Away We Go • 2 • Formula One

Chapter 57

please vote and comment throughout. thank you all for the support as we near 130k reads!

also, please read the a/n at the end and engage

this chapter deals with alcohol and i'm a little unsure as to whether it'll need a trigger so i'm just going to warn you here. pls let me know of you think it does, as i will go back through the chapters and put warnings on any chapters that involve drinking. tbh this book does say it deals with mature themes so drinking should be implied ??? idk help

~***~

The tall, grey fan in the corner of Dr. Lauren Davis' office provided more relief from the humid day than the open windows. I had first heard the chatter about a potential heatwave through members of my team at the Mercedes HQ, however today was the first that I actually started to feel the effects of the heat. The news story this morning suggested that the majority of Europe, especially the western and central countries, was going to basking in bright sunshine and extremely high temperatures for the coming month. It came as no surprise that a lot of drivers were going to be spending their training focusing on endurance; driving in such hot conditions had the potential to drain a lot of energy. 

My focus wasn't all-too sharp. The annoying headache that I had been feeling since waking up to an empty bed was enough to make me want nothing more than to curl up back in my cool bed and nap for the rest of the day. My therapist's office was the last place I wanted to be, but it was probably for the best that I wasn't home alone.

"Alyssa?" I snapped myself out of my little daydream and turned to Lauren with a half-hearted hum. "Is everything okay?"

I stretched my arms as I adjusted my position on my chair. When my focus had faltered, so had my posture. Luckily the chair I was sitting on was made of a soft fabric instead of leather or else my thighs (exposed from the little, white sundress I was wearing) would've certainly been stuck from how warm I felt. "If everything was okay, I wouldn't be in therapy, would I?" I countered, smiling in an attempt to rid the conversation of the serious undertones.

Our hour-long session was nearing to a close. A lot of the focus today was the events of the weekend. There was no point in me trying to hide any of the details surrounding Max and Lando because Lauren always has a way of getting the information out of me anyway. I both loved and hated that about her. She knew about my falling out with Lando and the reasons behind it, the drama between Max and Lando that lead to them both getting a few bruises, as well as my own guilt that I didn't believe Max's story completely. It was because of my fear of cheating and Lauren's optimism that we could work things out that I completely supported her suggestion to invite Max along to one of the therapy session. I think it would be good for us to be in the presence of a professional who would help us work through the blips in our relationship. It was not because I doubted my love for him, or his love for me.

Lauren looked like she was about to reply, however the buzzing of a notification from my phone interrupted her. She motioned for me to check it after noticing my hesitation to do so out of fear of being rude, which I did.

"Max?" She queried, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

I shook my head, glancing at Bella's name next to the green message symbol. "No, it's Bella. I'm going to her house after this because I have the rest of the day off. I feel really guilty for forgetting about our meeting when I got back from Hungary, so we're doing today instead before I have to work this weekend. It's nice to have a new friend like her who isn't involved in my job in any way and doesn't have any more adult responsibilities than I do."