Breathe

Chapter 1

22nd September 2018
Donington Park, Great Britain

He dialled the number without even thinking about it. There was only one person which could help him right now. The phone was ringing, he nervously bit his lip. Was he even free right now? He didn't knew anything about his schedule for the weekend, and they were also in different time zones … "Damn, pick up the phone, please", he thought.
Just a few milliseconds later he heard the phone being answered and breathing at the other end of the line. "Hey Hampus, it's Alex"
"Oh", he didn't knew what else he could say. On the one hands side he was happy the phone call got answered at all, but on the other hands side he felt like Alex wouldn't be able to help him now.
"Hampus, listen. I know you want to talk to Marcus. He's busy at the moment, he'll probably be free in about twenty minutes"
"Fuck …", Hampus muttered under his breath. In twenty minutes he has to be in the pitlane to drive the car to the grid.
Alex had another idea: "Hey, maybe I can help you? I don't know what the problem is, but I'm sure I could help?"
Hampus was mute for a few seconds, he had to think. No one knew him better than Marcus, not even his best friends. But Alex has been close to his family for nearly five years now. Alex has also seen him growing up, becoming the person he is today. And it couldn't get worse, couldn't it?
But he was vulnerable now. If he told Alex, he'd admit it. The motorsports world is a cruel one, and you can't have friends there. You can have mates, but no friends. And admitting that you're weak is one of the worst things you can do here. Everyone could use it against you when you expect it the least. He swallowed.
"Yeah, maybe you could help …", he admitted. He felt like someone was shouting his name from the other side of the driver's room's door, but he decided he'll ignore the person. If they really need to talk to him they can still knock or shout again. He still has a few minutes left until he has to be in the pit lane. " I mean, it's not that much of a problem, it's just … I'm hella nervous and just scared to fuck it up. This is my first Formula 3 race, and I already had so much bad luck this season. I have a feeling that something will go wrong today. Something will go horribly wrong and I'm scared, okay? I know that I'm 16 and that I should be able to handle this, but I can't"
After he finished his monologue Hampus paused for a moment. He felt exhausted, but he also felt a bit better now. Even tho they don't talk that often, he trusted Alex. He is a good guy, he knows what he's doing, otherwise he wouldn't be his brother's physiotherapist anymore. He was just hearing the other man's breathing. He didn't know what he did to cause that reaction. Did he say something wrong? His 'problem' isn't a real problem, probably Alex is annoyed because he's wasting his time now. He should've known that. He shouldn't have accepted Alex' offer.
"Okay Hampus, listen", Alex said on the other end of the line, and Hampus felt his heart rate slowing down again, "breathe. Calm down and breathe. Everything will be alright. You'll go out there now. And you won't even think about any problems you could have. Just do your job and race the car. Everything will be alright, okay?"
"Okay", he answered. That sounds like a plan, doesn't it? Everything will turn out fine. It has to. He needs to prove that he can handle the car, and that he can handle the pressure. He'll breathe. And he'll go out there and show the people why he deserves this cockpit. Everything will be fine.

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That was chapter 1. Leave comments and tell me what you think ^^