Re-evaluating Strategies

🇳🇿MELBOURNE

Abella
Melbourne, Australia

Charles drops me off outside of my hotel and informs me that he will be waiting, in the same spot to leave 30 minutes later. Knowing I have limited time to get ready, I surge through the building in a hurry to reach my room. I burst through my door and run straight to the shower.

Turning in the warm water, attempting to keep my curled hair dry, as I dont have time to redo it. Wrapping my silk dressing gown around my body, I grab my makeup bag and lean over the sink to the bathroom mirror. I apply some light foundation, concealing under my eyes, with a touch of bronzer and highlighter, then I add a slight smokey eye with a wing, and finally apply mascara and clear lipgloss. Finishing the look I put some dainty, pearl laced hoops through my ears, with a matching necklace hanging around my collarbones.

Next on my agenda, I scramble through my suitcase, trying to find the only dress I brought with me. I snatch out the black cocktail dress, rapidly stepping into it and yanking it up over my shoulders. I reach behind me, trying to pull up the zipper but as it is cut low on my back I can't quite reach it. Contorting my limbs into different positions, I'm starting to get frustrated by my incapability to put on a simple dress. A knock taps on the door and I open it, to be met with Charles' dazzling green eyes, staring into my soul.

'Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you, but we are going to be late' he says standing in my doorway, hair done in a white, open collar shirt and fitted black trousers.

'No my bad' I reply retrieving myself out of my daze, 'I just can't seem to get this zipper to work' I lightly laugh, turning away from him, pointing at the troublesome zip.

'Let me help' he moves towards me, putting one hand on my waist and the other on the zipper. I can feel his hot breath on the back of my neck. Sharply inhaling, I feel butterflies swarming my stomach while he steadily pulls up the zip. He does up the button at the top of where the dress ends, warm fingers slightly grazing my skin as he does so. Once done, we stand still like that for another minute, breathing in sync, until he uses the hand on my side to steer me out the door down to the lobby, only letting me go when we get in his car.

When we arrive, he opens the car door for me and helps me out of the low sports seat. As soon as we enter the venue, we are greeted by blinding coloured lights with people chatting and some even dancing. Before I can say a word to Charles, he's been pulled aside by an important member of the Ferrari team, leaving me stranded and alone by the entrance. I stand there awkwardly staring at a mass of unfamiliar faces, the music blaring.

Deciding the bar is my best bet of finding someone recognisable, I swan through the crowd trying to reach my destination without being toppled by groups of dancers. Reaching the bar, I adopt an empty stool and reach for my phone out of my clutch. I sigh hoping this won't be how I spend the whole night, by myself, in a dark corner.

During my attempts to look vaguely interested by my phone, a small group of men my age claim the unoccupied next to me. One of the three turn to me and say hi, grabbing my attention. Not wanting to be rude I reply with 'hey, nice to meet you'.

'Is this your first f1 party too?' the lad nearest to me with dark blonde hair asks.

'Yea' I laugh nervously 'is it that obvious?'

'Not at all' he reassures me, gesturing to his friends 'this is a first for us too'. Deciding they are friendly I turn around to fully engage in conversation. 'I'm George' the blonde introduces himself, then pointing to his friends 'this is Lando and that is Alex'. I recognise them as this years rookies.

'I'm Abella' I tell them smiling.

'Bianchi?' the brunette, Lando, eagerly inquires.

'That's me' I wonder how they know who I am, feeling like I've missed something obvious.

'So the rumours are true then' Lando carries on. Rumours?!

'What rumours?' I ask a little anxious to know the answer.

'Nothing bad, only that the youngest Bianchi has rejoined the racing world. Everyone has been talking about it all weekend' the third guy responds. A rush of relief crashes over me as I let out my breath. The four of us converse fora little while, before the two Red Bull teammates approach where we are sat.

'Hey Dani, Max' I call them over and they both grin, joining our little group. Daniel stands next to me, casually slinging his arm around my shoulder. Max greets the three boys first, then turns to me to comment 'You look very nice tonight' making my cheeks turn pink. Daniel notices my reaction and lets out a hearty laugh, turning my face a deeper red, leaving the other three in confusion.

After a few minutes, Daniel is deep in conversation with Lando, George and Alex, but over the loud music I am unable to hear a word they say. So I sit in silence and pretend to understand their talking. Max, sat next to me, nudges my shoulder and nods his head towards the dance floor, mouthing 'wanna go?'. Feeling somewhat nervous I shake my head but he takes my hand and drags me onto the floor, mock singing along to the tune playing. I giggle as he spins me round, trying to get me to losen up.

After I get over my self embarrassment, we stand there dad dancing to the beats, enjoying ourselves. As we move around in obscure dance positions, I can feel a pair of eyes watching me. I turn around deliberately trying to prove to myself I'm not just paranoid, but no one stands out to me. When I turn back to face Max, that's when I see him, green eyes analysing my every movement. I lock eyes with him and smile widely, making the corners of his mouth raise slightly in a lopsided way. Max suddenly pulls me into another move but when I look back to him he's gone, as if he was never there.

At the end of the night, the venue staff begin to clear away. I say goodnight to Max, Daniel and the others, dishing out drunken hugs. After leaving them, I exit the building and stumble my way to Charles car to wait for him. Time passes by and there is no sight of him, so I perch on the bonnet, heels in hand and dial his number. No answer.

It feels like I've been sat there for hours, when he emerges in the darkness, making his way over to me. 'Charles, where were you?' I ask but he ignores me, getting nearer to the car. I look at him with question clear in my expression, he stares into my eyes as he closes the distance between us. He pushes my body up against the car, arms caging me in, his face centimetres from mine. I hold his gaze, my heart thumping, his breaths quicken, I can smell the alcohol he's been drinking. He never used to drink, and I haven't seen him touch alcohol since living with him, which concerns me.

'Charles' I call his name softly. He looks down scrunching his eyebrows together, shaking his head. He moves away opening the car door for me before getting in his own side. We endure the ride back in a suffocating silence, tension filling the air.

Hey guys, hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thought I'd spice it up a bit and also involve Lando George and Alex ;)) feel free to comment if u like!!