Stronger Together | George Russell

02 - visitor

Annabelle

Tired, I blinked a few times before opening my eyes. The sun was shining slightly through my window and I looked around. It was only my second night back home and I had slept badly again. 

I quickly glanced at my wrist, to which a heart rate monitor was attached. They had given me this watch at the hospital because I shouldn't overstrain my heart and keep my heart rate low. So far, it had only opened last night when I had a bad nightmare. However, I then took a tranquilliser and it got better. I've generally had nightmares like this ever since I woke up from my artificial sleep.

"Ben?" I called my brother, but there was no answer. 

He was probably already on his way back to Germany as he had an important work appointment and his holiday was slowly coming to an end. However, he had spoken to Emilie, who promised to come round tomorrow as I shouldn't be alone for too long. 

Sighing, I glanced at my mobile phone on the bedside table, which I now had to switch on again. I hadn't managed to switch it on and text or reply to anyone for the last few days. My brother had sorted it out with my best friend and sent me everyone's well wishes. George had also been calling him every day to check on my condition. 

"Coincidentally" I was always asleep at exactly the same time. To be honest, I was afraid to talk to George. Of course I loved him and couldn't wait to see him again, but not over the phone. I also felt uncomfortable that he had so much on his plate because of me. 

However, I made up my mind to call him today or at least write to him now that my brother was no longer there. I had to speak to him at some point and as the next race was already scheduled for this Sunday, it was probably impossible to see him in person. 

Incidentally, Benedikt had practically pulled me out of bed yesterday, where I had been lying since my release, and we had watched the race together. George finished just behind Leclerc in second place and had therefore moved closer to Verstappen in the championship standings. 

Seeing him in the interview afterwards gave me a good feeling on the one hand, but on the other hand also a stab in my heart, as I never wanted him to have to experience all that. You could see that he wasn't feeling well and my brother even said that it would have been much worse at Silverstone. 

Of course the media and all the fans knew that I, his girlfriend, was in hospital, but luckily nobody realized why. Thankfully, no connection was made to the rumors from the spring, which I was very happy about. 

However, I immediately thought of the reason again and realized that my pulse was racing. I exhaled deeply and tried to think of something else as I left the bedroom to get a tablet from the kitchen. 

Startled, I flinched and took a step back, bumping into the bathroom door. Standing on my balcony was a man who was clearly not my brother. The loud bang had caused a stir and the Englishman slowly turned round. When he saw me, he immediately came towards me.

"Annabelle, is everything okay? I didn't mean to scare you."

Bewildered, I stood a meter in front of him and looked at him. A beep sounded from my wrist and our heads shot in the same direction. Without saying anything, I pointed to the tablets on the worktop and George understood immediately. 

He took a glass from the shelf and filled it with water before handing it to me and taking a small capsule from the packet, which he also handed to me. Still speechless, I took both and swallowed the tablet with some water.

"What... What are... are you doing here?" I stammered, still confused as to how George could be standing in front of me.

"I took the first flight today and came straight here. I am sorry that I wasn't there when you woke up. But if you don't want me here, I can go."