Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Brake Check
The crowd roared to life as Waverly stood on Chrissy’s shoulders. Her arms stretched toward the ceiling. She pumped her right fist through the air and set her left hand on her hip. Her lungs expanded and collapsed inside her chest as she her breath heaved in and out. The lights faded and the audience’s cheers paralleled. One by one, the pyramid disbanded. Waverly sashayed off stage left and into one of the classrooms, which was now posed as a makeshift dressing room.
“Are you coming to the celebration tonight at Shorty’s?” Chrissy asked as the youngest Earp stretched plucked her tank top off her sweaty body and stood in her sports bra. She grasped her cheerleading warm up jacket and pulled it on over her arms.
“What time are you going?” Waverly stepped into her spandex shorts, nearly falling over in the process.
“Eight? We planned on bringing the trophy and taking some pics!” Chrissy gushed.
“I’ll see if I can make it.” Waverly seized her duffle bag and shoved it over her shoulders. “Wynonna has a race this afternoon, but I will try to make it if we get back in time.”
Chrissy sighed in frustration. The youngest Earp dashed down the school’s hallway, forcing her to chase after her.
“Waverly,” Chrissy was becoming annoyed with her best friend. “When are you ever going to do something for yourself?”
The brunette spun on her sock clad flip flops. She stammered, “I promised Wynonna I would be there, and I am going to go.”
She could not tell the other girl she would rather be at the motocross track than partying with the cheerleading squad. Talk about losing popularity points. And as a straight A student, she needed them.
“Tell Wynonna I said good luck!” Chrissy bellowed.
With a small smile, she waved to her friend and jogged down the hallway.
Waverly soared from the car as soon as they parked. She hated being late; throughout the entire car ride she felt a large yet imaginary weight pressing against her chest and lungs, making it harder and harder to breathe. She needed to make it before the race started! She sprinted across the dirt parking lot, her once cream white socks now covered in dirty, brown sand. As if on instinct, she followed the sound of the roaring bicycles, her heart pumping with the sound of the participants revving their engines.
“Slow down, Wave,” Her mother called, desperate to keep up with her daughters increasing speed. “We will make it before the gates drop. We can’t all be in great shape.”
“I know, momma,” Waverly declared, slowing her jog down to a brisk walk, uncertainty simmering within. “I want her to know we made it and we are supporting her.”
“She knows, baby girl,” The middle-aged woman reminded her. “She will feel your presence. I know it.”
“Do you see Dad?” Waverly mumbled. She squinted past the sun’s harsh rays following her mother’s line of sight.
“Right there,” Michelle pointed. With a deep sigh, Waverly followed her mother through the throngs of over eager race-goers. Her mother stood at just over 5’3, but she thrusted through the group with ease.
“Hey honey,” Ward greeted. He yanked his wife into his arms and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “How did your day go?”
“I cheered on our other daughter at her competition, Ward.” Michelle reminded. “Don’t you remember?”
“Of course, Waverly.” He reached forward and ruffled her hair with his hard, calloused hands. “How did it go?”
“Good, I think. Chrissy is going to let me know if we make it to the finals.” Waverly recounted. Her eyes locked on the dirt track, drifting farther from the conversation as she imagined being side by side at the starting line with her sister.
“Wynonna’s practice run this morning went smoothly,” Her father concluded. He tightened his arm around his wife as he took a swig of beer. “She tripped up on a small jump at the end, but I think she should have this one. In the top three for sure.”
Waverly reached her arm high over the crowd’s heads, waving at the big line of racers, desperate to catch her sister’s attention. As the helmet clad woman saddled on her bike, she saluted her sister.
“She’s going to win,” Waverly murmured with confidence. “I know she will.”
A green flag soared into the sky, indicating the start to the race. The gates dropped and dirt clouded the entire raceway. The riders, donning helmets and loads of protective padding, sped past the crowd and up the first hill.
“And Earp Enterprises is off to a strong start.” Waverly smiled as she narrated the race to no one in particular. “Wynonna is neck and neck with fourth place as she comes to the first jump. She makes it through the first turn and cuts to the inside, hoping to catch a few seconds on her competition.”
She shoved her small feet into the first hole on the fence, frantic to elongate her body and see past the large dirt mounds on the track, but to no avail. Her fingers drummed on the metal as anxiety and worry raced inside her.
“And her comes the racers yet again,” She continued her fake announcing. “Earp has sped past two of her competitors, and she and Black Badge are neck and neck. Will she be able to hold this for the next eight laps? Will she be able to pull ahead? She comes to the first jump at of the second lap, holding her own as her front wheel spins through the air. Did you see what just happened? It’s as if she and her bike became one!”
Waverly continued her storytelling for each of her sister’s laps. Her heart fluttered in excitement as she waited for the racers to turn the last corner before the finish line. She stepped through a higher rung on the fence, squinting to see the color of the first-place racer.
“And Earp Enterprises comes to the final hurdle in front, but Black Badge is right on her tail. They both slam down on the bottom of the jump. Wynonna is moving toward the outside of the track, trying to cut the competition out. The white checkered flag has been raised. Earp has her eyes on the prize as she shifts gears and comes out ahead. What a photo finish! And team Earp takes home the trophy!”
Waverly screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice unable to be heard above the roar of the engines. Her mother pulls her into her arms. Their excitement doesn’t fade by the time Wynonna trots to her small set of fans. She yanks her helmet off her head, shaking her hair free from its sweaty prison. Waverly shot into her sister’s arms, crushing herself underneath the weight of her protective padding.
“Whoa baby girl, don’t kill me yet, I still have another race to win!” The taller brunette chuckled as she hugged her sister with matching intensity.
“Yeah, but you are a shoe in for this one!” Waverly shoved her sister’s shoulder in excitement.
“How did the cheerleading competition go, Wave?” The eldest Earp questioned. “Did you win?”
“I forgot!” Waverly heaved her phone from her small pocket and her eyes glanced to the bright screen. “We made it to the finals!”
“Look at this! Both Earp girls getting lucky!” Wynonna grabbed her sister for yet another hug. “Is the squad going to Shorty’s to celebrate?”
“Oh, I’m sure.” Waverly followed the small group of her family, which made up the entirety of Earp Enterprises, as they walked back to the semitruck, her sister right at her side.
“You’ve need to celebrate with them Wave! It’s your senior year and you are in the finals for the state championship! Go home, baby girl. Celebrate with your friends.”
Waverly wrapped her arm around her shoulder and squeezed it tight. “I’m right where I want to be.”
Wynonna zipped past her sister’s bedroom, pausing to share a sinister smile with the inhabitants. Within seconds, her sister sprinted downstairs, her best friend Jeremy hot on her heels.
Trying her best to act casual, Waverly plopped on the couch, her legs stretching over the arm.
“Where are you off to today, mom?” The youngest Earp quizzed as Wynonna sat beside her.
“Not uh, uh, I know that look.” Her mother looked between the two sisters and the young man. Jeremy leaned against the wall; his arms crossed in self-defense. “Whatever you have planned, it’s not happening.”
“Who said we had anything planned, Mom,” Wynonna insisted, biting the inside of her cheek. “We didn’t know you were leaving, promise.”
“Uh huh,” Mamma Earp sighed in disbelief. “And what about you two?”
“Homework, right Jeremy?” Waverly glared. The younger man nodded his paled face.
“Be safe,” Their father glanced at each of the three. “We will be back before you notice.”
“Aren’t we always safe?” Wynonna questioned, receiving an annoyed eyeroll from her father as he slammed the door.
“Where are they going?” The youngest Earp asked, interrupting the silence as they waited for the car drive off.
“Curtis and Gus’s,” Wynonna announced. “I heard them on the phone. They should be gone for a few hours.”
“Jeremy…”
“Whatever you have planned,” Jeremy asserted. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“Of course, you do,” Wynonna proclaimed. She stood beside him and clenched her hand on his shoulder. “There is no one else I would trust to handle my baby. You can change the race bike’s engines in record speed!”
“Yeah Jeremy,” Waverly joined in, buttering the teen up. “We wouldn’t trust anyone else but you.”
“Ahh, you guys,” His face lit up in a smile. “You mean it?”
“Absolutely, Jer-bear.” Wynonna harassed. “Meet you out in the garage?”
In less than ten minutes, both Earp sisters walked the race and practice bikes to the makeshift track, clad in full motocross attire. Helmets hung on the handlebars of each bike. Jeremy followed their tracks, walking with half excitement and half regret.
“Jeremy, do you have the flag?”
“This is all I could find.” Jeremy flapped a rainbow colored flag above his head.
“A pride flag! We are going to use a pride flag? Really Jeremy?” Wynonna giggled. “Where did you find that?”
“I think we had it last year,” Waverly relayed. “When Jeremy and I went to Purgatory Pride.”
“Oh yeah, I remember! Didn’t you dress up as a unicorn or something?” Wynonna joked.
Waverly rolled her eyes. “Jeremy, you are going to tell us who won, okay? A week’s worth of dishes are on the line.”
“And I’m not losing,” Wynonna spoke through her helmet as her younger sister tugged on her own. “Is everything all set, Wave?”
Waverly nodded as she adjusted the goggles in front of her eyes. Kicking her leg over the practice bike, she revved the motorbike’s engine. She looked toward her right, ensuring her sister’s wheel was in line with hers and squinted past the sun. Jeremy raised his rainbow flag and in an instant both sisters sped off, leaving nothing but a cloud of dirt in their path.
“I didn’t have a chance to wave it!” Jeremy bellowed as the sound of the crying, circling crows caused his ears to burn.
The Earp sisters sped around the dirt track, feeling the terrain as their bikes ate the dirt between them. Coming around the first bend, Wynonna increased her lead, but her sister continued a yard behind. Waverly did not let up. Instead, she gunned her bike and the engine roared underneath her. With each jump, she gained on her sister, inch by inch. She might not be a professional racer, but nothing was going to stop the youngest Earp.
Waverly watched with bulged eyes as Jeremy raised the bright flag up above his head, signaling the final lap. It was now or never. Pushing closer and closer toward her sister, she squeezed her bike over to the right, using one of Wynonna’s classic tricks. In an instant, her sister slammed on her brake as her sister forced her to the edge of the track. Waverly sped forward, leaving her sister in a dusty, dirty fog.
Wynonna gritted in frustration at her sister’s moves. This was her legacy! She slashed through the track at top speeds, catching up to Waverly. As they rounded the last jump, her confidence increased; she could do this jump in her sleep. As her bike ricocheted off the dirt and the wind whirled against her gear, Wynonna leaned to the left. Her unbalanced tire collided with the ground and she fell to the ground, clutching onto her knee. Red filled her vision as her sister’s desperate pleas echoed all around her.
“What were you thinking, Waverly?” Her father lectured as they sat in the waiting room.
The youngest Earp wrapped her arms around her legs as she forced herself not to cry. She did this! Wynonna had succumbed to injury because of her. She should have done more! She should have stopped her! Worse, she joined in. Her sister’s life and professional career could likely be over, all because she wanted to go on a joy ride.
“Ward,” Mamma Earp chided her husband as she watched her daughter ring her hands and crack her fingers in anticipation.
“No, Michelle,” Ward complained as he marched to the group. “This is her fault. She should have stopped Wynonna for being ridiculous and immature. She is supposed to be the smart one. Now we have to find someone to race for us!”
“Dad,” A small but groggy voice ejected. Crutches bounced against the bright waxed floor. “You can’t blame her; this was my idea.”
“It doesn’t matter, she was supposed to-”
“Well maybe if you let us race every once in a while, we wouldn’t have to do it behind your back!” Wynonna charged back. “Whatever, I’m ready to go home.”
Wynonna galloped on her crutches through the long sterile hallway, her sister sauntering in disdain behind her.