Racing Home

I stopped the car outside mums house. Grandad was raging more to go and knock on the door. My Grandmother tried to hold him back, but he was too strong for her. He steamed out of the car like a possessed man. Halting in front of the row of houses, he checked the numbers to see which one was number fifty-eight. He spotted it, opening the gate, he marched down the path; by then, we were out of the car as well. My Grandmother was behind him with her arm stretched out to grab him, but he was too far ahead. Jade and I stayed by the car. I couldn't risk it to go near the house while Frank was there. I had to do something. Digging for my smartphone in my pocket, I fished it out of my pocket. I did a quick search for Sargent Wrights number. Once found, I pressed dial. It was ringing. By then, there was some loud knocking. My Grandfather was bashing at the front door; my Grandmother had reached him by then. She was trying to pull him back by the arm. Sargent Wright had answered the call.

"Sargent Wright, you have to come to my house; it's an emergency!" I screamed into the phone. The front door opened. Thank goodness it was my mother instead of Frank. "Come quickly, Sargent, before something terrible happens." I hang up the phone.

"What has he done to you, honey?" my Grandmother said to my mother while she tried to embrace her.

My Grandfather yelled, "Where is he?"

The neighbours had come out of their houses, their eyes glued on my mother and grandparents. "Fuck this, Jade. I have to go and see what's going on," I said. We began to walk towards the gate entrance. Before entering, I looked around me to see if there was any sign of the police. There was no sign of them, but Frank was strolling down the pavement towards us in the distance.

"Shit!" I yelled

Jade glanced in the direction I was gazing. "I guess that is Frank," she said.

"Now the shit is going to hit the fan," I said, grabbing Jade by the hand. 'Whatever happens, be calm, Michael.' I said to myself.

As soon as Frank was near enough to recognise me, he began to walk faster towards us, screaming and shouting, "You are in deep shit now, you little shit!" he was almost in my face. "If you touch me, I'm going to put you away for good this time."

Jade held my hand tight, drawing me back. I was trying to keep calm; I didn't want to give him the chance to get me in trouble again. It wasn't me who was his enemy today. The seventy-year-old man who was marching towards him like he was possessed was his adversary. Frank didn't know what hit him. My Grandfather grabbed him from his jacket and lifted him. Frank was on his toes, wiggling like a snake to get free. My Grandfather pulled his arm back. His fist is like the end of a hammer, ready to force it into Frank's face. I rushed to stop him.

"Michael, stop!" my Grandmother yelled as loud as she could.

We both froze, that is, my Grandfather and me. The police arrived, just in time. They brought their car to a halt in the middle of the road, blue lights flashing on and off. It was Sargent Wright and Officer Smith. Quickly getting out of the vehicle, they rushed to us.

My Grandfather dropped his fist down to his side, but he still held Frank tightly. "You can release him now, sir," Sargent Wright said to my Grandfather. He let him drop out of his hand.

"Officers, this man tried to assault me." Frank pointed his index finger towards my Grandfather."

"Hold on now," Sargent Wright said. He looked at his colleague. "Officer Smith, can you take notes, please." The officer pulled out his notepad instantly. "Let me get this right. You are telling me that this seventy-year-old man assaulted you." He looked at my Grandfather. "No disrespect, sir."

"None at all, Sargent," my Grandfather calmly said.

My mother was standing by my Grandmother. She held mums hand, trying to comfort her. Jade joined them, stroking mums back gently. Sargent Wright looked at mum. His eyes focused on the black bruise on her cheek.

"What happened to your face, Francis? Have you gone to the doctor because it looks like a horrible injury?" Sargent Wright said.

"She fell down the stairs. That's how clumsy she is." Frank laughed.

Sargent Wright took a deep breath. "What happened, Francis?" he patiently asked her.

"Frank beat me. The next day when I went to go to the hospital, he wouldn't let me." Mum cried.

"Are you taking notes, Officer Smith?" The Sargent asked. The officer nodded. "I have Grevious Bodily Harm and Emotional Abuse, here."

He pulled the handcuffs off his belt and grabbed Frank's hand, twisting it behind his back. He handed him over to Officer Smith to put in the police car.

Sargent Wright took a closer look at mum's injury. "It would be best to have that bruise taken care of by a doctor, Francis." He told my mother. He turned to walk away and then turned back. "Don't forget to get doctors to report any injuries you have. You will need them when you take Frank to court." He smiled at mum. A crowd of neighbours started to form around us. The Sargent scanned the area with his eyes. "I don't think you will have any problem in finding any witnesses to what Frank did to you!" he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

A voice in the crowd yelled, "There is plenty of people here as witnesses."

He jumped in the police car; it was gone in seconds, blue light flashing as they left, with Frank handcuffed in the back seat.

We all looked at each other in amazement. My mother embraced us and kissed us all before we started making our way to the house--Mum in front with my Grandmother on her left and Jade on her right. My Grandfather and I were behind them.

"Grandmother, when you yelled, 'Michael, stop.' Did you mean it for Grandad not to hit him or me not to stop Grandad from hitting Frank?"

"You two will give me a heart attack one day," she responded.

We all chuckled at the comment.

Chapter 18

That was the last time I saw Frank. It was the last time he stepped foot in our house. My mother and Grandparents had a couple of encounters with him in court. My mother sued him for grievous bodily harm and emotional abuse. The last we heard of Frank, he was staying at his friend's house, Peter. He was sleeping on the couch. It didn't take long for Pete to see what kind of a man he was and told him to leave. The last we heard, he left London.

I'm back home now with my mother. The truth is some nights at my Grandparents and some at home. Jade is with me wherever I go. When she has lessons at the university, we're at Brentwood. The weekends we spend with mum. My Grandparents have slowed down with the charity work. They try to spend as much time with Mum and me.

I will be starting my last year at Hertfordshire University in September. To my surprise, my Grandparents paid for any tuition fees I had for the previous two years, including this year. Nick promised me that he would help me as much as possible with any projects I have at the university. That is if I support him with something he will need to do in July. He won't tell me until then.

It's the first week of July. Nick has arranged a surprise trip for me. It's early on a Saturday morning; we are cruising in our Beamer along the M25, eastbound towards Heathrow. Nick was driving, me next to him in the passenger seat. Jade and Emma were in the back seat. It seemed that the three of them knew where we were going except for me. Nick came off the M25 and jumped onto the M1, northbound. He drove past Luton and Milton Keynes. After a few more junctions, he swerved off the motorway towards Northampton. A few more miles through some villages, we came across a large advertisement board. It was for a drag race venue which was held today. A few more miles, and we arrived at the entrance. Nick pulled out for tickets and handed them in at the pay booth. The barrier opened, and we drove in.

"Welcome to Santa Pod Raceway!" Nick yelled. "This is a gift from me to you, my good friend.

I was speechless; I didn't know what to say. I wanted to scream with joy. My eyes went moist. Jade was seated behind me; she leaned forward and wrapped her hands around me. Leaning forward, she whispered in my ear, "I love you."

Nick parked the car in a parking slot which was only for the cars racing. I told him that we were not allowed to park here, but he ignored me. We strolled around the venue seeing all the cars that were on show. All the walking around and excitement opened up our appetite. By midday, we went for lunch, which was my treat. By two, we were seated at the race stands, watching the drag races.

The venue for this weekend was for cars made in Europe. There were no supercars like Ferrari and Porsche. Standard cars would compete with modified vehicles like Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Drivers would challenge other drivers to drag race each other. It was all legal racing.

At four in the afternoon, Nick nudged me on the shoulder, he said. "Come on; our slot is at four-thirty."

"What slot," I said, confused.

Nick and I got up while the girls stayed seated. We made our way to the Beamer. Nick started the engine and opened the hood. He let the engine warm-up for a few minutes before inspecting the running of the motor.

"Look who it is." It was Allen and his sidekick Eddy. "I thought you would chicken out."

"We're here, and we are ready, Alan," Nick responded. "We race at four-thirty let's do this."

Nick turned to me. He said, "This is your race, buddy." He opened the door for me to get into the driver's seat. I hesitated for a moment. "This is the favour I wanted. I want you to humiliate him!" Nick roared.

I nodded my head. Put the car in gear and drove to the start line. Alan stopped next to me on the left a few seconds later. "It's like taking candy from a baby," he laughed.

I looked up at the stands to see Jade. She moved seats with Emma, sitting in the front row. Nick stood at the side-line, his eyes focused on the cars.

It was a minute before the race; Alan began to rev his engine. He was trying to distract me. There was three amber lights and then green. The amber would light up one at a time and last the green. That is when you go. I waited patiently, my feet balancing the clutch and the accelerator. The first light came on. Amber, Amber, Amber and Green. I floored it. The Beamer shot off the starter line. I crossed the finish line some second later-a car length in front of Alan.

Alan was screaming, "he started before the light went green; he cheated."

The administrators of the event checked the video they recorded. They checked it thoroughly in slow motion. They didn't find anything wrong. The head administrator said, "Both cars started when the light was green.

Nick went up to Allen while he was still seated in his car. With his palm stretched out, he said to Allen, "£500, please.

"I'm not giving you shit, fuck off," he said to Nick.

A few heads turned towards Allen, giving him looks of daggers.

That's when I had to say something. "Double or nothing. £1000." I revved the engine this time. "That is if they give us a race slot."

The administrative team did not have a problem with that, as long as the other racers could wait fifteen minutes to race. There was no protest from the other racers.

"Before we race, can you give £1000 to the head administrator? If you win, you get it back. If you lose, I get it." I said to Allen with a smirk on my face.

With the cash in the administrator's hand, the race was on.

When the green light came on, I rocketed off the start line. I changed gears so quickly, and swiftly the car lost no speed. This time I crossed the finish line, three cars ahead of him. The crowd in the stands roared with cheers.

I turned the car around and drove back to the starting line, parking the car next to Nick. I Got out of the vehicle and was embraced by Nick with a bear hug.

Allen drove past us slowly, white smoke coming out of the engine compartment and a stream of oil behind him. He didn't even look our way.

This summer Nick, I and our ladies went on our European trip. We took the lazy route; we flew there. We shortened it to two weeks in Spain at a five-star hotel. With £1000 in our pockets for spending money, we had an unforgettable holiday.

The End.