The Royal Contract

Lance stopped in his track and looked at his friend. At this point, he was not his mentor anymore. He tapped him on the shoulder, assuring him that he was ok.

He could see the concern in his eyes. He was afraid that he was not in his right mind to drive. “I am good. Did you see me out there? I was on fire.”

One thing about him, the more stressed his mind was, the more he could focus on the road. He would manage just fine on the light traffic out there.

“Good luck, then.” Rick saluted him before stepping away from him, allowing him to leave the building. But he could still see that he was not satisfied with his answer. But he knew Rick was thankful that he canceled his run.

Although he did not need luck, he needed a miracle that Eida would be open to hearing him out. And that she would not shut him out because of his narrow-minded decision to let her go that easily.

He quickly jumped into his fast car, ready to race again, not for his career but her. Was this love? He was unsure, but he was willing to take a risk with her.

.....

At least with that, he was sure, stepping on the pedal as his car roared into life. Soon, he was leaving the parking lot, moving along the busy street.

He only hoped that she would open her door once she had learned it was him behind it. If not, he had no choice but to camp outside her door until she got tired of shooing him away and had no choice but to face him.

“You got this.” Pepping himself up for what he needed to do. If he had to grovel at her feet for her to forgive him, he would as long as she would give him a chance to prove that whatever was going on with their relationship, they could still fix it.

He stepped on the pedal, shifting the gear to a faster speed, seeing that there was clear traffic ahead. Although he was not racing with other cars in the street, he was still determined to run faster than the allowed speed.

He could not wait a minute longer not being with her. He felt that every second he wasted was time that would lessen his chances with her. The sooner he arrived at her doorstep, the better.

“Not another stop light,” Lance said frustratedly, seeing that it was about to turn yellow on him. He could attempt to beat the red light. He knew he could make it with his current speed, but a minute would not make much difference.

He shifted gear, eased on the gas, and slowed the car until it stopped at the intersection. He believed that with speed also came great responsibility.

He might be good at what he does, but he could not compromise the safety of the other people on the road. He could pay for a broken property, but life was not replaceable. He could not fix that.

“Really?” He looked at the street after a few seconds, amazed because it seemed that he had stopped for nothing when not a single car crossed the road while he was waiting.

If he had crossed the red light earlier, he would have been there in a few minutes. But it was still better to be safe than sorry.

As he saw that the lights were about to turn again, he revved up his engine, ready to race for the finish line.

At least to get to her apartment where he hoped she was waiting.

He grabbed his phone as he remembered something. He dialed it as he waited for the yellow light to turn green.

When it started ringing, he looked down at the screen. But as he looked up again, the green light was already on. He put the phone on speaker and dropped it on the seat beside him.

Not waiting for another second, he held the stirring wheel in one of his hands and the gear shift in the other. With the coordination of a well-oiled machine, he roared his engine and had the car speeding up in a couple of seconds.

Finally, he could hear someone on the speaker calling for his attention, so he looked at it for a second. Then there it was.

Lance could see a bright light coming his way and speeding fast, visible from his passenger window.

He knew then that no amount of skills could get him off from what was to come. He had no way to avoid the next thing that would happen.

His hands gripped hard on the wheels as if it was his only life support. But this time, instead of looking at the light, he looked down at his phone and listened.

At that moment, it was the last voice he wanted to hear.

Eventually, he felt the impact. His hands lost their grip on the steering wheel as it flew in all directions. It was mere seconds, but, in his mind, it was like he was watching it in slow motion.

He could imagine what was happening to him as his head swayed to the side, hitting the metallic bar by his door. Fortunately, his seatbelt stayed intact, protecting him from being thrown on the street and the airbag from the intensity of the crash.

But he could only wonder if he would ever survive the trauma of the accident as his entire body went numb. He could still sense that his car went spinning. But he did not care about that. He was used to those situations.

But as he looked at the wrecked window in front of him, he could only wonder what damage his body incurred, just from the sound of metal crashing and breaking, forcing their movement to stop, and the stench of rubber burning on the concrete road.

He would be lucky if he would survive the night. He always wondered if this would happen to him inside the arena, but he had never allowed his fear to bother him, to control his action.

Sadly, it happened when he least expected it.

Although this was not his first accident, this was, by far, the worst.