No Regrets, Only Memories

Time Apart

Maeve

Right at 7, Max literally turned off all of the games, without even saying he was doing so, and made me leave the office room without letting me get a word in.

"You could've at least let me say goodbye..." I scoffed as he stood up from the simulator as we had been taking turns for a couple of hours.

"Well, I have to get you back to Daniel's. I'll tell them you said bye." Max practically shoved me out the office door.

"Yeah, nice hanging out with you too, Max." I laughed as he pushed me towards the living room.

"It was nice seeing you as well. Let's do lunch when you're back next week?" That made me flip around to face him.

"Wait, I'm not gonna see you until race week? Are you coming to the track?" He sighed, balancing himself against the hallway wall on his good leg.

"They asked me if I would, but I'll have to be on the crutches. I'm not even supposed to put weight on my leg for extended periods of time." I widened my eyes and looked down at his legs. He just laughed.

"It's fine if I'm around the house. Not gonna lie, it's a bit sore after yesterday though." I glared at him.

"Then why did you do it?" He shrugged, pushing himself off the wall and crossing his arms.

"I miss everything, Maeve. You can't blame me for wanting a little bit of fun..." He stared at me with sorrow in his eyes. An emotion Max Verstappen rarely showed through all the years of being who he was and the last few I had known him. It was a missing piece of himself that he hid because of his upbringing and now how the media chose to portray him. Those of us close to him knew when it was genuine and how rare it was.

"I get it...Just be careful please. I'm filling very big shoes and they're difficult to walk in. I'd like to give them back." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug.

"Good to hear you're not getting comfortable in them. I'll be back soon. Right now though," He walked into the living room and picked up my bag from his couch to hand it to me," you have to leave."

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll go back to Daniel's for whatever hair-brained scheme he's concocted. You get some rest and I'll see you next week."

Another simple hug was exchanged before I made my way up the few floors to Daniel's place. The door was cracked open as I walked up and I knocked before opening it.

"Daniel? I'm back from Max's place." I closed the door behind me and looked around his dark apartment hallway.

"Daniel?" I called again as I walked down the hall past his bedroom door.

I had to stop when I saw the sight in front of me. Daniel had cleaned up his messy bachelor pad. The place was pristine, but that wasn't what really caught my eye. Daniel, or I'd more so believe that someone Daniel hired, had made a very nice dinner that was currently laid out on his dining room table. The lights were dimmed except for over the table and he was playing Frank Turner, a clear favorite of ours.

"Hey, I'm sorry," I turned around as Daniel closed the door to his bedroom and walked towards me," I just needed to change." I wanted to laugh when I looked down at his outfit after he said that. He was wearing cuffed skinny jeans and the very shirt I had given to him the day I met him, a Parkway Drive muscle tee.

"I can't believe you still have this!" I picked at the fabric once he was closer, trying to see how bad the damage was to the print and the material. It was definitely well worn based on the way the print looked.

"It's a good workout shirt." He flexed, making me laugh and drop my hands to my side.

"Right, ok Mr.T. What is all this about?" I pointed behind me at the set dining table and food.