It's You ✮ Charles Leclerc

Cɦɑpteɾ 39

♪ You're talking shit for the hell of it
Addicted to betrayal, but you're relevant ♪

Charles Leclerc POV

We were all over social media. The pictures of Natalie driving my car with me in the passenger seat were the confirmation everyone needed to assume we were indeed dating after all the speculations surrounding us for the last few months; spending summer break together made it seem like we were going strong.

People glossed over how well she bonded with Lucas and how happy he seemed to be since she appeared, and I can only relate to that. He is a different kid, and I absolutely adore it.

"He lied to us!" Natalie is completely dumbfounded as she enters my room, and I am confused. I mean, I gave her the spare card but this is a sudden entrance

"What? Who?" I ask confusedly.

"Lucas! He didn't stay in Monaco because he was tired of traveling; he has a kart competition tomorrow, and my dad spilled it out accidentally. Lucas didn't want you to feel guilty or me to miss work because it doesn't matter much. How could he do this?" She is pacing around the room, and I am perplexed that my son did this. He didn't tell us on purpose.

"Does he know we know?" I ask once I could gather my thoughts together.

"He does. He was on the call, and he said that we could know now because there was nothing we could do, and Dad would just record it and show us when we got back," she is pissed, and I don't know what to do. 

I am in Monza, and my son is in Monaco, about to take his first step like I did when I was a kid. And I am not there. He felt like he had to lie so none of us would be there.

"I'm going back to Monaco; I will be there with him and watch the race," she says firmly, and I am confused.

"What? But-" she is too into it now. There is absolutely no way to stop.

"I will quickly get to Monaco and say that I need the time off. We are close to Maranello. I have some favors people owe me, so they will cover for me, and I have some days I've given the team over the last few months. It will be fine," she says fast, and I just nod.

"You don't need to do that," I say calmly as I look into her eyes, stopping her by putting my hand on her shoulders.

"I am going to watch my son's first race. I am not halfway around the world; this won't stop me, Charles. One of us has to be there; he won't be alone; I will be there. Please," she begs, and I nod as I pull her in for a hug.

"Be there for me too. What do you need?" I ask and she smiles happily.

She did it. She called Mattia and told him she needed to leave for Monaco, and once I told him why, he understood it. She took my car and drove to Monaco, she didn't want to go on a flight first thing in the morning since it was very close to the hour he would be driving. 

I entered the paddock with Arthur and he seemed confused.

"Where's Nat?" He asks and I now remember I hadn't told him but I did tell my mom.

"Lucas has a karting competition in 2 hours, she drove there and must be arriving in Monaco in an hour," I say and he is shocked.

"Why didn't he tell you?" He asks confusedly.

"Didn't want to be a bother, he won't get that mindset out that easily.I am glad she will be there for him though," I say honestly and he nods.

"He loves her, and she loves him. He might think he doesn't need you both there, but it does and makes a difference. Having Dad and Mom there when we went into a race always made a change. It sucks because I knew you wanted her here tomorrow, winning here is different."

"I think I love her Arthur," I confess and he stops in his tracks and so do I, looking around the pretty empty garage. The mechanics are having a reunion.

"It was time to admit it. What's that going to change? Are you going to tell her?" He asks excitedly with a huge smile on his face.

"I will tell her when the time's right," I say as I avoid looking at him, knowing damn well I am lying.

"You won't tell her shit. You never loved anyone; you are scared of rejection when she is clearly in love with you, too. Take the risk; it will be worth it. Someone might get ahead of you, you are made for each other Charles, it can't get better. I never saw this type of connection I've seen with you; neither has Mom. Think about it, maybe after this weekend," he slightly taps my shoulder in support and I breathe heavily. I'm stressed.

"I can't blow this up. This is the one good thing that we've been wanting. I don't want to complicate it," I am scared and he nods.

"The jealousy and the hiding always complicate it. Wait for a few more weeks if you need to, and process the feelings if that will make you feel better, but tell her eventually. Things can change, so don't live in fear and regret. I've seen you be miserable for too long. Dad wouldn't want this."

I hugged my brother before he left for the Formula 2 events and entered the car for practice, exiting the car exactly when Nat arrived at the circuit Lucas would be driving. I wanted him to be good, to feel confident in the car. Maybe I wanted him to be like me, but I think all I want is for him to be happy, to be proud of himself, and if this is it, then it's better because it's something we share.

I've helped him build the kart, I watched his eyes shining as we build it with Anthoine and Nat would only take pictures. This could be our thing, like it was with my dad and me.