Tell Tale Heart [Pierre Gasly]

Chapter Seventeen

What a colossal shit show that Grand Prix was, from start to end. Pierre who looked hopeful for points and a good race was crashed into in the beginning and by some miracle still managed to race but was then spun by Yuki and a few laps later he picked up critical damage to the car from debris on track and had to give up on the race. Yuki finished dead last but those of us in the garage were just happy that he finished given that there were only 14/20 cars left on track at the end of the race. The atmosphere after the race was much more somber but I couldn't help but smile at one particular result on the track and that was a certain German driver getting points - well two German driver's getting points but one in particular that my heart was soaring for. He had been so down that morning and now everything seemed brighter for him as I watched clips of him celebrating with a smile on my face as I delayed going to see our own drivers, both of whom I knew would be beyond angry with how their own races had gone.

I hadn't attempted to talk to either when I saw how angry Pierre was as he got out of his car, stalking through the garage with his helmet still on as he tried his best to conceal the annoyance and disappointment. I was aware of him going to the press pen at some point but was too focused on Mick's fight with Verstappen to turn and pay him any attention - so terrified that he might get too close and lose the points finish that he was so desperate to secure for the team and for himself. I did eventually wonder over to the press pen and snap a couple of photos of Pierre and Yuki giving their interviews for the team to use but it was rather lazily done I will admit, the only eventful thing was Pierre seemingly sensing my presence nearby as he pulled his eyes away from the interviewer and towards me instead for just a moment, just long enough for me to see the anger flickering in them and I knew that it wasn't just because of the race result that he was looking at me like that.

We hadn't exchanged a single word. Not one. No insults, no compliments, barely a glance towards one another even after all that, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone in the garage as they watched the pair of us tentatively, as though we were a bomb ready to go off which was a feeling I had myself to be honest as we tiptoed around one another. I had even heard a couple of the mechanics saying they preferred the constant bickering and fighting because at least then everyone knew where we stood with one another. Right now it was just...tense.

That made me feel bad when I heard them say that because I didn't want anyone else feeling uncomfortable but Chiara, who knew everything, told me to ignore it.

"Ah, they're so dramatic," she says in her accentuated Italian accent as she waves a hand towards the engineers I mentioned. "They like to make everything about them! It's not about them, it's about you."

I'm arguably more uncomfortable with that statement as she just gives me a knowing look before returning back to her work and I take the cue and pick up my camera instead, fiddling with the settings in an attempt to distract me from the panic and stress that was building inside because the engineers weren't wrong. It really did feel like we were a ticking time bomb ready to explode and I honestly had no idea how to delay the damage.

Once I've got my photos I scurry back to the makeshift office I've created for myself, smiling when I see Tracy and Jerry working in there already and just join them, helping occasionally with some of the image stuff as the two Alpha Tauri's coming together and pushing them out of the points was one of the main stories from a very dramatic Grand Prix. "These boys, honestly," Tracy sighs after thirty minutes and I send her an understanding smile as I press send on the photos and see Jerry smile as they go into his inbox and he sends me a confirmative nod that he's received them.

"What happens now?" I ask curiously leaning forward over my closed laptop and I see the pair exchange a look as they continue working.

"Some people drink away their sorrows, others lock themselves in their rooms and sleep after such a long week...most are on the flight to Austria tomorrow and then straight to Italy after that," she reminds me and I nod, smiling at the agreement we had struck over the flat situation as I thought about how I was moving into the Milan apartment whilst renting mine out to the team for use. Most of my stuff would be sent to Milan but some things would stay in the UK, the things I didn't want to take with me. All the ones with memories.