Apex | Charles Leclerc

Chapter 78

"Mate," Charles began, a smile on his face. "We're not surprised your staying with Red Bull. I'm sure if he could, Christian would legally adopt you and I'm pretty sure Helmut would do the same. You're practically the golden boy of the team."

"Can I at least have a congratulations or something?" Max pouted and Gabby patted his cheek, giving him a kiss.

A series of murmured congratulations came from the guys and I rolled my eyes, standing up to give Max a hug. "I'm proud of you." I said before ruffling his hair.

"Nads, I love you more than any of them." Max beamed, hugging me back. Gabby cleared her throat beside him and I smirked before returning to my seat. "Of course, I love you more, baby." He said, giving her three kisses until Gabby smiled at him.

We all moved to our separate rooms to get ready for dinner. Charles was still feeling a bit drained from the previous trip and took a short nap, telling me to wake him up before he left.

"You need anything?" I asked him, brushing his hair away as he lied down on the bed.

Charles smiled and shook his head at me. "I already have what I need." I kissed his forehead before lightly closing the door behind me.

I found a spot in the living room, grabbing my book with me. The others would probably take another twenty minutes to get ready, so I'll just kill some time here.

Ten minutes later, I heard footsteps coming through the hallway and looked up to see Mick walking in. He was on his phone, fingers tapping the screen as he smiled down at the device. I watched him carefully, seeing as he waited for whoever it was reply and when they did, the smile on his face widened.

I cleared my throat and Mick looked up, eyes widening when they landed on me. He brushed off the smile on his face and kept his phone in his pocket.

"Nads, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to draw my own conclusion." I smirked and Mick blushed, scratching the back of his head before sitting down beside me. "Who's the lucky girl?" I closed my book and placed it on the table, giving Mick my full attention. In the three years I've known him, I've discovered that he's an absolute romantic. He doesn't broadcast it, but it's obvious he wants to find someone who could make him feel the love he's witnessed with his parents.

"Her name is Hazel." Mick said and just by the mention of her name, his eyes are already lighting up. "I met her last week, actually. During the event." I raised an eyebrow, not having seen him talk to anyone that day although I must confess, my mind was elsewhere. "She works at one of the clinics and assists in organizing group sessions for victims of domestic abuse. She looked adorable when she realized she spent ten minutes rambling on and on about their program before she remembered to introduce herself."

"She's good, then? No red flags in your head or anything?"

"She clearly recognized who I was, but she's never asked about my life in racing. It's still too early to tell, but I have a good feeling about this girl."

"It's about time." I grinned and Mick laughed, nodding his head.

"I know." He agreed, leaning his head back and looking up at the ceiling. "It's just so difficult when you have the job we have. There are certain things that we'll never be able to control, and I hope that if we reach that point, she'll choose to stay. I'm tired of starting something then having to end it when they show their true intentions." I squeezed his shoulder for support and Mick flashed me a thankful smile.

"It's not easy, but it's not impossible as well." You just have to find the right person who's willing to go through heaven and hell for you. I can't even imagine the difficulty that people in the limelight experience. Your privacy is literally stripped away from you because people think they have every right to have a peek at your personal life. Sometimes, it's a part of the job, but that's not always the case.

Dinner was a fun affair, as it always is with this group. The heavy drinking was planned for tomorrow night, so the boys only ordered wine despite Daniel's protests. Charles' headache had lessened and when I asked him if everything was okay, he only gave me a smile and kissed my cheek. It was a bit odd, but I thought that maybe it was just caused by everything that's been happening lately.

I had another glass of wine with Gabby while the others headed up to bed, the two of us sitting beside one another by the dining table. I had taken off my shoes, feet planted on another chair I moved beside me.

"I have a question." She asked, making me incline my head to the side. "Have you and Charles ever talked about kids?"

"And where is this question coming from?"

Gabby shrugged her shoulders and took a sip from her wine. "When Heidi thought I was pregnant, I realized you never mentioned whether the two of you wanted to have your own little ones in the future."

I smiled, imagining the image in my head. "We've talked about it before during the first few months of our marriage and Pascale kept asking if we'd be having another mini Leclerc running around." She went on asking us for months before Pascale stopped, realizing that it wasn't happening anytime soon. "We want kids— that's for sure."

"But?"

"But not right now or anytime soon." I took a deep breath, looking down at my glass as I thought over my words. "Emotionally and mentally, I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility. This year felt like a constant whiplash and I don't want to go through a pregnancy while still worrying about myself. When I become a mother, I want to be one that is ready for anything and for the responsibility of taking care of our child. For Charles, it's not the right time for his career. He wants to be there to watch our child grow up, and travelling around the world makes that impossible."

When I looked up to meet Gabby's eyes, I was surprised to see a smile on her face. "I'm very proud of you, Nadia Kaplan." She smiled and I scooted closer to lean me head on her shoulder, hers moving over mine. "It's a privilege to know someone like you."

"I love how sappy you are right now."

"And I hate how you're totally ruining the moment." I couldn't see her face, but I knew that Gabby was rolling her eyes at me. "Do you remember when I asked you if you'd help me commit murder and you didn't hesitate to say yes despite studying to become a lawyer? I think that was the night we solidified our friendship." A laugh escaped my lips as I nodded my head, an image of the two of us walking home drunk. The question seemed like a joke back then but when I look back at it now, I knew that Gabby wasn't just a friend.

She was my sister. She was my person.

*****
One more chapter before the epilogue!!

✧Reese✧