𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬

- δώδεκα

⋆·˚ ༘ *Dancing in the Snow⋆·˚ ༘ *

      EVER SINCE THAT INTERVIEW THERE WAS A CHANGE in Maya's aura on and off track. She had been dragged to even more appearances with her father and her mother couldn't seem to reach her, she had to fly out herself to make sure her baby was alright.

She was back to writing again as well. Every time anyone on the grid would see her, she had her pen and her journal in hand. She stopped talking as much and couldn't stand physical touch.

It didn't make things better that Tom was at every single race with his fake smile and Alpine team clothing making sure he and Maya were photographed as much as possible.

Even when it came down to Daniel and HQ, she would zone out horribly and for minutes on end that it started getting concerning.

"Babe, talk to me? You can trust me, you know that." Daniel whispered into her hair one night when he had finally gotten a hold of her and they agreed on cuddling before the race weekend started.

"I know, I do trust you."

"So, what's wrong? Even HQ is noticing the shift in your behaviour, you barely talk anymore."

"It's just draining, being around him and having to put on a fake smile but I'll be fine, I promise."

"Good because your mother just flew in and she wants to see you first thing tomorrow morning before the practice sessions."

"She's here, when did she get here?"

"A few hours ago, I dropped her off at the hotel room but you will see her after some rest, okay?"

Maya nods before snuggling into Daniel and closing her eyes. She really needed the sleep.

    "OH, MY POOR DAUGHTER ,YOU LOOK LIKE YOU haven't eaten in ages, why do you do this to yourself?" Eliana wrapped her arms around her daughter, kissing the top of her head.

"It makes the car faster." She explained though muffled due to her mother drowning her out.

"No, you're not going to give me that half added excuse, thank goodness I came, I'll cook today."

"Mama, you really don't have to."

"I want to. Now come on, I heard Texas is one of the only places that has the kind of spices in food that your grandmother cooks." With that, Eliana dragged her daughter to the nearest restaurant but not without texting the parent group chat.

They had reached a conclusion that all of them would text the other whenever they were with Maya in case of emergencies. They had all been aware of Tom Richards, of how much of a fraud he was and what lengths he would go to to get what he wanted.

The two toured the state letting themselves get distracted which resulted to Maya making it back to the paddock with a cowboy hat, huge sunglasses, and a leather jacket. No one knows when they purchased it.

She was lucky she wasn't late though because it would've been absolutely horrible. She got in her car and gave her best performance landing herself in the points.

It was an overwhelming race either way due to her sudden drop from a pit stop failure and working her way back to the points. Overall, she was just glad it was over.

Her father being around made everything overbearing and had her walking on egg shells. It was so hard to not break under his gaze.

"I want to take you on a trip." Daniel had said randomly when they were packing their bags 2 days after the race.