[1] MONACO || C. LECLERC

TWO

I rushed away, leaving the French boy looking dumbfounded by Red Bull's hospitality. My heart was racing. I just wanted to get back to Max. I turned around once to see the boy watching me contently as I hurried away. I felt awful leaving like that, but I didn't want to stay around him. I didn't know him and that scared me. I didn't want to put myself in a position which could lead to something dangerous.

"Camille!" Victoria's voice echoed through my ears as I stepped into the hospitality trailer. She startled me and sent my heart racing even faster than before. Her arm linked through mine and together, we headed towards the back of the large trailer and towards Max's private driver cabin. Victoria knocked briefly before opening the door. My best friend was standing in the middle of the room, only in his jeans, as he held the Red Bull team shirt over his forearm. Victoria noticed that I was a little panicked, my cheeks feeling warm with worry and she whispered to me, not wanting Max to hear our conversation. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I gave her a reassuring nod, before stepping away from the corner and smiling at Max, who opened his arms for me as he finished buttoning up the polo shirt he was now wearing. I walked towards him, revelling in excitement at the thought of finally being in his warm embrace.

"Cami," his words were soft and calming, immediately I felt at peace as he wrapped his arms around me. I exhaled heavily, resting my head against Max's shoulder. "Are you ready to go back to the hotel? Got everything?"

"Yes, Max." I didn't want him to worry about me, and worrying was something Max did very well if I was involved. It showed how much he cared about me and how it was genuine, but I didn't want him to worry about this. It was only minuscule and very irrelevant, so I tried to brush it off. All I wanted was to get into the car and head back to the hotel where I could spend my evening feeling a little more relaxed. I didn't want to spend all of my time worrying about the boy from Sauber. I didn't even know his name.

--

"Finally!" Victoria's smile was wide when we got back to our hotel room. I threw my handbag onto the sofa in the corner, smiling as I was able to throw myself onto the large double bed. The room was spacious, with two double beds and a sofa bed in the corner, a large flat screen television on the wall, with a DVD player installed.

I'd been quiet on the journey home and now, as we returned back to a private setting, I felt a little more relieved. I could push it to the back of my mind until I arrived at the paddock again tomorrow. It was difficult however, because I couldn't stop thinking about how he tried to reach for my wrist, which brought back thousands of unwanted memories. I felt like crying in the passenger seat, but I couldn't allow any tears to spill from my eyes because I couldn't startle Max. I knew that if I told him, he would drag me to the Sauber garage to point the boy out, before giving him a stern talking to. He didn't do any harm at all, apart from bringing back memories he didn't know even existed, so he didn't deserve Max shouting at him in the garage. Max didn't need to make a scene.

"What's wrong, Camille? You're unusually quiet," Victoria sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to hold her hand against my shin. I jumped at her touch and she exhaled sadly, a frown developing against her soft features. She knew I only ever got like this if I was thinking about that night in Belgium. After today at the track, it was inevitable that it would be on my mind. "Did something happen today?"

I was afraid to tell her, because I didn't want Max to find out. I knew that Victoria wouldn't say anything to him about it, what happened wasn't as bad as I made it out to be in my head. I didn't speak, I simply looked at my best friend, a frown resting on my lips. She rubbed my leg and I buried my face into my hands, exhaling heavily, before lifting my head to look again at Victoria.