Connected (F1 Story)

Chapter Fifty: The Truth Comes Out

Daniel was flat out on the bed after helping me to finish packing the case. Seemingly, he was knackered after babysitting all day. Playing Spider-Man was completely draining.

"What was Paul saying to you earlier?" he mumbled into the pillows, face down, waving his right hand to get my attention. I had passports to shove in my handbag. But, more worryingly, I had to find them first.

"Uh," I paused. "Not to let you stuff your face too much, not to let you go skydiving," I rattled off, throwing a pillow at him. I think there was a 'fuck off' as a response bit I wasn't entirely certain. Well...

"I know you get on, but you are spending a lotta time with him at the moment, especially last weekend..." Dan sat up and I saw that he was being serious. Usually, once he was face down on the mattress he was committed to sleep and, not for love or money, could I entice him to get up. Unless food or sex was involved (which, let's be reasonable here, they often were).

My brain slowly processed what the Aussie had said and a cold feeling washed over me. I was not under any circumstance going to lie to him here.

"I do need to talk to you about something, actually," I muttered, sitting down on the bed next to him. Oh God, here we go.

"I mean, I get the whole thing with Christian but, if the same thing has happened with Paul, then..." He smirked, even though a small part of him was visibly praying that I wasn't going to confess to something like that.

"Funny!" I quipped, folding my arms across my stomach. That only made me feel more sick. "Not that!"

Daniel sat up more and kissed my neck. I gripped his hand, pulling him closer to me. At least he had ditched the winter coat and a few of the jumpers now.

"What is it then?" he uttered, his hand trailing idly down to the button on my jeans.

"I, I..." I struggled. I was finding it hard to put a sentence together.

He momentarily pulled back his hand and his eyes grew wide. Very Wide. "Shit, this is serious, isn't it?"

Yes, Dan. Yes, it bloody was.

I composed myself for a moment before looking him in the eye. He knew I had his full attention. "In Abu Dhabi my drink was spiked," I began, feeling strangely calm. I knew I had nothing to be scared of now. "And Paul found me in a state, crying, scared. I was petrified. Not because of what was in the drink, but because of something else."

Dan nodded slowly, recollecting the events of a week or so ago. "I'm with you."

"I have been sick a lot lately, and my period hasn't come at all this month," I whispered. "I thought that there could be a chance that I was, you know...that I might be..."

I saw Daniel swallow immediately, but his expression didn't change. I don't think he knew how to react, so I kept talking so he didn't have to.

"I mean, one night I bought a test in England, when the Bridget-saga was going on, but I never took it. I was waiting for the right moment to tell you. I didn't want to tell you before the last race with all of what had been going on. I didn't want it to affect you in any way at all." I remembered to breathe and checked Dan's expression again. He was staring right at me.

"I've hardly spoken to you properly in the past week, and now you tell me this, right before we go on holiday?" he said quietly, not knowing what to do.

"It's been one shit storm after another..."

Dan ran his hands over the stubble on his chin and shook his head slowly. "Surely us would be more important. This is massive, wouldn't it come before everything else?"