Minefield of Mirrors

-6-

As soon as the phone was tucked away in her back pocket, Iris put one of the loose strands of her hair back behind her ear. She couldn't deny that she must look like a big mess at the moment. Her, for sure, pale skin, the bags underneath her eyes from the lack of sleep and then her blonde hair that was just one big mess on top of her head. If it wasn't for the card in the back pocket of her jeans that said she was a member of the Red Bull team, the personnel of the hotel would've kicked her out right away. She definitely didn't look like she belonged in this fancy world.

She turned around and looked at her feet. What was she even thinking? For sure she didn't belong in here. She belonged in her little apartment back in London where she could snuggle up underneath a blanket on the couch with a book in her hands, scented cinnamon candles that were burning on the table next to her and a big mug of tea that would keep her warm on the inside as well.

Look at her now... She was standing in the middle of a hotel, in a country which was so bloody hot that she could faint right away by only taking one step outside. Almost none of her belongings were actually within reach to feel a bit more at home, and to top that all off, her belly started cramping every now on then because of her period.

'Crap.' She silently whispered to herself. 

All of her monthly products were in her suitcase as well. Iris had given her last tampon in her handbag to a teenager in the women's bathroom at the airport this morning, so she literally had nothing on her hands at this moment. Oh, bloody hell. Why did everything have to be so hard right away?

She let her head fall in her hands and a few tears escaped the corners of her eyes. A flashback of high school got back into her mind and she squeezed her eyes for a bit. She felt just as hopeless as back then when she-

'Are you okay, Miss?'

An unknown voice made Iris lift her head from her hands and she looked at a guy she had never seen before.

Quickly Iris swept some of her tears away and she nodded. 'Yeah, I am.'

Even though she tried to keep her voice as steady as possible, she couldn't fix the little trembling in the tone that easily gave away that she wasn't fine.

The guy in front of her didn't ask any further but just stepped closer to her and wrapped her arms around her. 'Don't mind me Miss, but you look like you could use a hug.'

'I...' 

She didn't even get any further with her words, so she closed her eyes as she was slowly being rocked back and forth by the stranger she just met in this hallway. A hand went a bit up and down on her back and even when hugs normally felt unusual and strange to Iris, this hug felt comfortable. It was the one hug she didn't know she actually needed.

A woody smell tingled her nose and she inhaled the smell softly while snuggling a bit closer against the stranger's chest that felt, weirdly enough, soft and muscled at the same time. Slowly a pair of fingers brushed through her blonde hair, making it a bit less of a mess.

Iris felt a little rumbling going through the body of the guy that was holding her, as he spoke up again. 'Everything will be okay, Miss.'

Although she would've liked to get fully at peace with every little fear that was going through her veins, she just couldn't. In the back of her head, she was still thinking about the fact that she had to get to the racing track to kickstart her new life. A life that she never had pictured herself in the first place. No, when she was studying at the university, all she could think of was getting to that specific position within the male-dominated world she had been dreaming of. Showing everyone around her that she was capable of achieving something. That she was worthy of it.