Pedal to the Metal

Chapter 2

3 Years Later

Meg

“Sign here and then everything will be finalized.” my lawyer said and she smiled softly.

This divorce was finally coming to an end. I looked at the man sitting across from me and my heart ached. I loved him and I'm sure a part of me always would, but I couldn't deal with this anymore. The narcissism, the mental abuse, the gas lighting the cheating. I was just done. It wasn't healthy for me anymore. I tried for years to be happy and just push through it.

Not only for myself but for our son, Beckett too. Daniel sat across from me, his face blank. He was careful not to say too much during this mediation meeting. Did he ever love me? Does he have any compassion for me at all? I doubt it after all he's ever done. He was the only family I had left and Now, now it's just me and my son.

“As far as custody goes, we'll stick to the plan. If any of you desire to change it, we will have to set up another court date.” I nodded at Victoria, my best friend in agreement. She was a kick ass lawyer, it also didn't hurt that she wasn't charging me.

Daniel was taking me for nearly everything and I didn't care about it. I don't care about the money. I came from nothing, so I'm happy having nothing. I cared about my son. I cared about his happiness. So as long as he has a roof over his head and food in his belly, I don't care. I made a decent amount of money as a photographer for Sports Illustrated, so I didn't have to worry about incoming funds. I had it easier than some moms. Some moms stay home and are left with nothing. No income, no home, no wonder so many of them stay in relationships like mine. Thankfully I had never let it get so far as him hitting me. I know I say I would be brave enough to leave if he did, but the truth is, I don't know. I'm just glad I don't have to find out now. I wanted our split to be amicable, and on good terms for Beckett but with Daniel, nothing is ever easy. If it's not his way, it's the highway.

“I am okay with the current custody plan we have if she is.” he said. Of course, he was. He would get the minimum amount of time with our son and he was okay with that. All of the parenting and difficult times would fall on me. Just like he was used to in our marriage.

“Okay, great. Every other weekend and every other holiday for you, Daniel. There is a stipulation in the contract where you can have more time if you ask and Meg approves. The child support hearing will be set for next month. Any questions, anyone?” the mediator said, and I shook my head no and he did the same.

The ink hadn't even begun drying and he was ready to get out of here and to his mistress. I rolled my eyes so far in the back of my head that I was sure they would get stuck there. I didn't care anymore. I did, but I didn't at the same time. Like, why did he have to cheat? If he wasn't happy with me or if I wasn't enough, he could have come and talked to me and we could have split on better terms. No, we couldn't because Daniel is a f*****g asshole and he wanted his cake and wanted to eat it too.

“If that is all, I have to get to work.” I said and grabbed my things and my purse and made my way to the door. I could feel his eyes on me and the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge.

He hated it when I started working again, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to budge on it. I loved Photography and the art I could capture with the shutter of a lens. I tried to stick with sports, but I did an occasional wedding or family portrait session. But sports was where my heart was.

My dad had us watching and playing every sport imaginable growing up. My brother played football and in college had an injury that ended his career before it even started. He had grown bitter over the years without the sport that he loved. It wasn't until he met his current wife who was a teacher at our local high school and convinced him to put his degree to use and start coaching football and become a teacher himself. I played softball, I was in cheering and Gymnastics, and I did Track.

I loved to run. Running was always my me time. My time to clear my head. I never went anywhere with my sports, but it shaped me into who I am today. I got to my car and checked my phone. No new messages from the sitter which was perfect and still sad at the same time. It meant everything was going well, but I missed my baby boy. Oh god, I was the clingy parent.

Beckett was 4 years old and had a serious addiction to race cars. When I told him about my job for the summer season he nearly collapsed. He made me promise to take him to at least 2 races and bribed me with taking the trash out and helping me sweep. Bless his little heart. He was a momma's boy and I wasn't going to complain about that. He had sandy brown hair like his father's and green eyes close to mine. Mine were a sea foam green and when the sunlight hit just right, they looked blue.

My eyes had always been my best attribute. I used them frequently to get out of trouble when I was a teenager, to get an extra hug and kiss from my baby boy, and when I batted my eyelashes, it was hard to say no to me for anything. I wasn't ugly by any means. I knew I had the looks, and a decent personality but I hated being cocky about it. I hated flaunting what I knew I had. If I could see it, so could others and there was no point in going past that.

I started my car and checked to make sure I had all of my gear for today. I was wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans and ankle boots. I had on a white button up tee shirt and a sun hat to help keep the blinding sun from my eyes. I tried to always dress comfortably when shooting because I needed to be able to move to get the perfect shot. Lord knows, if I could wear my pajamas every day I would but, the employee handbook would never allow that.

I checked my makeup in the visor mirror and reapplied my chapstick. I had on a light coat of mascara and slightly winged eyeliner. Other than that, I preferred my face to be bare.

I smacked my lips a few times together and made my way to the racetrack. My job required traveling a lot which sucked but most of the time I could take Beckett with me or my brother would watch him for me. Thankfully the race was in Bristol TN which is my hometown anyways.

The track was a 30 minute drive from me and I was there no later than 1030 in the morning. I wanted to get there in time for the press interviews and warmups on the track. The best shots to get would be in the pit row. I showed my credentials to the security team and got my VIP pass to Pit Row and walked around waiting for my first targets for the camera.

The press interview started in an hour, so I had a little time to kill and as I passed by the closest food truck, my stomach rumbled.

“I so deserve this, and I'm going to enjoy the f**k out of this.” I said to myself as I walked up and ordered a hot dog and smothered it in nacho cheese sauce.

“Oh, come to mama!” I said in a growly voice that probably resembled a gremlin eating after midnight.

“Now that Is a sight worthy of a picture from that Camera.”