Do I know you?

Chapter fiveteen

Landos sight

I start my day in the gym and go down for breakfast after. I meet up with Jon to train a bit more and prepare for the race weekend. At 3 pm I walk out of the hotel and wait for a car to pick me up. Carlos mother called me and told me I should come over for dinner. While I wait I look around and don't see the girl coming directly in my direction. I first see her when she runs directly in me. I put my arms around her so she doesn't fall and a familiar smell greets my nose. I look down at her and see the face of Valeria. So my mind wasn't joking around, it really was her all the time. I look at her face and she looks very shocked. I open my mouth to say something but she frees herself out of my arms and runs straight into the hotel. She is staying in Barcelona and in the same hotel as I am? She looked awful, like she hasn't slept in days and she got thinner, a lot thinner. I am so shocked that when I turn around to run after her she is already gone. In that moment my car pulls up in front of me. I sigh and let my head fall down. I get in the car and tell the driver where he should drive. The whole ride I am stuck in my thoughts and do not recognise when we arrive at Carlos house.

I quickly pay the driver and get out the car. When I ring the bell the door immediately opens. „Hola, you're already here." „Hello, yes I thought I would come here a little bit earlier so I can help." His mother smiles at me and steps out of the way so I can come in. I take off my shoes and walk in the kitchen. Carlos comes up to me and gives a brotherly hug. „Hey mate, how are you doing? You look like you've seen a ghost." I laugh. „No all good. I'm fine." We have a lot of fun preparing the dinner and when it is done we sit around their table and start eating. It is a fun evening. After eating we play a few games and late in the night I drive back to the hotel. I look around in hopes of seeing Valeria but she is nowhere seen. I enter my room and go straight to my bed.

The next days just go as always. Media day is annoying, free practice round go solid for the team and Saturday qualifier... I don't know what I should say to it. Could have gone better but it is what it is, I have to go with it now. The only thing being the same everyday is me looking for Valeria when entering and leaving the hotel and also always having my mind on the time we ran into each other on Wednesday. I haven't seen her again since then. Carlos is starting to worry because he came up to me after qualifying and asked me what's wrong because I was so out of performance. I just shook my head and said I also don't know what was going on with me. I knew if I would have told him he would somehow understand me but the chance he didn't understand me was too high t risk it. Today is race day and I leave the hotel six hours before the race is starting. When we leave the hotel a car is already waiting or us. I give my bags to the driver and want to step in the car but something is holding me up. A feeling somebody is watching me. I look around and then I see her. Her eyes looking at me but no action in her face not even a blink. She looks destroyed. Probably no sleep for the last days, no food as well and something eating her up alive. Her eyes doesn't even shine anymore. I want to go up to her but something is pulling me inside the car before I can take a step towards her. „Come on now muppet, we have to go." Carlos says and is pulling me inside. I have no chance of stepping out of the car again. I turn around in the car looking through the back window to see Valeria still sitting at the wall and looking after our car. I need to find out what is going on with her and why she is not talking to me.

The race has gone shitty. I only gained one position and the whole time I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing, which is very dangerous when you are driving at 280 km/h around a circuit. I'm sitting in my suite at the moment. „Lando? You still have some interviews to do." my PR-manager says through the door. I sigh and get up from my sofa. I let the interviews happen and try do end them as fast as possible. „That's it for today. You can drive to the hotel right now:" I nod and say my goodbyes to the people around me. Today I don't have the energy to help the mechanics pack the things up. I get my things out of my suite and leave the paddock. Jon is also ready and waits for me by the entrance. „Tough day, huh?" I only nod and we get I the car.

We arrive at the hotel and get out of the car. „You can go in already. I will take a quick walk at the beach." I say to Jon and take my backpack. I turn around and walk across the street over to the beach. I walk along the water line and just relax. All of a sudden I see somebody running towards me, well at least in my direction. When she comes nearer I see it is Valeria and she is crying. I step in her way and try to make her stop running. She runs around me. I turn around and run after her I see how she runs toward the street. „Valeria stop." I shout after her but she isn't listening. She keeps running. I see her running across the street and I am only a few meters behind her. When she wants to enter the hotel, she stumbles and falls down. I am beside her in less than two seconds. „Hey, Hey, everything is alright. I am here." I pick her up and hug her tightly. I mumble into her hair „I will not let you go in the nearest future." I can feel how she lets herself fall into my arms and I sigh relieved. I pick up into my arms and walk into the hotel with her. She keeps crying and I try to bring her up to my rooms as fast as I can.

When we stand in front of my door I try to search my pockets for the keycard. As I found it I open the door and walk in. I lay her down on my bed and take off her shoes. She curled up like a hedgehog and I smile a bit. Still cute, no matter what. I take off my shoes and my hoodie and sit beside her. I pull her into my lap and she hides her face in my chest. I let her lay there and just sit in silence. She needs to feel that somebody is there and somebody cares. After a while she flinches and starts fighting against my arms who are holding her but I won't let her win that fight. I keep holding her tight and she eventually gives up. I see that my phone is lighting up because somebody is calling but I don't pick up. She keeps crying for a long time but after a while she is getting a lot more calm and when I check she has fallen asleep. She is shivering so I take my hoodie from the end of the bed and try to put it on her without her waking up. It works and I lay down beside her again. I don't sleep, I want to be there when she needs me.

I really didn't sleep and when she wakes up at three o'clock in the night I smile down at her. „Hey you, everything alright?" She nods and cuddles a little deeper into my chest. „Do you maybe want to tell me what was going on these last days? If not I am telling you what was going on in my life these past days." She  doesn't say anything so I just start talking. „Well, I don't know if you have seen but I fucked up today. I qualified on ninth and ended the race on eighth, so nothing too special there. We already flew here on Monday morning at three am. Can you believe it? Carlos forced me to get up at two am to fly to Barcelona and after we landed he didn't even gave me the chance to sleep. He took me on a run up on a cliff. Even though I was tired it was worth it. The place is just beautiful and peaceful as well. Nobody up there and only you and the ocean. Maybe I can show you the place someday. We had a fun day at the beach with his sister. The night instead was horrible. I woke up at four am and had no chance of sleeping again so I took a run to the cliff. I can tell the sunrises are awesome. I checked in here at Tuesday to give Carlos some time with his family. Barcelona really is a beautiful city. Since the moment you ran into me I was always looking for you but it was like you disappeared but it doesn't matter anymore. You're here now." I say and hug her a little tighter. We keep laying there in silence. I almost thought she would've fallen asleep again when she starts talking. „I'm sorry." is everything she says. „What?" „I am sorry for all of this." „No don't do that. Stop doing that. You have done nothing. Everything is totally okay." I say a little louder. „Nothing is alright. You did bad because of me and only because I wasn't watching where I was walking. Everything is so fucked up at the moment." What could have happened in those two weeks that destroyed her so much. What is she giving herself the fault for? „What do you mean? You mean this race weekend? This definitely wasn't your fault. All my fault. I wasn't concentrated before the weekend so I also wasn't throughout the sessions." „I owe you an explanation huh?" „Only if you want to." She looks at me and smiles. „You are way too kind." I laugh a little.