I KNOW PLACES | George Russell

31. girl at home

Silverstone
Sunday

George's pov

"Oh shit. George wake up!" A hand slaps me repeatedly in the chest. "Come on we are going to be late!" That sure as hell woke me up.

I jump out of bed, grab a selection of clothes from the drawers and head for the bathroom to quickly change into them.

"Sunglasses?" An anxious Ariella asks me as soon as I emerge from the bathroom. She's already changed into new clothes, probably changed out here while I was in there. I point to the desk in the corner of the room and her body relaxes slightly at the sight of her glasses on the table.

She picks up the sunglasses and a dark coloured hat from the desk. She then jogs back over to where I'm standing, grabbing the bag she brought on her way. "Bye babe." She presses a short kiss to my lips before darting out the door.

I soon follow after.

By some miracle the both of us got to the track just as we were supposed to get there. She arrived just before I did.

I see her ahead of me in the paddock and I have full intentions to catch up with her and wish her good luck. Lewis catches her before I'm able to, and strangely he grabs the hat off her head and places it on his own.

And that's when I realize.

She was in such a rush this morning that she accidentally grabbed one of my hats instead of her own. I owe all my thanks to Lewis for playing it off as some joke.

She's completely silent when I catch up to her. "Don't worry about it. It was just a generic one." I mutter, knowing her nerves are definitely overloading. She shakes her head so lightly I almost miss it.

I take note of how she takes a hard swallow before she speaks. "Christians going to find out. He's smart, he'll put two and two together." Her voice comes out in waves, spiking higher at some parts showing just how nervous the situation makes her.

Our hands bump each other at our sides and I extend mine a little bit more so that my thumb can brush against the back of her hand. It's a poor attempt at comforting her but really it's the only thing I can think of that won't send her into more of a panic.

"He won't, Ariella. There's no way. You're okay. We will be okay." I try to reassure her, she nods but doesn't seem convinced. "I've gotta go." She gestures to the Red Bull hospitality and leaves without another word.

-☆-

I finished p3, making it another finish inside the top 5, the third in a row. It sucks that Ariella hasn't been able to drive, though. Since she broke her arm, her overall mood hasn't been a very happy one.

Something else seems to be bothering her now, too. Her energy has been off ever since we got back from the track and I'm not sure what it is.

"Do you want to go out with everyone else tonight?" I sit next to the girl, who is currently lying down on my hotel rooms mattress. My flat in London is too far to be driving back and forth everyday. But we will be staying there next week during our break.

"I'm not really up for it tonight. I just don't have the energy." She says with a sigh and I nod understandingly. I must've looked upset because she quickly starts talking again. "It's nothing against you im so proud of you for your p3 finish." She sits up to face me fully.

She uses her good hand to capture my jaw and pull me closer to her, kissing my lips when she does. "Please go out. I don't want to take any celebration from you." She smiles and kisses the corner of my mouth, her hand still on my jaw.