Eight photos from the past which history is darker than the night

Chapter 6

Max was taking deep breaths. It seemed that it was more and more difficult for him to talk about that. Pierre understood that very well, he wouldn't dare to forced him to talking. As if he haven't done that at the beginning of their conversation.

Max grunted and looked up at Pierre.

"And then, the nightmare started."

After those words came another break. Pierre thought that Max is probably trying to sort out all those memories in his head and knowing how difficult it was for him to sort out everything he just heard, he didn't want to imagine how tough it was for Max.

"We spent a lot of time in Switzerland" Max said. "After that what happened I stopped talking. Victoria was talking normally but I... there was just something what blocked me from the inside. I can't even explain that. It just happened. I found the way to communicate by giving some signs by my body, sometimes I just wrote that what I wanted to say. The first few days were the worst. I was just crying a lot. I slept in a one bed with Mick. He was hugging me every time I was crying and feeling bad. I didn't talk so he did neither. Sometimes we were just sitting together in silence, feeling better just thanks to presence. And it stayed with us til today. We just like to sit together in silence. Sometimes it really helps."

Pierre's brain was going to explode in a moment.

"I remember how uncle Micheal was doing everything to make me feel better. He was trying everything just to make me smile, and once he decided to take me for testing the KF3 karts. You know, those tests we were doing before every season, where all the best drivers were. In 2007 they were in La Conca. He organized test for me with uncle Nando. I tested his kart. There was just me and them. It was very nice time. I remember Carlos was there. I knew him before, we met up once in the paddock in 2005. He dragged me to play football with him and other guys. Danil was there as well, Nyck... you know, de Vries. It was nice. And during those tests, I started talking again. Not so much, but a bit. I still remember how uncles were happy about it."

First thing which came to Pierre's mind after Max's monologue was how the hell was he allowed to test in KF3, with guys being thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old while he was nine? It was crazy. But even more crazy was the rest of it. He couldn't think about it too much, because Max was talking again. It seemed like he was on it right now, he was talking fast, Pierre felt overwhelmed with all those information he was hearing.

"And then, when it all seemed to be better, to be good, looked reassured, when we came back to Belgium, came back to school, everything turned to be a nightmare once again."

"Your father came back?" Pierre asked.

"No. We've been taken away from our mom by social services."

Pierre froze. He wanted to ask Max to repeat because he couldn't believe what he just heard. But he didn't have to. Max started telling him about everything. It all started because when they came back to school, Max still had a lot of bruises and wounds and teachers noticed that. They also weren't at school for a long time so it caught their attention. They reported that to the social services. After their neighbors said they heard a lot of arguing and screaming from their house and social service worker who visited them saw Max's body, that decided to take them away.

"It all happened in the evening. They just taken us away... we were crying, screaming, I'll never forget how terrified my mom looked like. It was... scary..." Max said.

He told Pierre everything with the details. He told him that he stopped talking again. He told him how he was taking care of Victoria, feeling responsible for her. He told him how his mom fought for them with Micheal, Corinna, Ralf... how the photos which he was now looking at helped. How it all ended up with Jos having restraining order and them being back with their mom.

"I will always remember that day" Max said, tears in his eyes. "How we could finally hug our mom... we spent there, away from her, almost a month. It was so long and so difficult time. And when we were back at home, I mean, in Switzerland, everything started to going into the right direction. I still wasn't talking, I think I was just mentally blocked once again but... everything was better. And we had all the important people around us."

"When you... when you started talking again?" Pierre asked.

"When Fernando took me to Malaysia with himself."

And then Pierre heard the story about Alonso taking Max on the race with himself. About how he met young Lewis Hamilton who at first was a bit scared how to deal with him. But at the end, they became... friends? Pierre couldn't really say, but it seemed like that. Mainly because of Hamilton Max started talking again. The Brit sat him in his car and was playing with Max that he's driving in a race. And then, suddenly, after being asked if he's happy, Max said yes.

"I remember how happy they were. Both of them, not just uncle Nando. Lewis was truly happy too. I was happy as well. Since that day everything was really good. Micheal and Fernando were taking care of my career, driving with me for the races. Switzerland really became my home and I was very happy about it. It was just... perfect."

Pierre listened carefully to his friend's words. During the story he pinched himself a few times, just to make sure it wasn't a dream. But it wasn't. And he barely could believe that everything he was hearing was true. Damn, he was sitting at the balcony, looking at Monaco- fuck, Monaco was so fucking beautiful today- and it was already after 8 p.m. If not the photos, if not Max being in tears basically all the time, his voice shaking and cracking, he probably wouldn't believe. Or not wouldn't, just simply couldn't, because it all seemed to be too much fucked up.