Jar of Hearts
The Ice Inside Your Soul
The one thing that Martin Truex Jr had wanted for as long as he could remember was to race. He’d grown up around the sport and shortly after getting behind the wheel he knew it was what he wanted to do. In his mind nothing other than making it to NASCAR mattered. When his dreams started coming true it opened the door to a whole new part of the lifestyle that he hadn’t been prepared for.
He still remembered the first time he’d seen her. It had been at Daytona in 2006 the first time he’d laid eyes on Jenny Roberts. She’d been strolling through the garage area by herself and had stopped long enough to shoot him the smile she was famous for. It had been seven years since that had happened and Martin could still picture it like it had happened yesterday.
All of his friends in the garage area had warned him. They had all told him the stories of what kind of woman she was. He listened to story after story about what she always did to the men who dared to get involved with her. They’d told him that the smile she flashed was a trap but it had already been too late.
Jenny had been around the sport since she was little. Her father was a public relations representative for NASCAR and with that came perks for her. She could get into the garage area whenever she wanted and never had any problems getting close to drivers. Daytona was the track she spent the most time at and was usually where she set her traps. She had moved from North Carolina to Florida after high school graduation to go to college and had ended up living there after graduation. This spared Martin from having to see her back in Charlotte but almost guaranteed seeing her every time they came to Daytona.
Martin still saw her at some of the other tracks on the schedule but for some reason it seemed easier to avoid her at those tracks. He was determined to do his best to avoid her this time around but he wasn’t confident that he would succeed. Daytona had proved time and time again to be the one place where he couldn’t escape her.
He feared the first race of 2013 wouldn’t be any different than other races as the famous speedway. Even if it wasn’t a points race and had a significantly smaller field than normal, Jenny never missed the first race of the season. As Martin walked through the garage after practice he keep looking around at the banners to remind himself that it was now the Unlimited and not the Shootout. Not only was it a good distraction from worrying about seeing Jenny walking around it was also important to remember the name change.
Martin had nearly made it to the motor coach lot when he caught a glimpse of the woman he hadn’t wanted to see. Jenny still looked the same as she had back then. She still dressed the same, carried herself the same, and was still wearing the trap of a smile on her face. He quickly diverted his eyes and headed for his motor coach before she noticed him.
Once inside and away from the hustle of the garage, Martin sat down and threw his head back. He no longer felt the same heartbreak he once had when he saw her but it still wasn’t a pleasant experience. It always brought up memories of what had happened between them.
Junior had told him that she was a snake. He’d said that all she cared about what being on the arm of the newest, hottest driver in Cup series. She just cared about the fame of being on a popular driver’s arm, Junior had warned, and she never cared about anyone other than herself. From day one he’d warned Martin that the smile she flashed was nothing more than a trap to draw in young stars who were naive about her true intentions. When Martin had asked Junior how he knew this, Junior had frowned and confessed that he’d fallen for the trap himself.
Kevin had called her a black widow. He’d said that as soon as she got what she wanted or someone new and more popular came along she had no use for the man she was with. He had warned that she didn’t have a heart or care about anyone that wasn’t serving her purpose for them. Kevin swore that she was incapable of having any sympathy towards anyone that might get hurt because of her actions.
Even with Junior and Kevin’s warnings Martin hadn’t been convinced. He didn’t understand how someone with a smile that sweet and innocent could be the person they were describing. Against the warnings of close to half of the garage, Martin fell directly into Jenny’s carefully laid trap.
At first things were fantastic. She was sweet and was always attentive to anything dealing with Martin’s career. If he had an out of town sponsor appearance she was always willing to go with him. She enjoyed being at the racetrack and loved to be by his side as often as possible. Even when he had a photo shoot or television appearance she’d seemed thrilled. Or at least it had seemed that way to him.
As weeks turned into months, Martin’s blissful ignorance remained. He thought that she was just being supportive, something that he desperately needed during his rookie season. He believed that she cared about him and how he felt. He believed that either his friends had been wrong or that she’d changed. After all it had been close to two years since she’d dated a driver when they began going out.
Mid-way through his rookie season and he was head over heels in love. He’d had girlfriends before but it had never been like it had been with Jenny. He loved having her at the track with him. He loved how supportive she seemed to be about his career and hectic schedule. He just loved everything about their relationship.
By October of 2006 he began to see the truth. She was loosing interest in him and it was starting to show. That was when Martin began to notice things he’d missed before. She didn’t seem as enthusiastic about autograph sessions as she did for the television appearances. She would go with him if he had an out of town appearance but she seemed to pout if it was a small one instead of a large one. Possibly the biggest thing that disturbed him was that he’d originally misread her love for being at the racetrack or by his side. She only seemed to love being there if there were television cameras around or if there was a swarm of journalists outside of Martin’s hauler.
At first he’d tried to chalk up the differences as just the exhaustion from the long season. He’d talked himself into believing that as soon as the off season came and they had a break things would go back to the way they’d been at the beginning. He swore that she’d go back to caring about him.
In hindsight he realized that his expectations had been ridiculous. It wasn’t the long season getting to her. That had always been her attitude and feelings but he’d been so blinded by her act and his own infatuation with her that he’d missed it. She’d been that way in the beginning but he was so enamored with her that he just hadn’t been able to see through her act. Then, when he finally had started to see through it, he went into denial. He still loved her and he thought she felt the same way. So he ignored the warning signs and stayed with her.
By the off season Martin was heading for heartbreak. She was tiring of him and she wasn’t getting the attention she wanted. She was ready for something new and Martin wasn’t enough. However, instead of risking losing the spotlight prematurely, she began looking for her next boy toy behind Martin’s back.
During the off season she set her sights on an up and coming crew chief in the Nationwide series. She had no interest in a public relationship with the up and comer but behind closed doors was another story. The affair went on for weeks before Martin found out and when he did it crushed him.
It had been February 2007 when she’d strolled into his motor home and broke his heart. It was the day before the Daytona five hundred and she wanted her name to be buzzing through the garage for the next few weeks. She knew that when she broke up with Martin it would spread through the entire sport. So she did what she did best. She told him to sit down and launched into her speech that made him feel like he’d been the problem.
She tried to make him believe that the relationship’s tumble had been his fault. He hadn’t been good enough to have her on his arm. She needed someone with more recognition and fame. Then she dropped the bombshell that she’d been cheating on him with the crew chief since New Years and it had convinced her that she wanted more.
Martin was left broken hearted, just as all the others before him. She’d played the same game she’d played with other men that had gotten involved with her in the past. Junior had been right all along about what would happen. Kevin had watched her toy with enough of his fellow drivers to learn her game and his warning had been just as accurate as Junior’s.
It took Martin a few weeks to get over the breakup, but when he did he realized what she really was. She was nothing more than a heartbreaker and she was going to end up alone. There were only two things in life that she truly seemed to enjoy. One was fame and the other was having enough power over another human being that she could break their heart when she was ready.
Over the years Martin put that time in his life behind him. Even though it stopped mattering to him it did serve as a warning. After that relationship he knew what to look for to ensure that he didn’t make the same mistake again.
By Saturday night, he’d pushed all thoughts of Jenny from his mind. He knew that he’d probably see her on the grid before the race but he didn’t care. She’d latched on to another driver by now and she’d be back at the track until she broke things off with the new guy. He was prepared for that, it wasn’t the first time since she’d broken his heart and it wouldn’t be the last, and he didn’t care. He still didn’t want to see her but he wasn’t going to let her get to him either.
As the race approached, he and his current girlfriend, Mia, stood beside his car for the prerace ceremonies. In front of them was Jenny and her new boyfriend and she was well aware that Martin was behind her. When it was time for the drivers to climb in their cars, he kissed his Mia and then noticed that Jenny was starting at them. She had a smug look on her face and he smiled back.
He was no longer going to let her get to him when he had to see her. He knew that he was just another name in the collection of hearts she’d broken. Now, six years after their break up, Martin was now sure of their futures. She’d continue playing her games and would eventually end up alone and stuck with a list of regrets as long as the list of hearts she’d broken. He, on the other hand, was going to live his life to the fullest, enjoy the feeling of mutual love he shared with his girlfriend, and have no regrets for the way he’d treated other people.
“Good luck,” Mia said, giving him a hug. “Be careful.”
Martin smiled at her. “I’ll try and avoid the big one. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As Martin turned to face his car, he glanced back towards Jenny. She looked unhappy already as she looked up and down the grid. Martin glanced back at Mia and smiled again. Mia looked nervous but he could still see the happiness in her eyes. At least I’ll never have to deal with Jenny’s deception again , he thought as he climbed into his race car.
He still remembered the first time he’d seen her. It had been at Daytona in 2006 the first time he’d laid eyes on Jenny Roberts. She’d been strolling through the garage area by herself and had stopped long enough to shoot him the smile she was famous for. It had been seven years since that had happened and Martin could still picture it like it had happened yesterday.
All of his friends in the garage area had warned him. They had all told him the stories of what kind of woman she was. He listened to story after story about what she always did to the men who dared to get involved with her. They’d told him that the smile she flashed was a trap but it had already been too late.
Jenny had been around the sport since she was little. Her father was a public relations representative for NASCAR and with that came perks for her. She could get into the garage area whenever she wanted and never had any problems getting close to drivers. Daytona was the track she spent the most time at and was usually where she set her traps. She had moved from North Carolina to Florida after high school graduation to go to college and had ended up living there after graduation. This spared Martin from having to see her back in Charlotte but almost guaranteed seeing her every time they came to Daytona.
Martin still saw her at some of the other tracks on the schedule but for some reason it seemed easier to avoid her at those tracks. He was determined to do his best to avoid her this time around but he wasn’t confident that he would succeed. Daytona had proved time and time again to be the one place where he couldn’t escape her.
He feared the first race of 2013 wouldn’t be any different than other races as the famous speedway. Even if it wasn’t a points race and had a significantly smaller field than normal, Jenny never missed the first race of the season. As Martin walked through the garage after practice he keep looking around at the banners to remind himself that it was now the Unlimited and not the Shootout. Not only was it a good distraction from worrying about seeing Jenny walking around it was also important to remember the name change.
Martin had nearly made it to the motor coach lot when he caught a glimpse of the woman he hadn’t wanted to see. Jenny still looked the same as she had back then. She still dressed the same, carried herself the same, and was still wearing the trap of a smile on her face. He quickly diverted his eyes and headed for his motor coach before she noticed him.
Once inside and away from the hustle of the garage, Martin sat down and threw his head back. He no longer felt the same heartbreak he once had when he saw her but it still wasn’t a pleasant experience. It always brought up memories of what had happened between them.
Junior had told him that she was a snake. He’d said that all she cared about what being on the arm of the newest, hottest driver in Cup series. She just cared about the fame of being on a popular driver’s arm, Junior had warned, and she never cared about anyone other than herself. From day one he’d warned Martin that the smile she flashed was nothing more than a trap to draw in young stars who were naive about her true intentions. When Martin had asked Junior how he knew this, Junior had frowned and confessed that he’d fallen for the trap himself.
Kevin had called her a black widow. He’d said that as soon as she got what she wanted or someone new and more popular came along she had no use for the man she was with. He had warned that she didn’t have a heart or care about anyone that wasn’t serving her purpose for them. Kevin swore that she was incapable of having any sympathy towards anyone that might get hurt because of her actions.
Even with Junior and Kevin’s warnings Martin hadn’t been convinced. He didn’t understand how someone with a smile that sweet and innocent could be the person they were describing. Against the warnings of close to half of the garage, Martin fell directly into Jenny’s carefully laid trap.
At first things were fantastic. She was sweet and was always attentive to anything dealing with Martin’s career. If he had an out of town sponsor appearance she was always willing to go with him. She enjoyed being at the racetrack and loved to be by his side as often as possible. Even when he had a photo shoot or television appearance she’d seemed thrilled. Or at least it had seemed that way to him.
As weeks turned into months, Martin’s blissful ignorance remained. He thought that she was just being supportive, something that he desperately needed during his rookie season. He believed that she cared about him and how he felt. He believed that either his friends had been wrong or that she’d changed. After all it had been close to two years since she’d dated a driver when they began going out.
Mid-way through his rookie season and he was head over heels in love. He’d had girlfriends before but it had never been like it had been with Jenny. He loved having her at the track with him. He loved how supportive she seemed to be about his career and hectic schedule. He just loved everything about their relationship.
By October of 2006 he began to see the truth. She was loosing interest in him and it was starting to show. That was when Martin began to notice things he’d missed before. She didn’t seem as enthusiastic about autograph sessions as she did for the television appearances. She would go with him if he had an out of town appearance but she seemed to pout if it was a small one instead of a large one. Possibly the biggest thing that disturbed him was that he’d originally misread her love for being at the racetrack or by his side. She only seemed to love being there if there were television cameras around or if there was a swarm of journalists outside of Martin’s hauler.
At first he’d tried to chalk up the differences as just the exhaustion from the long season. He’d talked himself into believing that as soon as the off season came and they had a break things would go back to the way they’d been at the beginning. He swore that she’d go back to caring about him.
In hindsight he realized that his expectations had been ridiculous. It wasn’t the long season getting to her. That had always been her attitude and feelings but he’d been so blinded by her act and his own infatuation with her that he’d missed it. She’d been that way in the beginning but he was so enamored with her that he just hadn’t been able to see through her act. Then, when he finally had started to see through it, he went into denial. He still loved her and he thought she felt the same way. So he ignored the warning signs and stayed with her.
By the off season Martin was heading for heartbreak. She was tiring of him and she wasn’t getting the attention she wanted. She was ready for something new and Martin wasn’t enough. However, instead of risking losing the spotlight prematurely, she began looking for her next boy toy behind Martin’s back.
During the off season she set her sights on an up and coming crew chief in the Nationwide series. She had no interest in a public relationship with the up and comer but behind closed doors was another story. The affair went on for weeks before Martin found out and when he did it crushed him.
It had been February 2007 when she’d strolled into his motor home and broke his heart. It was the day before the Daytona five hundred and she wanted her name to be buzzing through the garage for the next few weeks. She knew that when she broke up with Martin it would spread through the entire sport. So she did what she did best. She told him to sit down and launched into her speech that made him feel like he’d been the problem.
She tried to make him believe that the relationship’s tumble had been his fault. He hadn’t been good enough to have her on his arm. She needed someone with more recognition and fame. Then she dropped the bombshell that she’d been cheating on him with the crew chief since New Years and it had convinced her that she wanted more.
Martin was left broken hearted, just as all the others before him. She’d played the same game she’d played with other men that had gotten involved with her in the past. Junior had been right all along about what would happen. Kevin had watched her toy with enough of his fellow drivers to learn her game and his warning had been just as accurate as Junior’s.
It took Martin a few weeks to get over the breakup, but when he did he realized what she really was. She was nothing more than a heartbreaker and she was going to end up alone. There were only two things in life that she truly seemed to enjoy. One was fame and the other was having enough power over another human being that she could break their heart when she was ready.
Over the years Martin put that time in his life behind him. Even though it stopped mattering to him it did serve as a warning. After that relationship he knew what to look for to ensure that he didn’t make the same mistake again.
By Saturday night, he’d pushed all thoughts of Jenny from his mind. He knew that he’d probably see her on the grid before the race but he didn’t care. She’d latched on to another driver by now and she’d be back at the track until she broke things off with the new guy. He was prepared for that, it wasn’t the first time since she’d broken his heart and it wouldn’t be the last, and he didn’t care. He still didn’t want to see her but he wasn’t going to let her get to him either.
As the race approached, he and his current girlfriend, Mia, stood beside his car for the prerace ceremonies. In front of them was Jenny and her new boyfriend and she was well aware that Martin was behind her. When it was time for the drivers to climb in their cars, he kissed his Mia and then noticed that Jenny was starting at them. She had a smug look on her face and he smiled back.
He was no longer going to let her get to him when he had to see her. He knew that he was just another name in the collection of hearts she’d broken. Now, six years after their break up, Martin was now sure of their futures. She’d continue playing her games and would eventually end up alone and stuck with a list of regrets as long as the list of hearts she’d broken. He, on the other hand, was going to live his life to the fullest, enjoy the feeling of mutual love he shared with his girlfriend, and have no regrets for the way he’d treated other people.
“Good luck,” Mia said, giving him a hug. “Be careful.”
Martin smiled at her. “I’ll try and avoid the big one. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As Martin turned to face his car, he glanced back towards Jenny. She looked unhappy already as she looked up and down the grid. Martin glanced back at Mia and smiled again. Mia looked nervous but he could still see the happiness in her eyes. At least I’ll never have to deal with Jenny’s deception again , he thought as he climbed into his race car.