THREE - Daniel Ricciardo

Chapter 34 - Safety

AMY

The plane landed in Montreal after a gruelling seven hour flight alone. I had never travelled on my own before, my anxiety and mixed emotions filled my body for the entire duration of the flight, taking everything I had inside not to break down and cry if an air hostess had approached me to offer a refreshment.

All I could think about was returning to Daniel. All I wanted was one of his warm embraces. I'd travel to the other side of the world just to receive one; just to see his smile or hear his laugh.

I arrived at the hotel Daniel had informed me they were staying at and proceeded to sit in the lounge of the hotel, grabbing some food and a drink before they arrived. Their flight time from Baku was nearly seventeen hours long, meaning I had to spend a lot of time alone before they would turn up. As it was so close to race weekend here, they had no spare rooms available or last minute bookings I could use to lock myself away from the world. Even after explaining my situation to the Canadian woman on reception, she proved to be no use and ushered me to wait elsewhere.

Luckily, I had bought my laptop with me so I plugged my headphones in and decided to watch Netflix whilst I waited. I didn't want to leave the sanctity of this building, too afraid that someone would be out to get me if I left the double doors of the hotel. Even though I knew this was ridiculous, I couldn't be so sure.

I had received many missed calls and text messages from Rachel. She was demanding I spoke to her, to let her know I was okay and safe. Ironic coming from the person who may have put my future in the balance of my abusive ex-boyfriend.

I mulled over the situation in my head for the trillionth time, trying to understand the situation from different perspectives before I unleashed my feelings to the world. I wanted Rachel to be happy, god knows she deserved it. I could never repay her for the comfort and support she has provided me with over these years, but she needed to think about the situation at hand before jumping straight back into bed with Paul. Rachel was being selfish and, for once, I wasn't going to stand for it. She knew that if Paul and Jason were to speak again, Jason would know that he was seeing Rachel again, which would give him full access to me. And if they refused that, I didn't even want to think about what he'd do to either of them. I knew this man's full capabilities; I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.

It was starting to get dark in Montreal as I sat, looking out of the window, in the lounge of the hotel. The surrounding landscapes were truly magnificent, I just hoped I could enjoy them whilst being here. Away from the world, in hiding.

After spending what felt like a lifetime in this room, my phone pinged, notifying me of a text message.

Danny Ric🦘🤍
Just landed, be with you in around 20 minutes x

I smiled at my phone as I felt comfort for the first time since this morning. How I wished I had never of asked about Rachel's love life to discover the unimaginable. If she had never informed me of her secret lover, would anything of ever happened? Maybe Jason would leave the prison and start a new life, forget I ever existed and move on. I knew him and I knew that wouldn't be the decision he would choose. He would've wanted to find me and confront me after all these years.

I straightened myself up and packed my laptop away in my bag. I rummaged around in my handbag to retrieve my medication before swiftly taking two pills with my water before the boys arrived at the hotel. I needed to keep focused and not have an exploding panic attack as soon as Daniel arrived with Michael. How I could use a cigarette right now to dull my nerves and blur my mind for a temporary moment. I'd left these in London and I wasn't planning on leaving this hotel for the foreseeable future.

I looked out of the lounge window to see a large SUV pull up to the main entrance of the hotel, the headlights shining into the room where I was situated. I squinted to gain a better vision of who was arriving. Before long, Daniel jumped out of the vehicle with Michael and unloaded their luggage from the car before thanking the driver. I watched as they walked up the stairs into the main entrance of the building.