No Going Back (Nyck de Vries X OC)

In Rome

It has been a week since I arrived back home. I am leaving again this time with my parents. We are on our way to Rome for round two of the Formula E championship. I am hoping that she comes to an understanding as to why I left. Right now I am trying to explain my schedule. I can tell that they are confused. I must be terrible at explaining because in my mind it is really simple.

"The thing is the car doesn't need much in the way of maintenance so we condense the event down to two days. The media stuff and the first practice session are on Friday and the rest of the event takes place on Saturday," I managed to explain the schedule. I am glad that the team has given me a couple of days to spend time with my parents. Even though there is a lingering hatred I still want to enjoy the time with my parents. We will see if I am able to forgive my mum after the race.

"Ok, so that means we have four days in Rome," My dad clarifies.

"Yes. Two to explore and two for work," I reply. After an hour and a half on the plane, we arrived at the airport. I scan the waiting area for Nyck. The reason why he sent me a text, wondering if we could meet up when I arrived. I soon lay my eyes on him.

"Nyck!" I grab his attention. I find myself gesturing for him to join me. Thankfully he sees me and my parents. I notice that my mum is looking at Nyck as if he has done something wrong. For all, I know she probably despises him for the fact that he helped me with leaving. Either that or she thinks Nyck is my boyfriend.

"So you and Nyck-"

"No mum, we are just teammates," I cut her off. I'll have to apologise to Nyck later. The thing is he did confess to me but we are yet to make it official. At least she doesn't hate him. It has been a couple of days since our arrival in Rome and I am on edge. There has been a slight drizzle of rain for the past two days. It shouldn't affect the race so long as it remains clear. I can feel the anxiety creep its way in as I prepare for the first free practice session. I am currently getting a lecture from my mum.

"Please be careful," She finishes her lecture.

"Mum, I will be careful. It's the other drivers that you have to worry about. Plus I need to get ready," I responded. She is doing my head in right now. I need to focus on my performance. I know why she is worrying but the cars are a lot safer now. Thankfully my dad is quick to rescue me from the situation. Now that I am free I get to work on pulling my balaclava over my head. Now for my helmet. There are a lot of thoughts going through my head but I have one thing to focus on. The practice session. It doesn't take long for me to get to work. I soon settle into a rhythm. All is good until I reach the attack mode activation area. I find myself needing to take evasive action to avoid hitting one of the Envision Virgin cars. I can feel the rear brakes lock up. Thankfully I am able to regain control of the car before any damage is done. That was close. Too close.

"Sorry about the lock-up," I use the radio to apologise. I don't know why I am saying sorry but it makes me feel a little better.

"Don't worry. Just keep your eyes forward. We will make the changes for FP2," My lead engineer responds. I am not worried about the car itself. I am more worried about how my mum will behave. After thirty minutes of driving the first practise session came to an end. I am glad there were no other dramatic incidents between me and the others. However, there was a full course yellow as there was a collision between one of the Nio drivers and the DS Techeetah belonging to Antonio Felix da Costa. Clearly, I was not impressed but given the conditions, it could have been a lot worse. As soon as I arrive at the garage a team of mechanics descend on the car. I am quick to pull myself out. I pull my helmet and balaclava off.

"Hey Marcus, we need to find a setup that can give the tires enough grip to get through the attack mode area," I speak my mind. I realise that it may be difficult considering the possibility of rain but I hope it can be done. We will find out tomorrow in the second and third practice sessions. After some media stuff, I am finally ready to head out with my parents. We have decided to go out for dinner. We are quick to reach the restaurant. There is a tiny bit of bickering between my mum and dad but it is more about the incident that didn't involve me.