Race With a Heart
Chapter 115: Difficult Challenges for Friendship

Chapter 115: Difficult Challenges for Friendship

Karl started. He did so almost imperceptibly, but Steve, who was closely watching him, noticed and felt a twinge of sadness.

"I have," Walton announced. "Of course I have. Something that started like your relationship cannot survive. Do you think Martin really loves you? I think that he is totally under your spell, nothing else. How long will it take? When will this boy wake up from this crush? And you? Do you really love him? Do you even know what love is? One day you will wake up from your sleep and then what? "

Karl’s words were harsh, maybe even cruel, but not unfounded. Nobody knew Steve as long and as well as he did. Even so, Paxton was eager to resist his logic.

"And you? Are you sure you’ll be happy with Anna? Do you have the guarantee that it will always go well between you two? "

"Do not change the subject..."

"I do not change it. I just want to show you that there is nothing certain about love, hell, there is nothing certain in life. Look at me. Would anyone expect yesterday that today... "

Steve was starting to get emotional, but it didn’t bother him at all. The emotion he felt wasn’t fear, it wasn’t the shame or guilt that dominated his life so much for so many years. These were emotions full of passion, hope and warmth.

"I don’t know what will happen to me and Martin in ten years, in a year, in a week, but I know that today being with him makes me... happy. I do not know why it is like that. I don’t know why him and not someone else. Maybe that is because of how it started, although it started precisely because I was drawn to him then. I know you are my friend and you care about me, but don’t be a parent who doesn’t accept your child’s choices. Please, Karl ... "

Steve was suddenly struck by how much he cares about Walton’s acceptance. He had never realized before how important Karl was to him. Yes, they were friends, the best, but Paxton, locked in his world of remorse, did not see how important Walton was to him.

"Please, Karl," he repeated, much calmer, more gently. "Since Hannah’s accident, my life has been a mess. My mind, my heart... You know yourself because you’ve been with me all this time. If I hadn’t had you as a friend, I wouldn’t have survived. You and Larissa... Dammit, even Anna! If it weren’t for you..." He paused. It was not easy for him to talk about it, but certain words must be said. Some important words. "I will always be grateful to you. Thanks to you and your support, I started to open up to other people. "

Walton sighed heavily.

"I’m glad," he announced, though he didn’t sound very pleased. "I thought I would never see you fight for your happiness again. If it’s Martin, I can only thank him. Maybe you are right, maybe I am like an overprotective parent who thinks his child is dating the wrong person, but" he sighed again "it’s your life. I will support you in your choice. "

"Thank you," Steve felt real gratitude and relief. "Because you see, when it comes to Martin, there is one more thing ..."

Dave came to work calmly. Though deep down he was angry with Paxton and wanted to punch him on the teeth, he knew he wouldn’t see him in the shop. Instead, he will see a Martin he respected and liked, but who he said was broken.

Dave couldn’t help but think so, but he felt uncomfortable because he knew he shouldn’t be saying those words aloud. Words like that hurt, and yet Martin didn’t break down by himself. It was Paxton who had changed his mind. Martin was his innocent victim and Dave shouldn’t have attacked him that way. His colleague needed support so that he could easily see himself and his mistake. If Dave attacks him, they will stop being friends and Martin will sink deeper into the world of depravity.

Tolerance was not easy, especially when the prejudices planted in man had already taken root. And in Dave, they ran deep into his mind and his heart. They had plenty of time to grow this way.

That’s why Dave wasn’t in the best mood approaching the workshop. He knew he had to fix his relationship with Martin somehow, but he had no idea how to do it yet.

"Dave! Dave! Have you seen? "

Right from the entrance, he was greeted by a deeply agitated Sid. Dave was relieved that his friend was talking to him, after all, yesterday they had not parted ways on the best terms. Only there was something unsettling about Sid’s agitation. The boy had a phone in his hand and apparently while serving on the Internet he found something very intriguing, something that interested him so much that he forgot about yesterday’s argument.

"What was I supposed to see?" Dave asked. Sid leaned closer and Dave was thankful the boy didn’t hold a grudge against him.

"It’s Steve. It happened that night. Look."

Dave didn’t want to look at Paxton, but there was something clearly disturbing about Sid’s voice and demeanor, as if something bad had happened. Dave glanced at the display, where a pretty reporter was presenting a reportage from main entrance of the city hospital.

’We are just outside the hospital where the famous racing driver Steve Paxton was brought last night in critical condition. An emergency operation was performed immediately. We have no official information on his current health, but well-informed sources say that the driver’s life is no longer in danger. Paxton most likely fell victim to an attempted murder. Police refuse to provide information.

The attempted murder of Paxton is shocking news, and everyone is wondering what could have been the motive for this crime. We all remember that from the beginning of the season Steve Paxton struggled with many adversities on the track. Many people are starting to ask more and more often, were those events really accidental? Let’s look at the material ... ’

Dave felt as if someone had stunned him.

"Is it true?" He asked. "Where’s Martin?"

"On his way from the hospital."

"But an attempted murder? Who...? Why...?"

Ever since Dave found out that Paxton had led Martin badly, he had been furious with him and wanted to punch him in the mouth. But for someone to want to kill him? For what? Is it for being gay? No, it’s impossible. You may not like someone, you may want to punch him in the face, you can even mess with his life a bit, but to kill? Was it Paxton who did something so extremely bad as to deserve someone’s so much anger, or was it the people who lost all their wits?

"He’ll be fine, won’t he?" Dave asked, strangely concerned. It’s not that he was starting to like Steve just because he was in the hospital, but not liking someone and wishing them dead are two separate situations. "Yes, he will definitely be okay, otherwise Martin would not have been on his way to work. Right? Unless..."

"He’ll be fine," replied Martin, who had just arrived. He was terribly pale, and there was a distinct red blush on his cheeks for contrast. His eyes were a little puffy, as if he hadn’t slept all night. "Good morning everyone."

"Bloody Hell! You look like death! " Teddy called. "Will you be okay?"

"Of course," smiled Martin. "The operation was successful, so Steve is getting better. The surgeons managed to stop the bleeding, so now he’ll be fine."

"So it’s true?" Sid asked agitated. "Someone tried to kill him?"

Martin still tried to keep his face serene, but something in his face twitched unpleasantly, as if Martin was fighting to keep from crying.

"Uhm," he nodded. It sounded like it was hard for him to talk about it.

"Save these questions for later," Dave growled and pulled Sid by the hand. "Can’t you see what condition Martin is in?" he asked in a lower voice.

"I just ..." defended Sid.

"Is your curiosity so important? Give him a moment to cool down. "

"If you say so," Sid agreed, then looked at Dave’s hand holding him and gritted his teeth, shoving it away. His approach to his friend changed instantly. It was obvious he had a grudge against Dave for yesterday after all.

"Don’t be ridiculous," Dave sneered. "We’ve always been friends, and you want to destroy our friendship because of some fagot?"

"Fagot?" Sid asked and there was pain in his voice. "We’ve known each other forever, and I had no idea you could talk about people that way. But I don’t think I knew you at all. "

"Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to destroy our friendship? "

"What if it were me?" Sid asked suddenly. "What if I had told you that I liked a man? If I told you I liked you, would I be a fagot then, or a broken one? Would I?"