I hadn't eaten anything all Friday and nothing on Saturday. Today was the race and I knew I needed to eat something to be able to drive but my brain wouldn't let me eat anything. I put on the clothes I had taken out the day before and braided my hair. I looked at the apple on the table and considered taking it with me. I put it in my bag and hurried out to the parking lot before my brain told me otherwise. I had decided to leave earlier than the other drivers to avoid hearing questions about whether I would have breakfast with them because I didn't want them to become suspicious.
I jumped into the car and turned the key and then drove off. the roads hadn't had time to be filled so I arrived relatively quickly. there were some fans who had gathered in front of the Circuit and called my name. I waved to them and took several pictures and signed autographs. it was nice to be early because I could devote more time to the fans and give myself a nice reputation.
i scanned my passport but it was denied. i tried to scan again but again it didn't work. I felt my pulse rise when I saw the cameras pointed at me. i went to the next scanner and luckily it worked. I gave a nervous smile to the camera as I felt my face turn red.
I entered our hospital and was greeted by a nervous Olivia. "Christian wants you to come to his office"
"like I've done something bad. Everyone knows I'm an angel"
she gave me a serious look and I slowly walked up to his office. had I done something wrong?. Had Max told a lie?. would he fire me? I stood outside his door and raised my hand to the door and knocked gently but loudly enough for Christian to hear.
knock
knock
knock
"Come in Belle" I heard from the other side of the door and I carefully opened it and stepped inside before closing the door behind me.
I relaxed a little when I saw that he didn't look angry. he gave me a warm smile as I sat down. the chair was uncomfortable but I think that probably has something to do with the fact that I'm terrified right now.
"you wanted to see me" I said nervously.
"yes, I want to hear how the Red Bull team has received you"
"everyone has been very kind and I'm grateful that no one judges me just because I'm a girl or because I'm George's sister"
Christian nodded in understanding and seemed pleased that his team was nice to me.
"how are things with Max and the cards"
I looked up at him and hesitated if I should tell him about his bad comments he always makes. I knew Max was Christan's golden boy and would do anything for him. was there a risk that I would be fired if I told them that the cards didn't work?
"To be honest, it's not going well with Max. The only time he doesn't say anything to me is if any staff are around. With the cards, we force our way through them just to get it over with faster"
he hummed to himself at what I had said and said I could go again. I was gripped by a little panic because I didn't know what he was thinking or going to do but did as he said. i went to my driver's room and lay down on the bench and fell asleep for a few minutes.
I woke up to loud knocking and I looked at the clock and saw that I had only slept for 20 minutes. I yawned and then got up and opened to see an angry Max.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO CHRISTIAN"
I felt like I was half asleep so I went back to the bench and lay down again. Max saw it as the right opportunity to stomp in and slam the door behind him.
"Are you deaf now too, what the hell did you say to Christan"
"I was honest and said that you are not exactly nice to me and the only time we talk to each other without shouting is when the staff are around"
Max looked like a cartoon character with smoke coming out of his ears. He took a step closer to me and I sat up and stared at him. his blue eyes had now darkened and I noticed that his knuckles had turned white as he clenched his hands together.
"you know they'll be on us even more now and thanks to you I have to put up with Christian's complaining"
"like you're an angel. you're the one acting like shit Verstappen. if you'll excuse me now I want to change into my racing suit now"
I pointed to the door and watched as Max turned his back on me and walked out. He slammed the door behind him and I lay back down. I exhaled and after a few minutes I forced myself up and changed. I tied my racing suit around my waist and went out.
The race was about to start and I went to the garage and talked to Lucas. I felt Max glaring at me and I thought of going up to him and scolding him regardless of whether people saw or not but was quickly interrupted from my thoughts when I heard a voice and shortly after that someone hugged me from behind.
"good luck today mini Russell"
"The same but we both know you'll end up behind me Norris"
"ouch" Lando said clutching his chest looking offended. i laughed at him and hugged him before he had to go back to his garage. I climbed into my car and waited for the race to start.
____
"radio check"
"loud and clear" Lucas said on the radio.
the red lights came on one by one and I felt how I regretted not eating my apple before. I knew I would perform worse than I had done the week before. to be completely honest, it's a miracle that I managed to drive so well this weekend.
"ITS LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO"
i pressed the gas and got a surprisingly good start considering i hadn't been able to concentrate. I had overtaken Charles and was fourth. in front of me lay: Carlos, George and of course Max.in turn one it was that all of a sudden they braked. I press down on the brake to avoid running into Carlos. just as I had slowed down everyone hit the gas again and got a lead.
"what are they doing" I said on the radio and didn't listen to what Lucas replied. I tried to keep my focus on not making a mistake. the first few laps I had managed to catch Carlos again and was close to overtaking him when I braked too late in the corner causing Charles to overtake me. Now I needed to defend fifth place from Lewis.
we had done several laps and I had several chances to overtake but each time it was some small mistake I made that caused me to fail.
"box this round"
"copy"
I drove into the pit lane and hoped they would change the tires quickly so I didn't lose positions. it took 1.9 seconds and I was finally able to drive out again. I hadn't lost any position when I drove out again. I felt how my tires were fresh and I could push more to get higher up in positions.
in lap 32 there was a yellow flag and a safety car drove out. Yuki had lost control of his car and crashed into the barrier. i could Yuki swear on the radio which made me laugh. I slowed down and finally caught up with Charles. I felt everything start to spin in my head and I felt how canceling the races started to attract more and more.
"the safety car enters this lap. push all you can"
"done the whole race but ok" I told Lucas but forgot to turn off the radio.
every time I get in the car I usually either sing or make funny noises to avoid getting bored. and when I started to accelerate I made such a noise.
"VROOOOM mothaa fuckaa"
"turn off the radio belle"
I jumped at his voice because I really thought I had turned off the radio. was hugely embarrassed if they shown my radio.
"yet a bit iconic"
"turn off the radio belle i won't say it again"
I turned off the radio and now focused on driving. I pushed the car to the max and I heard the engine roar. I overtook Charles thanks to DRS. Okay now there were only three drivers left. I had finally stopped feeling dizzy and pushed the car even more. I knew the tires took a beating but hoped they would last a little longer.
"what is the distance to carlos"
"1.2 seconds"
I knew if I tried to keep up without doing anything wrong I could use DRS in the next zone if I got closer. everything was easy and fast and I had caught up with Carlos and was soon able to use DRS. before the zone could even arrive i managed to overtake because he braked too late in a corner causing me to overtake as if he wasn't there.
there was 1 lap left and I felt dizzy and on the verge of passing out. I knew I couldn't overtake George in the last laps so I focused on keeping my position. I felt everything go slowly and I started to see stars. I refused to pass out right before the finish line.I saw the finish flag raised and I felt everything go black.
GEORGE POV:
I had come second and was happy to share the podium with Belle and she almost overtook me at the end. I looked behind and saw that her car slowed down and went carefully into the barrier. I knew something was seriously wrong so I also went to the side and climbed out.
Regardless of whether it was serious or not, I ran as fast as I could. I got to her and turned off the car so it wouldn't overheat and took off her helmet. i immediately noticed something was wrong because she wouldn't answer when i tried to talk to her. the hospital staff quickly got to us and we managed to get her out. I tried to get a response from her several times but she didn't answer.
I jumped into the ambulance and went to the Medical center. I completely freaked out that Max would have to stand alone and knew that no one would be happy with me right now. We arrived and they did lots of tests and luckily Belle had woken up again.
after many samples and tests they had determined that she had fainted because she had not eaten anything. The doctors left for a while and I turned to her and looked straight into her eyes."be honest with me now. have you recovered from your eating disorder and don't lie to me"
she had a hard time looking at me and I knew she had it back but I needed to hear it from her. I felt let down that she hadn't dared to come to me about her problems but somehow I understood why she hadn't.
"yes I got it back. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry"
"what triggered it again"
"when I was at the gym, Max came and was mean as usual and then said I needed to lose a few kilos"
when she said that i felt my blood start to boil. I had never liked Max, but when he hurt Belle like that, it blew my mind.
"I swear the next time I see him...""not now Georgie"
She took my hand and squeezed lightly. I calmed down a bit and said nothing more. I quickly left and called our parents. I ruled out what had actually happened and blamed it on her drinking too little water.