Silverstone had always been one of her favourite places on earth. Firstly, it had been the place she had attended with her maternal grandfather many years prior, just before he passed away and secondly it was one of her favourite circuits to drive. There was no place like her second home.
Since Canada and since Kimi had spoken to both of them, Joey and Seb spent most of their days texting each other, or even chatting on the phone but neither of them had made the first move to invite the other out on an actual date.
Joey had left her house in London and was driving down the M1 towards Towcester, music blasting out of the speakers of her black Audi RS5. She was humming along the songs, tapping on her steering wheel.
The weather had been glorious that week, the temperature outside was over 30 degrees and she was already dreading wearing fireproofs and a race suit for the weekend. Joey glanced to the passenger seat, where a clumsily wrapped present was sitting. It had been Sebastian's birthday a few days before and, even if he had insisted he didn't need nor want anything, she had decided to get a little something anyways; even if that had only made her stress a lot more.
She indicated off the motorway, following the signs for the circuit as she was going to go to the hotel after the first day of work.
'I feel like I'm just wasting time
Before you pull the trigger
It's the drawing of the line
It's my ghost you're gonna give up
Got your made up mind
It hurts to see you're alright
When I'm not alright
So if you're calling it a night'
She waved her pass to the guard at the entrance, following the signs to the staff car park still singing along to Lewis Capaldi.
'Have mercy on me, mercy my heart' she sang, just as she reversed her car into a spot. She left the engine running for a short while, still enjoying the cold air blasting out of her fans as she collected all of her items. She moved Seb's present to the back seat, trying to hide it as best as she could.
She eventually turned her car off and opened the door, quietly swearing to herself once the heat hit her in the face. She hadn't even stepped out and she was already too hot, she thought, scavenging through her bag for some high protection sunblock.
'What an entrance, lass' a known Scottish voice remarked. 'Alright?'
'Peachy, mate. What is this heat?' She quickly hugged him.
'Don't complain, we both know how unpredictable this place is'
'Yeah, true. It's just... I'm gonna burn on the track walk today. Being Irish, pale and ginger in the sun is daunting.' she replied. Joey squirted some sunblock in her hands and massaged into her pale skin.
She scanned her pass on the turnstiles, still chatting with the Ferrari engineer about the few days he had spent back home in Scotland with his family and friends.
The media personnel was already at work and the paddock was already bursting with life. Joey joined Bernd for a quick update before the driver's briefing.
Being almost halfway through the season, everything had become almost a second nature: the chats, the briefings, the track walks. Joey had started to really enjoy her role with the FIA team, even if she knew it was going to end at the end of the season.
She finally was able to leave the paddock in the early hours of the evening so she decided to text Sebastian to let him know about his present.
I know you said you wanted nothing, but I ended up getting a little something for your birthday. I can drop it off to Britta if you let me know what room she's in, don't need more people chatting about me X she hit send and turned her car on, knowing her hotel wasn't far from the circuit.
Once parked up her screen lit up with Seb's reply:
I told you you shouldn't have! And don't be silly, just pop to my room. I'm in whenever, just knock on 125. X
Joey couldn't stop her lips from curving upwards. She quickly checked in at reception, threw her luggage in her room and directed herself to Seb's room, her palms now slightly sweating with anxiety.
She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The German appeared quickly from inside and let her in, after having given her a hug.
'Wow. I thought my room was fancy.'she joked. 'Sorry I couldn't come to your party, hope it went well' she said, passing him the wrapped box. Sebastian had invited a few people over to Switzerland after the Austrian GP, but Joey had preferred returning to the UK to help out her dad for a few days, as he had a few jobs going with his building company he ran with Matthew.
'It's ok, family comes first. And you really didn't have to. Can I open it now or do you want me to wait for you to go? You seem stressed about it. I am worried it might be some practical joke I will not get' he tried to joke.
'I hate getting people gifts. Especially someone like you who can literally buy anything'
'I'm pretty easy, you should know that by now' he reminded her.
'But yeah, open it now if you want'
She watched, anxiously playing with her necklace, as Sebastian unwrapped the box she had given him. It was a simple box set of British comedy, something she had learned he seemed to love, with the best gags from many different comedians.
'This is great, thank you' he beamed. 'I do love Monty Python' he chuckled, reading the contents.
'I knew you liked British comedy... so...'
'It's great, it's personal, and it's something I didn't have. Thank you, Joey' he walked closer to her to give her a hug.
'It's ok, it's literally nothing' she replied, letting him embrace her.
'Joey...'Seb started, still wrapped around her
'Mh?' She asked, looking up to him. His blue eyes were fixed on her and Joey was feeling warm inside.
'I... Fab...' Seb mumbled. Did she really have to look at him with those beautiful blue eyes of hers? He cleared his throat, trying to silent his inner voice telling him to kiss her.
'Fabian told me you're coming over to Germany early to spend some time with him and he said you were getting a hotel. I... I have enough space and I'm travelling home straight from here. You can stay at mine, if you don't mind' he offered.
'Are you sure? I found a hotel not far from Heppenheim.' She asked.
'Yeah, of course. I have enough space for you to have your own privacy and stuff. I mean, you don't have to see me if you don't want to' he explained. 'And apparently dad wants to cook for you? How did I not know about my family's love for you?' He asked, with a smile.
'Honestly, I'm friends with your brother only to be able to get some Norb affection on the side. Your dad is the best' she chuckled. 'And I promised him my world renowned lemon cake, so yeah maybe I'll need your kitchen to borrow. Are you sure I won't be in your way?'
'100% let me know when you'll land and I'll come pick you up as well' he added.
'Alright, thank you so much' Joey replied, finally getting out of Seb's embrace. It felt so natural for them to be so intimate with each other, always looking for a human touch, be it a kiss on the cheek, a hug or a slight caress.
'I should probably...ehm... go' she mumbled, now feeling extremely embarrassed and knowing she was turning bright red.
'I was just gonna have some dinner, so you're more than welcome to stay if you want to. Maybe we could crack open my present and have a chilled night...' he offered.
'Sure, if you don't mind' she smiled. 'Just charge mine on room 208, please'
'Don't be silly' he shook his hand towards her. 'I'll get you what I'm getting?' He asked her.
'Yes of course, guess I should be healthy too' she joked.
Suddenly, her phone started buzzing. Unknown caller, with an Irish number. Weird. She thought.
'Sorry, just gonna take this...' she apologised 'Hello?'
'Is this miss O'Shea?' An unknown voice came through.
'Yes. This is she.' She said, feeling a lump forming in her throat. 'What happened?'
'This is officer Samuels from the Dublin Garda. You're listed as one of the emergency numbers for Mr. Liam Griffiths. He's been in an accident, he's just been transported to hospital. We have informed his family, but we wanted to inform you as well'
'Oh... I... thanks.'she mumbled, falling back on the nearby sofa. 'I... sure. Yeah. How bad is it?'
'We can't tell yet, but serious' the officer replied.
'Oh' Joey managed to say. 'Thank you.'
'A support officer will be in contact with you soon, should you need anything from us. Goodbye, miss O'Shea'
'Thank you, officer. Bye' she whispered, hitting the red button on her screen.
'Jo? Are you ok? What happened?' Seb asked, worried, sitting next to her on the sofa.
Joey didn't manage to say a word, the emotions finally taking over her and making her tears flow.
Sebastian quietly pulled her closer to him, wrapping his hand around her head to let her freely sob on his shoulder.
'Liam... he's... been in an accident. He's in hospital' she explained, in between sobs. I need to see him. I need to go' she jumped up. 'I need to go to Dublin.'
'Jo, calm down. You can't go anywhere in this state.' Seb told her, getting up himself. 'Here, drink some water. Take some deep breaths.' He gave her his water bottle. 'And sit down again, you're shaking'
Joey did as she was told, letting Sebastian nurse her back to a more calm state. His mixture of assertion and affection was, weirdly, working on her. She grabbed her phone again, composing Liam's brother's number.
'Hey, Dean. Yes, they called me. Are you there now?'
'Yes, he's in. They've stabilised him, he's serious, but not critical.' Dean reassured her.
'I can fly home early tomorrow' she stated.
'Listen, they barely let family in. Come after the GP. I will call you again with an update but don't rush over. You're only gonna come here to stare at a couple of white walls. Stay there, keep yourself distracted'
'But'
'No buts, Josephine. I will call you if anything changes.'
'Alright. Love you, guys. Hug your mum from me and tell your brother to not do anything silly and I will be there soon'
'Sure. Love you too, Jojo. See you soon'
Joey hung up, taking a deep breath to calm herself down once again. Seb had just opened the door to room service and had walked back in with a tray which he placed on a nearby table.
Without saying a word he offered the girl his hand and helped her up. He squeezed her body tight against his, caressing her hair.
'I'm so sorry about your friend. I'll tell you what.' He looked her in her blue eyes 'I'll come to Ireland with you, after the race. Then you can come to Germany with me, when you're ready. I can't think of leaving you by yourself in this state' he slowly dried one of her tears off with his thumb.
'Don't be silly, everyone will talk'
'And let them talk' he shrugged. 'I just want to make sure you're ok' he kissed her forehead. 'Hungry?'
Joey ended up spending the rest of the evening with Seb, slouched with him on his sofa watching old British comedy. Her eyes had started to feel heavy midway through and she had ended up falling asleep on the sofa, curled up on herself, her arms around her knees and her head dangling on the side.
She was woken by Seb quietly lifting her up and carrying her to his bed.
'I can go to my room' she protested.
'No, it's OK. I'll take the couch. Sleep tight, Süße' he kissed her forehead sweetly before grabbing his pyjamas and walking out of the bedroom again.
It didn't take long before Joey was asleep again.