What the *** is a kilometer?

~18~

 POV Lizzy:

I felt that I was actually doing well, but whenever I have these thoughts, it also changes quickly within a few days, and today was the day that the happy and calm feeling I felt in my body completely disappeared.

"I want you to meet Richard Hughes." James says as we enter his office. I look at Richard and he smiles at me. "No introduction necessary, I've known her for years. How are you and Dominic?" I look at him with a half smile. "We split up a while ago." "Oh, sorry!" I shake my head that it doesn't matter. Alex and Logan introduce themselves to Richard and all afternoon I'm on the lookout for anything Richard has to say. Occasionally he drops something that I can pick up on, especially after that strange messages of his.

When I walk into our hotel room at the end of the day with Logan, I throw my cell phone on the bed and without saying a word, I go to the bathroom, lock the door, run cold water under the faucet, and hold my wrists under the water. After the meeting with Richard and his rather nice behavior, I felt a panic attack coming on. "Are you okay Liz? Do you need anything?" I hear Logan speak, but I don't feel like answering. I want my heart rate to return to normal and I need a moment to calm down. A few minutes later I hear him knocking on the door, I turn off the tap and dry my hands on my shirt, then I unlock the door and open it, I look at Logan and he immediately sees that I'm not okay.

"Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" I shake my head. "No, not really, I just want to go to bed and forget about this day." Logan gives me a hug and I have to stop myself from crying. Once I'm in bed, I fall asleep quickly and start dreaming. 

For the first time with the team we are on the podium, it is unbelievable and the realization is not quite there yet, but we got a 1-2 today. Everyone is super proud of the guys and especially Logan for winning his first race in F1 and in his rookie year! After talking to the media we celebrate their victory.

As everyone is getting ready to leave the hotel, Lily comes over to me. "Can I talk to you?" She asks, obviously panicking about something. "Sure. Logan go ahead, we'll be right there." I let Lily in and Logan comes into the lobby with Alex. "What's up Lil?" "I lost my expensive bracelets that Alex gave me." I raise an eyebrow. "You were wearing them today, weren't you?" "No, not today, I didn't want to lose them, but now they're not in my room either." "Were they stolen?" "Yes, I think so, but don't say anything to Alex because he's always so quick to worry." "I won't say anything." "I probably didn't look properly or they're in another bag, so don't say anything until I know for sure." I promise Lily I'll keep quiet until she brings it up herself.

I've been tossing and turning all night and Logan wakes me up with a gentle shake. "I think you were having a nightmare." I shake my head and crawl close to him, he puts an arm around me and runs his other hand through my hair, I feel my eyes slowly getting heavy again and fall back asleep.

POV Richard: 

Of course, I knew all along that Lizzy and Dominic had broken up, but since I had sent her a message during my fight with Dominic, I had to pretend that I didn't know anything. I was here on business, so the fact that I could tell Dominic about Lizzy was very convenient. After I was introduced to the team and told exactly what the plan was for the coming year, I wanted to talk to Lizzy, but she left so quickly that I didn't get a chance.

On the way to my hotel room I bumped into Alex's girlfriend and decided to follow her, just because I was bored and who knows what you can find in their room when they are not there. Many people call me a kleptomaniac often enough, but I see it more as borrowing without asking, the thrill I get when I steal something from the store or office then stays with me all day. When I see her go into a room, I walk slowly past her and jot down the room number in my phone notes.

When I got back to my own room I called Dominic to tell him about the day and especially about what I had noticed with Lizzy, her attitude, her behavior, how different she was now that she seemed to be in a relationship with one of the drivers, Logan, that I remembered. I hadn't really heard much about it from Dominic, I just knew that he was up to something, I knew for sure, but what did I care, I was here for business and not to judge anyone's life choices, besides Dominic was a fine guy, only he could get quite jealous sometimes, especially when it came to Lizzy. His new girlfriend Willow was just like Lizzy, only Lizzy had a more cheerful look. "No, don't worry, she won't get anything from me, when I know more I'll call again!" With that I hung up on Dominic and got ready for dinner at the hotel restaurant.

As I sit down at the bar after dinner and see Logan come in, I raise my hand and walk in his direction. "Do you want to have a drink together, I'm a little bored, traveling alone has its pros and cons." I tell him with a fake smile. "Actually I just wanted to get something for Lizzy and go back to my room." I put my arm around his shoulder and smile. "Lizzy probably won't mind if you stay a little longer, come on, it's just a drink." I lead him to an empty seat at the bar where I order the same drink for him. "Quick then, I'll just tell her I'll be a little late." He starts to pull his cell phone out of his pocket and I stop him. "She'll understand if you explain later. Come sit down."

POV Logan: 

I let myself be persuaded to have a drink with Richard, something I hadn't expected at all, but I'm curious about this man as a person, especially since Lizzy already knows him and judging by her reaction, she didn't really find this a nice surprise.

"Tell me more about you and Lizzy." Richard says as he pushes a full glass into my hands. "I don't think I have to tell you what Lizzy is like." I say with a fake smile. "I've known Lizzy for so long that when she first came to visit me with Dominic, I really thought they were made for each other, but well, I was wrong. How long have you known Lizzy?" Richard kept asking about Lizzy and I tried to answer the questions as superficially as possible.

As soon as my glass was empty, I stood up. "I have to go, it was nice talking for a while." Without waiting for his answer I quickly go back to Lizzy, since last night she is suddenly very quiet and prefers to just lie in bed, she doesn't want to talk about it but it would be better if she did, then maybe I could help her.

As soon as I enter the room, Lizzy asks me all kinds of questions. "Where have you been? What took you so long? Couldn't you have said it would take a little longer?" Lizzy's hands are shaking and she is clearly upset, I didn't think she would react so strongly. "Relax, I'm here now anyway. What's going on?" "He called me and I answered." "Who called you?" "Dominic." "You blocked his number, right?" "Yes, but it was an unknown number. It had stopped and now it's starting again." I grab her and hug her. "We're going to fix this, Lizzy, I promise." I whisper in her ear. I hear her breathing slowly.