Your way to the top

chapter one

Ava POV

I wake up to my daughter crying. I hear thunders and rain. 
"Hey everything's okay. Mommy's here don't worry", I say and take her into my arms. 
Since we moved to England she hasn't been sleeping very well. I don't know what it is. I have no clue if she misses Spain or just her grandparents. 
"Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?", I ask and she nods. A slight smile crosses my face as I carry her to my room. I lay her down in the bed and then join her. Carefully I tug her in before I switch off the light. 
We both immediately fall asleep again.

I wake up with a toddler on my belly. She's smiling at me and laughing.
"What are you laughing at mi sol?", I ask her but she just laughs at me.
I get up and switch on the TV for her so I can get ready. As I get out of the shower and peak around the corner I see her watching TV. She's staring at it focused on the cartoon. I quickly get dressed and pack my things. Now I'm going to get her ready. I change her clothes and dress her. It's february so it's very cold outside. We're both still trying to get used to the temperatures outside.
"No", she says with a spanish accent as I try to put on her shoes.
"Valeria enough. You are going to wear your shoes no discussion.", I say and she shakes her head again. I ignore it and put them on before she can say anything. She's almost three and is starting to talk and even that it's the most adorable thing ever, it's hella annoying sometimes.
She looks at me mad.
"Valeria I don't want you to get sick. You need to wear shoes because it's cold outside"
I pick her up with my right arm and take my bag into my left hand. I close the door behind us as we walk outside. I put her into her carseat and get in myself. 
the drive to the circuit is about ten minutes. 
As we arrive there I take my daughter out of her seat and walk towards the entrance. Max drives up next to me with his car and waves at me. I wave back.
"Maxie", she says and points towards him.
"Yeah Valeria. Wave at him", I say and she waves her tiny little hand.
"Hey guys. Hey Valeria how are you?", he asks but she just laughs shily. 
Max and Valeria are bestfriends since the day they met but she still gets nervous when she sees him.
"Come on let's go inside it's cold", he says and I nod before we start walking.
"Are you ready for your first race in two weeks?", he asks me and smiles. Max is such a polite man, not like he is portrayed by the media. 
"I think so", I say and laugh a little nervous.
"Don't be nervous. You're going to be great don't worry", he says and gives me a comforting smile.
"Good Morning guys. Are you ready", Christian asks as he comes up to us.
"Of course we are", Max answers.
"Hi Valeria", Christian says and she waves at him. 
He starts to walk away and starts explaining what we'll be doing today. I sit down Valeria in her usual corner and give her some toys to play. I don't really like that she's around like that all the time but I really don't trust babysitters since I'm new and I have nobody else to give her to for the next few hours. Christian and I decided that it's okay if she's here as long as she's not distracting us much. The problem is, that I have no one to watch Valeria. I don't have a boyfriend or anything like that and her father left me as soon as he found out I was pregant. My parents were mad at me at first but then they were very happy to receive her and they're now the sweetest grandparents in the world. They couldn't come with me to England though. I also didn't want them to come. I need to figure out my life on my own and what I want.
The training goes by pretty well and I head back to my appartment.
Tomorrow I'm going to fly to Spain to visit my parents. And in a week I'm going to fly to Saudi Arabia. I'm so excited for my first real race with the top 20 of the world. It's crazy. Three years ago I thought this was going to be impossible when I found out I was pregnant with my little sunshine but still here I am.

"Mi hija", my mother shouts and hugs me as she sees me at the airport. My dad's behind her waiting to say hello to me too. My mom gives me a thousand kisses before she let's go off me and takes my daughter. Valeria starts smiling at them happily and they both get excited to see her again. 
"Let's go back home. Vamos!", he says and we follow him to the car. 
On the way to my parents house Valeria falls asleep on my lap. She loves to take her afternoon naps. As we arrive there I bring her up to her room and lay her down.
"How's the training?", my dad asks.
"Oh it's great. I get along well with everyone there and they're so polite. Oh and they all get along very well with Valeria", I say.
"Did you find a babysitter for her?", my mom asks.
"No I didn't. She comes to the circuit with me and just plays all day long while I'm at work."
"Ava you have to search someone who watches her when you're gone", my mom says sounding a little angry.
"I know mom but I don't want to leave her alone with some random person that I don't even know. And besides, there are lots of people there and they all have an eye on her so it's okay"
"Are you sure?", she asks and I nod.
We start to talk about other things. Don't get me wrong I love my parents and everything but sometimes I also need to make my own decisions and decide what's best for me and my daughter.