Against all odds

Chapter 26

I was up at the front desk in no time and after a lot of persuading the man told me the number of the room Fernando was currently in.

I was waiting for the elevator I got to think about what I was even doing right now.

The man I was visiting probably hated my guts and I was just on the way to his room like we were besties visiting each other daily. Fuck this was a bad idea I thought just as the elevator closed behind me.

But there was no turning back now and even if he did send me to hell as soon as he saw me, he was fine enough to do so. Considering he was in a high speed crash a few hours ago it would be a good sign Probably?

And there it was. Only the door was separating me and the answer I would need to sleep well tonight. Was Fernando Alonso fine or not?

It took all my courage to knock on the door.

"Come in." I heard the Spaniard call out.

Slowly walking into the room, I was met with an awkward silence.

"How are you?" I asked uneasily.

"Better now." He answered.

A heavy silence settled over the room again.

"This was a bad idea. I should go. I hope you get better soon." I said turning around and leaving him behind. I was almost running to my car.

The race went well. Max and I managed to reverse the roles this time as I overtook him two laps before the chequered flag. Lando managed to catch P3 due to a time penalty which kicked Lewis off the podium.

Alonso was released from the hospital, and I saw him watch the ceremony. He seemed fine and I heard from someone on the team that he was cleared to race again next week for the Styrian Grand Prix.

I was standing in front of the garage chatting with Mick as I saw the Spaniard walk towards us.

"Why is Fernando walking over here?" I asked Mick quietly.

"I dont know but hes definitely looking at you not me."

"He hates me. You know how he reacted yesterday!" I whisper yelled as Alonso came closer, "I think someones calling me. I should go inside now." I said in a normal volume trying to escape this awkwardness.

"You stay here! Dont you dare walk away." Mick said holding me by my arm.

"Let go of me right now or I will break your nose this instant."

"You wouldnt dare. And besides the point you wouldnt even reach my nose. "

"Oh, I can very comfortably reach your face, and you know that." We argued in hushed voices.

"Shut up he can hear us now! Dont make a fool out of yourself." I said with a stern voice.

"Hey. Do you have a minute?" Alonso asked.

"Yeah, he does. I actually have to leave either way so hes all yours." I smiled backing away.

"No not him. You." Fernando said.

"Yeah, I think someone was just calling my name I better find out what they want." Mick immediately left but not without catching my Im going to kill you in your sleep look I threw his way.

"So? Whats up?" I asked trying to cover my nervousness.

"I just wanted to thank you for pulling me out yesterday. I dont really remember much but I saw the footage so thank you." He said his Spanish accent as prominent as ever.

"No problem. Anyone would have done that. Im just glad youre okay. Hows your leg doing? "

"How do you know about my leg?" he asked perplexed.

"You were limping a little and after you took your helmet off you said that your leg and head hurt." I explained.

"I dont even remember that. I just remember crashing and then nothing until the hospital."

"You were very confused and really panicked when you came to. You didnt talk much aside from asking what happened and telling me where you were hurt."

"I was unconscious?!" Fernando exclaimed surprised.

"It really freaked me out and I thought you were dead for a second." I confessed.

"Wow. You need to tell me what exactly happened."

"How about we sit down for a coffee and then I tell you what I saw?" I suggested.

And thats how I sat there with Fernando Alonso the guy who surely hated me the day before drinking coffee and chatting.

Believe me when I tell you that Ive never seen Mick this confused in my entire life. Well, except for that one time when I did a magic trick when we were younger and he couldnt figure out how I managed to guess his card, but thats a story for another day.

The next week was pretty uneventful. The only worrying thing on Sunday afternoon were the black clouds piling up in the horizon. It was supposed to start raining towards the end of the race but when it started to pour down heavily before we even left the garages after the drivers parade the race was postponed due to the rain.

So, we were standing in the garages waiting for the rain to decrease. My family and some of my school friends were with me and we had a good time bopping along with the music that was supposed to entertain the fans during the delay.

And then a song came on I didnt expect them to play at all. I had watched footloose the movie more often than I watched any other movie and I even forced Chris and my best friends to learn the choreography with me.

So when they played the song over the speakers Lisa asked: "D'you still know the choreography?"

"Oh gosh I dont know. Probably. Why? I asked but after I said that I realized, No Lisa!"

"Oh, yes!", Hanna another friend of mine said.

"Only if Chris dances too." I negotiated hoping that my brother would get the look of utter horror on my face and deny their request.

"Ugh fine." Chris caved after seeing the looks he was getting form my friends.

"Chris! NO!" I cried disappointedly.

"Alex! YES!" Lisa shouted and started the choreography.

Hanna immediately joined in and after Chris pulled me out in between the mechanics I tried to hide behind we joined as well.

So I found myself dancing in the rain of the pitlane. Getting watched by all the mechanics of the surrounding garages and there were multiple cameras pointed our way. But it didnt matter. In that moment I had fun and I wasnt going to let anyone judge me for it. Well accept from Simon who pulled me inside the garage after the song had finished scolding me like a little child: "Girl youre going to be ill if you dont get out of the rain. Do you want to get sick? "

"Come on Simon We're having fun. Have you ever danced in the rain before?"

"No and I dont want to. Now get in here and dry off. Your soaking wet!"

"Thats what she said." I laughed taking the towel.