LOVE OR RIDE | LESTAPPEN

Chapter twenty-four - you belong to me

After a while in front of me stands Max. She looks terrible. His eyes are red from crying, tears are streaming down his cheeks, his skin is pale, powder remains on his face and his hair is uncombed. He looks at me tiredly, not even surprised by my presence.

"God, Max, are you okay?" I ask concerned, and when I want to approach him, he moves away. I stand confused, looking at him. "What is it?"

"Yesterday you wrote that it's over between us, and today you want to hug? What the fuck is wrong with you, Leclerc? Get out of here." says nervously, holding back a cry, wanting to close the door in front of me, but I put my foot between the door and the frame, making it impossible for him to do so.

"What are you talking about, Max?" now I'm even more confused.

"About your message." he crinkles his eyebrows, looking at me closely, still holding the door to close it when I take my foot away.

"What message?"

"About that... Wait, weren't you the one who wrote it?" we both look at each other confused. I quickly take my phone out of my pocket and enter the conversation with Max. As soon as I see the message that was sent from my phone, I shake out my confused eyes, looking once at the display and then at the face of the Red Bull driver, who looks calmer without looking at me angrily.

"I didn't write it. I don't know who... Fucking motherfucker. I visited Hamilton yesterday to see if he was okay. He must have written this while I was in the bathroom. Max, you have to believe me, I beg you. It wasn't me, I wouldn't write it, I wouldn't want to spoil what started between us. He did it on purpose, I didn't..." The boy suddenly starts to cry, which makes me interrupt my words, looking at him sadly. "I'm here, baby." I put the commercials on the floor, hugging him. This time he does not run away. He hides his face in the hollow of my neck as I hug him tightly, feeling my heart ache as I hear him try to stop crying. "I'm here, Max." I add more quietly.

"I was so afraid you would leave me." He says quietly, calming down. After a while, he pulls away, and I use my thumbs to wipe his tears from his face. "I don't have the strength for anything, I'm sorry. Go back to your place." he adds as I want to enter his room.

"We don't have to talk. We don't have to do anything, just let me be next to you." I reply immediately.

The boy reluctantly nods and moves away so that I can enter. I gladly do so, taking my commercials with me. I take off my shoes in the hallway and follow him into the bedroom, where Max lays down on the bed and I put the shopping nets next to the bedside table and go to the bathroom. I take the cotton balls from it, which I douse with the micellar liquid that the makeup artist probably gave him, and return to the room. The boy is lying on his back, looking at the ceiling. He looks really bad. I don't even want to think how he must have experienced this news. I don't show it, but I'm furious with Hamilton and I'm certainly never going to be nice to him again. Let him fuck off.

"I'm going to wash off this powder, okay?" I ask, and the boy hides his face in his hands. "Max, please. A little cooperation." I kneel on the bed, looking at him. "Max, please. Do you hear me? Maxie..." and it's only when I unconsciously diminish his name that he takes his hands from his face, looking at me with the sparks in his eyes that I so adore. Although it's not entirely my fault that he was hurt, I feel terrible about the fact that he cried because of me. He looks like a puppy who has been scolded and is now afraid of everything.

Without returning to that slip of the tongue, I carefully and gently wash off the remnants of my makeup, and put the used cotton balls on the cabinet to throw away later. I lay sideways to look at his face. He is perfect and so damn hurt by people. I wish I could have done more. I wish I could take all the bad from him.