Queen of the track

XXI

Chapter 21.

Gray

"I'm sorry, what?" I say, confusion on my face and laced in my voice. "But you just said you lost your phone that night."

"Glad to see you're paying attention." Ryan nods. "I did lose my phone. We didn't find out who the anonymous caller was until a few weeks later, but the day after this all kicked off, Rissa showed up at my house with my phone, saying she found it in her car."

"So...how do we know it wasn't Rissa who called the cops?" I counter.

Ryan shakes his head. "After she dropped me home, she went back to Alex's house with her, they have cameras over their driveway so the cops ruled it out since she couldn't have dropped me off, went to find Axel on the other side of town, call the cops, then go. Plus, Rissa wouldn't do that to Raven and AJ."

"But you would?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"No, never. I didn't do it. Someone stole my phone and somehow put it in Rissa's car."

I nod and sit back in my seat, thinking. Ryan sighs as he does the same.

"None of this adds up." I say eventually. "How did the cops then trace the number back to your phone? If it's an anonymous tip, shouldn't that be illegal for them to do?"

"The cops don't know. Raven and AJ hired a private detective. They wanted to know who rat out their dad and why. They still don't have the answer, even though they think they do."

"But why would they think you actually did it?" I ask. "Why do they not trust you enough to believe that your phone was stolen and someone is trying to frame you? Also, who would try to frame you? Because taking your phone to make the call, that could have been anyone, but planting it in Rissa's car where they knew you were at some point in the night...that makes it personal, against all of you."

"AJ and I had a fight earlier that night." Ryan admits. "It...got us both pretty mad and things were rocky the entire night. It was why I got in Rissa's car in the first place, and not his. And as for the framing me...it's what I've been trying to figure out these past few months."

I nod slowly, but watch Ryan closely. There was something else he was holding back from telling me.

"So, now you know the reason why I'm outcasted. Bet you'd like to time travel back to twenty minutes ago huh?"

"No," I shake my head. "I'm glad you told me this."

Ryan gives me a watchful look, as if he can read the thoughts swarming in my mind. "Gray, you cannot confront Raven or AJ or anyone else about this."

"I never said I was going to do that." I defend.

"You didn't have to, I can tell how riled up you are."

"Well, can you blame me?" I snap, then lower my voice. "Ryan, you just told me that your boyfriend and closest friends believe some random guy they gave money to when he said that you framed their dad and are the reason he was arrested. Of course I'm a bit riled up." Ryan says nothing as I slump back into my seat. "So, what happened to their dad?"

Ryan's jaw clenches. "He's in the county prison on battery and assault charges. They couldn't pin him at being at the fighting ring since the guys he beat up certainly wouldn't admit to being there themselves. With good behaviour he could be out eight months from now."

I shake my head slightly. Almost a year in prison for what was technically self defence. No wonder Raven and AJ are how they are, but it still didn't give them any good reason not to hear Ryan's side of the story, especially seeing how close they all were. Things just didn't make sense.

I look up at Ryan again. "What did you and AJ fight about?"

"What?"

"You said you and AJ had a fight that night, what was it about?"

Ryan nervously taps his fingers on the table. "I saw some girl hitting on him at the tracks before Raven's race. He wasn't doing anything wrong, but he wasn't telling her to back off either. I got pissed off and asked if he even wanted our 'relationship' to be going anywhere. His dad didn't know. AJ said his dad wouldn't...approve, of him being gay, which is some macho male bullshit if you ask me. I said as much, and things got heated between us pretty fast."

My eyebrows furrow. "So, what? They think you have it out against their dad so you got him thrown in jail, just so you and AJ could have your happily ever after? Who the fuck thinks like that?"

"I don't know man," Ryan admits. "This is just what I know."

I sigh through my nose and slump back against the booth cushion, Ryan's story swarming around in my mind.

"Do you see now why you gotta back out of this fight with AJ?" Ryan says. "I don't know why he's got this beef with you, but it's only gonna make things worse."

"Yeah, you're probably right." I agree. "But I'm not backing out."

Ryan opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.

"If AJ wants to prove he's this alpha male through fighting me, I'll do it, and I'll kick some fucking sense into him in the process."

Ryan looks at me but doesn't say anything, playing with his straw wrapper on the table.

"He needs to stop fighting at the ring." He eventually says. "If he doesn't...he'll end up like his dad."

"I'd like to see this place." I shrug. "If it's where he'll choose our fight to be, I gotta have some advantage."

Ryan shakes his head. "The old place shut down, it's all abandoned. Solomon would've got a new place up and running pretty quick, but I don't know where."

I nod, assuming Solomon is the guy running the operation. "Right."

"But...we could go to the dirt track." Ryan suggests. "AJ is usually there on weekends, we could convince him to put the fight off."

I watch him closely. I've mentioned multiple times now that this fight would be going ahead regardless, yet he still seems to think AJ can be convinced to call it off. Why?

Ryan clearly cares about AJ a lot, and it doesn't seem to be reciprocated, not anymore at least.

"Alright." I nod in agreement. "Where is this place?"

"Over an hour away, it's an old air base abandoned back in the 90s."

I hum in amusement, "You guys seem to love abandoned places, huh?"

Ryan smiles a little, finishing off his milkshake.