Home : Stories by Zippit : Just Another Picture to Burn
Summary: You gotta be true to yourself.
AUTHOR: Zippit
EMAIL: zippit@cryptoffic.com
RATING: PG-13
CHARACTER: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Dale Jr POV
COMPLETED: April 20, 2008
WORD COUNT: 1,130
DISCLAIMER: Not real; don’t know them, don’t claim to know them. Only the makings of my imagination. I own NOTHING and am affiliated with NO ONE mentioned here. Not the drivers, not the teams, no one. This is all fiction and fun. In other words...NOT REAL, NOT REAL, NOT REAL. ;-)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is Dale’s take on how things are between him and Martin and is a companion piece to the fic Used to Be Us.
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JR Motorsports – December 21, 2007
He wishes it was that easy to walk away and let it all fade behind him. Have it be nothing but pictures on the wall, left behind in memory. If it was only that easy.
It’s easy to keep his office devoid of anything related to Chance2, to hide the pictures, and everything else, but it’s not easy to erase the emotions from two years of Busch wins, two Busch Championships, and two years of being attached at the hip. Josh even left the team two months before the ‘05 season was over because of all the shit that was going down.
Martin never expected him to say it was too late to apologize. He thought he’d have a limitless supply of patience and goodwill, being his protégé and all. He thought he could take and take without even thinking ‘bout all he wasn’t giving back. He’s not some damned bank for his friends. No, he cut Martin off when he realized that their friendship was turning into nothing more than a stepping stone to get to the Cup series. It got worse when he started dating Sherry. She wasn’t ever any good for him. Turned Martin into a shit and dragged him away from his friends.
He held his tongue though and played along with the rest of the DMP, even making a bet on when Martin would pop the question. A bet which never came true and probably ain’t ever going to if those comments at the Shootout draw were any indication. And daaaaamn, could he have been any more of a jackass declaring on national TV that marriage wasn’t in the cards for them? It’s all damn fine you ain’t gonna marry her, but don’t declare it on national TV, dude. He thought Martin had more class than that, but then the Cup series changes people.
Take a look at Denny. He wasn’t any sort of protégé of his, but he was a friend for a while. Until the friends he had before he made it big became nothing more than a footnote. You gotta be true to yourself. Success is good and all, but what happens when you lose yourself in the process? That’s when you don’t know who to trust, who to turn to, or even who’s got your back when you’ve fallen from the pinnacle of your “success.” It ain’t nothing more than a bunch of lies once you get past the glitz and glam. You see who your real friends are when the hard times come, but by then it’s too late. You’re left scrambling to find who gives a shit anymore. If you’re lucky you haven’t chased ‘em all away. If not, start digging. Ain’t nobody there gonna be wanting to help you out of that hole.
That’s why you gotta do right by family and friends cause they’re all you got in the end. You can burn out quick in this sport, being tugged in all directions at once. That’s why he’s got family working at JRM and buddies living on his land at DMA. He watches Uncle Danny scurry across the floor below, helping to decorate the place for tonight’s Christmas party. He and Danny Jr. both work here, along with a bunch of his other cousins. Tony Jr. took who he could from DEI when he went to HMS because DEI ain’t no place for friends and family anymore. He’s been used plenty of times during his life, but no longer. He’s learned to be good with knowing when it’s happening and now it doesn’t take long before he kicks them to the curb. It’s all part of who he’s had to grow to be.
The DMP’s his way of measuring his reality and only the people he trusts most are a part of it. They’re his tight circle of friends that haven’t ever let him down. Josh, TJ, Brendan, Steve, and there’s plenty more he could name. Mike’s an honorary member just cause of the amount of time he’s gotta spend around him. Jade was one too when he was doing PR. It’s a bitter pill to swallow when those he thought were fit for the DMP betray him. Martin and Shane were the betrayals, Mark was a casualty of the sport they’re in, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t regret the other times too. When the names involved weren’t that famous and his Daddy was still around.
With Mark, it just didn’t work out and he wished it didn’t have to end the way it did. He’s glad to hear he’s doing well with another team in Hooters Pro Cup. Maybe he’ll see him again in the Busch series one day. He’ll never get used to calling it Nationwide. He’ll only maybe stop making that mistake in front of cameras.
Martin cut a bit deeper, past regret into disappointment and a chill that will probably never fade from between them. He shouldn’t have been so blind. He started to see it in 2005 when with all his success Martin had never gotten a place of his own. It took ‘til his rookie year in Cup before Martin finally moved out of the bachelor pad near DEI and into his own place on the lake. He ain’t got nothing personal against the Truex family as he still has Curtis Truex Jr., Martin’s cousin, at JRM running races for him. He still gets on good with Martin Sr. too, it’s just his boy he has issues with.
Shane was just a fucking disaster. There ain’t no damn way he’s keeping someone on his team who refuses to be a father to his babies. Shane had the second one while working for him and poor Meredith had to take the bastard to court to get child support. Navy sure as hell wasn’t too pleased either, add that to his lackluster performance and it wasn’t that hard a call to have him gone. Hear he’s over at Rusty Wallace’s team. Seems like calls to like.
He’s got Brad staying in the guest bedroom and things might actually turn out good there cause he’s constantly improving each week. Ain’t gonna be long ‘fore they get their first win for JRM since its become a full fledged Busch team. The thought brings a smile to his face and he looks down at all the decorations being set up. He should head down and help before Kelley gets on his ass about it. He whistles for Killer and Stroker, patting his leg, “C’mon boys. Let’s go make ourselves useful.” He pets them both on the head before he heads downstairs. He’s looking forward to the next stage of his life and putting the past where it belongs, shut behind pages of memories gathering dust.
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This is a non-profit, non-commercial work of fiction using the names and likenesses of real individuals. This fictional story is not intended to imply that the events herein actually occurred, or that the attitudes or behaviors described are engaged in or condoned by the real persons whose names are used without permission. |