Lock Up ⏐Charles Leclerc

Chapter 38

"She's Penelope's dad." Max said and I could sense a softness from him at the mention of his stepdaughter. I've met the little girl once and she was absolutely adorable, cheering from the Red Bull garage as she wore noise-cancelling headphones over her ears. "That was the talk of the paddock for a while but it thankfully died down a year later."

I bit my lip as I thought of asking a personal question but I'm not sure if Max would be open enough to reply. He seems like the type to keep as much of his personal life private and chooses to shoot down any rumors or questions that he might found offensive. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Does this have something to do with why you spent the entire night alone?" He asked and I turned to him shock. "I asked Milo if you were alright."

I gave him a smile and said, "Sort of." Max raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes in return. "Okay, it is."

"Go ahead."

"With your current situation, you're kind of stuck in the middle." I said, choosing my words carefully and Max nodded in agreement. "Kelly and Daniil would always have that relation because of Penelope. Aren't you scared that something might happen and they get back together?"

Max thought about it for a while and I assumed he wasn't going to answer in the end but he did. "Kelly and I have been through hell. Even now, people still mention it and the hate is there, but I don't think that'll ever go away. Kelly is–" Max sighed, a lovestruck smile on his face. "Kelly is the love of my life. It was difficult at first since she felt like she was choosing between her daughter and me, but we got through it because we were both in the same place. I'm guessing you're in the same situation?"

I opened my mouth to speak, not knowing if I should agree. This is Max, though. I may not know him that much but it was obvious he wasn't the type to blabber around. "Unfortunately."

"If I were you, I'd see if you're both there together because if not, you're just setting yourself up for a lot of pain."

We arrived at the hotel a few minutes later, switching to a lighter topic before I said goodbye to him and headed for the hotel. I went through my conversation with Max as I went up to my room. Is Charles there with me? I knew he had feelings for me, that was obvious, but was it enough for him to call it love? Or am I just setting myself up for the worst heartbreak I'll ever experience?

After freshening up, I changed into some comfortable clothes and plopped down on my bed, turning on the television to watch a movie. I was in the middle of it and texting Navi when a knock came from my door. I sighed when the knock came again after five seconds, thinking that this was Milo checking up on me.

When I opened the door, it was definitely not Milo.

"Hi." He greeted and I looked confusedly at Charles who was currently standing outside of my hotel room.

"Charles? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" He asked and I glanced at the hallway first before pulling him and closing the door behind me. I could smell the alcohol off of him and I didn't know if he had that much to drink or he accidentally spilled some on himself.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was currently two in the morning. Charles took a seat by the end of my bed, holding his head between his hands. Worried that he might be feeling sick, I crouched down in front of him and placed a hand on his thigh, making him look up at me. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry for hurting you." He whispered and I felt myself crumble as he frowned, placing a hand over mine before intertwining our fingers. I didn't know what to answer to that since he's already apologized during the Cannes film festival. To be honest, I don't know if I've forgiven him yet because he's put me through a rollercoaster of emotions these past few months. "I finished my home race today."