I couldn't remember falling asleep but I did remember Pierre carrying me back to bed. One moment I was laying there with our arms and legs entangled, my head on his chest using his heartbeat as a metronome to keep me in time and not frozen in the past, the next I woke up to a bright room and my arms empty.
I sat up and spotted Pierre in the chair beside the wardrobe. He was already dressed in his team uniform with his headphones on and juggling three tennis balls like he did for his reflex exercises. The balls dropped from his hand when he saw me move and he rose from the chair.
"What time is it?" I asked, my voice raspy from sleep and the result of my screaming when I woke from the nightmare.
He took a seat at the headboard and gave me a good morning kiss before answering, "almost 9am."
"What!" I pushed him away and rushed out of the bed, happy to find my leg was not nearly as sore as it was when I went to bed. "You're so late! Get your ass moving Gasly."
He was still sitting on the bed trying to stop his grin and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Something funny?"
His lips pressed even tighter but it hid nothing as he got up and walked over to me, pulling me into his arms. "Not funny, mon amour, I just love it when you get bossy with me. You are beautiful, even when you are mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you, babe, but Otmar will be if you don't get your very shapely butt to the paddock." I pointed to the front door with one hand and opened the wardrobe with the other. "Go, I'll catch up. Why didn't you just wake me up?"
"You looked peaceful and I didn't want to disturb you, and I didn't want to leave you to wake up alone."
I dropped the clothes I was looking at choosing for the day and looked at him through the door mounted mirror. Everything from last night came rushing back but it wasn't the nightmare that took my breath away. Compounded emotions hammered into my chest and I realised that little by little in this short week together I had come to love this man. It shouldn't have been possible but then again there are people who know their soulmate the moment they make eye contact. Is that what had happened?
My eyes stung as they began to water and Pierre rushed forward, turning me around to face him properly. "What's wrong, love?"
"Nothing, nothing," I choked as I tried to control my emotions. "I just...you're so sweet and kind and I...love it, I love you, Pierre."
His eyes widened a split second before his smile did and then my feet were off the floor as he spun us around. "Je t'aime," he gushed between the kisses we shared. "Je t'aime." He placed my feet back down into the plush carpet and clutched my hands to his chest, his forehead resting against mine. "I was too nervous to tell you first."
"You'll race a car at 200 mph with no fear but this makes you nervous?"
He smiled at the jest but it dropped as he turned serious. "If I hit the accelerator the car speeds up, I know how the car will react. I didn't know if telling you the truth would scare you."
"How about only the truth from now on?"
"Deal." He sealed it with a kiss before his phone rang and I saw the name of his Brand Manager and friend, Ilies Nadri, showing on the Caller ID. "I should take this."
The call wasn't even on speaker but I could hear Ilies asking where Pierre was so I donned the first dress my hands touched and rushed to brush my teeth and make myself look half presentable. The two were still on the phone by the time I was ready and Pierre grabbed his keys and my handbag before opening the door for me.
"We're on the way now. Yeah, yeah, just put up some of those shirtless photos you love so much, that always distracts them." He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket and hit the elevator button with a little too much force.
"What's wrong?" He waved the question off with a weak 'nothing' so I let go of his hand. "The truth."
He sighed as the elevator doors opened to the carpark but he didn't speak until we were behind the privacy of the tinted windows. "It's just social media bullshit, love. I'm taking care of it."
"With shirtless photos." I stated and he shrugged innocently. "So the problem is with your female fanbase, I assume, and the fact you aren't single anymore?" His nod was almost imperceptible but I noticed and couldn't stop the laugh that escaped. He turned to me shocked and shrugged back. "I'll be honest, I kind of expected something like this to happen. You were this super hot guy who was available and now you're not."
"Ouch, I'm super hot anymore?"
"Meh," I shrugged jokingly and he clutched his heart in mock offence. "Your winning personality saves you."
"The hits just keep on coming."
I leaned over the centre console and kissed his cheek, then his neck before whispering in his ear, "I think you are very sexy, insanely hot, it's hard to sit this close to you and not just climb onto your lap."
He bit his lip and pressed his palm to his tightening jeans. "I wouldn't stop you."
"No, but that would," I pointed to the crowds milling around the gates that Pierre was pulling up to and sat back in my chair before the cameras started flashing. "Should I ask your team to prepare an ice bath?"
I smiled to myself as he murmured a French idiom under his breath that roughly translated to, "my lover is coldhearted but she makes me hot."
--
Somehow my dad had managed to find a pair of crutches overnight and had them ready at the security box so when we had scanned into the paddock I was able to take the weight of my leg and hopefully stop a recurrence.
I knew I was in for another surprise when Adelaide came running out of the FIA building with lipstick on and her hair styled up with spray and bobby-pins, perfect ringlets falling from a tight bun.
"Fuck me," I sighed and Pierre looked across at me oddly before catching her as she jumped up at me.
"Careful, princesse, mama's still healing," he said as he held her out to hug me before he set her on his hip.
"Is Granny here, sweetie?" I asked as I lifted a stiff ringlet of her hair up and tried not to cringe.
Addie nodded excitedly and pointed back to the building where my paternal grandmother was exiting with her fourth husband. "She did my hair."
"I can see that. She used to do mine just like it." I could still feel my scalp screaming at the tight buns she used to put in my hair. I loved granny, but she had an obsession with turning us into her own personal dolls and had even tried to enter me in a pageant. "Hi Granny, what brings you here?"
Granny prided herself on her appearance and I guess it must have paid off since she kept marrying men less than half her age. An event such as today's was enough of a reason to go all out with a form-fitting white pants-suit and full face of glamour makeup, her lipstick the same shade as Addie's. She was careful not to ruin her make up as she kissed the air beside my cheeks before doing the same to Pierre.
"So this is the Pierre my son has told me so much about. Good taste, my dear," she said with her strong Texan accent and winked as she squeezed his biceps. "Look after him or I might just steal him for myself."
"Oh sweet Jesus, Betty," I groaned but Pierre simply turned up the charm and gave her a wink.
"Sorry, madame, but there is only one woman for me."
"That's what I like to hear, Mr Gasly. Now shouldn't you be off getting ready for the big race? Us girls have some catching up to do." She held her arms out for Addie and took him from her before shooing him along much to his amusement.
I grimaced and was grateful that she started to make her way back inside but she strutted like it was a catwalk not a footpath. "I'm sorry about her, she's an acquired taste."
"I like meeting your family, and hopefully I get to introduce you to mine soon too."
"We can make plans for that tomorrow, right now, you are really running late."
He looked at his watch and swore before giving me a quick kiss goodbye and running his way through the paddock to the pit. Knowing Granny was serious about the catch up, since she had been gossiping for seven decades, I made my way to the door and found her husband and ex-model Matthew waiting to hold the door open.
I had always found it weird talking to him since he was somewhere between mine and my dads age so I couldn't seem to figure out if I should treat him like a friend of mine or a friend of my dads.
"Thank you," I said as he let the door close behind me. "When did you guys fly in?"
"Left last night and got here this morning. Betty wanted to check in on you after seeing #brierre trending."
I was officially curious and after grabbing a plate of food from the FIA catering table I sat down with my phone and reinstalled my social media accounts. It only took two posts under the #brierre tag on instagram to realise it was a bad idea but I had already seen them.
Pictures of Pierre carrying me from the car to the hotel had drawn the attention of the trolls. Some comments pointed out how sweet Pierre was and that he must care a lot while others took a darker path and deemed me a drama queen. One comment was particularly nasty and I still saw it after I locked my screen.
Why would Pierre Gasly date a cripple? They had even tagged Pierre in the post and then in another comment they tagged Ilies saying that as Pierre's Brand Manager he should be 'fixing it'.
It wasn't long after that comment that TeamGasly released a new photo and Pierre just happened to be shirtless.
"Five minutes away and you're already ogling his photos huh?" Granny asked as she looked over my shoulder but then she saw it was Instagram and she took a seat beside me. "Don't waste your time reading that trash, honey, those heathens don't know you."
"That doesn't make it right. How can anyone think it is okay to say stuff like this about a stranger?"
"You're right, but not everyone was raised like you. You were raised to be kind and accept everyone as they are."
"Like how you accepted mum?"
"That was a long time ago, before you were even born." She tutted at me and took my phone so I wasn't tempted to open any more apps. "Now, tell me all about your road trip, where you went, what you did and where you slept."
"Granny..."
"What? Your dad isn't going to give you the talk and your mum isn't here. I just want to make sure you're being safe."
My cheeks burned and I traced the floral design along my dress as I answered just to shut her up. "We're safe, I'll leave it at that."
"So you are sleeping with him, good for you, honey, back in the saddle."
I rose abruptly and she laughed as I grabbed my crutches. "Come on Addie, let's go find the Alpine garage."
"Love you, honey," Granny called out and I shook my head at her jovial tone.
"Love you too, I'll come find you later, if you promise to behave."
Her cackle reached me before I reached the door. "Not a chance."
