Rise Up

Chapter 36: Help and Mess

"Great job today, as always Kiara. Don't be too hard on yourself, we had some bad luck on our side but we'll be better next time. At least, enjoy your one point."

Fred was talking to me but my mind was somewhere else.

It was hot. I was sweating a lot. My face was covered by drops of sweat but not just this, also some tears were running down my cheeks.

I opened the radio to try and respond to him but all what escaped my mouth was a loud sob.

"Kiara, please. Stop the car in the Parc ferme and come inside. Everything is ok."

Nothing was ok right now. My mind was a mess. This race was a mess. I couldn't focus and give my best as I wanted, as I planned, because of the stupid knee.

What have I done to deserve all of this suffer and pain?

When I stopped the car, I soon realized how much difficult would be to get out of the car. Under my right thigh, the rest of the leg was hurting, more than ever. It would be sore and swollen as fuck. It would be that bad that nor the ice or strong painkillers would help me. I could already imagine my sleepless night.

"Ehm, Fred, I think I need some help."

"For what? What's wrong?"

I thought of a lie. "Safety belts are stuck."

"The guys are coming, just wait there."

Closing the radio, I put my hands on the leg, trying to comfort me somehow, stroking my hand back and forth over the knee. Everything would be useless and the worst part is that I knew it would have came. Maybe coming back to racing was the biggest mistake I've ever done-or maybe I should be honest with everyone and accept what the doctor told me a few weeks ago.

The stamina cells therapy was working, better than they thought. Yes, it was sore, often swollen, but it was because of the too hard work I was putting on it. Due the accident, my med team had to basically rebuilt the bones of the articulation because some of them were completely destroyed, instead others were just ruined. During these two years I had five surgeries that left me scars and forced me to long and devastating rehabilitation but also gave me the chance to be back on my own legs. Stamina's main function was to rebuild the broken part, make the fragile muscles and bones stronger, give back the capacity of movement. From the start of this trial the doctors explained me that my situation was critic and that it was impossibile to get back completely, to recover at 100%.

The last check-up confirmed this.

I needed another stamina implantation, to try to avoid further problems. The hard trainings I was doing were pushing to the limits my knee. In other words I had to slow down a bit: the more I worked out, the more risks I had to take.

When the guys arrived at the car, they pulled away the seatbelts and the other protections to help me get out. They basically had to grab me by my forearms to pull me out.

After a few minutes I was able to touch again the ground with my own feet but the pressure on my knee was killing me.

The hot weather wasn't helping the whole situation: I was still sweating a lot, the suit was stuck on my skin, over the fireproofed clothes. Also breathing became difficult with the helmet on. I pulled up the visor just to whisper something to Mike, that arrived a few moments later. I needed help to get to the post-race checks and interviews. Right now I wasn't in the mood for both of them but I had to as I couldn't have also media issues.

After all of this, I walked back in my driver's room and sat on the white sofa in the middle of it. I breathed in and out loudly, to calm down my heartbeat but it wasn't really working. A light knock took me back on Earth, moreover when I saw Mike coming in with ice, fresh water, the magic lotion and some painkillers.