Chapter 115

Tess was taking deep breaths. She was petrified, and was regretting this decision, but it was too late, the starting bell was about to go.

And there it was! Tess jammed the gas pedal and spun the wheel to the left. The number 16 car nailed her in the passenger side. She was jolted hard and the fear just went out of her. She put it in reverse and caught Dave in the driver's side front end.

"Haha sucker!" she called out.

She hit the gas and got a piece of the number 4 car, but Stevie snuck up on her and hit her head on.

Tess came back around and knocked the number 19 car back into the wall. It smoked and wouldn't move.

"Bump, bump, bump, another one bites the dust!" Tess chanted.

"Wow, Tess is driving like a bat out of hell. She's like a woman possessed," Jodi said to Matt as they watched the scene together.

"Stevie is looking pretty good too. There are only five cars left." replied Matt.

Tess swung around, hit Dave and sent him into the wall. His tire fell off the rim, and Dave was out.

"Only four cars left,'' said Matt. Our girl might just pull this off."

Tess set her sights on the 4 car. She lined it up and hit the gas, but Stevie had the pink unicorn all lined up, Stevie sent her croc straight at Tess's passenger side and T-Boned her on the back passenger side. Tess got jolted hard and hit her head on the window frame.

"Good thing I've got a helmet! Nice hit Stevie!" cheered Tess.

Tess tried to speed forward but she couldn't get off of Stevie's car. She tried reversing, she still couldn't move. Stevie recognized that Tess was stuck and pushed her straight into the wall. The number 4 car came around to Tess's rear, while Stevie was still on her passenger side, and drove straight on to her. Tess's head went forward and hit the steering wheel, hard.

"I totally get why helmets are required. That was a rough one." groaned Tess in the car.

Stevie backed up, managing to get her car unstuck while Tess was still on the wall. She was coming in for another shot.

Tess hit the gas and pulled herself off the wall.

She whipped back into the center. Stevie had come across and struck the 4 car while it was still on the wall. The boot of the 4 car was totally mangled. The bumper was hanging off it. Tess could hear the engine of it straining, but it didn't go anywhere.

The number 4 car was declared out.

"Yes Stevie, Final three!" thought Tess. As she was cheering Stevie, the 11 car snuck up on her and hit her right at the rear wheel well on the driver side. It made an incredibly loud bang. Tess knew immediately something was wrong. The pink unicorn's tire had exploded and Tess was out. She came in third place. They towed her car out and it was Stevie vs. 11.

Stevie pulled around and decided to just go for it. She was going to go head on, straight into 11 and hope for the best.

11 had a different plan. At the last minute, 11 turned the wheel and allowed the impact to hit on the side of the boot instead of head on, but the driver miscalculated and allowed himself to take the exact hit that he had just knocked Tess out with, right on the wheel well, the tire popped, and 11 was out.

Stevie won the demo derby for Killarney. Xander went nuts from his spot in the stands with Claire and some friends from school.

"That's my mom! She just crushed everyone including her best friend! Yeah! Mom!" cheered Xander.

"Well, I guess we lost the bet," Jodi said to Matt. "That really hurts."

"Tess almost had it for us. She was unbelievable," said Matt.

"I don't know what got into her, she was fearless. It was awesome to watch," said Jodi.

Tess was sore as hell, and her neck was super stiff, but she felt amazing. The medic had to check her for concussion because she reported a sore neck. The endorphins and adrenaline were flowing and she was really proud of what she had done out there. When she was cleared by the medic, she went to congratulate Stevie.

"Stevie! That was awesome! Congratulations on the win."

"Thanks, I'm sure Xander is fired up. I'm pretty sure I heard him even over the car and helmet. Congratulations to you as well. You were an animal out there. I thought you were afraid of this stuff," said Stevie.

"I was very afraid, but I guess I decided to jump into the rapids and see what happens on the river anyway," explained Tess.

"That's my girl! I knew you had it in you." said Stevie, as she, Tess and the driver of the 11 car were brought up on stage. They took photos for the local paper and trophies were distributed. Tess got a small third place trophy for her driving, but Stevie got the winners trophy that was about a meter tall. She held it over her head and told Xander that she did it for him.

Tess was feeling euphoric. She knew what she needed to do next. She walked back to the Drovers area. Jodi, Matt, Terry and Russell stood up and gave her a standing ovation, well Matt's was a leaning ovation. Regan, Dylan, Grace, Kate, Meg, Claire, Meggie, and Katie all came running down from the ran to her and all hugged her tight. Regan and Grace ran to the Killarney station and pulled Xander and Stevie over and hugged them tight. It was a big night for their whole family and they all knew it.

Jodi grabbed her sister and pulled her aside. "So Tess, where did that come from? I thought you were terrified of the demo derby?"

"I was." replied Tess.

"Then why did you do it?" asked Jodi

"I decided it was time to try something that scared me. I had to try to win the bet for Drovers. I'm so glad I tried. That was so much fun. I'm not going to let fear make my choices for me again. I can't believe I could have missed out on something so fantastic. I don't want to miss out on something great, something special, because of fear." explained Tess.

"I'm proud of you, Tess, and I love you, now go call him, and tell him that." said Jodi.

Tess didn't call Finn right then. She had important things she needed to say to him, and they were things that needed privacy. Hopefully she hadn't lost him, she thought as she celebrated with her family.