Chapter 33 #2
Avery regained control of her limbs and breath, but she still felt a massive pit in her stomach.
He was alive, but how badly hurt was he?
Would he ever be able to race again? Her heart broke all over again, thinking of him having come so close to realizing all of his dreams only to have them wrecked by an idiot American driver who made a boneheaded move on track.
She knew that she no longer had any right to be the one to go to him and comfort him; not for real and not even for pretend.
She’d shut that door the moment she’d posted her break-up announcement.
If she could go back in time and undo that, she would.
But that wasn’t an option, so she sat on the couch like every other stupid fangirl watching from home, because that’s all I am now.
The paramedics lifted Teddy out of the destroyed vehicle and loaded him onto a stretcher. She couldn’t see any major injuries during the split second he was visible on TV before someone held up a blanket to shield him from the prying eyes of the crowds.
What if he had broken his neck? Or what if he’d suffered a brain injury?
A thumbs up didn’t give her nearly enough.
Being in the dark, like the millions of other people watching on TV was simply unbearable.
She looked over at Adam, who was standing up by the window with his phone up to his ear.
She didn’t dare say a word, in case he was getting even a morsel of information, hoping he could read the desperation in her eyes.
He shook his head. “Got your Dad’s voicemail. I’ll keep trying.”
He’s alive. She repeated the words to herself like a meditation as Adam paced back and forth, trying to reach someone, anyone who was there.
She’d just seen one of the most gruesome, scary crashes in F1 history, and while she was still panicked, she also felt gratitude that a number of new safety features had been introduced in the sport over the past several years.
He’s alive. The car’s halo, the tubular frame that surrounds the car’s cockpit, had only been mandated in 2018, and it had likely protected Teddy’s head when the car was upside down.
She shuddered, imagining the outcome for a driver had this incident occurred prior.
It was a stark reminder that while Formula One was incredibly fun and exciting, it was still terribly dangerous.
He’s alive.
Stacey! She should try calling Stacey. Surely, she would be by Teddy’s side now? “Where’s my phone?” she practically shouted as she quickly checked her pockets and lifted the throw pillows on the couch to see if it had fallen behind.
“Adam’s already calling everyone in Miami, it won’t help to have all of us calling. I’m sure they are 100% focused on Teddy and will update us as soon they can,” Ben tried to reason with her.
“No, no, you don’t understand. I can’t find my phone,” Avery stood up from the couch and crouched down by Ben’s feet to look underneath the furniture.
“I want to call Stacey. She could be calling me, and she’s there.
With him!” Avery heard herself shouting at her brother. She had to find her phone. Now.
Because deep down in her heart that she knew that if their roles were reversed, if she’d been in an accident, the first person she’d ask to talk to wouldn’t be her parents, wouldn’t even be Ben.
It would be Teddy. And if there was even a sliver of a chance he felt that way about her still, after everything, she had to be reachable.
“Okay, I get it. Take a deep breath and I will help you look,” Ben said, pulling her to her feet.
“Take a deep breath?! How am I supposed to take a deep breath when the man I love got carried away in an ambulance and I am watching it from thousands of miles away on TV?” Avery yelled at her brother.
Before the words were even out of her mouth, she realized what she had announced.
And she knew in her heart of hearts that she loved him.
She didn’t only miss him, or want him, she cared deeply about him.
The fear that he might be alone and hurt wasn’t empathy, it was love.
Adam stopped his pacing by the window and looked up, his mouth hanging open.
But Ben looked at her with nothing but concern in his eyes and pulled her into a tight hug.
Avery wondered if he was at all surprised by her declaration.
She had spent an evening with him getting totally tipsy and cathartically trashing Teddy, but her brother must have sensed her true feelings, even then. He knew.
He released her from his arms and squeezed her shoulder. “Well, then we better find that phone.”
Avery, her heart slamming in her chest, frantically upended the room, tossing couch cushions on the floor, while Ben searched methodically, retracing her steps.
“Bingo,” said Ben, holding up her phone in its blue case with the Silver Racing logo, like he’d found the crown jewels.
“Thank you! Where was it?”
“In your purse, on the entry table,” Ben raised his eyebrows as Avery practically leapt across the room to grab it from his hands.
She stared down at it, hoping to see something from Teddy, Stacey, or even James.
She scrolled quickly through thirty-two texts.
But they were all from friends and acquaintances who had seen the crash on TV.
There was nothing from the people who mattered.
Her brother was right, they were probably completely focused on Teddy and managing the situation.
She closed her eyes, picturing James trying to keep the media at bay, or Brandon, the team principal, in communication with the race officials trying to decide if and when to restart the race, and her dad trying to keep everyone calm.
She hoped Stacey had ridden in the ambulance with Teddy, so that he wasn’t alone.
Had someone notified his mom back in the UK and were made arrangements for her to travel to Miami?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Adam’s voice. He’d finally gotten someone to answer.
“Who is it?” she mouthed, moving a step closer to him. He held up his hand, and stepped back, as if it was hard to hear the person on the other end of the line.
“Mm hmm, okay…” was all she could hear. Avery went entirely still, her eyes trained on Adam’s face trying to gain any insight from his facial expressions. He looked serious, concerned, but not devastated.
“I can ask her. Thanks for calling,” Adam said quietly. She inched closer to him as she waited for him to hang up and fill her in.
“So,” she asked. “Who was that? What’s going on?”
He took a deep breath, put his hand on her shoulder.
“It was your dad. Teddy is ok. He’s talking and there are no obviously catastrophic injuries.
They are taking him to the University of Miami Hospital for observation and tests, but he’s going to be okay.
Your dad and Stacey are in a car following the ambulance to the hospital and… ”
Avery felt all the hot air inside her slowly but steadily drain out, like she was a helium balloon with a small hole. He’s alive. He’s okay. She tried to get her nervous system to process the news faster.
“And what?” her voice wobbled.
“And he’s asking for you. He asked the safety marshalls and the EMTs if you were at the race,” Adam said softly.
Avery’s heart stopped in her chest.
Teddy had a whole team of professionals looking out for him. There were advanced protocols in place.
And he’d asked for her.
Of course, she’d go. None of them knew him like she did, the warm-hearted, sweet guy underneath the all-business, self-centered exterior.
Were any of them thinking of him as a person?
Or was he just an asset, no more, no less valuable to the team than the million-dollar car he’d been driving?
He needed someone by his side who cared about him, only him, not the team, not how fast he could get back on the track, as he recovered.
Even if his family was on the way, she could get there so much faster.
“I need to go,” she said out loud to no one in particular, even though both Adam and Ben were in earshot.
“Avery, do you really think that is a good idea?” Ben asked. She could see him go into protective big brother mode. “He is getting the best possible care. And once he is settled in at the hospital, Dad or Stacey can get you on the phone with him, maybe even FaceTime?”
She wasn’t sure how to explain the physical tug she felt to go to Teddy. “It’s probably not a good idea, but I feel a very strong need to be there. I’m not sure whether Teddy will even want to see me in person once the adrenaline wears off, but my gut is telling me to go.”
Ben nodded.
“Your gut is one thing. What does your heart say?” Adam asked.
Avery didn’t even have to think about the answer.
“My heart says go!”she answered.
“Then let’s get you to Miami.”