I WAS SPOILED, AND IT showed in the gourmet breakfast my dad brought my little brother and me early this morning.

I inhaled the bacon and scrambled eggs, not noticing Nico shake his head in smile. "Good thing we're in the hospital," he commented from the corner of the room, eating his eggs benedict from a black plastic tray. "If she chokes, we don't have to go very far."

With my mouth full, I flashed an unapologetic smile. Though I couldn't help but notice the side-eye, my dad cut my little brother.

I scared him. I knew by the way he rushed into the room when I called for him and by the way he embraced me. He held me close as if he feared I might slip through his grasp but gentle enough to indicate he was worried I might break. 

He leaned back in his leather armchair, his tired eyes glued to the phone.

I chewed slower, quietly assessing him. It looked like he hadn't slept at all. He still wore the same shirt from last night—the black sleeves pushed to his elbows revealing tattooed forearms Nico and I used to colour in when we were young. And his jeans were ruined, marked with oil stains from some piece of machinery he must have been working on before they left.

He needed to shower. And Nico told him as much when he arrived back from my place this morning, dressed in grey sweats I assumed were mine and an oversized hoodie. He didn't care. They planned to pick up a set of clothes at the mall before settling into the room.

Dad lowered his phone, scrubbing the side of his face. "Mom should be here soon."

I knew. She called between flights, wanting an update. According to the doctors, it was too risky to send me home, so I was stuck here, chained to the bed by plastic IV tubes, ready to try a different kind of antibiotic for the strep.

My throat still scratched, and my ear throbbed, but it was nice to know pain relievers weren't too far away, even if I'd rather be home.

We sat in silence, eating and listening to TV shows Nico was flicking through before my father's interrogation began. "Why was Levi Hunt at your apartment?"

My gaze snapped to him, taken aback by his blunt, out-of-the-blue question. It wasn't demanding. If anything, it was curious, but it still had me choking on my bread. "Excuse me?"

"Just be straight with me, Nadine. Are you with Levi?"

My nostrils flared, my already searing throat ten times hotter than it was a second ago. "No," I answered, and it wasn't a lie, even if some small part of me wanted it to be. I was a little disappointed when Hunt didn't come back into the room last night though I understood why. "He was dropping off stats notes when I had the reaction."

My father wasn't so sure, neither was Nico, who momentarily ceased flicking through channels to focus on the conversation. Nick Baker was a human lie detector, but I must have passed the test because he asked, "What happened with Jace?"

I pinched my brows. "Why?"

"Because I'm worried about you," he replied, almost pleading. "You've been distant since Hama died. You stopped calling Lilly. Your grades are terrible. And now you're hanging out with Levi Hunt?"

His question did warrant an answer. If it did, it would've stalled on my tongue. The last thing I wanted to do was tell him the reason I wasn't speaking to Lilly. She'd likely called my dad and Nico after I ignored hers last night. If she didn't consider calling me when my boyfriend was out with our friend, I didn't see the need in returning her calls now, even if I was in the hospital. Uncle Nate or Aunt Janelle could fill her in.

My dad fixed me with a stare. "Did something happen?"

"Jesus," I muttered, nearly tossing my fork down on the brown stand my breakfast stood on. "I'm still in the hospital. Can we at least wait till we get home before you start asking about my love life?"

"It's a simple question, Nadine."

"And it's none of your business," I fired back.

"You are my business," he stated firmly. "I gave you your space. I gave your brother his space," he added, pointing a long arm behind him, "and things are starting to get out of hand."

Nico crossed his brows. "I'm right here," he piped up, clearly offended.

"And we're gonna talk about you later," my dad ground back. He must have found out about the stunts.

My dad kept his gaze locked in mine. "If Jace hurt you and you're seeing Hunt as a way to make him jealous—"

"My God!"

He frowned as if the conversation was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for me. "Hunt's a player, Nadine."

No more than Jace, I wanted to snap but kept that remark behind clenched teeth. It was embarrassing enough that everyone else knew. I didn't need to explain it to my dad.

He leaned in, his voice softer now. "I don't want to see you get hurt. His dad tried to use your mother to throw me off my game."

"And you think that's what Levi's doing to me?"

"Yes," he answered flatly. "Look at their stats this season. They've been at each other's throats for years, and Jace is one race from finally beating him. Do you honestly think he's doting on you out of the goodness of his heart?"

I glared something fierce, hating how I thought the same thing. "Hunt saved my life," I reminded, hoping he'd see reason.

He didn't. "What happened with Jace?" he asked again. This time expecting an answer.

My eyes ticked in his—the pressure behind his insurmountable.

I considered just blurting it out and letting the cards fall where they may, but I couldn't do that to him. He had so much on his plate, and as angry as I was with him, I didn't need my father freaking out. Firing Jessica over jealousy was petty. She needed to eat and had no other family to provide financial assistance and Jace...

My throat burned. Jace was my dad's pride and joy. He loved him like a son, which hurt a lot more than I cared to admit because there was a time I loved that about them, how my father accepted Jace so easily.

He waited. Brows lifting.

It wouldn't look good for Nick Baker if I told him Jace was a cheating piece of shit. Or that Jessica was an unloyal bitch who destroyed our friendship because a few buttery words spread her legs as easily as grease to a pan. If he snapped and fired them because of relationship issues involving his daughter, it wouldn't look good for his reputation or business. It wouldn't look good for me either—as a person or a professional racer. It was the reason Lilly warned me not to get involved with him and why my mother was leery but said nothing when we started dating. My dad was a big deal, and if he started letting people go because I wasn't getting along with them, what did that say about me? What did that say about him? That Nick Baker was still the hothead he was when he was young—that he couldn't put his personal life aside and handle a business. He had two to run now. He was under enough scrutiny and stress.

Nico glanced at me from the corner of the room, waiting to hear what I had to say. If I'd tell him or keep my mouth shut.

He knew the lengths dad would go for us. It was likely one of the reasons he hadn't said anything by now.

"We ended it," I said, putting as much iron in my words as possible. "The parting was mutual."

This was business. Plain and simple. And if I had to hide my hurt to protect our good names and all he built, so be it.

Something like disappointed concern washed over Nico. But he said nothing because, like me, he understood.

"Hunt is a friend," I assured my father, going back to my now cold eggs and leaving it at that.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I apologize for not being consistent with my last updates. I hope posting a chapter everyday this week has made up for it!

As some of you know, I'm re-uploading this story and I'm finding a lot of old authors notes in the process. I'm going to leave them here because I think it's cool to look back on where I was 2 years ago :)

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A/N (October 2022): I can't believe we're at 2.5k already! You guys are incredible!

A quick update: A really, REALLY cool opportunity presented itself last week and because of it, I've been swamped with edits for another book. 

There's also the premier for the short film I wrote, and directed this summer! It's happening on October 22! Which means I'm going to be busy with promotional videos and interviews for that.

With all that said, I'm going to try my best to update twice a week. Im absolutely in love with this story and I don't want to rush. I have a few chapters ready to go but if I fall behind I apologize in advance.

Thank you all for being so AMAZING!

Dene