The Red Bull Party Girl |ON HOLD|

13. Germany Part 2.

"Dan, it's me. Please pick up." My voice was shaking with emotion. "He's chucked me out of the car and all I know is that I'm in Germany." I looked around me anxiously, it was dark. The last of the light had gone. "Please help me Dan!" I cut the call as a set of lights approached me from the way we'd come, they went straight past me. I decided to try Emma next. It went straight to voice mail as it had done earlier in the day, so I left her a garbled, panicked message too. Another set of lights approached. It was a lorry. I felt incredibly nervous as it came to a stop and driver opened his door.
"You alright love?" He asked me. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, he was English! I just shook my head. "Oh, are you not English?" He asked.
"Oh yes, I'm English." I replied. I shivered, I suddenly felt cold.
"What are doing here on your own?" He asked.
"The twat I've travelled here with chucked me out of his car." I began to get emotional again. In reality Seb had probably been gone no more than five minutes. I checked my phone, make that ten minutes.
"Do you want to get in with me?" He asked. "My names Matthew, what's yours?"
"Harper." I replied.
"Well Harper, I don't want to leave you out here on your own, get in and I'll give you a lift to a hotel if you like." He smiled.
"Are you sure?" It was going against every instinct I had as he opened the passenger door and I climbed in.
"Im really not comfortable leaving you out there, so yes I'm very sure." He started to move the vehicle.
"Thank you, I really mean it." I sniffed and wiped my eyes.
"Had a row with your boyfriend then hey?" He asked.
"He's not my boyfriend, he's my ex. Well not even that really, we'd only been on three dates. I kind of work with him and came here from Monaco with him for work. We had a row and he chucked me out of the car, he's got my bloody case!" I sniffed again. "i've not got any clothes."
"You've got access to money though yeah? I see you have a bag with you." Matthew glanced at my bag that I was tightly clutching on to.
"Yeah, I've got my passport too. I really want to go home." I looked down at my bag.
"Well, I'll take you to the nearest hotel on my route and hopefully you can get help from there." He replied. "You'll be a lot safer in a hotel than you would have been out on that road."

Ironically we'd passed through Heppenheim and Matthew had dropped me off at a hotel in Stuttgart. I was more than grateful for his help and after revealing what I did for a living, but not who I'd been travelling with, I took his details and said I'd organise having tickets and passes sent to him for Silverstone. I imagined he'd probably have been able to guess who I had travelled with, being in Germany kind of gave it away. So, here I was waking up in a hotel in Stuttgart. My eyes felt sore as I'd had very little sleep and my head ached. I got up and walked over to my phone, unplugging it from the wall and then climbed back in to bed. I'd been lucky that the reception desk had an adaptor I could use. I unlocked my phone, after leaving it on silent last night I had several missed calls and texts already this morning from Daniel and Emma, and a lot from Seb. My stomach churned as I thought back to last night. I called Emma first.
"Oh my god Harper!" She sounded tearful. "Oh thank fuck you're ok! I'm sorry I didn't answer last night!"
"You didn't answer my calls at all after I'd left yesterday, what's been going on?" I was still a bit pissed off with her.
"Oh Harper, I feel awful! I should never have pushed you in to going! There isn't even any bloody karting event to go to."
"What? What do you mean no event?" I felt myself getting angry again. "Then what the fuck am I doing here?"
"I was trying to help Seb." She sniffed. "Except all I've done is make things worse."
"What do you mean trying to help Seb?" He wasn't even here and he was pissing me off.
"He wanted to get you on your own." She started to explain.
"And he had to bring me here to do that?" I couldn't help but interrupt her.
"He wanted to spend a few days alone with you, he wants you back Harper. He told me about the karting idea and asked me to get you to go with him. He's got a house there somewhere he was going to take you to just to spend a few days with you." She sniffed again. "I'm so glad you're ok, after I woke up earlier I checked my phone and got your message, and then I couldn't get you to answer....." she took a breath. "I rang Seb and had a right bollock in to him. He's in bits Harper, he's worried sick about you."
"Good. Serves the twat right." I huffed. My phone beeped in my ear and I glanced at the screen, it was no surprise to see Seb was trying to get through.
"What the hell happened anyway?" She asked.
"We'd been bickering from the moment we left Monaco, he's wound up about James and still wound up over me shagging Dan. I wasn't even technically seeing Seb when I shagged Dan, he was knobbing his ex at that stage." I replied.
"So you'd been arguing over that?"
"Pretty much." I answered. "Christ Emma, he was flirting with the fucking air hostess on the plane, he can't like me that much if he's doing that. That doesn't sound like a man that wants to spend time with me. Prick."
"Trust me Harper, he really likes you. I think he's in love with you." She said.
"Well it doesn't feel like it, I think you've got that wrong." I rolled my eyes.
"You need to speak to him Harper. Let him explain."
"I told him to go fuck himself last night and I still feel the same right now." I got up from the bed and went to the window. "And he won't like the fact that I called Daniel last night."
"Harper! You didn't?! I'm sure Seb has major feelings for you. Honestly he sounded awful earlier. And I was so worried about you that I nearly rang Christian to confess and tell him you were missing." She said.
"Are you saying Christian doesn't know about this?" I started to pace the room. "And, yeah I did. I panicked and his was the first name I came to in my contacts."
"Dan is bound to call Seb about this and things will get even worse between them. No, Christian doesn't know but I have a feeling he will find out from Dan. Seb wanted it kept between me and him, even Britta and Antti don't really know, all they know is that he's gone to visit family. He organised it all, the cars, the private jet." She paused as if to let it sink in to my brain. "Please call him, let him know you're ok. If you want I can organise a car to take to you back to Frankfurt airport and a flight back to England."
"Yes, please do that Emma. I want to go home." I was close to tears again.
"I'll sort it straight away for you, just please call Seb while I'm doing that and then I'll call you back as soon as I've got things organised for you."
"Ok, I'll call him." I replied. "And thanks Emma, get me out of here as soon as you can, speak soon, bye." I cut the call before she could say anything else. I sat back down on the bed. I couldn't believe it, Seb had organised the whole thing just to spend time with me and even gone behind Christian's back so he couldn't stop us. I felt like the world's biggest bitch. I knew I felt the same way about him as he did me yet I'd done nothing but wind him up and push him away, I didn't really blame him for booting me out of the car but I was still angry that he'd done that and left me alone like that. My phone lit up and Seb's name flashed on the screen. I swiped and answered the phone.
"Harper?" Emma was right, he sounded really worried.
"It's me." I replied and I heard him sigh with relief.
"Schätzchen, I'm so sorry!" He sounded emotional. "I went back to look for you but you'd gone, I drove for hours. I'm so so glad you're ok."
"I got picked up by a lorry driver and he dropped me off at a hotel." I tried to keep my voice level.
"Where are you, I'll come and get you." I heard him start walking.
"I'm in Stuttgart." I replied. "Emma is sorting me a car back to Frankfurt and then a flight back to England."
"At least let me come and see you, please Harper." He sounded desperate.
"I just want to go home Seb. I'll see you in Canada." I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat.
"I have your case, let me bring it to you and we'll talk."
"Fed Ex it or whatever, I don't care. I just want to go home, please Seb, just let me go home." My voice broke and I hung up. Daniel's name instantly appeared on my screen as he called me again. I let it go to voicemail and then typed him a message.
Me: Dan, I'm ok. I'm in a hotel now and I've spoken to Emma. She's organised my travel home. X

Dan R: Thank fuck! I was seriously worried about u! I called Christian but he didn't even know u were going to Germany?? X

Me: Seb organised the whole thing with Emma, will explain when I next see u. Sorry to make u worry! X

Dan R: The main thing is ur ok, I would have killed the bastard if anything bad had happened to u x

Me: I'm fine, I'll let u know when I get back home. Please don't do anything stupid when u next see Seb x

Dan R: He doesn't deserve u x
Shit, he's told Christian and he will go nuts. I could definitely lose my job over this and it wasn't even my fault. What about Seb? He'll get a bollocking over this too, what if he suspends him, or worse sacks him? There's always another driver ready to step in. I found myself hoping that Christian will speak to me first so I can try to make things sound less bad.

Feeling extremely grateful for Emma's help, I walked up to the check in desk in terminal two at Frankfurt airport after I'd collected my ticket from the sales desk.
"Any luggage madam?" The woman asked me after I'd handed my ticket and passport over.
"No, just me." I smiled.
"Ok, the departure lounge for first class is just though there, to your right." She pointed in the direction.
"First class?" Emma had told me she'd booked economy for the short flight to London Luton airport.
"You were upgraded about an hour ago." She smiled.
"Oh, right. Thanks." I picked up my ticket and passport and headed to the lounge, I stopped and took one last look before I went through, just in case Seb appeared like men sometimes did, coming after the love of their lives in the movies. Of course he wouldn't be there, I'd told him I didn't want to see him, I couldn't expect him to turn up now, could I?

Feeling extremely knackered I arrived back at my own little cottage and climbed back in to my own comfy bed. I looked at my phone and the message from Seb.
Seb V 🏁: Hope u enjoy the upgrade, let me know when u get home so I know ur safe. Please, let's talk in Canada. Can't wait to see u schatzchen x

Me: I'm back home, very tired so going to bed. The upgrade was most welcome, thank u x

I replied back but kept it short. I'd guessed he was behind the upgrade and had probably sorted it with Emma.

Seb V 🏁: So glad ur home safe. Dan called me, u called him last night? X

Me: Yeah, I panicked. I got his voicemail and left him a message. I guess he had a go at u? X

Seb V 🏁: U could say that! But it's ok, I understand. I should never have left u like that. He's told Christian and now I have a meeting with him in Keynes on Friday :( x
Oh shit. This was not good news. I wondered if I should drive down there to be there for it. I'd heard nothing from Christian myself yet.
Me: I will call Christian and try to sort things out x
Seb V 🏁: Don't worry, I can handle Christian. Get yourself some sleep now x
Me: I'll try. See u in Canada x
Seb V 🏁: Sweet dreams liebe x

I read his reply and then switched my phone to silent. I googled the German words at the end of his texts, baby and love is what they translated to. I felt those butterflies return as I put my phone on the bedside table and then lay back and closed my eyes.