Racing For Love

Chapter Sixty Nine

I stood still as she moved towards me. My feet felt stuck to the spot - shock and confusion crossing my face as I tried to work out what she could possibly be doing here. A lanyard flapped around her neck with the Racing Force colours - she had obviously obtained a paddock pass from another team to get here, specifically for this moment if I knew Charlotte. She turned away from me, looking towards Jono and trying to catch his eye as he continued collecting praise from the team. I looked at him as he spotted her - his face fell as she pushed through the crowds reaching out towards him. She managed to grasp onto the arm of his race suit, pulling the fabric hard to turn him in her direction.

Jono looked defensive, his jaw set in a firm line. I saw him mouth the word 'no' before shaking his head, and then 'not here' pushing her arm off his before he turned away, fixing a smile back on his face and walking towards the cameras, shaking hands with Gareth and Pablo before carrying out the required media interviews. I had my eyes fixed on Jono, trying to see if he was ok, focussed so much that I didn't notice Charlotte moving closer towards me. When I turned, she was directly in front of me, her face close enough to mine that I could feel her breath on my cheeks.

As the rain continued to pour around us, Charlotte screamed at my face. The words that poured out of her mouth were full of anger and vitriol. "You fucking bitch. You fucking stole him. I know he cheated on me with you, you fucking slag. You already fucked Lorenzo, why did you need to steal my boyfriend too? Are you collecting drivers or something, you fucking whore?"

"Charlotte, I nev-" I began to speak, trying to defend myself, seeing the fury rise in her eyes as I try to take a step away to create some distance between us.

Before I managed to do that, she slapped me, her hand making contact with my damp cheek in a loud cracking sound.

"Leave Jono and I alone you fucking home wrecker." she screamed as she walked away, whilst I am pulled back by pit guys from Aerial and Bianchi - they surround me, enclosing me as Faye pulls me tightly into a hug, the tears that are streaming down my face mingling with the rain. Cameras that were trained on the drivers a second ago are now searching for the drama, but I'm shielded by my friends. Faye's hand strokes my hair reassuringly as one of the Bianchi guys holds an umbrella over me, low enough that nobody can see my face.

I'm manoeuvred back towards the garages, but it is only once I am sat with a warm cup of tea that I realise I'm surrounded by the green of the Aerial garage. We are at the back, but nobody seems to have followed us - my presence at a different garage must have been enough to confuse them. I am shaking with adrenaline; my cheek feels hot, tingling from the mix of cold rain and the contact of Charlotte's hand. Faye calmly speaks to me as I hear someone running up behind us - I flinch, unsure of what might happen but I hear the familiar voice of Matt as he perches in front of me.

"What the hell, Annie? Are you ok?"

I try to speak, but all that comes out is a sob, so Matt and Faye both wrap their arms around me and I take deep breaths, lost in my own thoughts as I try to calm myself. I can hear Matt and Faye speaking softly behind me.

"Have you seen the-?"

"Yes, I don't know who-"

"I think she's friends with Nakamura's girlfriend, you know-"

"Yeah, got to have been."

"Does he-"

"Still on media, but maybe? They might have picked it up-"

"Oh no..."

"What the hell are you two talking about? It's like a secret code. Tell me." I say, perhaps with more frustration in my tone than I had intended.