C. Leclerc
I tried to run after Artemis but Alexandra held me back. I looked to Lando and he said, "Don't worry, I'll go find her." He immediately ran after Artemis and did what I couldn't do, with my past literally holding me back.
I sighed in relief but then Alexandra said, "Charles, please don't go after her. Don't turn your back on me."
"Why shouldn't I? You turned your back on me remember? And when I tried to get you back, you had already moved on to your next man so quickly," I seethed, yanking my hand out of her grip, making her take a step back.
She put her hand in her chest and said, "But he wasn't the one for me Charles, you are-."
"You should've thought of that before you decided to close your door on me to fuck some other guy when I tried to get you back," I interrupted. She had no right to come back and pretend like what we had both irrevocably broken could still be repaired.
I tried to look for Lando and possibly run after him to perhaps catch up and find Artemis but Pierre held me back and said, "Just let Lando talk to her and let her cool off. You won't like what she'll have to say when she just saw you kiss another woman."
"Why does that matter to you? All of you don't like her anyways right?," I said in defeat, shoving Pierre away so I could sink into the plush leather of the booth. Max just shook his head, "I'm sorry mate, I didn't think it would end this way. I thought it would be better if you and Alexandra got back together."
"You didn't need to dig up something I intended to be buried Max," I said, waving down a waiter to get me another round of drinks. Max patted me on the shoulder and said, "I know, I'm sorry. I feel even worse now since Artemis stopped by our table and said she wanted to apologise to us but she wanted to properly apologise to you first."
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. Why does this have to happen right now? Fuck.
I can't deal with this. I need a thousand Irish slammers after this whole ordeal.
——
L. Norris
"Artemis! Stop running!," I yelled but she just kept on running and sobbing that she probably couldn't even hear me. I strained my legs to catch up to her and when I finally did, I grabbed her by the arm to stop her.
"Let go of me you overgrown child!," she yelled. I defended myself of course, "First of all, I'm not an overgrown child and second of all, stop running away from conflict!," I scolded but that only made her cry more so I pulled her into a hug.
I stroked her hair gently, letting her bury her face in my chest as I said, "Hey, hey, stop crying Artemis. You're supposed to be the big bad guy...or is it big bad woman...but you know what I mean, you're the beast in the track. My point is everyone thinks your cold as ice on track so don't let silly things make you cry."
"It's not silly, I'm just so stupid, I should really stop self-sabotaging myself," she muttered into my chest so I let her go to look in her eyes as I said, "What's so self-sabotaging about caring for someone? You seem to care a lot about Charles and what's wrong with that. You're allowed to feel things."
"Having feelings is normal Artemis," I said and she nodded as she wiped away her tears with her thumbs. She gave me a brief smile and said, "Sorry, I just got so used to burning bridges that mending bridges or even making new bridges just seemed so hard because it felt too new."
I nodded and gave her a brief smile too but I knew there were much more things that troubled her. Of course, I'd have to wait for her to say it because she's the hardest person to read.
"Can I ask you one thing? And it's important, so you have to give me a sure answer," I said, letting her lean on my shoulder as she cried. It was so different seeing Artemis cry. It was looking at a lost child looking for her parents. Maybe for her, instead of parents, she was looking for her grandfather.
"Okay," she breathed out, "Ask the question?"
"What makes you want to live?," I asked, "What keeps you waking up in the morning?"
"Racing," she immediately answered.
"Why is that?," I pressed further, her face lighting up at the thought of racing.
"The feel of the steering wheel under my hands, the exhilarating races, feeling like I'm one with the car and feeling like I'm flying," she said as she was recounting all her favourite memories of racing, "Taking pole position and winning a race. It's all just consuming in a good way."
I smiled. That's why she was always so determined in a race. It's because she loves racing so much, just like her grandfather before her. It's almost infectious the way she talks about racing, it made my heart swell with pride because I loved racing just as much as she did.
"You're a good egg you know, you don't need to make your whole life about picking between Charles and Carlos," I commented, helping her pull her hair back from her tear-stained face.
"You are so much more than a girl stuck between two men. You're an amazing F1 driver and the beloved granddaughter of Niki Lauda, and probably beloved by your parents to-."
"I wouldn't say my father loved me, and my mother died not long after I was born," she corrected and my heart hurt at how plainly she said it. She probably had been used to the comments now.
"Did you ever wish to know about your mum?," I asked and she nodded and answered, "I wish I would've. I have some pictures of her given to me by my grandfather. I don't have any grandparents on my mother's side because they died when she was young but my grandfather tried his best to tell me who she was from the few encounters he's had before she ultimately gave me up to him."
"What was she like?," I asked, seeing how comfortable she was recounting memories. She smiled. It was nice seeing Artemis smile, it was like watching her let herself relax for once.
"My grandfather said that my mother had a French father and an Egyptian mother," she recounted, "And that my father had met my mother at one of her ballet performances. She was a ballerina. It's funny that I ended up loving racing instead of that. But I never knew her."
"What happened?," I asked, guiding her to a bench to sit down and take some deep breaths. Some tears escaped her eyes before she explained, "She'd lost too much blood giving birth to me. But according to my grandfather, before she died, she named me and wished that I took her last name so I could take it with me forever."
"She died carrying me in her arms, my grandfather told me," she told me as more tears escaped her. She couldn't control her grief anymore, "He told me how much she cried when she knew she could only spend a few moments with me."
"From then on, my grandfather took care of me, made sure I felt loved and made sure I chased my dreams," she said, comfortably leaving on my shoulder so I put my arm around her to soothe her back.
"He made sure I feel loved, knowing that my own father always regretted my existence," she said and my heart broke for her. I grew up with loving parents and I wouldn't know what to do myself if my mother died and my father wanted nothing to do with me.
"How did you come to love racing?," I asked and she laughed. She giggled at the thought of the question.
She looked at me and said, "Don't tell anyone, it's a little embarrassing but when I was a stupid child, I had a massive crush on this boy."
"Oh god, Artemis having feelings? Really?," I teased and she playfully elbowed me as she continued to explain, "Yeah well my crush loved karting so I decided to kart as well to get his attention, but, as soon as I was on the kart, I fell in love with it. I beat him on my first race, and got first place. I completely forgot about crushing on boys who race from then on because racing became my life."
"Your grandfather must've been so proud of you," I said, offering my shoulder to her again to which she gladly leaned on. "He was," she answered, "And I miss him everyday."
"You know, sometimes it pays off to open up to people," I mentioned, "It helps them know who you are and care for you. You shouldn't be afraid of rejection because people who don't care for you after you've bared yourself to them, are people who aren't meant to be in your life."
She smiled and looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes as she said, "Thank you, you're not so bad for an overgrown child."
"Hey! I'm only like 2 ish years younger than you," I retaliated to which she laughed and said, "It feels nice making a friend...wait, is this how making friends is like? Are we friends?"
"Calm down Artemis," I said as I watched her go into a weird panic, "Yes this is how you make friends and yes we are friends."
I gestured for her to give me her phone and she did. I typed down my number and saved it into her contacts then I said, "Now, stop running to Carlos and hooking up with him whenever you have a problem. Just vent to me and maybe apologise to both Charles and Carlos. Focus on yourself first and your goal."
"Get to know people first before you decide anything stupid," I joked and she just nodded and said, "Thanks, Lando. You're so wise for a young kid, now where's your girlfriend if you're so nice and mature like you are?"
"Stop calling me kid, and I don't have one yet, maybe it's just not meant for me right now, maybe later," I said with a wide smile. I then stood up and gestured for her to start walking as I said, "Alright then, let's go back to the hotel so you can talk to Charles."
"I don't think I should, he was with Alexandra-," she said sheepishly but I just laughed and said, "Oh my god, you are so blind. That man talks about you all the time, I don't think someone like Alexandra could change what he thinks about you."
"Are you serious?," she asked and I just nodded and said, "Go talk to him. Tell him how you feel, and sort things out cause that way you can work as teammates and get better results during the races."
She nodded and for a moment I saw Artemis for who she really was. She was a woman who loved racing and was dearly loved by her grandfather. Before I knew it she gave me a big hug and said, "You're so nice Lando. Thank you for wanting to be my friend. You deserve all the good things."
I hugged her back just as tightly and replied, "Hey, stop making yourself the bad person when you really aren't. You're a good driver and a good person. One doesn't have to come to come without the other."
Artemis let me go and finally wiped her tears away. She gave me one last hug then I reminded, "Promise you'll be honest with Charles, before he drives himself crazy with all the assumptions."
"I promise."