Wolff Cub | The Next Chapter | Max Verstappen #3

Day Dreaming pt.2

Max's (POV)

I was beyond relieved to get back from qualifying and see that Kaycee was seemingly fine and surprisingly she seemed to be in really high spirits which was nice to see after how she'd been yesterday, maybe a day to herself was exactly what she needed. "Have you eaten" I asked Kaycee as she laid on the bed playing with Luna "mmhmm" she replied not really playing attention to what I said. I chuckled to myself as I watched them together. It was these little moments that made everything seem perfect even when things were difficult. "What did you have" I asked as she had a terrible habit of saying she'd eaten when she'd just had coffee and barely anything else. "erm something from room service" she replied and smiled at me. "I could still eat though" she said quickly, which I took as a hint that she was hungry. We made the decision to head out for dinner so we weren't all just cooped up in the hotel, well I made the decision and she just nodded in agreement.

Qualifying went really well I finally felt in tune with the car again which was so relieving and put me in a positive mood. As I expected Kelly was at the track so I politely thanked her for last night but made it clear it wouldn't be happening again, which I don't think she particularly appreciated. Having any type of contact with her was disrespectful to Kaycee and I wasn't going to get back into the habit of lying to her. I was planning on telling her about my conversation with Kelly but now wasn't the right time I was looking forward to a relaxing evening with her and Luna, just the 3 of us. I would tell her when we got to home. We went for a quiet meal that was pleasant and just what I needed before the race tomorrow but every so often Kaycee would daydream off into the distance. I didn't think much of it as she was probably still reeling from yesterday but I couldn't deny it was strange. "Do you feel like coming to the race tomorrow?" I asked hoping she'd say yes as much as she needed today to herself, I hated not having her there. Kaycee seemed to think about for a minute, then smiled and nodded. "Good I missed you today" i reached out to take her hand but as I did i noticed she went to pull her hand away but then seemed to change her mind. It was weird for her but with how distressed she'd been yesterday it was no surprise she was cautious of being touched.

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I went to sit with Kaycee outside the hospitality before the race. Yet again she was zoning out and staring off at hit the distance I waved my hand in front of her face to get her to focus, she seemed to just be in a world of her own today. Her eyes quickly flickered to mine pulling her out of her trance. "everything okay?" I asked softly hoping to get some kind of response out of her. "Hmm" was just about all she replied as she went back to daydream staring off into the distance again. I thought her being out of control and in a full blown panic was scaring but this was too different I didn't like it one bit. It wasn't like she was isolating herself it was more like she just wasn't there at all. I said goodbye as I went to go to the track, not that she even particularly seemed not notice at all. "Keep an eye on her" I muttered to Chris as I walked past him. I didn't like how quiet she was being it was unnerving. Chris just nodded and stayed with her at least she was safe and nothing bad could happen to her. Right now I needed to turn my attention to the race whether I liked it or not.

The race couldn't have been anymore straightforward even if I tried. From the get go I was able to pull off away from everyone else and get a comfortable lead. Everything just seemed to be clicking into place. I crossed the line seeing the mechanics on the wall cheering with elation "Great job Max perfect comeback to restart the season" Christian chimed over my radio, he was right it was a great way to come back after the break giving me that fire and motivation to do everything I could to swing the championship back my way. I celebrated with team before heading onto the podium, my instant thought was to look for Kaycee in the crowd but she was no where to be seen. I couldn't spot her as I made my through the paddock to do my interviews either so by the time reached my drivers room and saw Chris standing outside I let out a sigh of relief. Okay she was in there and she was okay. "I thought we'd wait in here for you" she said smiling when I walked through the door. In that moment the win didn't even matter to me, seeing them both there was everything I needed and wanted. They were my family.