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"Have you had any alcohol consumption lately?" Kallie looked up from her hands and nodded slightly. "Glass of champagne, and some wine. Dr. Grey said it wasn't safe to consume more than a that." The doctor nods in response and began to show her intern how to put in the IV. It was a learning hospital and Kallie was completely fine with them teaching on her. She knew how this stuff worked as her mother was cardio surgeon in South Africa. When the hospital was in danger of closing, Keziyah had bought it for her mother. She had saved a lot of people from losing their jobs.

A few years later, Keziyah had bought another hospital in LA and it was a teaching hospital like the first one. Kaikara went back and forth, running both hospitals, up until the accident, to which Keziyah put someone else in charge in place of Kaikara. Dr. Grey had worked at the hospital in LA but would also take trips to the one in South Africa to do some free surgeries for kids. Dr. Grey had also adopted an African child she did a surgery for, and it's why Kallie trusted her so much to be her doctor. She trusted people she knew had good hearts.

Right now she wasn't in LA, or with Dr. Grey, but she was in Styria for the Styrian Grand Prix. Dr. Grey had doctor friends all over the world, which was how Kallie was getting her treatments all whilst still being able to travel with Kaylen to all the races. "Have you been eating and drinking lately? Your tests say you're dehydrated." Dr. Nilan says, adding some fluids to her IV. "I drink water all the time. Sometimes I lack on the eating but I still eat everyday. It just feels kind of pointless when all I do is throw up hours later."

Dr. Nilan frowned, she knew exactly how Kallie was feeling. She went through a similar sickness. "I understand. Do you have anyone I could call? Brother? Sister? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Anyone?" She asked, it was sad to see her come in alone. No one should have to go through this alone. "No. I'm fine. Thank you, though. But I assure you, I'm okay by myself." Kallie shrugs with her good shoulder, leaning back into the bed with a sigh.

"No one's ever okay being by themselves, Ms. Kumalo. But I understand. I'll give you some privacy. I'll be back to check on you in an hour. Just relax and take a nap, you look tired." Dr. Nilan smiles softly, patting the girl's hand and walking out, not before dimming the lights for her patient. She walked over to the nurses station, pressing something on the tablet and passing it to the nurse as another doctor approached.

"I hear you're treating a celebrity, is it true? She in there?" Dr. Sloane asks, his eyes flickering over the private room. He had heard rumors going around about a special patient and obviously had to come see for himself. "Yes, Marcus, she's in there resting." Dr. Nilan mumbles, completely uninterested in this conversation but she was not about to let anyone get into that room. She valued the privacy of her patients, especially for what Kallie was going through.

"So, what I'm hearing is...I can get an autograph when she wakes up?" Dr. Sloane smirks.

"No, you cannot. Nobody but me and my intern are allowed in that room. Don't be an ass. Leave the woman alone. She's already going through enough." Dr. Nilan scowls at him, hitting his arm for even trying it. Dr. Sloane winces, "that bad, huh? How much she got left?" The black-haired woman turned to look at him with a black stare, "there won't be an estimate because the treatment is going to work, I know it will. It has to. She's too young."

His face fell, rubbing her back in a comforting manner. "She doesn't even have anybody, can you believe that? I checked her contact list, and she has five people on that list but not one person is here with her. She's all alone in this. It's heartbreaking. I could never do that by myself. I would've given up by now if I were her." Dr. Nilan said, resting her head against his shoulder.

"She sounds like one tough ass woman." He comments.

"She is...but she shouldn't have to be. She should at least be able to break down."

"Yeah, she should."

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"Hey, sis, what's up? I'm at the race right now so I can't talk much. Is it important?" Kallie walked through the paddock, holding her phone to her ear as Jamie led her to the driver's room. "It's really important, sis. I know you're in Styria right now but I need you to come back to LA the minute the race is over. I sent my jet down there and I got a driver to pick you up and take you to the airport." Kallie furrowed her brows, finally making it to the room, already seeing Lewis and Kaylen in there.

"What are you talking about? I can't just up and go? What's this about?" Kallie asks in confusion, ignoring the confused stares she got from the two Mercedes driver's.

"Look, I release my album next month and when I play it over it just didn't feel right, ya know? I need to add some more songs and re-record some of the songs I already got. I need your help. Jack is busy with other artists and you the only one who I trust to come and help me out. Come on, sis. I know it's last minute but you know how these things go. I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important." Kez pleaded, and Kallie sighed, she couldn't say no to her sister. She couldn't say no to family.

"Fine. I'll get there as soon as possible." Kallie threw her head back, sitting on the couch with a huff, why did she always do this? She couldn't just said no and enjoyed her brother's race. But no, she just had to give in, yet again, putting her family first before herself. "Thank you so so much. I love you so much. Also, do you got any other producers you know to help out? We need to get this all done in a week at most, maybe two." Kallie bit her lip, having an idea as her eyes landed on Lewis. Was it a crazy thought? Maybe. Would it save her from Kezie's wrath? Yeah...a little bit.

"I might have someone in mind, but it's not guaranteed, and you might not like who it is." Kallie pursed her lips, even if Kez couldn't see her, but for some reason the singer always knew what Kal was thinking.

"I don't even care to be honest. I just need two producers and if you trust them, they're good in my book. Aye, I got to go cause they callin' me back on set, but text me when you get on the plane, all right? Love you, Kalliope." Kez quickly hung up, and Kallie dropped the phone with a tired sigh. "Why do I always get myself into these situations?" She mumbled to herself, staring at the ceiling.

"Was that Kezie?" Kaylen asked, just getting a nod from his sister. "What'd she want?"

"Long story short, she started panicking about her album not being what she imagined so she's restarting it and needs my help to do it. So when the race is over, I have to hop on a plane and fly back to LA all because I can't say no to her." Kallie explained, crossing her arms with a huff. "Leave it to Kezie to freak out and change plans last minute," Kaylen comments, shaking his head. "She does this often?" Lewis questions, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Kallie.

"You have no idea. She's insane. I'm telling you right now, out of all of us in the family, she's the craziest." Kallie breathed out, Kaylen nodding in confirmation. "I feel like I picked up on that when she threatened me with a spoon after I beat you in the British Grand Prix." He responded, shivering at the memory. He remembered Jae-hyun and Kaikara having to pull her away and apologize for her actions.

"You think that was crazy? You should've seen her knock out this guy when they were sparing because he said Taylor's music sucks." Kallie replied, taking a sip of her water. "Not the best example cause that's completely understandable." Lewis adds. Kallie pursed her lips, nodding in agreement, "true, but it was still crazy."

A knock was heard on the door and the two drivers stood up, zipping up their suits that were hung off on the waist. Kallie stood up, taking their hands and they did their sacred prayer, Kaylen leaving first with his helmet. Kallie held onto Lewis's hand, stopping him from leaving just yet. "Hey, uh, you can totally say no, but my sister asked if I could find an extra producer and you were kinda the only person who came to mind. It's totally cool if you don't want to but uh anyways, what I'm saying is, or asking, is if you would want to come to LA with me to help my sister?"

"Stop rambling, love. Of course I'll go with you, I'd love to help." He smiled, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I gotta go, but wait for me after the race. Don't leave without me." Lewis quickly grabbed his helmet and rushed out, smiling in his head when he thought of going to LA with her. The fact that she even thought of him was enough to make him feel things.

"You're getting close to him, it's worrying." Jamie voiced, his eyes falling on the TV screen that was playing footage of the race.

"I know, but there's just something about him, you know? He's amazing. He doesn't deserve me lying to him." Kallie sighs, running a hand over her hair. "Then you should tell him." Jamie said, sitting down on the couch next to the singer. "No, if I tell him, he's gonna get scared and he's gonna run." She said, shaking her head and the thought invaded her mind.

"If he truly cared about you, he wouldn't leave you. And something tells me, he's never gonna leave your side. You just gotta have faith. Your father had faith when he left his home country to be with your mother. Just..have faith, okay? Everything will work out just fine." Jamie pressed a kiss to her head, rubbing her shoulder gently. "It's gonna be okay."

"I sure hope you're right about that. Cause I might be running out of time."

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The race went pretty well, Max had won again but Lewis and Kaylen both made podium. Lewis in P2 and Kaylen in P3, with Lewis gaining an extra point for the fastest lap. Lewis talked to Toto and cleared everything up so he could leave early. Which now meant they were in Keziyah's private jet heading to LA. Jamie was with them as he lived in LA with his wife and kids. "So what's this album gonna be called?" Lewis asked, leaning over her shoulder to look at her laptop, she was listening to the tracks Kez had already recorded.

"You know how my sister is known for her album Sail Out and the part two Souled Out? Her albums after that have all been...like tropical/peaceful vibes, and this one is gonna be like a sister album to those. It's called Sailing Soul(s). Originally it was gonna be a small album but now she wants to add new songs to it even though it's super last minute." Kallie played the next song, it was called "no love" featuring SZA, this one didn't need a re-record thankfully. She turned it down, making sure it wasn't too loud because Jamie was sleeping.

"And she knows you're letting me listen to her unreleased music?" He questioned, giving her a small smile.

"Uh...not exactly. She just knows I'm bringing a producer with me." Kallie pursed her lips awkwardly, shrugging a shoulder. "In that case, should I be concerned for my life?" Kallie went silent, only giving him a pointed look. "You do realize the last time we actually spoke face to face, she threatened my life? I know she thinks I'm good looking in all but I doubt it's gonna outweigh her heavy dislike for me." Lewis says, only getting a light chuckle from Kallie.

"Don't worry so much. She's not gonna hurt you...unless you do something to provoke her." Kallie pats his hand with an unconvincing smile. "How does one provoke her?" Lewis asks in concern. "Uhh...just don't say anything stupid, okay?" Kallie put on the next song, it was called "stranger" and this was the song Kezie also wanted to re-record. "Why does she wanna re-record this one? It sounds good." He queried, tapping his fingers along to the soft beat.

"It's cause she thinks her voice sounds too unbalanced in it." She shrugs, she thought Kezie's voice was perfect but Kez always had problems with it.

"Quick question. If her voice is deeper and stronger than yours, accent in all, then why is her singing voice lighter and softer than yours?" He asks, and it was a good question, cause the sister's had completely different singing voices. Kezie's could go soft and deep and Kallie's could only go light to a certain extent but it was mostly a bit more deeper than Kezie's.

"That's because my sister is very good at controlling her vocals, way better than me. It's very hard to manage. It's why some of her songs sound different because she always has a specific tone she visualizes for each song. That why "stranger" sounds different from "no love" because she's singing in different tones." Kallie explains, pulling up two songs which had the same lyrics but different tones.

"Oh okay, now I get it. She has a better vocal range?" He questioned, getting a nod from the girl.

"She's been singing way longer than me, and she could speak fluent English by the age of fifteen. It took me years to perfect English, let alone to sing it. So coming to America and showing interest in motorsport when I couldn't even speak proper English was very difficult. It's why she encouraged me to go down the music route like her. And don't get me wrong, I love it, I love to sing and write music but it's never been my true passion. It still isn't, but it's all I got." Kallie changes the song, deciding to play a song from Kezie's Sail Out album called "Stay Ready (What A Life)" featuring Kendrick Lamar.

"If singing isn't your true passion, why did you leave your true passion behind?" He asks, obviously still desperate to know why she quit motorsport.

"I just did, okay? Ask as much as you want, you'll get the same answer each time." She stated, leaning back in her chair to get more comfortable. Lewis sighed, standing up from his chair and walking over to the couch, laying down on it. "What are you doing? I was gonna lay there." Kallie stood up quickly, looking down at Lewis with glare. "No you weren't or you would've gotten up and laid down," he retorts, laying on his back to get comfortable.

"I was going to but you were sat next to me, effectively in my way. That's the only couch. Where am I gonna sleep?" She huffed, hitting his leg.

"Oh my God, you're such a brat. Come here then." Lewis huffs, grabbing her waist and pulling her on top of him. "There, now we can both sleep." He said, pulling the blanket over them. "I hope you don't snore," he comments, moving to get more comfortable.

"Snore? Seriously? Was that supposed to be an insult?" She scoffs, moving her head up from his chest.

"Stop talking." Lewis pulled her back down, lifting one of her legs over him so she was more comfortable.

"Fine, but not cause you told me to," she muttered, trying to ignore the feeling in her stomach when his hand was rubbing her waist and the other was placed on her thigh.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart."

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"This is your house?" Lewis gawked at the mansion, it wasn't modern looking either, it was very French like, and the inside looked much better. "It's more like a family house, cause I first got it for my parents to be close by but now it's kind of empty. We only really use it for the studio or parties. Come on, she's inside." Kallie grabbed her stuff and walked towards the front, Lewis close behind her, just admiring the place. It reminded him a lot of the mansions in the UK. It wasn't modern and minimalistic like most places these days.

It was only slightly different from her place in Monaco, similar designs but a huge difference in size. Kallie pushed open the large doors, the natural sunlight flooding the inside. Kallie set down her stuff and pulled off her shoes, Lewis doing the same. "Kezie! Where are you?" She called, her voice echoing the halls. "In the kitchen!" Kez shouts back and Kallie could hear the sounds of the kids running around. "No running in your Auntie's house!" Kez scolds.

Kallie walked towards the large kitchen, immediately did Kamari and Kaidyn jump onto her. "Auntie!" Kallie grinned, lifting them both in her arms with a small grunt. "You guys are getting big, aren't you. You've grown like a foot, ja?" She chuckles, setting them back onto the floor. "Go get your shoes. Daddy's gonna be here soon to get you. Go on." Kez said and they nodded, running down the hall to grab their shoes from the shoe rack.

"Why you look skinny? You eating?" Kez furrowed her brows, walking over and feeling Kallie's stomach. "Of course I'm eating! You sound like mama!" Kallie pushed away Kezie's hands, walking over to the kitchen island. "Well you're not eating enough. There's food on the stove, eat something, now. I don't see you in weeks and here you are looking like you're starving. Geez." Kez scolds, pinching Kallie's arm.

"Eina! Okay, fine. I'll get some." Kallie moved away and pulled out a plate from the cabinet.

"Who is this?" Kezie's eyes land on Lewis, obviously she knew who he was but she wasn't gonna acknowledge that. Kallie rolls her eyes, "you know who that is, I told you he was coming." Kez rolls her eyes, turning back around to face the driver. "Hi, I'm Lewis, nice to properly meet you." He smiled, extending his hand and she took it, looking him up and down with a judging look. "Mhm, I know who you are. I almost killed you with a kitchen utensil."

"Kezie, be nice. He's here to help." Kallie scolds, going over to pull Lewis aware from her sister's sharp look.

"I asked for a producer, not a race car driver. What's he doing here?" Kez narrowed her eyes, studying her sister's movements.

"He's good with music and he helped me with my album. You asked for a producer, I got you one. You should be thanking me for getting one so last minute." Kallie smiles sarcastically at her sister, the older one just scowling at her. "Ja, nee, I guess he'll do." She huffs, walking over to the oven after putting on some oven mitts before carefully pulling out a pan of Vegan Mac and Cheese. "Get a plate. You look skinny."

"Oh, I'm vegan," Lewis rushed out.

Kez gave him a pointed look, "I'm aware. My daughter's vegan too. So, eat." Kallie chuckles to herself as Kez walks out of the kitchen to find the kids as it got way too quiet. "Oh, my God, she's terrifying." Lewis breathed out, getting plate out of the cabinet to serve himself. "Tell me about it. I don't know what Taylor sees in her. She's scary." Kallie comments, digging into the food her sister made. One thing about Kez, she was the best cook ever.

"I can't believe she called me skinny." Lewis frowned, sitting down next to Kallie and taking a bite of food. "Oh wow, this is good."

"Don't take it personal, she calls everyone skinny. It's a cultural thing." Kallie shrugs, she had gotten used to it from her parents. This time it felt a bit different though because she was actually losing weight.

"These kids are driving me crazy. I take my eyes off them for one minute and Kai is climbing up the curtain." Kez scoffs, walking back over and grabbing a water from the fridge. "Is he okay?" Kallie asks in concern, she knew this house wasn't the best place for kids but they baby-proofed it the best they could. "Ja, he's fine. They're watching Cars in the living room."

Lewis smiles at the mention of the movie. "They like Cars?"

"Kaidyn does. He wants to be race car driver when he's older after he seen his uncle Kaylen driving one." Kez shrugs, leaning against the counter. "You'd think he'd get inspired by me," Kallie scoffs, taking a sip of water. "Well if you hadn't quit, maybe he would." Kez smiled sarcastically, and Kallie rolled her eyes, she walked right into that one. "When are you gonna get over that? I apologized a million times."

"Get over it? I put thousands of dollars into your career and you just let it wash down the drain. One apology isn't gonna undo all that." Kez argues. "Whatever. I don't have the energy to argue about this, again. I thought you had to film?" Kallie was quick to change the subject before it turned into a screaming match and she'd say something she'd regret. "I decided to take a break, pause filming to let people spend time with their families."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Lewis comments.

"Thank you. See Kal? I can be thoughtful." Kez smiled, getting a glare from Kallie. "Thoughtful to literally everyone but me." Kallie picked up her plate and took it to the sink, washing it. Kez picked up her phone from the table, reading the text she got. "Fucking asshole. Are you kidding me?!" Kez exclaimed in Xhosa, hitting the cabinet in frustration. "What's wrong?" Kallie asked, drying her hands.

"He canceled on me." Kez handed the phone to Kallie.

"What an asshole. So what are you gonna do now? Kids can't be in the studio." Kallle said, setting the phone back down. "I have two options. Kill Mike's girlfriend. Or get Merida to babysit. I like the first option." Kez stated, sounding completely serious which concerned Lewis. "Whoa, whoa, you are not killing anyone. Just call Merida to babysit. I'm sure she'd love to spend time with the kids." Kallie said, rubbing Kezie's back.

Merida was Kezie's childhood best friend. When Kez came to the states by herself, she had met the fourteen year old Merida, who also wasn't from the US either. Merida was half-Palestinian and black, though she was born in Palestine. They had been inseparable, both of them teaching each other their native languages. Merida was a photographer and part time model. "I don't wanna bother her though. She's spending time with her girlfriend this week." Kez denied.

[FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸]

"Ezra loves the kids." Kallie scoffs, taking Kezie's phone and calling Merida herself. "Hey Mer, it's Kallie. I gotta help out Kez in the studio and Mike canceled, so do you think you could take the kids for today?" Kez frowned, watching as Kallie spoke on the phone. "Mhm, thank you. Okay. I'll tell her. All right. Bye." Kez furrowed her brows at Kallie's blank reaction, "what she say? Spit it out." The singer hit the girl's arm, gesturing her to hurry up.

"She said yes. She'll be here in ten. She needed some models to test out her new filters anyways." Kallie shrugs, walking around the island to sit next to Lewis, the driver already on his third serving of food.

"Thank you, Lord. I'm gonna tell the kids." Kez rushed out down the hall, leaving the two drivers to themselves.

"Why do you let her speak to you like that? And I know it's not just normal sibling arguments, it's like she genuinely has no respect for you, or at least she does but she doesn't show it. Why do you put up with it?" Lewis spoke, genuinely curious as to what the problem was there.

Kallie shook her head. "I put up with it because she's my sister. I know we aren't as close right now. But she has been there for me when I felt like I had no one. When I started racing, I was treated horribly for being a girl, especially for being African. I was mocked for my accent and my English. And when I came home just breaking down in tears, she held me all night, and never once left my side. The times I wanted to quit, she encouraged me to go back. She was my rockstar."

"So in a way, I get why she's frustrated with me. I would be mad too if I did all that just for them to quit." Kallie shrugs lightly, and Lewis slid a hand around her, rubbing her waist softly. She rested her head on his shoulder, tears threatening to fall but she wouldn't let them. She couldn't let herself cry in front of him in fear of scaring him away.

"I think she's more mad at the fact that you won't tell her why you quit," he said softly, feeling her nod against him.

"If anyone's gonna figure it out, it's gonna be her. It's like she can see right through me..."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

A few hours later, they were in the studio, Kez was re-recording her song "stranger" in the booth and Lewis was mad impressed so far. Seeing Keziyah in the studio was something else. She really knew her stuff. "Autotune needs her," Lewis comments lowly, getting a small laugh from Kallie. "Her vocal range is insane." Kallie smiled at him, his reactions being so wholesome even if Kez still scared him.

"All done, Kez. You did great." Kallie spoke in the small mic so Kez could hear her.

Kez stood up, walking out of the soundproof room and leaning against the wall. "How'd I sound? Any voice cracks?" She questions, taking a sip of the tea she had.

"No, you sounded amazing. Your vocal range is like nothing I've ever heard before." Lewis praised, glancing at her and back to the screen where Kallie was adjusting the clips to match. "Thank you. Yours were quite impressive when I heard them on sis's song." Kez comments casually, taking a seat on one of the chairs. "You heard the song?" Lewis questions, he knew Taylor and Ariana did but Kallie never mentioned anything about Kez listening to it.

"If I didn't hear it, I wouldn't have called Khalid. It was a good song. I liked it, so did he." Kez shrugged, keeping her eyes on the monitor.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom. I'll be back." Kallie excused herself quickly, rushing out of the studio. Lewis watched as she left, letting out a heavy sigh. "She's just going to the bathroom, she'll be back," Kez comments, wondering why Lewis looked so upset that Kallie rushed out so quickly. "No, it's not that. It's just that...it's the fourth time she's used the restroom since we got here so it's a bit weird."

"Or she's probably on her period. I don't see the big deal." Kez shrugs, leaning back in her chair with interest.

"Maybe." Lewis mumbles, but he knew it was something else.

"You know something I don't." Kez states, leaning forward with a suspicion making Lewis take his eyes off the floor and over to her. "What's going on with my sister?"

"Look, I don't know that much, just that her behavior is a bit weird. One time she starting throwing up out of nowhere, she blamed it on too much alcohol but I know for a fact she only had one glass, not even a full glass. She's constantly dizzy even though she drinks an excessive amount of water. And she's losing an usual amount of weight. It's just...not normal. I could just be overthinking it but I doubt it." Lewis explained, not seeing the lost look in the singer's eyes.

"Could just be low iron. She's always struggled with it." Kez cleared her throat, standing up abruptly. "I'll be right back." The singer quickly made her way out, walking to the bathroom just as Kallie made her way out. "Give me your arm, now." She didn't wait for Kallie to move before grabbing onto the girl's arm, pushing her sleeve up, not seeing any marks of an IV so she grabbed the other one, same result. "Eina! What are you doing?!"

"What's going on with you? Don't bullshit me either. Are you sick?" Kez questioned, setting her hands on Kallie's arms.

"No, of course I'm not sick! It's just this medicine I'm taking for my iron levels. It's got bad side effects, see." Kallie reached into her pocket, pulling out the bottle of pills. Kez quickly grabbed them, reading the side effects and it did explain it. She sighed in relief, wrapping her arms around the girl. "You would tell me if you were sick, right?" Kez pulled away with teary eyes, her hands cupping Kallie's jaw. "Of course I would tell you. You know I don't keep secrets from you."

"Okay, okay, good. I can't lose you too. Next time tell me this stuff. You promise you'll tell if anything happens?"

"I promise, Kez."

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a/n: kallie getting better and better at lying 🤸‍♀️ ik kezie is kinda bitchy in here but i swear, she'll have mad character development, just trust the process 🙏

lewis being terrified of kez is so real of him tbh 😭 also him being offended when she called him skinny lmao

kallie won't die...i think

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