Racing is life

15 ~ grandstand

Ella:
'Slag.'
'Bitch.'
'Whale.'
'Oh wait sorry, your name
is Emilie. My bad.'
'Go kys. Nobody wants you here.'

I turn my phone off, placing it face down on the bed beside me and lean my head against the soft headboard taking a deep breath. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

"You ok, kid?" Charles asks as he walks out of the bathroom, looking at me and furrowing his eyebrows. I nod my head slightly.

"No you're not, what's wrong?" He adds, rummaging through the suitcase and pulling out a Ferrari tshirt. I pick my phone up and unlock it, handing it to him and showing him the messages.

He reads them before passing my phone back to me and sitting on the bottom end of my bed, next to my feet.

"I just want her to leave me alone. Why doesn't she understand that?" I whisper, tears forming in my eyes as I look down at my legs and scratch the back of my hand. He reaches his hand forward, gently grabbing mine and pulling it away from my other, silently telling me to stop.

"I know you do, darling." Charles says, rubbing my leg comfortingly. A few tears slip from my eyes as I try to hide them by wiping them away. He stands up and walks over to my bedside, holding his arms out, inviting me in for a hug.

I stand up off the bed and wrap my arms around his torso, sobbing into his chest. He takes a deep breath.

"It's going to be ok." He whispers, rubbing my back as I lean the side of my face against his chest, feeling safe in his hold.

"I just want it to stop." I mutter, tears streaming down my face.

"Do you want me to speak to the headteacher about it? I can try to get it fixed." He offers, his voice soft and quiet as he attempts to calm me down.

"No. That will make things worse. It's happened before." I mutter into his chest, trying to stop myself from crying.

"Ok. Just tell me if you ever want me to talk to someone at school." He says, gently squeezing me before releasing me from his hug. He smells nice, like a comforting sort of nice.

"I'll tell you what, how do you fancy a waffle for breakfast?" He asks, a small smile on his face as I nod my head eagerly. I love waffles.

"Me too. I'm feeling like a waffle." He nods his head, laughing slightly before sliding his shoes on and tying the laces. I put my shoes on and decide to leave my rain jacket on the chair. It didn't rain yesterday, so it probably won't rain today.

"Are you not taking that?" He asks, pointing to my jacket. I shake my head at him. "Ok, but if it rains, you aren't using mine." He states, a joking look on his face. I smile at him.

"Are you guys ready?" Alex asks, coming in through the hotel room door, letting it close behind her. She has been downstairs for breakfast with Arthur, Lorenzo and their mama while me and Charles were getting ready.

"Yep. Let's go." Charles says enthusiastically, placing his hand on my back and guiding me out of the room. My phone buzzes and I look at the notification. It's Ella again.

Ella:
'Don't leave me on read
you bitch.'
'No one likes you.'
'Jump off a bridge.'

I look down at my phone and my face gives everything away as Charles looks down at me.

"Give it here." He states, holding his hand out. I look at him slightly confused before placing my phone in his hand. He gets his phone out of his pocket, typing a number into his phone before calling it and putting it to his ear as we walk down the corridor.

We reach the elevator and I press the button to go down and the doors open. I step in, being immediately blocked by Charles so I can't press all the buttons again. He looks down at me and smiles as I look up at him.