Running Away From the World
Chapter Four
"We're here," Leon stated as he pulled up to a white two-story house with several cars parked in the driveway.
"All of you guys live in one house," Raylen asked, wondering how exactly seven or more people could possibly live in a house that size.
"Yeah."
By Leon's response, Raylen was sure that it was possible. How exactly, she wasn't sure.
The two of them climbed out of the car and headed toward the front door. Raylen twisted the bag anxiously in her hands. She was hoping that Mia would be able to help her big time. Never before has she been this nervous. No, that was a lie. She had been this nervous before, but that was only once. And she never wanted to go through that again. Let alone talk about it. Raylen shook her head, hoping to rid it of the thoughts of her past.
Butterflies felt as if they were performing The Nutcracker on her stomach. Her fingers began to tap an unknown rhythm on the bag as they neared the door. Leon opened it slowly and gestured for her to go in first. Raylen took a deep breath and nodded.
As she entered, she saw almost everyone from the team sprawled out in the spacious living room. The house seemed a lot bigger now that she was inside. Raylen's eyes scanned the room's occupants in search of Mia. When she did not see her, her heart dropped to her toes.
How am I going to do this? her mind screamed.
"Oh hey, Raylen," Mia said as she began to walk down the stairs that were straight in front of Raylen.
A huge smile crossed Raylen's face as she ran up the stairs to get to Mia. Raylen could feel Leon's eyes on her, but decided to ignore him for the present moment. There would be plenty of time later for them to talk.
"I need your help," Raylen whispered, looking at Mia anxiously.
Mia nodded her and a sense of seriousness seemed to pass over them both.
"Let's go to my room," she responded as she took Raylen's hand.
Raylen looked over her shoulder back at Leon and mouthed the words, I'll be right back, to him. Leon nodded before he walked into the living room.
Once inside the safe haven of Mia's room, Mia turned to Raylen and said, "What's wrong?"
A blush crept upon her cheeks slowly before answering. "It may not seem like anything big, but I don't know what to wear."
Mia let out a hearty laugh. "Girl, you had me thinking someone was out to kill you with the tone you were using."
The blushed deepened on Raylen's cheeks.
"Don't be embarrassed, I would freak out too if I were going out with Leon," Mia said with a soft smile.
"I'm not…dating him or anything. We're just going as...as…well…I guess…" Raylen was really unsure of what she and Leon were. She liked Leon, and she was sure that he liked her, but then again there was that small little fact that they had only known each other for a day.
"Friends?" Mia asked. The tone of her voice said that she didn't believe it.
Raylen ran a hand through her hair and placed the bag on Mia's bed.
"Don't worry…we'll find something…"
"I sure hope so," Raylen replied before she began to nibble on her thumb nail.
Leon plopped down on the couch next to Vince and sighed.
"That Raylen?" Vince asked.
Leon nodded. "She's getting Mia's help on what to wear."
"They better figure it out fast; we're pulling out in fifteen."
The boys sat around watching TV until finally they heard Mia's door open and two pairs of footsteps heading down the stairs. Mia was the first to appear and Leon found himself becoming a little nervous. The feeling was foreign to him, he had always been able to keep his cool around women, but today was totally different. Raylen was different from the skanks that he was use to being around. She had more spunk in her and certainly knew how to light up a room. When Raylen finally appeared on the stairs, he couldn't help but stand up and walk over to her. Everything inside of him told him to go up to her, touch her, make sure she was real. At that moment in time Leon had more passion for Raylen after knowing her for one day than someone who he had dated for over a year.
"You look gorgeous," he whispered into her ear once she reached the bottom of the stairs.
His eyes scanned over her outfit and his body began to ache for her. She wear wearing a tan mini-skirt that had slits up an inch above the bottom of the skirt with a low cut white satin lace-light pink trim camisole and white high heels. Her hair was pulled up into a low pony tail and wisps of hair framed her face. The dark mascara and light eye shadow she was wearing accented her brown eyes.
"Come on, lover boy," Dom called out as the team started to head out of the house.
Leon chuckled before taking Raylen's hand. It took nearly all of his self-control to just lead her to the car. All of his male urges were begging for him to do something entirely different. Once they were tucked safely in the car, Leon grabbed Raylen and smashed his lips against hers.
Raylen couldn't help but laugh when Vince honked his horn at Leon. He was blocking in everyone and no one could get out of the driveway.
"I think we better get going," she whispered to Leon, who merely nodded and started up the car.
Pierce turned off his phone and slipped it in his back pocket.
"What was that about, sweetie?" Reagan said as she wrapped an arm around his waist.
Reagan was Pierce's girlfriend of almost a year. She was about five feet seven inches and had long brown hair that reached down to her shoulder blades. Pierce turned around and placed a kiss on Reagan's lips.
"Just talking to my sister," he replied.
Reagan frowned and mentally noted that Pierce seemed a little distracted.
"You tell her yet?"
Pierce shook his head no. A look of anger flashed onto her face.
"Pierce, you need to tell her. What happens when she's attacked? She's going to come to you for answers, and I have a feeling that she won't be happy."
He ran a hand through his short brown hair and sighed deeply.
"I have a guy out there watching her. Every move she makes, I know about. She'll be fine."
Reagan rolled her eyes.
"You hired a baby-sitter?"
"No, not a baby-sitter. I hired a guy to keep an eye on her, but he is, under no circumstances, allowed to tell her that I hired him."
"If I were Raylen, I would be very pissed."
Pierce smiled and wrapped his arms around Reagan's waist. "That's why I'm glad you are not her."
The sound of music floated out into the alleyway. They were standing outside the club 1707,an underground club that only the elite street racers and their crews knew about. The two of them turned their attention to the back exit of club. Kyra, a friend of theirs and roommate, stumbled out of the club and wrenched her head around to scan the alleyway.
"Pierce, there you are!" she said as she spotted Pierce and Reagan. Kyra sounded a little distressed.
"What is it?" Pierce replied, letting go of Reagan, who was also concerned.
"It's Jarrett. He-he's here and he wants to see you."
Pierce let out a string of obscenities before kicking the side of the building.
"I thought you told him that you would have to money next week, Pierce," Reagan said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
Pierce began to pace back and forth in the small alleyway. "I did. The son-of-a-bitch is early. Damn it!"
"You need to tell your sister before this gets out of hand. If he's this eager to get the money there's no telling how soon it'll be before he's after Raylen. I have a feeling that even though we're paying him to stay away from her, that he's going to go after her. She's gotten away from him once; he won't let her get away from him again."
Pierce ran a shaky hand through his hair before looking over at Kyra. "How'd he find us here? How in the hell did he get in?"
Kyra shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I was at the bar and the next thing I know, he's buying me a drink telling me that he needs to see you."
"Oh man, this is fucked up. He's probably got guys tracking us," Reagan said. She began looking around the alley for signs that there was someone else around.
"Reagan, calm down. I'll settle this all right, baby," Pierce said as he put his hands on her cheeks. Kyra stood next to them chewing on her thumb nail.
"Pierce, I don't like it. I don't like it at all."
He placed a kiss on Reagan's lips before facing Kyra. "Look, I want you to take Reagan back to the house. You two have to stay there. I'll talk to Jarrett and find out what he wants. Once I've done that, I'll go home and we can figure out what to do next."
"No. I won't do it. I won't leave you with that bastard," Reagan spat out.
"Reagan, please, do this for me."
Reagan nodded her head after a while and followed Kyra out to Regan's car, a Toyota Celica. Pierce watched the two girls walk out of the alleyway before he turned around and headed into 1707.
As Leon's Skyline neared the warehouse where everyone met up before the race, Raylen felt butterflies begin to dance in her stomach. Unlike what she had told Leon, Raylen was accustomed to races. She used to be a racer herself, but that was before she ran away. Ran away from the man of her nightmares. The nervousness displayed across her features was not from her new-ness to the scene. It was from the uncertainty that a certain someone would be there. He had found her before, and this time she knew would be no exception. It was only a matter of time before he found her and that thought alone made Raylen sick to her stomach.
"First race?" Leon asked. He had a slight smile on his face as he watched, from the corner of his eye, Raylen shift in her seat.
"Yeah, it that obvious?" she asked. A slight pang floated through Raylen. She felt bad for lying to him, but when she was in the shower she decided that telling Leon about him was probably not the best option. I'll keep quiet for a little while, she told herself.
"Just a little," he replied.
The team was setting up in the V formation. Raylen gave Leon a curious look.
"It's just something we do. A bit of tradition," he explained.
Raylen nodded her head before staring out the passenger's window. The scene reminded her much of the one in Memphis, Tennessee, where she had previously lived. The only difference was that in Memphis, there were no teams, you were all by yourself.
Leon lifted his hand up and laid in down on Raylen's thigh.
"Don't be nervous," he said, sending chills down her spine. "We're here to have fun, all right?"
Leon could definitely tell that Raylen wasn't new to the race scene. She didn't have to type of reaction toward the races as many new-comers did. Her eyes weren't all glossed over like he had seen many people's do. There was something else that she was hiding. It kind of hurt that she wouldn't tell him what was bothering her, but then again they had only known each other for one day, which really freaked Leon out. He wasn't used to caring this much about people. If Raylen had been a skank, then wouldn't give a damn about why she was nervous.
Leon brought his car to a stop right behind Dom's RX-7. He opened his door and climbed out. Raylen did the same thing before coming to stand at his side. Leon wrapped an arm protectively around her as he noticed several racers and racer-wanna-bes eyeing her.
"I feel like I'm at a zoo, and I'm the main attraction," Raylen whispered to Leon, also noticing the many eyes on her.
"Just stick close to me, and you won't have to worry about a thing," Leon said to her before placing a kiss on her lips. Raylen melted into his side and he couldn't help but think how right it felt to have her by his side.
"How we goin' to do this?" Hector said as he approached Dom.
"5 G buy in, winner takes all, like always," Dom said.
Leon's attention snapped away from Dom and toward Raylen when he felt her tense up.
"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing that she wasn't looking at him but at someone in the crowd. Someone that he couldn't quite see, but apparently she had a clear view of.
"It-It's nothing. I just thought I…"
"Raylen, what's wrong?" Leon asked again. Her eyes never moved from the spot in the crowd.
"Can we just go sit in the car? I'm not feeling too good all of a sudden." Raylen moved her eyes suddenly from the spot in the crowd up to Leon's eyes. There was a sense of pleading written all over her and Leon became alarmed.
"Yeah, we can do that," he said as he guided her back to the Skyline.
Vince and Dom gave him questioning glances, but all Leon could do was shrug his shoulders. He had no idea why Raylen's demeanor had changed so suddenly. The only thing that he could think of was that she saw someone that she didn't want to.
Leon opened the passenger's side door and helped her inside. He then jogged around to the driver's side and climbed in. Once in side, he found her in a fetal position.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
He moved closer to Raylen and managed to get her to look at him. Her eyes were slightly red and she was shaking.
"I'm fine, really," she replied.
"You're lying."
Raylen sighed deeply and laid her head on the door.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"'Bout what?"
Silence.
Leon reached over and brushed a wisp out of Raylen's eyes. She looked up at him and gave him a slight smile.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said after a while.
"No, you need to know," she said, taking a hold of his hand.
Leon looked her in the eye and became a little nervous. What could have her this upset? he asked himself. Raylen straightened up in her seat and sighed.
"I was in a long term relationship about three or four years ago. At that time I was living in Memphis, TN and dating a guy by the name of Jarrett. You see what I didn't know was that Jarrett was a major part of the cocaine scene. Once I found out, Jarrett seemed to change. He became angrier until he finally became violent. At first it was just breaking stuff in the house. He threw vases and candles, but he would never hit me. One night, he came home, coked out of his mind and just started beating the shit out of me. I was in ICU for four months at least. When I woke up, my brother Pierce was there and he managed to get me out of Memphis. He wouldn't tell me where we were going because in part he didn't even know. Pierce's main goal was to keep me away from Jarrett. We got here and Pierce lived with me for a little while before leaving for New York. He's a racer up there now… But the reason why I flipped out earlier is because I think Jarrett's found me. I'm almost positive that I saw one of his goons in the crowd tonight."
"Why didn't you tell me then? I could have gone after him."
"That's why I didn't tell you. This is my battle to fight, Leon. Jarrett's after me and I won't let you get hurt trying to defend me."
Leon clenched his jaw. He could tell that trying to help Raylen was going to be a hard thing to do.
"You can't do it alone, Raylen," he pointed out.
"I've made it this far," Raylen whispered.
Leon pulled Raylen into his arms the best he could. "And now you have help. Let me help you, Raylen."
"I don't want you to get hurt, Leon. I'm not sure that you understand the seriousness of this. He managed to put me in ICU for four months. If he gets his goons after you, no telling what'll happen. I've probably already put you in danger. Jarrett will stop at nothing to get me back because in his sick and twisted mind he still loves me."
Leon ran a hand down her face and placed a light kiss on the top of her head. "I'm not going to let you fight this on your own. I may not know you all that well, but I know that I want to get to know you and because of that, I'm not going anywhere. You've got me whether you like it or not."
Raylen sighed. Leon smiled knowing that he had won. He then glanced up and saw that everybody was heading toward their cars.
"We best get going," he said softly. Raylen nodded and moved over to her seat. Leon started up the car and headed out to the designated street where the race was to be held. The ride over there was silent. Both occupants were trapped deep inside their thoughts.
Pierce took a deep breath as he entered 1707. His eyes scanned the club and within seconds, he found Jarrett.
"Thought I told you next week," Pierce said as he sat next to Jarrett at the bar.
"What can I say? I just couldn't wait," Jarrett replied smoothly before he took another sip of his Bacardi and Coke.
"This is bullshit, and you know it."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That temper of yours is going to be a problem, Pierson."
"Pierce," he replied between clenched teeth.
Jarrett waved him off before taking another sip. "Thirty thou by tomorrow."
"You're upping the price now?" Pierce asked. His temper began to flare out of control.
Jarrett whipped around and glared at Pierce.
"Don't loose your temper with me, little boy. At the time of our deal, your sister was single. She is currently seeing someone, so therefore I feel as though I have the right to up the price and due date. Got any problems with that?"
Pierce shook his head, knowing that if he were to open his mouth that he would do something that he would regret.
"Tomorrow at 10 a.m., I want you to go to Central Park and wait for me by the main entrance. Once I get there, we'll settle all the minor little details."
Jarrett was about to walk off when a thought struck Pierce. He whipped around and yelled at Jarrett, "How do you know she's got a boyfriend?"
The chatter in the club died and everyone was looking at the two men. Jarrett turned around slowly and walked up to Pierce.
"I have to make sure that you're good on your part of the deal," he said, menacingly.
Pierce glared at him. "The deal was I pay you to leave my sister alone. I've already given you fifteen thousand, and you'll get your thirty tomorrow, so why with the bullshit? You're not going to leave her alone after this are you?"
Jarrett let out a sickening laugh and placed his hand on Pierce's shoulder.
"Stay out of my business. I'll honor my part of the deal as long as you honor yours," he said, accenting each word with a tight squeeze on Pierce's shoulder. Pain shot throughout Pierce's body, but he managed to keep his features from showing it.
"10 a.m.," Jarrett called over his shoulder as he walked out of 1707.
Pierce muttered a phrase of curses before turning to the bartender.
"Anything," he mumbled.
The bartender nodded and grabbed a shot glass before filling it with some mysterious liquid. Pierce swallowed the liquid and then slammed the shot glass down. He stormed out of 1707, leaving several people behind him asking questions.
Pierce walked out to his RX-8 and unlocked the door. He slipped into the car before firing it up and heading toward the apartment that he shared with Reagan and Kyra. How the hell am I going to explain this to them? he asked himself the whole ride over to the apartment.
