Drive to Survive

Chapter Fifty-Three

Chapter Fifty-Three

The door fell shut behind her but Dylan kept hold of the handle, not sure she could hold herself up without it. Her heart was pounding so fast that her head felt hazy.

What had just happened?

She didn't seem to be able to process any of it; all she felt was complete and utter shock. Her tongue lay like a heavy weight in her mouth and her hands didn't even feel like her hands. It was jarring and she tried to take a deep breath only to find that she couldn't breathe all the way in. 

Movement behind the door turned the shock into panic. She couldn't see him. She needed to go before he came out of this door because one look at him would absolutely break her.

In her irrational state of mind, the only place she could think to go was the comms room and she stumbled down the corridor, hand on her chest as she tried to fight the impending panic. 

Why wasn't her brain cooperating?

It felt like alarms were blaring between her ears and in the chaos, she couldn't make sense of anything that was happening. Everything just felt wrong.

The room was empty when she went in and she slammed the door behind her before collapsing onto the floor and tucking her knees to her chest with her back against the wall. She knew there was no way she could fight off this panic; part of her wondered if the feeling would just last forever. 

Her breaths came quicker and quicker and she tried to breathe in for four and hold but suddenly her mind was filling with the times that he had helped her and then she was sobbing, wishing that he was behind her to hold her tight and push the panic away. 

In a fit of desperation, she did something she so rarely did: she asked for help. 

--

Hunter was wandering back to the Red Bull garage after the podium ceremony. It had been a big scandal that Max hadn't shown up to collect his trophy but they'd gone ahead anyway as the day was already overrunning. He'd stayed and cheered politely but his mind hadn't been focused. 

He could see Red Bull mechanics packing up the equipment and tools that were scattered around the entrance of the garage.

Just as he arrived, his phone buzzed.

From: Dylan

Hellpp please comms rooom

The blunt messaging and poor spelling were so unlike her that alarm bells rang and his adrenaline spiked. Probably confusing many mechanics, he suddenly sprinted through the garage straight to the back-rooms.

He pushed open the door and scanned the room, halting when he didn't immediately see her. Then a small sob filled the quiet space and he glanced down, finally noticing a tiny figure bunched up and sat against the wall. 

With a kick, the door closed behind him and he approached her carefully, trying to piece together the context of what he had just walked into. As he got nearer, he could see she was shaking and hyperventilating and he recognised the panic attack. Friends of his had experienced the same thing when they were younger and he knew the signs to look for. 

"Dylan?" He spoke gently, bending down to her levels and putting his hands on her knees.

At his touch, her head shot up and he almost winced at the sight. Gone was the smiling, put-together girl he was used to seeing every day and in her place was someone who looked scared and lost.

"I-I'm sorry." She cried and Hunter frowned.

"No, no, don't apologise. I'm here for you. Tell me how to help you."