kachow | arthur leclerc

chapter thirteen

She had just walked into the garage after finishing her media duties. She was grabbing her water when she was caught off guard. The Thorntons had shown up right before the race to see her.

"Mr and Mrs Thornton, I didn't realize you guys were going to be here." Olivia exclaimed, rather frustrated with the unannounced visit.

"Well you were in the States, why wouldn't we come see our daughter race?" Mr. Thornton said, "we wanted to take you out to dinner to catch up." Olivia couldn't say no. She could never turn down a dinner, it just felt rude to her.

"That sounds like fun. I just have to stop by my hotel, you know." Olivia tried to explain, but they were having none of it. Mrs. Thornton placed a hand on her arm and started to steer her towards her drivers room.

"Don't worry about that, we have reservations in an hour at a nice restaurant. I had an outfit placed in your room so get changed so we can get going." She said, giving Olivia a light tap on her arm. Olivia, not wanting to seem rude, reluctantly stepped into her driver's room and locked the door behind her. A sleeveless, red sun dress was hanging from the wall.

It took her several moments to change out of her racing gear and pull on the red dress. She combed her fingers through her hair, glancing at herself in the mirror on the wall. Olivia grabbed her things and opened the door.

The restaurant was a good 45 minute drive. She was forced to sit through an awkward car ride. It was a nice restaurant with seating out on a patio that overlooked the ocean. On any given day the view would be amazing, it still was, but dark storm clouds lie on the horizon. The waitress took us to a table outside, close to the edge of patio and the small roof.

"So, dear, tell us all about this career you've built for yourself." Mr. Thornton said. Olivia cleared her throat, already wanting to go back to the hotel.

"Well, I've been racing for several years now. I joined Formula Racing back in 2018, I'm hoping to join Formula Academy in the next couple years." Olivia tried to keep everything simple.

"And the Hamiltons, how are they treating you?" The glances between the two adults made worry start to grow in her stomach.

"They are amazing. We've travelled around the world for Lewis and Nicolas' races around the world. My dad was actually the one to introduce me to racing, took me to go tour the Mercedes Garage during a race weekend."

"You mean Mr. Hamilton?" Mr Thornton said in a gruff tone. Olivia knew the comment probably got on his nerves, calling someone else her father.

"Yes, my dad was the reason I wanted to race in the first place." She paused as the waitress placed their drinks and food on the table.

"He always wanted another kid to get into racing, and I was that kid." Olivia grabbed her fork and started to take bites of her salad to avoid continuing the conversation. Again, the Thorntons exchanged similar glanced as before. Olivia heard a soft rumble of thunder as the awaiting storm clouds grew closer. The wind started to pick up and the temperature dropped.

"That sounds interesting." Mrs. Thornton said, almost cutting through her chicken and into the plate. "We were thinking, you should come spend time with us this summer. You know, spend time with your family."

"I'm sorry, but I have plans." Mr. Thornton slammed his silverware on the table with a loud bang, causing both Mrs. Thornton and Olivia to jump.

"You need to spend time with us. We are your parents, not the Hamiltons." Olivia looked at him, dumbfounded. The nerve these people had.

"If you really were my parents, you would not have given me up when I was a child. You know what, why did you give me up cause I would love to hear the reason why." She was met with silence. "Exactly, you can't even tell me why. So why do you think for a second that I want to spend time with you. I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart." Olivia gently set the silverware on her plate and stood up, sending the chair backwards several inches.

"Young lady, how dare you-," Olivia cut him off.

"I appreciate the food, but I think it's time I head back." She grabbed her things and walked out of the restaurant. She didn't know where she was headed, she just kept walking. Two, maybe three blocks later, she realized the situation she was in. 45 minutes from the hotel with no form of transportation home. Olivia pulled out her phone and called Ollie. After several rings, it went to voicemail.

"Damnit Ollie." Olivia scrolled through her contacts, calling close individuals to pick her up. She got no response. She felt a raindrop hit her face, looking up to see the storm clouds gathering overhead. She spotted a small coffee shop two blocks from her and headed that way to take cover.

"Who else am I supposed to call?" She asked herself, continuing to look through her contacts. Her finger stopped above a name, the person she had yet to call. Olivia paused for a moment before pressing the call button.

"Olivia? Why are you calling me?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm stuck 45 minutes away from the hotel and no one self picked up their phone." The rain started to fall faster, slowly drenching her in water. "Can you come pick me up?" There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

"Um, yeah I can come get you. Just send me your location and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it, Arthur."

authors note

omg I feel so bad that this chapter took me so long to write. I've been busy and I'm sorry. I think you all will like the next chapter