Right On Track

Chapter 19

Carlos Sainz

"You're an idiot,mate." Lando sighed from his end of the call.
Carlos frowned to himself,sitting down on the couch in his room."You think I haven't told myself that multiple times already?" Carlos,feeling embarrassed with himself,pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his seat.He was now back home in Madrid just till the weekend.And even while on his flight to Spain,he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the entire weekend.Moreover,the embarrassing thing he had done when falling off to sleep outside her hotel room.
To be clear,he hadn't been able to sleep properly for two nights.And the night before he had went to Kiara's room,he had been at the hotel's bar till past midnight.And he had only gotten about one or two hours of sleep after that.And if there was something that he could also admit about the PR stunt,it was that he felt...afraid.He felt afraid that it would ruin so many chances for him.
"Did you call or texr her yet?" Lando asked.
Carlos replied."Yes,I texted her some time ago when I was looking through my bag.Well,her bag because I thought that it was mine.We used the same type of suitcase."
"How coincidental."Lando chuckled.
"I don't know how to handle this,Lando." He sighed,running a hand through his hair.
"Relax."Lando said.
"I slept on her couch and pulled her down to join me!"Carlos snapped."Shit- She must have been so uncomfortable.And my stupid sleepy self-"
"Carlos!" Lando exclusive."Chill out."
"She hates me so much."
"No,she doesn't."
"Yes,she does.She hates everything about me.Whether it's my-"
"Carlos,she invited you to her cousin's race on Saturday,right?"Lando said,clearly trying to find reasons to get him to chill.But the truth was,Carlos just kept having self-doubts over and over again.
"Yeah,but that was-" Carlos stopped himself before he could spill out that it wasn't really her choice.He stopped before he could reveal that it was all just a stupid stunt to fix up their public images.
"Trust me,"Lando said "If she hated you so much,I doubt she would have done that.Well,that and the other thing at the airport."
"You..." Carlos trailed off.News really spread fast,he guessed.
"I saw a video." He said."Well,Ivy sent it to me.But anyway..."
"What?"Carlos frowned."Something wrong?"
"Yes,actually." He said,laughing a little. "Didn't she try to kill you the other day?"
"Can we not talk about that?" Carlos clenched his jaw,thinking about how he had fucked things up all over again.Like always,he was the one to slip up.In his own eyes,and assuming in everyone else's,he was the problem.
"I don't know what to tell you." Lando said."But I know for a fact that she doesn't hate you.Not from what I've seen."
If only you knew... Carlos rolled his eyes to himself.He glanced at the clock on the wall and said. "I think I'm going to go now."
"Alright,good luck."
Carlos told him."Gracias,Lando."
"Cheers,mate."
Carlos ended the call and shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans.He stood up from the couch and moved across his room towards the sliding door that led to his balcony.
As he sat down on a chair on the balcony,he thought about ways he could try to ease the situation with Kiara,try to make it less tense for her.
He leaned back in the chair and felt the breeze in the air as he dragged a hand through his hair.Their was a shuffle nearby,then a little woof.Carlos smiled as his dog,Piñon,ran up to him.He had two dogs,Piñon and
Piñon Jr.Though at the moment,Piñon Jr was sprawled across the lawn of the back yard,rolling on his back and enjoying the late afternoon air.Piñon Sr,however,approached Carlos with his tongue stuck out,panting with a little excitement.The hound rested his head on Carlos's lap and allowed him to pat him.
Carlos scratched him behind the ear and muttered."I don't know what to do." He sighed. "Why do I do things the way I do?"
Piñon just looked up at him with his big brown eyes,of course.Carlos huffed. "God help me,I'm talking to a dog about my problems now."
Piñon barked a little,then straightened up as he spotted Piñon Jr running to the back door.The hound just barked once more at Carlos,then took off in a run towards Jr.
Carlos contemplated the odds of Kiara actually wanting to even go as far as friends from now on.And he couldn't stop thinking about how much she probably despised him for this publicity stunt.
He knew that they wouldn't have to go on long with it,just till they gained more favour in the media.Well,mostly till Kiara became more likable for the angry tifosi.Her position was a little harsher than his own,since she was the one to throw the hits.And Carlos wasn't only caring about himself throughout this.He also cared about helping her out where she needed it.And as much as Kiara was independent at times,something normally blocked her from asking for any help,which was why Carlos had to take note of times when she actually needed help and times when she could completely handle herself.
Carlos shifted a little,then nearly got a fright as his phone suddenly rang.He pulled it out of his pocket and arched a brow at the caller ID. What does Alora want?