Everything to Nothing (47 page)

With all her
skill that she had honed on the tracks driving her father’s
supercars, she caught the car before it ploughed into the wall on
the left, but as she corrected the car it unnaturally broke right
again. Realising she was in deep trouble she slammed on the brakes,
but this time the car broke hard right and hit the right wall with
enough force to set off the car’s airbags. With a screech of tyres
and brakes the car careered across the chicane, all four wheels
lifting off the track as they flew over the kerbs and with a force
that drove the air out of Sally’s lungs, rammed into a wall and
came to a smoking, shuddering halt.

*

With smiles on
their faces Michelle and Sally’s father looked down the track
waiting to cheer Sally as she flashed past at high speed. Slowly
though when the car did not appear the smiles slowly slid off their
faces as they realised that something had gone wrong. ‘She should
have been here by now Mr. Gallagher.’

‘I know
Michelle, I know.’

With a look of
concern etched on his face, he jumped down from the pit wall and
jogged over to the garage with Michelle following close behind. As
soon as they entered the garage they knew something had gone wrong.
‘What’s happened? Where’s my daughter?!’

‘Mr. Gallagher,
I’m sorry. There’s been an accident further down the track. It
looks like the car has crashed although the reports we are getting
from the marshals are sketchy at the moment.’

‘If anything
has happened to her I’ll, I’ll…’

‘Mr. Gallagher,
may I suggest we drive round. We’ll get some more news as it gets
radioed in.’

‘Right, let’s
go, now please.’

They both
climbed into a Mercedes saloon and with no-one saying a word they
proceeded slowly around the track, through the tunnel. As they
exited the tunnel and their eyes adjusted Michelle gasped. ‘Oh my
God! Mr. Gallagher, the car!’ The right hand side of the car was
crushed and crumpled against the wall, but Michelle quickly noticed
that there was no-one in the smashed vehicle.

Before the car
had stopped, Mr. Gallagher leapt out of the vehicle and jogged over
to the battered Mercedes supercar with Michelle following. He
looked around for any evidence of his daughter and then he saw her,
sat on the floor leaning against a section of the wall, her crash
helmet on the floor next to her. He ran over to her. ‘Sally! Are
you okay? Please tell me you are okay?’

At first she
did not reply, and as they approached her they could see she was
clutching her ribs and tears were coursing down her face.

‘Oh my! Are you
okay?’ With obvious difficulty she took his hand and managed to
nod. ‘Where’s the driver?’ As he spoke they both noticed each
other, and the driver ran over to them. ‘What the hell happened? Is
she okay? She can’t speak!’

‘We’re both a
bit shook up, sir. I’m more used to it, but it’s really took the
wind out of Sally.’

‘Is that it? Is
she winded?’ He looked down on her and she nodded. ‘Well, thank God
for that!’ He leaned over and said to her to breathe to which she
nodded again. Slowly, with effort, her breathing returned more to
normal and she accepted some water from one of the marshals. ‘Can
you speak now?’ asked her father.

Hoarsely, she
managed to say, ‘Yes.’

‘What happened?
Can you remember?’

‘Yes,’ she
paused, and took in some more air, ‘but not sure what happened. Car
broke right, clipped the wall, I caught it, braked, it broke right
even more and I couldn’t catch it. Hit wall and slid to here.
Don’t… don’t make me... speak anymore.’

‘Okay darling,
breathe, breathe deeply.’ He turned and confronted the driver. ‘And
how the hell did you let this happen?!’

‘Sir, I’m
sorry, it happened in a flash. And if I’d reached over to grab the
wheel it would have made things worse, a lot worse.’

‘Well what the
hell happened?’

‘I agree with
what she said. The car broke right, she managed to catch it like a
pro after it clipped the wall, but then when she braked it broke
right even more. From my experience, I think we got a right front
puncture which made us move right the first time, and when she
braked hard the tyre shredded forcing us hard into the right hand
wall. I’m sorry, but it was over in a flash. There was nothing I,
or either of us, could have done.’

Turning back to
Sally he took her hand again and he asked her a few times whether
there was anything he could do. Michelle hovered around them
looking very concerned.

‘Daddy, can you
help me up now?’

‘Of course
sweetheart. Come on, up you get.’

Slowly and
gently he pulled her to her feet and for a few moments she leaned
against the wall, catching her breath again. From along the tunnel
there was a roar of another engine and they all turned to look.
Being driven quickly a car approached them, with orange lights
flashing. As soon as it stopped the Team Principle leapt out of the
car, quickly followed by another man. ‘Mr. Gallagher! I’m so sorry!
What on Earth happened?!’

The driver
answered. ‘Blow out. Nothing either of us could do.’

‘This is the
race doctor. He needs to examine Sally.’

The doctor
approached Sally and led her away from the rest of them towards the
car.

‘Where’s he
taking her?’ demanded Mr. Gallagher. ‘Michelle, go with them.’

‘They’ll go to
the medical facility where she’ll be examined.’

‘Michelle, go
now please. Stay with her. I need to speak to the Team Principle
about this.’

*

Gingerly Sally
lowered herself into a rear seat of the Mercedes with the doctor
sat next to her and Michelle took the front seat next to the
driver. Very sedately they proceeded around the track until they
exited the track near a building which they entered with Sally
being supported by the doctor and Michelle.

Michelle was
told to wait outside the examination room and Sally was gone for
half an hour and in this time Mr. Gallagher had joined her.
Anxiously they sat in silence, until after what seemed like hours
the doctor came out of the examination room. Mr. Gallagher leapt to
his feet. ‘How is she? Is she going to be okay?’

‘Yes, she’s
fine. She’s shaken up, a bit beaten up and in slight shock. We’ve
x-rayed her chest and I’ve given her a thorough examination and
she’s fine apart from some bruising. It can be quite frightening
when you get the wind knocked out of you like that and you feel
like you are unable to breathe, but she’s fine now. I’d still like
her to stay in overnight so we can keep an eye on her and examine
her again in the morning.’

‘That’s fine.
Thank you doctor. Can we see her?’

‘Of course.
Please.’

The doctor
stepped aside and let them pass into the room. Sally lay on a bed,
now wearing a hospital gown, looking very pale, and she was clearly
still shaken from the crash.

‘Darling. How
are you?’

‘I’m okay.
Just, well, you know, a bit beaten up, but fine.’

‘You will be
sweetheart, you will be.’

‘Is anywhere
hurting? Do you want some painkillers?’

‘No, honestly,
I’m fine. Just a bit sore. I’m just thankful we were in a Mercedes
with good safety features.’

‘Me too.
Nothing I can get you?’

‘No, not for
now. What happened? I don’t really remember. Was it my fault? That
expensive car…’

‘Now stop that
straight away! Don’t you dare think that the car is more important
than your health! It wasn’t your fault. In fact, the driver said
that you handled it like a pro, until the tyre shredded and then
there was nothing any driver in the world could have done.’

‘Oh, is that
what it was, a blow out?’

‘Yes,
definitely. There was nothing you or anyone could have done in a
situation like that. I spoke to the driver and he said that you hit
the wall at quite a speed so it’s no wonder you’re shaken up a
bit.’

‘Right, okay.
No wonder then. Can we go back to the yacht now?’

‘No, we most
certainly can’t! The doctor wants you to stay in overnight and I
agree with him.’

‘But, but,
we’re going to the Casino tonight.’

‘Don’t be
ridiculous Sally. You’ve just been in a serious car accident.
You’re staying here tonight, and that is quite frankly
non-negotiable!’

Mr. Gallagher
was expecting more of a fight from her and he was surprised when
she said, ‘I was looking forward to that, but I suppose you’re
right.’

‘Good. Glad to
see you see sense. Is there anything you need from us or the
doctors?’

‘No, nothing,
I’m fine. To be honest, I just want to have a rest for a
while.’

‘Of course
darling, of course. Let me help you.’

Mr. Gallagher
reached for the electronic device that controlled the bed and
lowered Sally to a horizontal position. He plumped up her pillows
and tucked the blankets around her, muttering that she needs to
rest and that she will feel better in the morning. When he was
done, she smiled up at him and thanked him for looking after
her.

‘Sleep now
sweetheart. Michelle and I will return to the yacht, get some of
your things and come and see you this evening. Michelle, can you
look in Sally’s bag and make sure her mobile is there. Put it
somewhere she can reach it.’

Michelle
followed his instructions and said to Sally, ‘Hey you,’ she leaned
forward and placed a light kiss on Sally’s forehead, ‘your phone is
there. Call either of us straight away if you need anything, right,
and we’ll be here straight away. We’ll be back later.’

‘Thank you both
for caring so much. I’ll see you later.’

With that,
Sally closed her eyes and they both sat down in chairs to watch her
for half an hour before they quietly left the room.

*

On the drive
back to the yacht, neither of them said anything but Michelle could
tell he was furious. ‘You okay Mr. Gallagher?’

‘Not really
Michelle, no. To be honest, I’m far from okay.’

‘Sorry Mr.
Gallagher, at least she’s going to be okay. Could have been a lot
worse?’

She took his
hand and stroked it and this simple act seemed to soothe and calm
him a little. ‘Yes, I suppose you’re right. Thank you for being
here Michelle, and I don’t just mean here in Monaco, but here in
our lives as a whole. Although you may not realise it, you’re an
inspiration to Sally. I could not believe before we met you at that
performance what I had bred, how I had let her get so damned
spoiled. After she met you and you became close friends, something
changed. All Sally’s friends had been like her up to that point,
daughters and sons of other well off families. You seemed to offer
her a balance, a realisation that not everyone in the world is
wealthy. Sorry, that sounds terrible. I know your parents have done
well for themselves, but you know what I mean don’t you?’

‘Of course I
do, it’s fine.’

‘It is like
when she met you, and she went to your house for the first time,
the first time by the way that she had been in a house with less
than ten bedrooms!’ Michelle laughed. ‘When she met you it was like
she had walked out of a cave and had her eyes opened a little bit
to what the rest of the world is really like, a touch of realism in
her life. I know, and I know bloody damned well that the fact that
she was like that was entirely my fault. I know the affect you have
on her, and that is why I allowed you both to become such good
friends with each other. Note I did say allowed. If I didn’t think
you were right for her to be her friend then you would not have
gotten close to each other. You helped balance her out, and for
that I’m eternally grateful to you.’

‘I’m grateful
to you for allowing me into your lives. It is like I have second
family, another caring loving family and I care and love you both
as if you were family.’

‘That means a
lot to me, thank you Michelle. I’m just so relieved that she is
okay. The drive round the circuit to her was the longest couple of
minutes of my life.’

‘Mine too Mr.
Gallagher, mine too.’

She stroked his
hand for a few more moments until they stopped as they had reached
the entrance to the harbour. With a flourish of security passes
they entered the harbour and Michelle did not see him again until a
few hours later when he knocked on her cabin door holding a large
bag. ‘I’m returning to the hospital to take some things for her. I
presumed you’d want to come?’

‘Of course.
Give me two seconds, I’ll just get changed.’

Michelle picked
up some clothes and went into the bathroom to get out of her bikini
and into jeans and T-shirt. While she was running a comb quickly
through her hair she heard him speak to her. ‘You know something
Michelle; I don’t think I’ve ever been in this cabin before. Well,
I came in here on the viewing after it was finished being built,
but I’ve never been in here since.’

Michelle came
out of the bathroom. ‘Really? But I suppose why would you when
you’ve got your own suite?’

‘But what’s the
point of having a yacht this size when I don’t enter the rooms from
one year to the next?’

‘For when
you’ve got guests?’

‘I rarely have
guests. Two, three times a year maybe?’

‘Maybe, but the
same thing could be said for the mansion. When was the last time
you saw some of the rooms at home?’

‘Michelle,
there are rooms in that house that I’ve never been in!’

Michelle
laughed. ‘In that case sell it, give the proceeds to charity and
live in a smaller house!’

He laughed this
time and said, ‘I think I’ll stick with the mansion thanks, even if
I only see or use ten percent of the rooms! Ready?’

‘Yep, let’s
go.’