Chapter Text
Colt hasn't felt good in a while.
A year, to be exact.
He's been drowning. Going through the motions of the day to ensure he stayed alive. Eating, attending physical therapy, going to work.
He didn't like his job. Being a valet for some random restaurant was the last thing he expected, but it was easy. It was the closest he could get to doing stunts again, driving donuts around the lot occasionally with some of the more expensive cars. He missed the presence in the passenger seat clinging to his arm and screaming with excitement. A head resting on his shoulder as he buried his face in blonde hair with soft words whispered to each other.
Several people have reached out about getting him back into the industry.
He refused.
He couldn't do it anymore.
The accident ruined him.
There were days where he would wake up and there was a present ache throughout his entire back. Bone deep and unable to be soothed even with all the tools his doctor ordered him to use. He worked through it. Driving oh so slowly through the parking lot, cars honking behind him and swerving around with middle fingers pointed at him.
His coworkers sometimes noticed. Offering a moment to sit at the bench to the side of the host stand. Ignored the insults he would throw their way when everything felt too much and he needed a target to let it all loose. He'd come to cherish those pep talks, even if they were quite cliche.
On his way out he would offer them his tips, if he had earned any that day. People could be stingy with their money. Besides, he had plenty too spare even with all the hospital bills. It was the least he could do for their kindness.
Some days he couldn't get out of bed. A text sent to the group chat with an apology and asking for someone to cover his shift for the day. Staring at the screen of his phone that had long turned off on its own.
Sometimes, the pills were too alluring.
He did everything to avoid taking them on those days, even if it meant wasting away curled up in a ball on the floor, cursing the world. Having fallen after a pitiful attempt at heating up those microwave dinners. Sometimes wishing the accident had a more fatal ending. The bedside drawer in his trailer had a few bottles wasting away.
The day he got the call from Gail, he felt like he finally found the willpower to swim to the surface. Drowning no longer seemed appealing now that he knew he hadn't ruined everything with Jody.
God, Jody.
Colt loved her so much.
He knew he was a coward, never letting either of them truly define their relationship even as they grew closer and closer over the years of working together. There were rumors about them. Jody constantly brought them up, making jokes as they laughed together at the 'crazy idea of them being boyfrien-girlfrien'. A part of Colt wanted to make them true.
He never did.
He doesn't know why. Maybe he was too comfortable with the way things were. Didn't want to take the risk of potentially ruining their relationship just because he was selfish.
He wonders what Court would say.
As far as he knew, his older brother had never had the time for relationships. Far too young and yet just as busy as an adult with a job and a family to take care of. Maybe he had been able to hide a secret girlfriend away from their father. If he did, she should have been there to visit him in prison. He doesn't remember any girls Court's age with the same pain and grief in her eyes. Or maybe she had been told all the horror stories about the house they lived in and knew there was no point. The only girls who talked about him were the ones spreading around rumors of Court being a mini serial killer or some stupid shit like that.
He could hardly believe he was now a decade older than his brother.
Jody would never get to meet him. Court would never get the chance to embarrass him by showing her the few baby pictures they had taken. She would never get to bicker with him the same way she does with Ry-
Gail was truly a godsend.
Australia had never seemed like such a place of hope before.
The moment he landed and contacted Gail she swept him away all over set to prepare. He had spent the entire flight hyping himself up for his first interaction with Jody in a year. Wanted to be as smooth as possible so she wouldn't notice just how pathetic he's become in that time. He's embarrassed to admit that a kid sitting next to him gave him better advice than anything he's ever heard.
Dan was amazing as always. The other man was one of his greatest friends, he always seemed to know what Colt was thinking before he even thought it. The push from Dan to get inside of the car was exactly what he needed. Said the stunt driver they have on set needed a break.
From the moment he entered that car, everything shut off. Hands moving the wheel, feet against the pedals as he flew throughout the set.
8.5 rolls. 8. Point five. Rolls.
He should have come back sooner!
The familiar rush of adrenaline running through his veins felt addicting.
It's when he's taking off his helmet that he sees Jody approaching him. Hope fills his heart. Half expecting her to run into his arms with that gorgeous smile of hers that stretched across her face. A small giggle escaping her as he wraps her up in a tight hug where he could spin her around like the male leads do in those cheesy romance movie he occasionally watches.
"Who's idea was this?"
Everything crashes.
She pulls him aside, scolding him. Her eyes hardened in a way he's never been the reason for before. It hurts. He tries as hard as possible to bring back their old routine. Adjusting her sunhat, tightening the cord around her chin. As always, she looks beautiful.
"This isn't going to work," she states coldly as she walks away. Some of the crew are standing to the side. He just knows the gossip mill is going to go crazy today. Colt stares at his feet in shame. Just when he thought things were finally working out, it's ripped out from under his feet, heart aching in his chest so painfully. Nostrils flaring as he tries his best to even his breathing.
"Oh no, Jody. What's wrong?" He hears a strangely familiar voice ask. Colt doesn't hear her response as he looks up and everything pauses, yet again.
Fluffy blonde hair, crooked silver framed glasses barely holding on to the ears and nose they're perched on. A stupid shirt with the words 'I make bad science puns periodically'.
"Ry," Colt breathes out. The other mans head snaps away from Jody to face him. Face frozen in an expression he can't tell. And isn't that something. He can't tell what his twin is thinking. After decades of understanding every micro expression, a sixth sense attaching them to the point people thought they could read each others minds. He can't read anything.
"What is he doing here?" It's like an arrow through his heart, hearing those words from someone he loves. There's no one to blame but himself. The last time they saw each other was engraved in his mind. Each word he spewed out in hatred launched at an unsuspecting target.
Jody placed a hand on Ryland's shoulder. "Anyone but him," she says with a wave of her hand. Colt doesn't hear any of her conversation with Dan, eyes laser focused on his brother. He's avoiding eye contact. Not a new thing with him, but something that was never done with Colt. Colt was always the one person Ryland could comfortably do anything. Colt, and Court, but only one of them was still around to count.
He only just tunes back into Jody's conversation when he hears her order the people around her to 'get a nurse on standby, please.'
"We're going to set this man on fire." She walks away, leading Ryland with her without either of them looking back at him. It was fine. He could accept being set on fire a hundred times if it meant he got the chance to talk with either of them.
Gail is really going to need to explain herself.