broke up with Matt. And especially now that Matt is going all psycho on getting you back.” Rae didn’t know what to think about her brother worrying about her. “You really haven’t noticed, have you?”, asked Lacy. Rae shook her head in disbelief. “Yeah, he’s pretty good at hiding things that he doesn’t want people to know”, Lacy said. Rae smirked at this, “Yeah, yeah, he is. I guess he was trying to protect me in a way.” Lacy tilted her head towards Rae, “Of course he was. You’re his sister. And he prides himself on that. He’s proud of who you have become and what trials you’ve accomplished without faltering.” Rae thought of what Lacy had said, then turned her glaze upon her, “Thanks, Lace. I appreciate it.” Lacy smiled at Rae, “No problem.”

The following morning, Rae and Graham walked into the conference room to meet the others. He stayed close to her since she wasn’t using her crutches and obviously had a slight limp. Once everyone sat down, the meeting began. “Okay, so Julia and Susan are still with the boys, they are doing fine. The doctors say it will be a couple more days until they get out. So, with that we are postponing the race a couple days.”, said John. Grace lifted her hand before speaking, “What exactly happened? And do we need to take extra precautions?” Russell, John and Steven looked at each other having a silent conversation. Russell then cleared his throat, “The brakes were cut on William’s car. We think and believe that Matt was trying to actually get rid of the competition.” Rae jerked her head towards her dad, “Competition?!” Russell lowered his head to Rae’s reaction. “How about we call it as it is? He tried to kill my boyfriend and his brother! But instead of my boyfriend it was my brother!”, Rae continued to say. Steven then put up a hand to calm her, “Rae, it’s okay. They are fine and nobody got seriously injured. Matt couldn’t have known that Darren was in the car with William.” John hummed in agreement, “And when he is caught, he will have a lot more charges pressed on him. So, he will be gone for a very long time, if fact I highly doubt that he will ever be a free man again.” Graham put his arm around Rae’s shoulders and pulled her towards him. Once she felt his side, Rae put her head on his shoulder.

Tracy then changed the subject, “So what about the extra precautions?” John then flipped a page of his notebook over, “Yes, precautions. We will be taking the next couple days to check every single vehicle to make sure that there is no man-made damage to them. Also, we are doing extra background checks on everybody.” The kids either made sort of noise or movement to show that they agreed. “Alright, so for the next couple days just try to relax. Maybe go sightseeing or something fun to take your minds off of this, okay?”, said Russell. Grace and Lacy had said ‘okay’ in unison as Graham and Rae nodded at them.

Rae and Graham were on their way back to Rae’s room, when they both noticed something by the door. There was a huge bouquet of red roses waiting on the floor at the door. They both looked each other and then back down the hall. “How much do you want to bet that those are from Matt?”, asked Rae. Graham shook his head and exhaled a deep breath, “I’m not one for betting, but I would bet a good chunk of change on that.” Picking up the bouquet, Rae waited in the hall as Graham checked the room. “Okay, everything seems okay in here”, he said. Rae took a deep breath and went inside to sit on one of the beds after she placed the bouquet on the table. Graham saw a small envelope peeking out of the bouquet and grabbed it. Rae lifted an eyebrow at it as he looked it over. “Do you want to read it?”, he asked. At first, she shook her head, but as he went to throw it away, Rae grabbed it. She looked up at him after unfolding the note, then continued to read it.

Hey baby girl!

It’s me! Once again, I’m so sorry about Darren. That really wasn’t supposed to happened. I really didn’t want any of this to happened, but you forced my hand, baby. But don’t worry, everything is will alright once your back where you belong. Safe in my arms, away from those who threaten to take you away from me. I will see you soon, baby! I love you!

Yours forever! Matt

Putting her head in her hands, Rae took a shuddering breath. Graham then sat next to her, engulfing her in his embrace. Shaking from her crying, Rae then turned in his arms and held tight to his shoulders. “Shh… Shh… It’s okay. I’m here. I won’t let anything happened to you, Rae. He will not get to anyone else”, he whispered. She sniffed before speaking, “I just want this to be over! I’m just so tired of this!” Graham nodded against her shoulder, “I know, beautiful, I know. And it will be soon. I promise!” Rae pulled away and wipes her tear-stained cheeks, “I should probably get some rest then. You know, to calm my nerves.” Graham took hold of her hand, “I want you to stay in my room, okay? Just to be safe.” She smiled at him, “Okay.” Graham then got her all stuff and took her to his room.

The next morning, Graham and Rae spent the day in town. Visiting the little shops and tourist’s attractions. Just by holding her hand, Graham knew that Rae wasn’t okay with something. He tried to put it in the back of his mind to think about later. However, Rae could sense that he wanted to say something about what was going on. Making sure that their fingers were intertwined, she gave his hand a squeeze to show that she was alright. Graham turned his gaze to her and smiled down on her, she easily returned the smile. After a few feet, he let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist and pull her towards him. Rae also looped her arms around his torso, kissing his collarbone. He returned the affection by kissing her temple.

After couple more days had passed, and everything was settling down. William and Darren were finally released from the hospital. All the background checks were clear and the cars maintenances went off without a hitch. There was another mandatory meeting talking about extra precautions and being alert for any and everything. With the affirmation from everybody about keeping an eye out, the meeting was dismissed.

Walking back to Graham’s room, Rae couldn’t take it anymore. “Just say it, Graham.”, she said. He gave her a confused look, “Say what?” Sighing at his response, “Say what’s been on your mind the past couple of days. It’s really making me tense and stressed out.” Grabbing her hand, he made her stop and face him. Looking up at him, Rae saw his look of concern and endearment. “I’ve noticed that you haven’t been okay, Rae. Ever since that meeting about how William and Darren were doing. Babe, I can’t help but be concerned for you. Please, just tell me what is going through that pretty little head of yours”, he confessed. Rae took deep breath and turned her gaze elsewhere, “Okay, okay. I’m… I’m a bit frazzled. I mean, my brother and your brother were in an accident. Followed by receiving flowers and a message from my ex. I… I… don’t know what to do. I mean I feel like I should do something, but obviously I can’t.” Graham then gently grabbed Rae’s chin to look into her eyes, “What did the message say?” Rae’s eyes widened and she started to tremble, “That he was sorry about Darren and that Darren wasn’t the intended target. He… He…” Rae felt the tears trickling down her cheeks, “He meant for it to happened to someone else. He meant for it to be you! I just know that he meant for it to be you, Graham!” He pulled her into his arms and held her there as she was crying and shaking. “Shh… Shh… He didn’t get me. He didn’t get me. Matt will never be able to take me away from you! No one ever will! I promise, Rae! You’re stuck with me till death do us part, beautiful”, he calmly said as he started to rock her back and forth.

When they finally got back to his hotel room, Graham helped Rae lay down. He rubbed her back until she fell asleep. Thinking about what Rae had said about the message from Matt, he knew that this wouldn’t end until either he was dead or Matt was stopped. He couldn’t deal seeing Rae in pain about this. She deserved so much better than what she went through, what she is going through. Immediately, Graham got onto his laptop and started researching something. Rae needed something after this to get her mind off of this situation. And he was going to provide it. One way or another.

Luckily, the race was able to continue the next day. Darren and William then switched back to be with their siblings. Darren was telling Rae about how Lacy won’t stop texting him until the nurse called Lacy to stop. Rae tried not to laugh about what Lacy’s expression might’ve looked like about not being able to text or talk to her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Graham and William were talking about Rae and how she was doing. Graham shared his plan with William about what he wanted to do for Rae after the race. William gave him an encouraging smiled and wished him luck as she was going to love it.

Upon getting to the checkpoint at the state line of Mississippi and Alabama, Graham met up with Rae and took her to his hotel room. After entering the room, he sat on the bed holding her and comforting her that it was almost over. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate. “Hello? Hey, what’s going on?”, he asked. “Okay, hey! Can you hold on for a minute?”, Graham then asked the person on the other end. He then turned to Rae, “Hey baby, I got to get this. But I’m just going to be outside the door.” She looked up at him, “Okay.” Rae then got up to let him go. When he closed the door, she could hear him mumble something about the race and something else that she couldn’t make out. Unfortunately, she felt her eyes getting heavy and dozed off before Graham came back in.

In the morning, the sun came peeking into the hotel room and found its way directly to Rae’s face. “Aarrgghh mmmph …”, she groaned. Rolling over, she found herself alone in the room. “Graham? Graham?”, she asked while looking around the room for any hint of him. The bathroom door then swung open. “Baby?”, he asked walking out. “Hey… I wasn’t sure if you were here or not”, she said. Graham walked over to her and sat down next to her, “Of course I’m here. I wouldn’t leave without telling you first. Are you feeling okay, baby?” Rae smiled at him, “Yeah, I’m okay. Especially since you’re here.” Grabbing his hand and bringing it to her mouth, she kissed the back of it. Giving her a look of endearment, he asked, “Are you ready to get up?” She nodded while she stretched, “Yep! I’m ready!” He helped her to her feet and cautiously looked after her since she wasn’t using the crutches. Rae rolled her eyes at him because of his hovering. “Baby, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. I don’t need my crutches, I can walk just fine.”, she said walking into the bathroom. “Oh, I’ll always be worried if something happens to you”, he mumbled as she closed the bathroom door.

An hour later, they were on their way to the Florida Panhandle checkpoint. Luckily no one had any car problems and made it there safely. However, everyone was tense as the race was about to end. Which wasn’t unusual. Anyone could win at this point. Especially with the hope that any unwanted attention would end soon.