Lily had promptly dropped me off to the café as promised. But my thoughts revolved around the boy with curly hairs. Even when I had cleaned up the café before officially opening it, his thoughts never left me.

I held a small coffee cup in my hand and sat at the window looking out and wondering about the ways Robert had been with me. 

Was I being very hard on him? What about my self respect? But looking at him, I had already forgiven him and I wanted nothing more than to spend some time with him, just like we used to.

As I sat looking out the window, out of the periphery vision I saw someone falling down on the road. I kept my cup away and turned to see who it was. Kapoor's café was located in a good locality with no thefts as such and now, I started to wonder if that statics were actually true. But to my surprise I saw Brian, clutching his stomach, his eyes closed and he rolled on the streets with pain.

My heart bet faster as I ran to him to see what had happened. He had curled into a small ball, trying his best not to scream.

"Brian?" I called. "What happened to you?"

He only groaned back in pain and I looked at him for any kind of damage. But he looked fine with no cuts or bleeds. I wondered if it was one of his tactics to get back at me, but he looked truly in pain. I looked around to see if there was someone who could help me. But the streets were empty.

"Okay, come on." I said, holding his arm up. I put his arm around my shoulders. "Take my support and get up. You'll be okay."

I thought I felt Brian nod his head. His left hand was placed on my shoulder as his right hand held on to my waist. He bit his lip and I knew he was trying very hard not to let the pain over power him.

"God, you are heavy." I said when he had finally managed to get up on his legs. He put all his weight and relied on me to take him. "Thank God for my conditioning. I work at the café in the next building, will you be able to try to walk till there?"

"Yeah... okay." He said with clenched teeth.

Together, we hopped and made it to the café. I put the closed sign intact before we made it in. I made him sit at the nearest chair and he collapsed on the table, putting his head down with a loud thud. I ran to the kitchen and got a glass of water for him.

"Hey, have some water. It's going to be okay." I said.

Brian Thompson was a lion of our school, but now sitting in front of me, he seemed like a weak lamb, too small to do anything. I wondered what had gone wrong. I had never seen him like this ever before. He wasn't physically harmed and I was thankful for that. He drank some water and looked at me thankfully. His eyes had turned red and he was shivering.

I felt sorry for the guy. He seemed like he was under a microscope in front of me, as if he was ashamed that I was there to witness his distress. He looked away and the sudden movement alone made him close his eyes from the dizziness he was facing.

"Easy there." I said. I held to his shaking hands. "Hey, look at me. It's going to be okay, alright? Take deep breaths. In and out."

It was similar to the ways Robert was with me when I was witnessing a few deaths in the tracks. I cursed internally for letting Robert take my mind even when Brian sat in front of me.

We sat there holding hands as we breathed together and I felt anxious for the guy. I had asked him if there was someone whom I should be calling, but he had shook his head no. We sat silently until I thought he was okay. I had gotten him my freshly baked cookie and a big cup of coffee to make him feel better.

"Hey," Brian called as I got up. I turned around to see if everything was alright. "This..." He wagged his index finger between me and him.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." I smiled and walked ahead. I wasn't him to take one's weakness against them.

"Hey, thank you." He said walking behind me. Though he wobbled a bit, he seemed fine. I knew he wasn't drunk yet, but acted as if he was about to pass out. He sat on the counter, clearly wanting to talk more. "I wanted to ask your forgiveness for the things that I've done to you, you know... before. You didn't... deserve any of that."

"That's okay." I said when deep down I knew it was not. "If I was in your place, may be I would have done the same thing."

Brian laughed. "Come on, you and I both know that it's not true."

I chortled along with him. "You okay now? You need another cup?"

"It was a withdrawal, you know?" He ran his hands on his bronze hair and looked away. "I started when I was fourteen. Today, I had emptied all the bottles at home."

"You came to buy it." I said taking my seat behind the counter.

He nodded his head. "The guy who sells knows that the car belongs to Dad but not me. So I wanted to walk and get it."

"Smart move." I said, wiping the already clean counter clean.

Brian laughed again. "I missed these sarcastic talks with you." He shook his head. "I was just a little high that day when I called you names. I'm sorry." He looked away, clearly ashamed of his past behavior. "I'm trying to quit and let me tell you it's not easy."

"One step at a time." I smiled. "I know it's going to take time, but if you really want that, then I'm sure you will be okay."

"Thank you." He said, smiling genuinely at me. "For everything."

I nodded my head awkwardly and sat clutching the cloth in my hand, not knowing what else to say. I got up to change the sign, but Brian started talking again.

"I don't see Robert with you these days." He said and I cursed under my breath. I didn't know why, but lately everything seemed to be revolving around him. "I think it was last month I talked with him. After that I've not seen him at all."

"He's usually busy at the garage." I said. I remembered what cruel words he had put into Robert's head that fueled our fight that morning. "You know working to earn a living, instead of partying everyday."

I didn't wait for him to give any further explanations. I went ahead to change the signs. "He told you, didn't he?" He said and I stopped in my tracks. "I'm really sorry, Scar. I don't know what had possessed me that day. Things just flew out of my mouth before I could control it."

"It's all good, Brian." I said. I wanted Robert to have some confidence in himself. If it was going to be this way, then so be it. I was okay as along as the goal was achieved. "Don't worry about it."

The best part after the fight was, it had somehow got us closer and it definitely softened my resolve against Robert. Though we were avoiding each other at the moment, we always had each other's back and that was the promise I needed.

"No, it is not. Scarlet, I might've said even horrible things to him than he has let you know." He confessed. "I called him names and I told him he was worthless to have you. He just walked away and that was the last I have seen him since."

I gasped, anger boiling in me. Who gave him the right to say those things to Robert? And Rob? He had made Brian's words true. 

"You should have talked to me that way. You could have found another black eye for yourself." I had heard a lot about Robert being the rogue, but he was acting the lamb when it came to his issues. I heaved a sigh. "You know what? It's all in the past. Just stop tormenting him. The guy has gone through a lot."

"I'm really sorry." Brian repeated and I wondered if he was genuinely sorry for the disruption he had caused. I nodded my head and walked ahead. "Can we be friends again?"

I shrugged. That was all he was getting out from me, for now.

"Okay, I think I'll just leave." He said and I nodded my head. "What's the bill?"

"It's on the house, Brian." I said. "What are friends for?"

---

I wanted answers. Answers to those questions that I didn't know I had to ask before. I had met up with Ashley again and she tormented me with her talks. I wanted answers.

"Dan? Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked as I finished my solo conditioning today. I had been planning to catch him ever since I had met up with Ashley, but he had been so busy that I couldn't place him at all.

"Hey, Scar." Dan said as he was getting ready to go out. I heaved a sigh. Was there no time for us to catch up? "How's your race practice going on?"

He didn't even look at me as he inquired about my usual routine. He stuffed a few sheets of paper on his coat pocket and checked the car's condition before he looked at me.

"Everything is going great." I said with a fake smile. But Dan moved on to the other side checking something else. "Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk with you."

At that he turned to face me, stopping all his actions to know where I was headed to. "Hey, you okay? Is Edward having any problems again?"

"No, no." I sighed. "Nothing about the house. All's good."

Dan smiled back and then turned to continue the search party that he was after. "Then what is it, kiddo? Can it wait? I have to get going in another ten minutes."

"How do you guys know Ashley?" I asked, straight to the point, not waiting for him to turn around. He said that he was in a hurry and so was I. I had been waiting for almost a month to talk about this and now, I needed answers. My patience was thinly wearying and before it would burst open, I wanted to know something... anything. "I met her few days ago."

"Um..." He stopped himself and slowly turned towards me. "Is everything okay?"

"How do you know her, Dan?" I asked, repeating my questions again. "You said you didn't have time, so better speak up."

He gulped at my words and turned away. "What's going on?"

"You need to tell that to me." I said, crossing my hands at him. "I mean, you have been with Dad for as long as I can remember and I'm sure you know something."

"Scar, I think you should talk this out with Edward before you come to me." He said genuinely meaning it. "It's not my place to tell."

"You think I haven't done that so far?" I asked. No matter the scenarios I had envisioned so far, none of them made any sense. "He keeps dodging the subject."

"Then, its probably better if you respect his boundaries." Dan said, taking some sheet from his searching and then went ahead of me. "I need to get going, Scar."

"Dan, stop!" I said, almost shouting at him. "I'm the one picking your dirty shit from the tracks. I need to know. Don't I get that in the least?"

Dan heaved a sigh and I knew he had given in. He guided me to the far end of the garage, making sure that no one was watching us there. He looked around and then cleared his throat.

"Ashley is one among the rivals of Edward." Dan said and I looked at him as if he was bullshitting me. "They have played a few games and in each of that she has lost and it's just another of her dirty games to get back at him."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I asked, my voice high pitched.

"Shush!" Dan shushed me looking either side of us. "Fine, you want to know the whole thing, then here it is. I'm not sure how they are all linked together, but I just know that she holds a grudge against your father."

"She told that to me, but do you know why?"

"I don't know, Scarlet. I really don't." He said. "I would tell you if I knew about it."

"Didn't you make any background checks on her when she was behind my Dad?" I asked, hopeful that they had done something. I wanted to go to Calvin directly and ask him, but Calvin intimidated me, so I chose an alternate option that was easily available. "I mean you and Calvin were the ones to talk her out of that previous contract, right?"

"Yeah, Calvin did all that." Dan said, scratching his head. With the look that he was giving me, I knew talking to Calvin was out the window. "Ashley has come up from a very difficult position. There had always been a rumor that she had sold herself more than few times to get to where she is now."

"What?" I asked, shocked to know what she had to go through.

"Her family was taken away from her when she was very young. She had done all that alone. I just don't know how that's going to help you, but now, I only know so much."

"What about mom?" I asked, still not convinced with all that. "Did she know mom?"

"What is with all these questions, Scar?" Dan asked, taken aback. "Look, I really have to go now."

"They say it's a murder, is that true?" I asked, my voice wavering a bit.

"Scar!" Dan shouted at me. The rage in his eyes were more than enough to shut me up for good. "Are you blaming the support team that works with you now that they were behind your mom's death?"

"No... what I mean is..." I stumbled. I hadn't anticipated this.

"Just... don't talk, Scarlet." He put his hand in front of me and breathed heavily, trying to get his moods back to normal. "That day, it was truly unfortunate that we had to lose Case. We had done everything we could to make sure that she stayed afloat."

"But, then she died, right?" I asked in a small voice. I had been thinking about it almost everyday that the tears now had dried up and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. "She just brunt into flames."

Dan's voice softened on hearing me. "Yes, Scar. Accidents happen around here and we make sure that their frequency are less. Ashley may have said things to mix things up between you and your Dad. She has a grudge though I don't know why. I have a feeling that she wants to make your Dad feel alone."

"Why is that?"

"Please, just don't blame the support team for the racer's mistakes." Dan said ignoring my words. It was as if I had poked a knife through him. "If someone else is to hear that coming from you, they might actually commit a murder and blame it on you."

"Dan..."

"Dan!" I heard Calvin shout from his office. "I see your car. Why aren't you gone yet! I called the team and they are already there!"

Dan patted my shoulder twice before he left me behind that garage with the final warning. I wasn't supposed to talk about it with anyone, at least until my game with Ashley was over. It seemed as if I had a high chance of getting myself killed as I hunted down the mystery behind my mom's death.

Though everything looked clean from up above, I knew something fishy was going on underneath it all. There were no faces to be blamed yet, but I knew it was a long process. I washed my face from the basin that was kept at the back and let the water dry up on it's own.

I walked slowly back to the front to reach home. Since I hadn't got my car, I had a long way to walk before I could reach the place I called home. Home? Could I even call that after everything I had learnt so far?

"Scar?" Luke walked by from Calvin's office. "What are you still doing here? Not doing the conditioning?"

"No, Luke, I completed it." I said, smiling. "I'm going home now."

"Hey, where's your car?" He asked.

"I'm walking tonight." I said. "See you around."

"You sure you don't want a ride back?" He asked and I shook my head no. I wanted to think before I could head home. There was a lot of stuffs that needed compartmentalizing in my head before it exploded.

Luke nodded his head in understanding and then let me go.

I walked slowly thinking about the conversation with Dan. He had made it clear that it was an accident. Then why had Ashley told me otherwise? I had seen her reaction very closely and it seemed as if she really did mean everything she was telling. I knew something was not adding up and though I wanted to dig deeper, no one was helping me with it.

I couldn't tell if Dan was right about telling all that. But then again, I knew mom had lost her life in a fair game and it was highly unlikely that the support team would kill their own racers. After all, the racer's win was what giving them bread for their family.

I terribly wanted to ask Dad about it, but he often feigned he didn't know much about it and he was taking care of me at the moment. For all I knew, that day, I was trampled on that side track of railing and stayed there till Dan had found me. I was home alone for three days after that with only half a pound of bread for my survival.

That was when I had stopped asking him more questions because I knew he would feed me lies to keep his head above water.

As I walked further, I thought I saw a man standing on my way to home. He was standing under the street lights and when I saw the curly hairs, I knew who it was. Though in the morning, I wished to talk with him, now, I stumbled on my own words not knowing how to approach him.

The fact that he hadn't given up on me yet, was consoling. But I didn't know how long he could hold on it. The cold breeze blew, releasing my stress a little. I walked towards him and my footsteps made him turn towards me.

"Hey." He said, looking at me. "I wanted to show you something in the evening."

"Oh," I said tucking my hair behind my ear. 

I didn't know why I was feeling so jittery around him. It was the Robert with whom I had hung out all those times, yet now he seemed like a stranger. I wanted to reach out and run my hands over his hair, but I couldn't dare to bring myself up to that. I wanted to ask him how he was, but then I already knew the answer looking at him.

His eyes had lost its color and vigor. I could tell that he hardly slept and the grease stains told me that he often spent his time in the garage.

I looked around and saw that it was a new car. It was in a dreamy orange color, the same shade that he had showed me on the day at beach telling me that he wanted one in that color for himself.

"New car?" I asked for which he nodded his head.

"Just like you had asked me to." He opened the door and I took a good look it. The gear box and the hand breaks were in a different position. The seats were joined together and it made a lot of space for the passengers. "You know, you had asked me that morning... and I thought you should be the first one to see it."

"It's..." I started, but I couldn't come with a good reaction.

I was tongue tied. That day, I had asked him to change the position of the gear box since it didn't let me near him. It was supposed to be a joke, but he had done it. He wanted me near him and he was deliberately telling me that he was letting me in. I looked at him and it seemed like he was apologizing again and I felt like a bitch for pushing him away all this time.

"It's beautiful." I said, meaning it. He had combined his favorite color with my design and had got it done wonderfully. "I love it." I said putting my weight on my left leg. "You should probably get it patented, Rob."

"I made it for you, Scarlet." He said, looking intently at me.

I didn't know what to say for that. Rob had taken up Brian's words and if there was someone else to tell him otherwise, I was sure he would take it in and screw himself over it.

When he saw that I wasn't saying anything back, he sighed. "What do you want, Scar?" He asked, desperately. "I'm trying to change here and yet you are pushing me away. I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. But can't you forgive me for that?"

I remembered that night and words came flying in. They seemed like the knives twisted at me and piercing my heart in the process. A single drop of tear rolled down my cheeks. I didn't know since when I had become a crying machine.

"Hey," Robert closed the distance between us.

I looked at him and though I had hurt him all these times, his concern for me had never decreased. As he pulled me in for a hug, I melted under his arms, cherishing the moment. I didn't have the strength to push him away anymore.

Over time, he had become my strength. All these years, I hadn't depended on anyone but now, with Robert around, I felt myself leaning on him. And the best part was, he liked it too.

Slowly, I lifted my face up to meet his. His dark eyes took me in and the moment they looked at my parted lips, I couldn't hold back any longer. I pulled him for a kiss that I desperately needed. Savoring the feel that I had once been familiar with, I knew I had found my vanished strength back.

"I love you." It was just a whisper and I thought I had dreamt it. I opened my eyes to see him. His hands had cupped my face, his forehead touching mine as his eyes closed. "I love you, baby."

---

A/N: I feel like Scarlet is becoming a Sherlock Holmes. What do you think is the mystery behind her mother's death? And a small plus is of the two love birds getting together. I know I could have made it more beautiful, but that's for another day...