Two days were spent at HQ. Not as busy as race weekend, but doing things for social media. Some bits were prepared ahead of time as it wasn't always possible to do everything during a race weekend.
We had briefings, we had different things. I didn't spend as much time with Daniel or Lando, as I had my own media team meetings. Catching up with Zak, getting ready for the next race.
I was so busy that I completely forgot what time of year it was, and now I found myself standing outside the front of the building, overlooking the lake.
Tomorrow, was the two year anniversary of my parents death. I was happy to be going to LA tomorrow, being home on my own was the best way I knew how to deal with it, it allowed me to actually feel what I was feeling and not breeze over it and pretend I was fine.
Slapping a smile on my face was what I was good at, but it didn't mean it was good for me.
"Hey, what you doing out here?" Lando's voice startled me as he walked out of the building behind me.
"Just thinking about things, you okay?" I shrugged and Lando immediately put his arm round my shoulders, pulling me against him.
"Thinking about tomorrow?" He asked quietly
"Yeah" I said quietly, "I didn't realise you'd remember"
"Of course I do Alex" I rested my head on his shoulder and stood quietly for a while.
"Why don't you come to Monaco with me" he asked after a while
"I've already got my flight sorted to LA, and to be honest I want to go home, clear my head and reset" he nodded agreeing.
"Well, my door is always open, no matter what" he said. I loved Lando, not many people saw this side of him. He was always offering to be there, and I appreciated it so much.
He gave my shoulder one last squeeze before letting me go. Daniel was walking out the building at the same time, where I drove them back to our hotel and hastily made me exit to my room to get as much sleep in as possible before my 2am alarm.
Before I even felt like I slept my alarm was going off to get me up. The streets were quiet, no one around and it was still so dark, it made me feel at peace. I got into the tracksuit I had laid out the night before, grabbed all my things and quietly left the room and walked down the corridor.
As the lift opened I saw in the mirror in front of me Daniel standing behind me.
"Hello" his voice was deep and sounded like he'd quite literally just woken up. I was startled but walked into the lift and he followed me. "What are you doing?" I asked
"Catching a flight" he said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh" I said
"And you?" He asked. The lift moving towards the ground floor now.
"Catching a flight" I mimicked him
"To LA?" He asked, I nodded and I didn't miss the smile on his face, "what a coincidence, me to"
"You're going to LA?" I asked him
"Yep" he smiled and then didn't say anything else.
He ended up taking me to the airport himself, before I left him behind to catch my plane and he caught his, he apparently had a private jet, and to say I was jealous was an understatement.
By the time we had landed, I had slept majority of the flight. I picked up my bag from the overhead locker and switched on my phone while I waited for us to disembark.
I'm waiting at the departures gate
I frowned all the way through the airport, getting my bag and going through passport control, until I spotted Daniel who was hiding away under a baseball cap.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, as soon as he took my suitcase from me, adding to my frown.
"Giving you a lift, obviously" he said, again so simply.
"You really don't need to do that" I said to him, but I followed him out anyway
"It really isn't a big deal" he shrugged. As we got to a very expensive looking car, he put my bag in. "Besides, I want you to tell me why you've been so quiet the last few days" he said
I slid into the passenger seat silently, as he got in the car himself and I didn't respond immediately.
"Just tired" I shrugged
He didnt look like he believed me in the slightest. But he started the car anyway, the engine roaring to life as he pulled away.
"You look comfortable here" I said to him
"I come here a lot when we're not racing" he said
"Not Monaco?" I asked, "or even Australia"
"Australia's too far to go sometimes. And it's quieter here than Monaco" he said. We stopped at a red light and he turned his head to me.
"Anyway, I'm not buying the I'm tired thing by the way"
"It's nothing"
"Lando said you might need a little looking after" he said
"What?" My head snapped to him, and he was focused on the road again as he started driving again
"I don't know, he knew I was coming to LA and asked me to make sure you were okay"
I sighed heavily, and remained quiet for about five minutes before I finally spoke.
"Today is two years since I lost my parents" I said. I could feel the air in the car change, almost like tension but not as awkward.
"Oh" he said "I didn't know, I'm so sorry"
"You've got nothing to say sorry about" I responded, it was my automatic response.
"What do you need?" He asked immediately, "do you want to talk about it, do you want to go somewhere, do you want to be left alone?" He asked
"I came home to give myself some quiet. That normally helps" I said. Daniel nodded and continued driving. After a while, he put his hand on my leg, in a comforting way.
It didn't feel odd, and I did appreciate it.
"What happened?" He asked
"They were in a boating accident, they went out as they normally did, and never came home" I said. Daniel nodded
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't even imagine"
"You don't need to say sorry" I said again, and he nodded before continuing to drive.
Daniel pulled the car over in a small car park and parked it, leaving the engine running, he turned to be as soon as the car had stopped.
"I know you said you want quiet, and I can understand that. But I'm here for the next few days, I can hang out whenever you want. I'm only meeting Michael and working out"
"I'm fine" I said to him, but he looked at me like he didn't believe me, and I'd be lying if I said the thought of hanging out with him would be nice.
"I didn't say you weren't" he said, "say no if you want, but I'm going to drop you home, I'll go shower and sort some things out and then I can come over"
"Okay"
Daniel smiled, triumphantly. He began driving immediately and before I knew it, I was at home.
I got unpacked, stuck on some washing, showered and got changed and had barely sat down when Daniel was knocking on my door with snacks, the promise of some movies and company. That was enough for me.
YOU ARE READING
Something Gained
Fanfiction*Currently Editing* Alex is a young girl brought up around formula one. There's trauma and heartbreak in her life. She lands a job with the McLaren team and travels the world. Her second year she's swept up in a whirlwind from the word go, you can'...
