𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗕 | C.L. [ON HOLD]

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻.

༛༺ CHARLES LECLERC ༻༛

August 14th, 2022

It was after midnight when Ava and I decided to go to sleep. Raylee had fallen asleep like a log upon returning home. After putting her to bed, Ava and I spent the rest of the evening at the dinner table with a glass of wine, fingers intertwined as we talked. We had become so captivated in our conversation that we lost track of time. Later than usual, we left for our bedrooms. I walked with her to her door, which we stopped in front of.

Ava turned my way and looked at me with her beautiful, ocean-blue eyes. "Goodnight, Charles," she said softly with her sweet voice. She wanted to walk inside her bedroom, but I stopped her by gently reaching for her wrist. With my other free hand, I held her chin between my index finger and thumb, gently pressing my lips against hers.

"Sleep tight, ma chérie," I whispered, causing her cheeks to blush slightly. I watched her enter her room with a smirk playing around my lips before heading towards my own room.

I closed the door behind me after entering my room and walked to the single bed. After letting myself fall back onto the soft mattress, I couldn't help but let a soft chuckle escape from my mouth. We kissed. I didn't know a simple kiss could make me feel this happy. Sure, we still needed to talk about which way this would go. But that didn't take away the fact I got to experience the feeling of her plump lips against mine. And it was better than I could ever imagine.

I was startled by a loud thud that sounded outside. As we predicted on the boat, a fierce summer storm was passing over the streets of Monte Carlo with lots of rain and thunder. I wasn't scared of thunder, but it clearly wasn't my favourite thing in the world.

I pushed myself upright and stared ahead for a while, then decided to quickly take a shower before going to bed. When I entered the hallway after my 5-minute shower from the bathroom, dressed in joggers and a white t-shirt, I noticed the light coming from under the door of Ava's bedroom. Since I was surprised to see she was still awake, I decided to knock on her door to see if something was wrong.

"Yes?" She said after my three knocks. I opened her door and found her sitting in her bed, a book in her hands. I further opened the door and leaned with my shoulder against the doorframe. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" I asked her with a hooked brow.

"You aren't asleep, either." She put her bookmark on the page where she left off and closed her book before looking at me. "That's because I was taking a shower. Why are you still up?"

Ava placed her book on the nightstand next to her and started fidgeting with her fingers. "Don't laugh at me, okay?" Her voice sounded vulnerable as she looked down. Confused, I looked at her. "Why would I laugh at you?"

"I'm scared of thunder." Her mumbling was so soft I almost didn't hear her. "What?" I pushed myself away from the doorframe and walked to her bed before sitting on the edge next to her. Her eyes met mine the moment I sat down.

"I can't sleep when it thunders outside. I know it sounds idiotic," she said shyly. A soft chuckle left my lips. Not because I thought it was idiotic but because I didn't understand why she was ashamed of this.

"There's nothing strange about being scared of thunder," I said, covering her hands with my left one. "You can't sleep at all when it thunders?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

"No, usually I stay awake, waiting for it to be over. I've tried falling asleep so many times, but it never works."

"Not even as a kid?" I asked her. "My mom or dad always stayed with me until I fell asleep. But since living on my own, I don't seem to manage to fall asleep alone."