Racing for her heart

12

Lana's point of view

"What the fuck, what are you doing," Florence questions the man as he takes another sip of the bottle. "Jules, this stuff will fucking kill you," she goes to take the bottle out of his hand, but he pushes her away, "Stop it, Florence. Don't touch my stuff."

Florence takes a step back, "Why are you acting like this, You're better than this, and we both know it. Stop treating me like shit. You're not the only one who lost her."

Jules scoffs, getting up from his seat, and turning to face the young girl, "There you go again, turning something into a big argument over nothing. Stop taking everything so personally."

"Excuse me?" She pauses, "I'm sorry, who the fuck are you? Because, You are not Jules, at least not the one She fell in love with."

He shoots her a death stare, "What the fuck did you just say to me?" She gulps at his question, before answering him with eyes full of tears.

"You heard me. You are not the same man she fell in love with," he tries to talk over her, yet her voice overpowers his, "I think you forget that she is the ONLY, THE ONLY blood-related family I have left. You two raised me, So do you really think I like this? I hate seeing her in that hospital bed, Every time I see her, A part of me feels like it's dying with her. And I hate seeing you like this! She might have been able to put up with this shit, but I won't. I won't allow you to do this to yourself," She tries to continue talking, but the sound of the alcohol bottle smashing on the ground echoes through the room.

"you know what? I can't stay here, at least not for tonight, I'm fucking leaving," She runs to her room as Jules shouts a curse word. He follows her to her room, "Lana, Please. Please, don't do this. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. I'm just so lost without her. I don't what to do with my life anymore." She turns to look at him, "You don't get to say that, You don't get to say that you're sorry, because if you were, you'd stop doing this. You two are my family, my whole world, you're my parents. When are you going to realize, I lost her too. You're not as alone as you feel."

Jules' deep brown eyes look into her emerald green ones "Well, You can't just leave, I promised her I'd take care of you, I'm responsible for your well being-"She cuts him off with sarcasm, "Oh Yeah, You have been taking great care of me."

He stands there speechless, as she leaves the room, now about to leave the flat. "Oh, and Jules," He makes his way to her, now standing in front of her, "Pick this shit up," she hints toward the broken glass on the floor, "It's fucking embarrassing."

I gasp for air as I wake up, the memories flooding my mind. I look around my room, then take a deep breath. I used to have nightmares like this all the time, the memories would come back to haunt me in my sleep. It was always a warning sign. Something bad is going to happen, I just don't know what.

I stretch my body as I get out of bed, slowly making my way to the bathroom. I start my morning routine by washing my face, and brushing my teeth, refreshing myself for the work day ahead. With a clean canvas, it's time to choose the perfect outfit. I carefully browse through my wardrobe, considering the weather and my mood.

As I reflect on the shopping day I had yesterday, I know I have options. Finally, I chose a black bodysuit, a black pair of shorts, and a beautiful oversized  Blue jean jacket, along with a pair of black knee-high boots. I look around in a couple of more bags, then I see it. A Dior bag, attached with a note.

Please accept this gift,

because you deserve it,

and much more.

I love you, Flo

Xx Matilda

I opened the bag, to find a Black Dior saddle bag, She had outdone herself, again. After deciding that my look was perfect, I put some finishing touches on my makeup, enhancing my natural features and adding a pop of color to my lips. But of course, I can't forget about my hair, so I decide to just leave it down. Knowing myself, I'll probably throw it up in a ponytail, or a messy bun later.

With my outfit and appearance on point, I head downstairs, to find Tilly drinking some morning tea, and Jamie reading a newspaper, "Good morning, how'd you two sleep?"

Tilly smiles, "Morning Flo, I slept okay. Jamie, what about you?" He nods his head, signaling to us, that he slept just fine. She smiles, then asks me, "Do you need me to drive you to work? I need to go to the grocery store anyways, so, It's no bother."

I nod my head, "Yeah, that'd be great, thank you." She takes a sip of tea, "When do you want E to start school? I have a couple picked out, I thought you would like to tour them first, so I didn't make any decisions."

I nod my head, "Whenever I get another day off, let's do that, I think have a couple of them next week." She smiles at me in agreement, "Perfect!"

We both get into the car, I then thank her for the purse, but she says It's no big deal. We sit in comfortable silence, before she asks, "Everything okay with you, You seem like you have something on your mind."

"Yeah, I'm alright, just thinking of work," I tell a white lie, knowing she'll end up finding out, but I shouldn't worry her. I don't want to be a burden.

-------------------------------

We pull into the parking lot and then make our way to the drop-off area.

"I love you, Have a great day, Flo. Call me if you need anything." I smile and give her a small wave, "I love you, Please don't kill my kid!" She laughs before driving off, I, then, enter the building. My eyes meet with Allison's, "Good Morning, Mrs. Allison!" She smiles back at me, "Good Morning, Darling. I've sent you an email of your official work schedule." I thank her, then make my way to the elevator. The elevator door opens, and I step inside, pressing button number 5.

Just as the door is about to close, a familiar man steps inside, and that's when I realize it's the same man from the airport. Great, just fantastic.

He goes to press a button but then steps back when he sees number 5 already lit up. I pray he doesn't recognize me as we stand in uncomfortable silence. That's when he starts to speak, "You look familiar." I mentally roll my eyes, "We both work here, maybe ran into each other a couple of times."

He shakes his head, "No, somewhere else..." His voice trails off, "Wait, you're that girl from the airport." I look up, we are just about to reach floor number 3. "I didn't think someone like you, would work, here."

I look at him, "What the hell does that mean?" He shakes his head, "You know, You're a girl."I scoff, 'Nice observation, Now answer the question." He laughs, "Girls don't belong here, this is a field for men, not a single woman could last a day here. Not even that one female racer, what is her name-" I cut him off, "Florence Rey, and the reason she quit was that she lost her closest friends from racing accidents. And FYI, she was here for longer than a day."

The elevator door opens, on Floor 5. I walk out, knowing I just bruised his ego. He storms off into a meeting room, and I pray I don't see him again.