Page 12 of Railed

"I can’t believe you did all this for me."

The sparkle in his eye had anger and worry warring in my gut. I had to give my original strategy a shot, though. "Are you running the project?" I asked.

He nodded. "When I told my father about you and the island, he agreed it would be good experience for me."

"I can’t believe it," I mused, hoping he wouldn’t see through my tone. "No one’s ever taken a financial loss for me before." The amusement fell from his face, and I didn’t need to fake my smile as I continued, "It’s so romantic!"

Miles recovered a bit of his earlier arrogance and argued, "I've always been a romantic, but it won't be a loss. It's a win-win; I'm here for you and it'll benefit the company. There's plenty of potential for expansion once we dig up the railways and build more motorways. People will be lining up to get cars—trains are the transportation of the past. I know you like how simple they are, but you don't have to worry. I'll make sure you never have to bother to learn to drive yourself."

I held tight to the binder I had brought, squeezing it hard. I couldn't believe him. The utter arrogance of this man. I couldn't believe I'd ever been with him.

"Why can't the cars and trains coexist?" I asked through gritted teeth and a forced smile.

"The trains take up way too much room. The tracks are all over the island. People are living in the past; cars are so much more convenient. At least they will be, once we get the trains out of the way."

"If you do that, you'll take away everything special about this island."

Miles rolled his eyes before giving me a condescending smile. "You and those trains. It's almost as if you like them more than people."

I swallowed, hoping he didn't know how close he'd actually come to the truth. Besides Gauge and the conductor, who were weird outliers, trains were the thing that got my heart racing. I didn't understand it and didn't have the time or money for enough therapy to unpack it, but that didn't make it untrue.

Sure, there might be something wrong with me. But with my ex-boyfriend staring down at me condescendingly, judging me for not wanting to introduce more chaotic transportation and pollution to the island, maybe it made sense I was choosing the trains over this conceited car salesman.

"More than some people," I agreed.

"Well, better get your goodbyes in quick since we're green lighting the project in two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" I exclaimed.

"It was the fastest we could get the necessary permits."

I couldn't believe he'd gotten them so quickly. I had no idea how I was possibly going to raise the local support needed to save the trains in that short a time, especially when it sounds like he'd already called his daddy to grease the right palms.

But I wasn't giving up without a fight.

I turned on my heel and grabbed the door handle. Before I could leave, he added, "Don't worry, Emmy. When the trains leave you, I'll still be here to comfort you."

"I would rather get run over by one of your stupid cars," I hissed under my breath. It was stupid, reckless, and unfortunately not quiet enough that he didn't hear.

"Don't bother with the dramatics. It won't change anything. The trains are going to get torn apart either way, but if you keep up this ice princess act, I might not be waiting when you try to come crawling back."

I stormed out, seething too much to respond.

Chapter Eleven

Emma

I had been planning to go back to work, but I couldn't bear the thought of telling Cassie all about what happened, so instead I took the first train home.

It wasn't my usual train, but the ride was uneventful, anyway. I was too deep in my own head to lose myself to the pleasure of the rails like I usually did. Every bump and jolt of the track felt like an accusation, like a jab at me and my failures. If the trains were destroyed, I would be the reason. Me and my terrible taste in men were going to destroy the island I loved.

I had to do something about it, but I had no idea what.

My usual wine, ice cream and reality show binging weren’t doing the trick to lift my spirits. I was too upset and worked up worrying about the trains.

It felt like the world was ending, or at least, that it would on the island without the trains. Wouldn’t the island be devastated to lose the trains? Or was Miles right, and I was the only one who cared about them? Would everyone be fine with having to switch to cars even if they were a more expensive, less reliable means of transportation?

I almost called Cassie for advice when I spotted Gauge's name in my phone. He cared about the trains, too. I wasn't alone.