Rebel With A Cause Read online

  He continued to frown and shrugged. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She nodded and grabbed the hand he was offering her. “I agree,” she said. “It’s kind of freaky, not knowing what happened last night. Do you think we were drugged?”

  He shrugged, but looked sceptical. “I dunno. Maybe. I think we just got wasted. If we weren’t wasted, my head wouldn’t feel like someone’s driving a jackhammer through it.”

  He towed her out of the bedroom, and down the hallway.

  “You know,” he said casually, “I think this is T-Man’s place.”

  “What makes you think that?” she asked.

  “Dunno,” he replied. “But it makes sense. He was throwing the party, so we were more likely to go back to his place.”

  She nodded and chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. She was about to reply, when a naked young woman ran up to Carter.

  “Carter! You can’t leave yet!” she whispered as she giggled. “We never played that game of Truth or Dare you promised!”

  He gulped and took a step back. “Do I know you?” he asked.

  Her big grin was instantly replaced by a wobbling bottom lip, and tears forming in her eyes.

  “Carter!” she whimpered. “We had sex just last night!”

  Kaitlyn frowned and looked at Carter, whose face had such an expression of fear on it.

  “Uh,” he said, his eyes darting around the room. “Katie, we need to go. Now.”

  Kaitlyn almost giggled. He looked so terrified of this crying girl in front of him. His face was priceless.

  “Ok,” she said, tugging on his hand. He turned around and raced to the back door, the fear never leaving his face. When they had made it outside, he breathed a quick sigh, before running around to the front of his house.

  He was not impressed when he found that his car was nowhere to be seen.

  After the extremely long walk back to the abandoned warehouse, both Carter and Kaitlyn were overjoyed to find his car where they left it, and all in one piece.

  “Thank god!” he muttered. Kaitlyn felt just as relieved. Carter’s car was his life.

  “I’m not letting my baby out of my sight ever again,” he told Kaitlyn, unlocking the car. She just rolled her eyes, knowing he meant the car, and not her.

  “Are we going to the all-girls race at Mangere tonight?” she asked him.

  He looked at her and shook his head. “No way, Katie,” he told her. “You’re not racing. You don’t need to. I make enough for both of us.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to do it because of the money. I want to race because I’ve never done it before. I’m surrounded by racers; I go to all the races, so why shouldn’t I try racing myself?”

  He sighed and looked her in the eyes. “Katie, if I promise to take you to the race tonight, will you promise me that you won’t race?”

  She shook her head. “No way, Carter. I want to try. If I’m no good, then I won’t race again. But all I want is one chance.”

  He smirked and shook his head and turned the car on. “Katie, trust me, once you’ve started, you’re hooked.”

  Of course, using her powers of persuasion, a.k.a flirting, Carter agreed to take her to the race.

  “I don’t know why I’m doing this,” he sighed as he picked her up from her house.

  “Because you love me,” she replied cheekily. Carter just rolled his eyes and smirked.

  “I wish I could say that I did, Katie,” he sighed dramatically, one hand over his heart. “But, to be honest, you make it so damn hard.”

  Kaitlyn just laughed and flipped him off.

  As Carter drove the fifteen minute drive to Mangere Town Centre, Kaitlyn could hardly keep still in her seat.

  “God you’re jumpy,” he teased, amused by her eagerness.

  “That’s because I’m excited,” she replied happily.

  “How come you’re never this excited about going to my races?” he asked jokingly.

  She flipped him off. “I’ve never been to an all-girls race before,” she replied seriously. “And at your races, I’m always scared you’re going to bet me again. I’m not a piece of meat, you know.”

  He rolled his eyes and focused on driving.

  “Oh, you should know,” he announced after a while. “I love you. So, I’m never going to bet you again.”

  “You’ve said that before,” she muttered angrily, too low for him to hear.

  The next thing she knew, Carter was pulling into a small parking lot in front of a row of shops. People were milling around, and she could see cars lined up on the road. They seemed to be surrounding a blue muscle car. They both got out and wandered over to the muscle car.

  “Whose car is that?” Kaitlyn asked.

  Carter just sniffed dismissively. “Bekah’s.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. “That is so cool.”

  Carter shrugged. “It’s just a muscle car.”

  “Excuse me?”

  They turned around to see Rebekah, the owner of those words.

  Carter rolled his eyes. “Hey, Bekah,” he said casually. “I think Katie like’s your car.”

  Bekah grinned. “Well, she should. It’s a classic.”

  “What kind of car is it?” Kaitlyn asked, leaning against Carter’s car.

  “It’s a nineteen sixty-nine Shelby GT-500,” Bekah replied proudly. “I rebuilt it myself.”

  Kaitlyn had to admit it; she was impressed. “So, where’d you learn to do that?”

  Bekah smirked. “My dad taught me, before he and my mum went to jail, and before I got chucked in juvie.”

  Carter’s eyes bugged out of his head. “When did you got to juvie?” he cried, astonished.

  Bekah smirked. “When I stopped writing to you, you dumb shit. I stole a car, remember? Took it for a sweet as joyride. It was a cop car.”

  Kaitlyn was secretly impressed. Bekah was a real badass chick.

  “So, do you wanna come for a ride?” Bekah asked Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn bit her lip and Carter scowled. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “No way, Bex,” he growled. “I like my girlfriend in one piece.”

  Bekah laughed. “Down worry, Carter boy, she’ll be fine with me. I’ll look after her.”

  Carter scowled. “It’s almost ten. Shouldn’t you be getting ready to race?” he asked pointedly.

  Bekah sighed. “Yeah. I’ll be back.” She ran off to the back of the building, leaving Kaitlyn wondering where she was going.

  She turned to Carter. “I wanna go in the car with Bekah.”

  He snorted. “No, Katie, no way. Bekah’s been in more near misses than I can count, not to mention her habit of breaking the rules. She’d get distracted with you in the car, and you’d both be killed.”

  She frowned. “So? You’d find some other chick no problems.”

  Carter looked down at her angrily. “If that’s really what you think, then why are you still here?” he snapped, before storming off.

  “God, what crawled up his ass and died?”

  Kaitlyn turned around and saw Bekah standing behind her, in a completely new outfit. Bekah’s ripped jeans, form-fitting tank top, and fingerless gloves looked intimidating, compared to her own outfit of short shorts, loose long sleeved white top and Nike high tops.

  She sighed. “He thinks if I get in the car with you, I’m going to die. He also got angry when I accused him of not caring.”

  Bekah snorted. “That boy needs a good kick up the ass. But about him not caring?”

  Kaitlyn looked up at Bekah. “What?”

  Bekah sighed. “Listen, Katie, if Carter didn’t really care for you, he wouldn’t have made you his girlfriend. Yes, he’s a loser who wants what he can’t have, and yes he’s a tool, but that’s only because his father is an abusive dick who always reminded him that ‘real men don’t have feelings’. He had to be a heartless dick growing up, and he’s just gotten stuck that way. Don’t worry. Those close to him can tell that
he loves you. So, you coming or what?”

  Kaitlyn shrugged. “Do you think I should?”

  Bekah smirked. “Yeah, I do. Carter needs to learn to trust people, and let them do their own thing. You need to experience what it’s like to be in a race, before racing yourself.”

  Kaitlyn let out a huge nervous breath and nodded. “I’ll come.”

  Bekah grinned. “Awesome, now let’s get going.”

  She led Kaitlyn over to her muscle car and jumped in, motioning for Kaitlyn to do the same. Kaitlyn got in and Bekah started it up.

  “Nervous?” Bekah asked. Kaitlyn shook her head. “I bet Carter’s never taken you in one of his races, has he?” Kaitlyn shook her head again.

  “Well,” Bekah laughed. “Enjoy the ride.”

  It was odd, Kaitlyn thought, to be inside of a car, instead of starting the race, like she normally did. As she sat inside, she could feel the engine running and the grunt of it when Bekah revved the engine.

  “Ready…” the race marshal cried.

  Bekah revved the engine, earning a few impressed looks from onlookers. She ignored all of them.

  “GO!” the race marshal cried.

  Kaitlyn had to hold onto her seat as Bekah planted her foot and shifted up the gears, whipping quickly past the other racers and creating a whooshing sound.

  They were coming up to the first corner and Bekah dropped the clutch, doing a partial donut around the sharp turn. She straightened up and whooped.

  “Amazing, eh?” she grinned. Kaitlyn nodded.

  Bekah shifted gear again and sped up, now doing one hundred and sixty on a narrow, bumpy road. Kaitlyn was terrified.

  They were quickly coming up to a roundabout, and Bekah drove straight on through, not even noticing the bump as she went straight over it. Kaitlyn stayed quiet, hoping not to distract her.

  The drove through a series of winding streets and when they hit a long straight, Kaitlyn relaxed a bit.

  That was, until she saw the U-turn at the dead end.

  Bekah slowed down a little then pulled on the handbrake, swiftly manoeuvring the car around the cones. Kaitlyn felt the seatbelt cut into her when she fell against it. She hit the back of the seat with a thump.

  Ouch, she cried mentally. Whiplash.

  They made their way back the way they came, with a few variations along the way. Bekah kept on pushing the speed limits, leaving Kaitlyn terrified out of her mind.

  Without either of them seeing it coming, Bekah lost control of the car. She swerved dangerously and came perilously close to hitting a lamppost on the passenger side – where Kaitlyn was sitting. Kaitlyn screamed.

  “Got it!” Bekah suddenly cried, and the car straightened up.

  “Maybe you should slow down?” Kaitlyn asked timidly.

  Bekah laughed. “Slow down? You’ve got to be kidding me! Can you not feel that adrenaline rush? It’s exhilarating!”

  Kaitlyn tried to get her breathing under control, and relaxed as the finish came into sight. Carter was standing there, looking like he was having a hard time controlling his temper.

  Bekah swung the car around to a stop and cut the engine. Before she could step out, Carter had wrenched open the passenger door and gathered Kaitlyn into his arms.

  “Are you ok?” he asked hurriedly. “Are you hurt?” He kept talking, but his words were soon lost in the screams of joy around the car.

  Kaitlyn didn’t say anything, but buried her head in the crook of Carter’s neck and held on to him like he was her lifesaver.

  “She lost control of the car,” she mumbled.

  Carter’s sharp hearing heard that.

  “What?!” he yelled angrily. “She did what?!”

  Kaitlyn shrugged. “She lost control. She was going two-ten and hit the roundabout wrong.”

  Carter growled and hugged Kaitlyn tighter to him.

  “You are never getting in the car with her again, ever,” he growled angrily. “From now on, only I am allowed to drive you anywhere. I don’t care what your parents say. From now on, you’re living with me.”

  Kaitlyn ignored him and pressed her lips to his throat.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too,” he replied. “And don’t you dare ever say I don’t.”

  She nodded and squeezed him tighter, loving the safety and protectiveness he radiated. She loved Carter, and would do anything to keep him happy.

  Chapter 5

  Kaitlyn didn’t go home that night. Instead, she waltzed in at breakfast time, ignoring the scowl on her father’s face.

  “Morning, Daddy!” she chirped brightly. “Lovely morning today, isn’t it? I thought you’d be out enjoying the fresh air?”

  Her father frowned. “Where were you last night, Kaitlyn?” he asked sternly.

  She shrugged and ignored his question as she walked into the kitchen. Her mother was making pancakes.

  “Morning, Mummy,” she said brightly. “What’s for breakfast? Pancakes? Yum!”

  Her mother rolled her eyes. “Just go and set the table, will you?”

  Kaitlyn grinned and walked into the dining room, striding purposefully past her dad.

  “Kaitlyn,” he said sternly. “We need to talk.”

  She shrugged him off and went and collected the placemats and cutlery, laying them out carefully on the table.

  “Kaitlyn,” her father tried again.

  She looked up and gave him her most adorable smile. “Yes, Daddy?”

  He frowned. “Where were you last night?”

  She looked up at him, flashing her big eyes at him. “I went out street racing with my friend Rebekah.”

  Her father ground his teeth together. “Don’t lie to me Kaitlyn. I’ve had it with all of your crap!”

  At that moment, her mother walked in. “What’s going on in here?”

  Kaitlyn looked innocently at her dad, and he glared right back.

  “Our daughter thinks it’s funny to lie about where she’s been, and mock me about it,” he spat bitterly.

  Her mother sighed. “Katie, don’t be rude.” She walked out, leaving a steaming husband behind her.

  “That’s it?” he screamed. “That’s all? Just a don’t be rude? Laylz, she’s ruining this family! And you’re just letting her get away with it?”

  Her mother poked her head around the corner and shot him the look. “She’s your daughter, too. You do something about it.”

  He growled in frustration and spun around to face Kaitlyn, who was still pulling her innocent act.

  “You’re an ungrateful little girl,” he snapped. “Get out of my sight.”

  Kaitlyn was stunned. He’d never sounded so venomous in her whole life.

  “Fine,” she replied, shocked. “I’ll go. By the way, I’m moving out.”

  Her father turned puce. “You’re what?”

  She turned around and looked him dead in the eye. “I’m moving out,” she repeated. “I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.”

  “Kaitlyn!!” her father screamed. “You are not leaving this house!”

  “Yes, I am,” she replied coldly. “You don’t want me here, and that’s ok. I’m leaving. You can have your perfect little life without me.”

  She turned around and ran up to her room, grabbing her overnight bag and randomly stuffing things inside. She packed her clothes and her shoes and her make-up, but left behind everything else. She didn’t need the family photos or the ones with her friends. She wouldn’t be going to school anymore. She would be a girl racer, and make enough money to live on. Her friends didn’t even know what she was really like, anyway.

  The door behind her creaked and she turned around defensively, getting ready to yell at anyone who dared enter, until she saw it was her little brother. He had tears streaming down his small face.

  “Oh, Jordy,” she said, bending down to hug him. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I don’t want you to go!” he cried, flinging his arms around her neck. “Please don’t leave me
!”

  She clung tightly to her little brother and kissed the top of his head, gently stroking his hair.

  “I don’t want to leave you, Jordy. I love you. But daddy doesn’t want me here anymore.”

  He sniffed. “Then I don’t want daddy.”

  Kaitlyn gave a sad smile and squeezed her brother tighter. “I’m so sorry, Jordy,” she whispered, before removing his arms from around her. She looked into his eyes and hated that she was the one to put the sadness there. “I’ll come back and see you,” she promised. “I’m your big sister, and I’ll be there for you whenever you need me.”

  She kissed his forehead than climbed out the window, leaving behind a sobbing six-year-old and a broken family.

  “So you walked out?” Carter asked, holding her close.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “They wanted me gone anyway, so I left.”

  “What about Jordy?”

  Kaitlyn sobbed as her heart clenched in pain.

  “He’s better off without me,” she whispered. Carter sighed. They stood in the hallway for a minute before he dragged her into the kitchen.

  “Sit,” he ordered, taking her bag from her. He put it on the bed in what was now their bedroom and returned to the kitchen, intent on making brunch. Of course, as usual, there was no food in the house.

  He sighed. “Do you wanna go out for brunch?” he asked. Kaitlyn looked up at him.

  “Why? I’m not hungry.”

  He sighed and held his hand out. “Well I am,” he announced. “And besides, we haven’t been on a proper date in a really long time.”

  They sat together at a bench table in the sun at a local café.

  “God, it’s been forever since I’ve done something like this,” Carter murmured to himself.

  “Why?” Kaitlyn asked, not bothering to pretend she hadn’t heard.

  He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. It was such a sweet, simple yet romantic gesture and it made her heart melt.

  “Well,” he began after a pause. “You’re my first girlfriend. But you already knew that. Anyway, lately I’ve been so obsessed with racing that I haven’t thought about doing something like this in a while.”

  Kaitlyn smiled. “It’s ok. Racing’s cool. I love going to the races.”