Drive Forever (Lewis Hamilton)

seven

I haven't seen Lewis since Friday night. Actually, I didn't want to bother him either. I also wanted to stay with Tony and my mom. I hid my doubts about how I feel about Lewis from them. I don't want it to go too fast. I don't want to hurt him or me in return. I stop thinking about him and focus on the race. We're sitting in one of the stands. I need to walk quietly but I don't want to miss the race. I'll walk later. 

The race is over. Lewis is second! I send him a message congratulating him. Carlos is fifth and Charles is eleventh. We go back to the hotel and pack our luggage. We leave tomorrow, we go back to Wellington. Then I will go back to Egypt for my work. I'm exhausted. I'm going to miss the F1 atmosphere. I'm going to miss my mom and my brother. I'm sitting on the edge of my hotel room bed. Lewis hasn't answered me yet. I leave him alone and I take a bath. I lie in the bathtub when it's full of hot water. I have doubts about Lewis. 

I come back to reality when I hear my phone ringing. I wash quickly before I get out of the bathtub. I dry up and get dressed before I look at my phone. A missed call from Lewis. I don't know if I call him back or not. I activate the "do not disturb" mode before putting it on the bed. I lie down and start reading a book. I need to be calm.

I wake up in panic. I fell asleep without realizing it. My phone stops ringing. Yet, I put it in "do not disturb". I look at the notifications: several missed calls from Lewis, three messages from him and several messages from my mother. I answer my mother first by telling her that I had fallen asleep. I realize that I only slept an hour and a half. I probably needed it. When I answer Lewis' messages, he calls me directly.  

"I was worried, Dixie !" - Lewis starts

"Hey Lewis." - I reply

"Sorry if I sounded curt."

"I just woke up, Lewis."

"You were sleeping ?"

"I was."

"I can call you later."

"Stay. Please. What did you want to talk about ?"

"About the race and I wanted to hear your voice."

His answer leaves me speechless and it does not help me in my reflection about him. 

"Dixie ?" -  Lewis asks

"I'm here. -  I reply

"You okay ?"

"I'm fine, I got lost in my thoughts sorry."

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize."

"I'm so happy for your podium !"

"Thank you, Dixie ! Where are you right now ?"

"At my hotel, packing luggage, we'll leave tomorrow."

"Will we be able to see each other before you leave ?"

"I think yes."

"I feel like you're not okay, Dixie."

"I just don't want to leave. I'll miss the F1 atmosphere."

"You'll come back, Dixie. I promise."

"Thanks Lewis. Can I call you later, please ? My mother's calling me."

"Yes, sure. Bye sweetheart."

"Bye Lewis !"

I smiled when he called me "sweetheart". I answer my mother's call and she asks me if we eat at the hotel tonight. I tell her I'm going to join her to talk about it. I hang up and leave my room. Tony opens the door after I knocked on the door. We decide to eat at the hotel restaurant. We go down to go. 

I'm in my room and I'm talking to Lewis by messages. My brother and my mother went to sleep after eating. I smile when I see his last message. I grab my jacket and sneak out of my hotel room. I run down the stairs and walk out of the hotel. I see him across the street. A big smile appears on his face when he sees me. I look at him with a smile. I can't move because I feel like there's something wrong. There's something that scares me. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head and I see Lewis. I had not even noticed that he had crossed the road to join me. He looked at me with concern. I looked down without saying anything. I think I know what's wrong: I don't want to leave, I don't want to be away from Lewis and I'm afraid he'll forget me. I'm afraid I'm going to lose the bond that we started to create. A tear drips on my cheek and I feel Lewis' hand dry my tear. The softness of his hand and gesture makes me smile. I look at him again and I see worry in his eyes. 

Lewis approaches me and hugs me. I close my eyes when I feel his hand in my hair. Thanks to him, I forget everything that's wrong. 

"I don't want to go." - I say

"It will be hard for me too but I won't forget you." - Lewis replies

"I won't too."

"We will see each other again soon."

"I hope."

I feel his lips on my forehead and I smile again. We sit on a bench and talk for half an hour. Lewis hugs me before we go back to our respective hotels. Lewis is in another hotel.

I wake up panicked in the middle of the night. I had a nightmare about Lewis. I'd rather not talk about it. I can't fall asleep anymore. I'm afraid I'll have this nightmare again. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't. When I closed my eyes, I saw the images of the nightmare again. I look at edits about Lewis on Tik Tok.  

I take my suitcase and I leave my room. I join my mother and Tony. We return the keys to our rooms and we go to the airport. We check in our bags to put them in hold. Then, we wait to board the plane. I am exhausted and I hope I can get some sleep on the way. Tony and my mom are in great shape but I think the trip will tire them out. I'll drive when we get to Wellington. I think about last night with Lewis again. His hugs made me feel so good. It's amazing to talk to him. He told me all kinds of stuff. He likes to talk a lot. Lewis is also a good listener. We told each other a lot of things. 

We finally arrived in Wellington, after a long journey. I managed to sleep during both flights. We pick up our luggage and walk to my car. We put our luggage in the trunk and leave the airport. I drive home. We go in the house with the luggage. We leave them in the living room and we all take a nap. It's early afternoon here and we're exhausted. I'm texting Lewis to tell him we're home and I'm falling asleep without realizing it.