Trouble by Taylor Jamie Beckett Read Free Book Online Page A

been deeply
embarrassed.
    Russ and
his goons were nowhere to be seen.

Chapter 11: Fast driving
    Lunch
period was for half an hour so they had only a short time for Matt
to demonstrate some racing car maneuvers.
    “ Impress me,” Byron teased.
    Matt
drove fast but within the speed limit then abruptly he turned the
sports car sideways. Byron felt himself being thrown forward but
was held back by his seat belt. He was sweating with excitement.
Matt was very calm and did not stop or lose control.
    Matt had
started driving in Indiana as a way of overcoming his loneliness.
His maneuvers were a window to his inner troubled world and the way
in which he tried to come to terms with it. For Byron, this
rollercoaster kind of ride was like being inside Matt’s risk filled
mind. It was as if unseen forces were trying to harm him and he was
taking evasive action. Byron was disturbed because it was like a
mirror in which he saw his own stormy life. He couldn’t keep
avoiding it. He felt he needed to confront his fears, his concerns,
his trials and his search for identity. He was glad he had
confronted Russ because it showed that he was on the right track in
dealing directly with his issues.
    Later he
would talk to Natalie!
    He was
going to ask Matt to teach him these maneuvers but knew he would be
unwilling to do so because they were quite dangerous for someone
just learning to drive.
    “ Okay let’s go back to school otherwise we’ll miss the next
period,” Matt said breezily.
    Byron was
sweating and his head seemed to be pounding.
    “ What’s with you?” he asked good naturedly. “You walk around
fearlessly like Tarzan in school but you’re shaking inside
here.”
    “ I’m impressed.”
    ‘ With my car?”
    “ Yes. But more so with your driving. It’s like riding inside
your mind.”
    Suddenly
Matt jerked the steering wheel and Byron was flabbergasted that he
was not using the brakes! He swerved furiously and Byron thought
they were going to crush. Then he steered very quickly without
being too fast. Instantly he corrected the car’s direction and they
moved back to school.
    “ You’re one crazy son of a gun.”
    “ But never ask me to teach you to drive like this. It’s
dangerous.”
    “ You remind me of a legend.”
    “ Who?”
    “ James Dean.”
    “ Rebel without.”
    “ No,” Byron added quickly. “Rebel with a cause.”
    “ Why ‘with a cause’?”
    “ I guess I’m trying to find some deeper meaning in life. Trying
to search for the right identity rather than just having a good
time.”
    “ You mean rather than just going with the flow of drinking,
sexing and having a blast? That’s cool.” Matt pressed a button and
Carly Rae came on loud and clear.
    “ You like Natalie, do you?” There was subtle tension in Byron’s
voice as he tried to be as casual as possible.
    And then
Matt understood. The whole purpose of this ride was not to be
impressed with his driving but to quiz him on the love of their
lives. Byron was hoping that she would hook up with him after her
break up with Russ and it was Matt’s good fortune that he was at
the right place at the right time when the drama unfolded. He
sensed that Byron had wanted Natalie to break up with Russ, partly
because he was a bully but there was more. There was an invisible
barrier between Byron and Natalie. It was a mystery to him what the
whole issue was about. He sensed that he was in the middle of the
invisible barrier and could get caught in the crossfire! If he was
patient it would just unfold. He wished that he was not so
temperamental. He needed to learn to deal with the issues calmly so
he would be able to ride out this storm of a love
triangle!
    “ What is it to you?” he asked nonchalantly as they came to the
car park. Immediately he regretted his response and his tone of
voice. If he had spoken reasonably and calmly this issue would have
been solved easily but his cavalier reply would set off a chain of
events.
    He had
not meant to be