Christmas with the Leclerc's

9

~No response~
December 9

"It's good to see you again" I greet Arthur, plastering a fake smile over my lips. I put Julius's wish list in my pocket, pretending like my heart isn't wrenching over Julius's biggest wish. Before I could push away the thoughts about his mother, but now they're completely taking over my mind.

Who is she? Why haven't I met her? Is she even... I stop myself before I go too far.

"You too. It sounds like we're going to spend a lot of time together" Arthur replies, holding the door open for me as he carries Julius.  What's that supposed to mean? I decide to brush it off, my mind already working on overtime.

Instead I just smile at him, beginning to walk down the paddock, towards the track. "We have to be quick!" Julius exclaims, the sound of formula 1 engines, roaming through the paddock. At least he's in a better mood now.

"It's only the formation lap, don't worry" Arthur reassures Julius, leading us up a flight of stairs. But Arthur's comment doesn't help Julius in the slightest bit, the stress clear in his body language.  But honestly I get him, Charles starting on pole is making my nerves go through the roof as well.

Arthur opens a door, revealing  a luxurious room with a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the track.  We might just have the best view of the track. No actually, we do have the best view of the track.

Bright lights shine down on the track, as I see the cars starting to line up for the start. We all quickly sit down on a sofa, which is placed directly in front of the window. Julius claps his hands in anticipation, smiling between me and Arthur.

Within the blink of an eye, the cars accelerate, the sound blowing my mind, just like it does every time. Oh. We fall silent, watching the blazing red car we're rooting for fall behind. I intensely blink, not believing what I'm seeing. 

Charles dropped down 4 places. They aren't even at turn 1 yet. From pole to fifth in a matter of seconds.

I give Julius's hand a little squeeze, internally hoping he's gotten used to the troubles of rooting for Ferrari. Arthur quickly stands up, turning on the tv and turning up volume. We're both waiting for Xavi's voice to chime in over the radio, telling Charles about some kind of failure.

But all we hear is commentators discussing the exact same things as we're thinking. What the actual fuck is going on?  Dropping a few places is normal, but the way Charles is driving... It's clear something is going on.

Arthur catches my gaze, the worry displayed in his eyes, as he sits down again. They're driving through turn 3 now. Charles has dropped to sixth. He's been passed by fucking Stroll. I'm already nervously tapping my foot against the marble floor.

If he's dropping this many places within a lap, hell even within a single sector, I don't even want to think about the rest of this race.

I try sending Julius a fake smile, but his eyes are looking straight forward, no worry or anxiety in his facial expression. I can't tell if that's a blessing or a curse. But I guess we need all the luck and hope we can get right now.

"Charles?" Xavi's voice finally chimes in, the commentators immediately going silent.  They're just as confused as us, if not even more. The radio rustles in response, the silence from Charles dreadful.

"I'm sorry guys..." Charles responds, as he drives through the straight part of the track. His voice makes my breath catch. Even though he was trying to hide it, you could hear how shaky his voice was. How it was on the verge of breaking.

I shoot a glance over at Arthur, his worried eyes making me even more anxious. What the fuck is going on today?  He sends back a sad smile, his lips curling into a tight smile. Earlier today... My brain clicks.

I've gotten sent so many signs today and i've stupidly dodged them all. Charles's tired eyes this morning, his unusual behaviour, Julius's messy hair and... Oh god. Julius's wish. His mother. 

It's just a coincidence, I try telling myself, but I can't keep ignoring it anymore. Everything has been off today, it has to involve her, whoever she is...

"Arthur is there a reason why Charles isn't like himself today?" I quietly ask him, his head snapping towards me in surprise. He studies my face for a moment, his mouth slightly starting to open, but he closes it again.

"Uhm..." Arthur responds, conflict displaying in his eyes. He rests his elbows on his knees, his hands dug into his hair.  His eyes carefully follow Charles's car, which is rapidly approaching the turn right beneath us. 

He glances down at Julius, a thousand different emotions coating his eyes. He snaps his gaze away from Julius, like it almost hurts to look at him. His eyes following Charles carefully, he hesitatingly starts to open his mouth.

"There might be someth-" Arthur starts, but before he gets to finish his sentence, we're all struck by absolute horror.  My hands fly up to Julius's head, covering his eyes, preventing him from seeing this.

My stomach drops. Bang. The sound kicks me right in the guts. Debris flies in the air. Red debris.

Charles flew directly into the wall. Right in front of us. The force from the wall, sends the car back into the air, making the car spin around. Making Charles spin around. I haven't taken a single breath, I'm too scared.

A tear rattles down my cheek, as the final painful bang makes my body shake in horror. I try looking away, but I can't. Right under me is the red Ferrari laying, snapped in half, the car upside down.

My eyes lay the front part of the car, where Charles is locked in. Upside down. His head against the ground.

Chaos erupts everywhere. Arthur has stood up, his hands covering his mouth. The emotion in his eyes making my stomach drop. In the background, commentators shout in shock, but worst of them all...

Julius desperately tries to remove my hands from his eyes. Kicking with his legs, punching with his arms, he's completely frantic. I wrap my arms around him, taking all his hits. I pull him into me, hiding his face in my chest.

He shouldn't see this.

Julius finally let's go, his body going completely limp. And then, he let's it all out...

Julius's heart wrenching cry, echoes in the room, the sound so horrid it breaks my heart. I push my lips together, holding in all my emotions, as Julius continues. I close my eyes, gently rocking Julius back and forward.

"Charles? Charles are you okay?" Xavi's voice worryingly repeats in the background. There's no response. I can hear Arthur's footsteps pacing around the room. The silence is too loud. Everyone besides Julius is silent right now.

The world has gone silent, everyone holding their breath, waiting for Charles to respond.

But there's silence over the radio. Xavi tries again and again. But there's never a response.

--❄--

I'm sorry to leave you on this note<3

Hope this wasn't too sad!