I run into the Ferrari garage, taking a breath as I get sheltered from the rain. Rummaging through Charles' driver room, I find his and Arthur's rain coats. They were smart and brought a coat, I wasn't smart and didn't bring one, so I'm using Charles' instead. I'm sure he won't mind.
"Hey kid, you alright?" I hear from behind me. I turn around and I'm met with Lorenzo stood in the doorway of Charles' driver room.
"Yeah, it's just a bit wet outside so I'm getting me and Arthur some rain jackets before the race starts." I say, walking towards the door with my hair dripping wet.
"Ok. Tell Arthur to get his own coat next time and to stop using you as his little slave." Lorenzo says, a smile on his face. I laugh slightly before quickly picking up Charles' wallet off the table next to his driver room door, shoving it into my pocket.
"If he finds out you've taken that, he'll have a meltdown. I took his wallet once and he spent the whole day looking for it." He laughs, nodding his head towards my pocket.
"I'm going to buy me and Arthur some ice cream or something. He's a millionaire, I'm sure he can survive loosing a few pounds." I say, walking past Lorenzo and opening the door at the back of the garage.
"If anyone asks, I didn't take his wallet." I add, raising my eyebrows at him. He nods and winks at me. I quickly put Charles' rain coat on, holding Arthur's in my hand, before opening the door and running down the paddock. It's pretty empty since it's tipping it down with rain.
I run over to the ice cream stand and they close their shutters just as I run up. It's closed. For god sake. Most of the other stands and carts are now closing because of the rain.
I walk back up the grandstand steps, getting over the barrier while the person at the bottom was shouting at some kids for messing about. Arthur looks at me, his hair dripping wet. I throw his coat at him and he catches it before putting it on and sitting down on one of the bottom steps.
I lean over the railings, the rain hammering down over my head while I wave at Charles as he gets into his car after waving back at me.
The race is about to begin, and he just got out of his car to adjust his helmet quickly. He took a film off the visor and put it in the bin. I don't know why he did that, and why he didn't just ask a mechanic to do it for him.
"Don't fall." Arthur says, grabbing my ankle as my hands start to slip against the wet metal railing. He pulls me backwards slightly, keeping me safe on the floor.
I lean against the railings, and Charles lowers himself into his car with the mechanics holding umbrellas over his head and car. As it gets closer to the start of the race, the mechanics from all the teams begin clearing off the grid. They go round for the formation lap, warming their tyres. Once they get back to the grid, they get into their starting positions.
The rumble of engines fill the air as the red lights begin to show. The lights go out and the race gets underway, Charles having a good start. He is P7, just behind Lance Stroll. I sit down on the step in front of Arthur as the cars go out of view.
They quickly come back round the track, Charles having DRS as he tries to overtake Lance. Their cars drive side by side, constantly fighting for the position as Lance begins pushing Charles towards the barriers while heading into turn one.
Charles tries to turn into the corner, but Lance cuts him off, their cars make contact as Charles spins out and hits the barrier. Gasps come from all the way down the grandstand, and people stand up to look at what happened as a loud crash echoes throughout the sheltered seating area.
It replays on the big screen in front of me, but I quickly stand up and lean over to barrier to see the pile of crushed metal surrounding Charles. Arthur stands up, leaning over me to look at what happened. I duck under his arm, and quickly run down the stairs.
"Emilie!" He shouts after me as I jump over the barrier at the bottom, and run in the direction of the crash, ignoring him. It wasn't a bad crash, but I'm still worried for him. Arthur runs after me, him catching up as I barge my way through the crowds and run down to turn one.
"Emilie." He repeats, breathing heavily as rain drips down his forehead. He grabs my arm gently, trying to stop me from running off again.
"I need to make sure he's ok." I state, trying to get my arm out of his grip. He lets go and I continue making my way through the crowd of people with Arthur following close behind me.
I run down the path at the side of the track, a fence separating me from the danger of the road next to me. The fence stops as there is now a wall of tyres around the edge, where Charles crashed.
I pull myself up onto the tyres, carefully walking across them, being sure not to fall down the hole in the middle of each tyre. I jump off the other side, my knees buckling underneath me slightly as I land in the gravel beside Charles' car.
Arthur follows me over the tyres, jumping down and standing in front of me so I can't get any closer to the danger around the crashed car next to us.
"Charles!" I shout, trying to get past Arthur, who tries to guide me backwards. I push against him, wanting to run over to Charles and make sure he's ok.
"Kid. He's alright. Please calm down." Arthur says, his voice calm and collected as he tries to stop me from getting myself into danger.
A race car stops on the track next to us, a number 1 plastered on the nose. Max pulls himself out of his car, jumping onto the gravel before running over to us. He flicks his visor up so I can see his eyes.
"I've got this. Go back to the pits mate." Max quietly says to Arthur, nodding his head towards the pits across the track. "There aren't any more cars, so you're safe to go." He adds. Arthur begins walking towards the pit lane.
"Listen to me." Max states, grabbing my shoulders and looking down at me. I avoid eye contact and try to barge past him. "Emilie." He says louder, having a firm grip on my upper arms and pushing me backwards slightly.
"Let me get to Charles." I shout, tears beginning to form in my eyes. I loose a bit of strength as my emotions get the better of me. I let Max push me backwards towards the safety of the tyre barriers.
"Look, there's paramedics with him now. He's alright." He assures me, moving out of my way slightly so I can see the people working to help him get out of his car. He slowly over to the ambulance which is parked in front of Max's car, his arms wrapped around the shoulder's of two paramedics.
"Please let me go with him." I say, tears now streaming down my face as I try to compose myself. Max takes a deep breath and shakes his head slightly.
"Come on. Let's go back to the pits." He says gently, holding my hand and pulling me along slightly, behind him. He's treating me like a three year old. I pull my hand out of his grip and take a step back, forcing him to turn around and look at me.
I run towards the ambulance, but quickly feel a strong hand on my upper arm. I get pulled backwards, into Max's chest. He has a firm hold on both my upper arms, having full control over my movements.
"Get off!" I shout at Max, trying to force my way out of his grip, but not going anywhere. He's so strong, it's a bit scary.
"Listen to me." He states sternly, his voice slightly muffled by his helmet. He quickly spins me round so I'm facing him.
"Charles will be perfectly fine. He's alive, he can walk, he's all good." Max assures, a slight hint of sympathy in his voice. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I wrap my arms around his torso and sob into his chest. He rubs my back comfortingly, before breaking away from the hug.
"Can we go to the hospital with him?" I ask Max, as he begins to guide me towards the pit lane. He glances down at me and pauses slightly before answering.
"No, mate. He needs some time to rest." Max says softly, placing his hand on my back and smiling at me. I look down at the floor as we get closer to the pit lane, me scraping my feet slightly.
"Please let me go with him." I almost beg, looking up at him and raising my eyebrows. He shakes his head at me and I sigh.
"Are you sure he's going to be ok?" I ask, taking a breath and fixing my eyes back on the tarmac below me.
"Yes." He states bluntly, slight anger in his voice as we reach the first garage in the pit lane. We continue walking towards the RedBull garage. All the drivers are in their respective garages, getting ready to resume the race in about twenty minutes.
"But what if he's got a concussion or something, and then he passes out?" I ask, beginning to worry myself the more I think about it. I hate it when I overthink.
"I've told you that he's fine. You need to grow up a bit and deal with the fact that people get hurt. It's part of life." Max raises his voice slightly, stopping in his tracks as we reach the RedBull garage. I look up at him with slight shock on my face; I was not expecting him to react like that.
"I'm going to find Lando." I mutter before walking down the pit lane and into the McLaren garage. Max shakes his head before walking over to Christian Horner who is sat on the pit wall.
"You can't be in here." A mechanic states, blocking my path as I try to walk further into the garage. I look at him.
"I'm uh- I'm Charles'- I want to speak to Lando." I stutter slightly, not knowing what to say. I'm not really related to Charles in any way and he might find it a bit weird if I said I'm his kid.
"Fans need to wait in the hospitality area, away from the pit lane. The race is resuming soon. You need to go back to your parents." The mechanic says bluntly, looking down at me.
"No, I'm not a fan. Please just get Lando, he knows me." I say quietly, looking around. Where is he?
"It's fucking tipping it down out there." Someone sighs from behind me as they run into the garage holding their helmet in their hand. I turn around and see Oscar unzipping the top bit of his race suit.
"Pete, come and get this kid out of the garage, would you? She's refusing to leave." The mechanic says to a tall, muscular guy stood closer the entrance of the garage. I take a deep breath as the guy gets closer to me. I step backwards, trying to increase the distance between us. I just want Lando.
"No, you don't understand. Lando knows me. I need to speak to him." I say as I begin to feel my chest getting tighter the more this conversation goes on. I'm trying really hard not to cry in front of these strangers.
"Come on kid." Pete says, grabbing my upper arm and roughly pulling me along with him. I try to get my arm out of his grip, but fail.
"Let me talk to Lando." I beg slightly, dragging my heels along the floor, attracting quite a lot of attention. Oscar looks over at us and immediately recognises me.
"Pete, let her go." Oscar states, walking over to us. I look at Oscar and he gives me a small smile. I'm terrified to say the least. I don't know what's happening with Charles, I don't know if he's dead or if he's injured or if he will be fine and out of hospital in the next few hours; and then there's this massive guy who's basically dragging me out of the garage, when all I want to do is see Lando.
"She shouldn't be in here. I'm taking her back to the hospitality area." Pete states, pulling me closer to him as I try to get out of his hold again.
"She's with Charles and Max." Oscar says, looking at Pete and standing in front of him. I bring my hand up to my chest as I take shallow, rapid breaths. I think I'm having a panic attack.
I try to control my breathing, but it doesn't work. It feels like there isn't any oxygen around me. It feels like I'm suffocating.
"Get off her. She's having a panic attack." Oscar says slightly quieter, and I feel the restraining grip on my arm loosen. Instead, some comforting, gentle but strong arms embrace me. I lean my head on Oscar's chest and sob quietly into his chest.
"It's ok. Everything is going to be alright. Breathe for me, kid." He says quietly, rubbing his hand up and down my back to calm me down. I wrap my arms around his torso and squeeze him slightly. He makes me feel safe.
"Charles, he- he's in the hospital." I stutter while trying to regulate my breathing. "And Max- I made him- he got angry at me." I add, my voice slightly muffled as I talk into Oscar's chest.
"Listen to me, kid." He says gently, pulling away from the hug and crouching down in front of me, his hands lightly placed on my upper arms. I look down at him, his eyes are sad and understanding.
"Charles has only gone to the hospital for a little check-up, it's compulsory to go after experiencing a crash with that much g-force. I promise you, he will be out soon, and he will be perfectly fine." Oscar assures, keeping eye contact with me the whole time. I nod my head slightly, my breathing becoming more regular.
"And Max, he's just stressed. He didn't mean to get angry at you." He adds, raising his eyebrows and smiling at me. I wipe my tears away with the already wet rain coat, which is drooping off my shoulders. It's way too big for me. It is Charles' though.
He smiles sympathetically at me, bringing his hand up to my face and gently holding my cheek while wiping my tears away with his thumb. I smile at him slightly. His hair is all messy from his helmet, and his face is flushed from the racing. He has helmet lines on his cheekbones.
"Should we go and find Lando?" He asks, standing up and groaning slightly.
"Yeah, that's why I came here in the first place." I reply quietly, looking at him. He smiles at me as I follow him out of the garage.
"Em, are you alright?" Lando asks, visibly worried. He jumps off the pit wall and runs over to me, the top bit of his race suit unzipped.
"Yeah, I'm ok." I confirm quietly, nodding my head at him as he embraces me in a strong hug. He rests his chin on the top of my head as I bury my face into his chest.
"She came into the garage looking for you, Pete tried to get her out. I talked to her, and there were some tears and a panic attack, but everything is a bit better now. She just wanted to talk to you." Oscar briefly sums up, earning a nod from Lando.
"Pete the security guy?" Lando asks, searching for the tall, muscular man in the garage. "Did he hurt you?" He adds protectively, taking a slightly step backwards and scanning me with his eyes.
"Not really. It did hurt when he grabbed my arm though." I say, placing my hand on my left upper arm and looking at him.
"Let me look." He states firmly, making eye contact. I unzip Charles' coat and pull my arm out of the sleeve, lifting my tshirt sleeve, revealing a red mark on my arm. I swear his eyes glance at the bloodied lines all over my forearm, but he stays quiet about it.
Lando walks past me, determination prominent in his body language as he stops in front of Pete. I can't hear what he is saying, but he looks angry. After he is finished shouting at the security guard, he comes back over to me and Oscar.
"You need to tell me if anyone touches you again, ok?" He says, slight anger in his voice. I nod my head at him before wrapping my arms around his torso and hugging him again. He hugs me back, warmth radiating off him.
"Is that Charles' rain coat?" He laughs slightly, looking at the massively oversized rain coat hanging off my shoulders. I smile at him and nod my head.
"Come on Emilie. Sit in the garage." I hear Max say from next to me as he walks up to us. He nods and smiles briefly at Lando.
"I want to stay with Lando." I whine quietly, breaking away from the hug and looking up at Max.
"Come on." He insists, tapping my upper arm with the back of his hand and gesturing for me to follow him. I shake my head and take a slight step backwards.
"You're acting like I'm trying to kidnap you. Stop messing around and sit in the RedBull garage." He states, quickly loosing his patience.
"Max, I don't want to!" I say loudly, my voice breaking slightly as I speak. I'm trying not to cry.
"I need to make sure you're safe. Sit in the garage." Max states sternly, slight anger in his voice.
"She's safe with us. I'll look after her and then when the race resumes, I'll take her back to the Ferrari garage and make sure she stays with Arthur or Alexandra." Lando defends me, standing up straight and looking directly at Max.
"Ok." Max shrugs his shoulders, sighing slightly, before walking away. I look at Lando and smile at him.