Overkill [Formula one]

20

Grace did not watch anything Formula one related over the weekend. It felt like 2020 all over again. But this time she really didn't have any right to feel this way. It wasn't as if her and Toto had been dating, but she was hurt. Hurt by how he threw her aside for the woman who had hurt him and Jack so much in the past. She genuinely felt like the other woman right now and she wondered if Susie hadn't called that night but maybe in the morning would it have turned out the same way?

Would Toto have fucked her in her own bed and then left her for the mother of his child the next morning, like he did now? But it didn't matter. He had chosen Susie over her before anything could really happen. And why wouldn't he?

Before Grace could turn her thoughts away from the Austrian team principal she had received a text message from Esteban. It contained a picture from Susie and Toto, kissing. At the Grand Prix. After Mercedes won the Russian GP with Lewis on the top step. Grace huffed, it was as if she had never existed. Toto went back to his wife, with their PDA fully back on track, as if they'd never been divorced. As if Grace and Toto had never met.

Estie:
Are you okay?

Grace:
I'm fine.

Estie:
Come one Grace. I know you.
You're hurt. You liked the man.
More than you dare to admit.
It's okay. He's a fool. Bullet dodged.

Grace:
Fine. I'm not fine. But I'll be okay.

Estie:
So you done with all those older, formula one men now?
Just kidding. I love you. Call me if anything happens.

Grace:
Harhar. Funny. But probably yes, it's the smart thing, isn't it.
Love you too, Estie.

Esteban was probably right. Maybe she should go and look for men outside the sport. Because all they'd done up until now was hurt her. Fernando, and now Toto, had both discarted her as if she was some replacable item. Both had replaced her for a better version of her. A version that maybe wasn't so nice, so sweet and caring. Maybe she should be less of that, but she didn't know how to. It was who she was.

She huffed again as she kicked a stone on the sidewalk downtown Monaco. She had decided that maybe a little fresh air would do her some good. And so she walked down the beach, but as her thoughts went back to the Austrian principal ever other second it didn't really seemed to work.

But before het thoughts could spiral more her phone buzzed in her pocket and it was her brother calling her.

"Gracie." Estebans voice sounded from the other end off the phone. "Where are you?" Grace frowned. "I'm at the beach." Esteban huffed. "Sent me your location. We're on our way."

Grace frowned but she couldn't reply because Esteban had already hung up on her. Grace dug her toes into the cold sand of the beach and watched as the waves crashed into the shore with a lot of violence. The sea was just as tumulous as her thoughts right now.

She kept staring into the distance and she was so out of it that she didn't even notice the two drivers approaching her.

"Grace?" She turned her head in one swift motion and looked up at her brother. She jumped up from her seat in the sand and jumped into his arms. "Estie." She muttered as he held her close to him. "Hi Sis." He muttered as he put her back with her feet in the sand.

She felt her tears start to water. Not because she was sad but because it was such a nice gesture from her little brother. "Grace, don't cry. It's okay. You'll be fine."

"What the hell are you doing here Estie?" She asked as she felt her bottom lip tremble. "You should still be in Russia. The GP ended only 8 hours ago." Grace hugged her brother again before the second driver coughed a little, letting both her and Esteban know he was also there.

Esteban chuckled at this and turned to Lance. "I brought Lance. Well, he brought me." Esteban chuckled. "He figured that I should be here to support you and he offered me a ride on his jet."

Lance gave the siblings a small smile and shrugged. "I figured that if it was my sister that was feeling like shit, I'd want to do the same thing." And at this Grace felt her heart swell, she had never thought that the younger generation was so thoughtfull and sweet.

"Thank you, Lance, for bringing Estie here." She slowly moved over towards him and give him a soft kiss on his cheek. This immediately earned him a stern look from Esteban. Esteban had always suspected Lance to have a little crush on his sister and this was not the moment to act out on it. But Lance kept his hands to himself and shook his head towards Esteban.

"It's no problem Grace. Esteban is one of my best friends." He said as he took a step from the petite woman in front of him. "I'm going to go home now." He then turned towards Esteban. "Este, I'll see you in Istanbul in two weeks." Esteban bumped his fist and gave the man an appreciative nod. Lance then looked towards Grace and gave her a small smile. "I hope that you'll feel better. Maybe I'll see you in Istanbul too?" And with that Lance left.

Esteban turned towards his sister and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Now let's go home and you can vent all you want." Grace nodded and together the two siblings walked towards Grace appartement.

She opened the appartement and the two siblings took a seat on her couch.
Esteban looked at his sister and it took her only three seconds to start the whole story. She started from the beginning. From when she first met Toto in her classroom and how he'd been flirting with her even then. To when he stood up for her when the parent-teacher meeting got out of hand. She told him about the multiple weekends she was at a race, invited by Toto, and how disappointed she was afterwards. And then she told them about their date.

She told Esteban how good it had been. How they'd talked all evening, without any awkward silences. How Toto asked if he could kiss her and how that quickly escalted into something more. She didn't give him all the details, but she gave him the most important one.

She told Esteban how they'd been in her bedroom, when Susie called. And how Toto picked up the call, without even sparing her another glace. And how she hadn't heard from him since.

"And then I had to hear from Jack how Susie and Toto were back together." She huffed as she looked at the ceiling, blinking away tears. "Susie even came to my classroom to tell me to stay away and to keep to myself."

"Have you heard from Toto?" Esteban asked, as he tried to keep himself from walking over to his appartement right now. Because, just like almost any other driver, he knew where Toto lived in Monaco. And Esteban was fuming. He had no right to just put his sister aside like some piece of trash.

Grace shook her head as she huffed again. "I haven't heard from him since that monday evening." Esteban huffed. "Good riddance." And deep down Grace knew that Esteban was right. She knew that she should just let go of whatever it was that had been going on between here and Toto. But it wasn't as easy as it looked.