(TW car crash, blood, surgary, $exua} abu$e)
Lewis and I spent the plane ride in silence. Awkward tension between us, as we realized what was going on. This week would be long, and full of memories for the both of us. When it landed, we went our seporite ways. I almost broke down on the drive to the hotel Mercedes provided for me. I wanted to ask for help. I wanted someone to wrap me in their arms, and tell me it would be okay. My mom sure as hell wouldn't, and people think because I'm the person who always gives the hugs, that I never need them. It was just so frustrating. I pulled up to the hotel. Handing the chauffeur my keys, a bellhop helped me take my bags up. Unpacking quickly, I crashed on the bed once I was done, and fell into a nice sleep until it was time to wake up.
My schedule was slipped under my door for the week as I was sleeping. The next two days would be media days; interns wanting to do tiktoks, interviewers asking weird questions, and by far my favorite; driver videos for me and Liam. The intro still showed Daniel and George, so for the time being execs wanted to add us. Why did George choose some weird as fuck pose? Now I have to copy it. In three days, it was bowling with the team, which apparently was a tradition? Iv'e only ever bowled once, so I don't know how well i'll do. After, we fly to Suzuka, and do a photo-opp with Vettel! I had met the man a few times when I was younger. The last being a few months after his funeral to do a media event. I remember despising F1 for making me, my mother, and grandparents do that. Vettel at least made it bearable. He had babies at the time, so that made him more caring to me. After, it was practice, qualifiers, and race. We would be going to Tokyo on the 25th, and to Qatar on the 30th, leaving us plenty of time to explore Tokyo! I had been to the track many times in F2, but neer found time to go to Tokyo, so I was excited!
Media days passed by quickly. I was not in the intro, but it was not going to be announced to fans, to see if anyone picked up on it. For now it was time to go bowling! I had not seen much of Hamilton these past few days. I had not seen much of anyone these past few days. I guess they collectively decided I needed my space? I don't need my space! I need someone else! I drove to the bowling place; grandstand bowling. (It is now that I realize the bowling place is in Suzuka and not Tokyo but 🤷) When I get there, there are police and guardrails set up. Fans probably thirty rows deep line the sidewalk. I had taken probably the least flashy car I could find from the ones on loan. A as I did not want to cause a riot. I parked pretty far back. Putting my blonde hair up under the Mercedes cap, I put on my blue light glasses to not be reconized. I clicked onto my Instagram live, and suddenly thousands joined, though no one in the crowd stopped recording in front of them. I kept it pointed th the ground, until I made my way to the front.
"Okay you guys. I'm gonna do something funny." I reached the front of the baracades and a roarwent up from the crowd as Mick pulled up. He had a driver, so he could just step out of the car. I smirked. Good time to make my appearance. Putting my cap a little over my face, I turn to the woman next to me.
"Do you mind filming for me for a second?" She smiled, and said yes before taking my phone.
Grabbing the rail, I vaulted over in one swift motion. Micks security immidatedly created a circle around him until I took off my hat, and let my hair fall down. This caused the crowd to go absolutely insane. I smiled as Mick mock glared at me before walking in together. I signed a phone case for the woman who recorded me. Once we were inside, I realized my phone was still on live.
"Mick! Say hi to the fans!" Mick gave a small wave that made the chat go crazy, before I logged off and we went our seporite ways. The party was so much fun! We all grabbed a few drinks, but could all drive or be drive home, and it was so fun! Hamilton, I, and some engineers started a game, and I literally sucked so much the engineer had to coach me thrugh how to do it. Not gonna lie, he was kind of hot. He was white, with brown, curlyish hair, and a jawline that rivaled the gods themselves. He was also the reason why I got any points at all in the game; that and Lewis putting bumpers up for me. As we went beck to our various hotels, I smiled. That was fun! The next day, we flew out to Suzuka. This flight, me and Hamilton talked which was nice, but the elephant in the plane was not brought up. Also nice. As we landed, the last word he said to me after we got our luggage was,
"Take care of yourself." Shit, I'm gonna fail that too.
That day was pretty long, I had to go onto the actual track to do media stuff, mainly tiktok of instagram posts. The next day would be more of the same, though this was an interesting look at the track. It had so many curves and straights, no wonder so many drivers loved it here. After press stuff, I just went to my hotel room, and went to the spa for a little while. It was nice. After, it was time to go to turn 2 in the track! All the drivers had to go to. Taking the Benz out of the hotel garage, I drove to the Suzuka track. Parking, I saw Pierre up ahead of me, walking in. I made it past security, before walking to race command. The majority of drivers and team captains were already there. When everyone arrived, we walked to the giant truck carrying the bee hotels, and helped set them up. I got to talk with Vellel for a little while, and it was actually really cool. Before I knew it, the day was over, and we were all going back to our hotels to get ready for practices then qualifiers.
—
In all, I did pretty well. I won practices, but got third in qualifiers after a poor start. I was excited for the race to start though! Before I knew it, the day and night had passed, and it was race day!!!
—
The race started with a bang, with all of us shooting forward. I was stuck behind the two mclarens, not having enough speed out of the gate to get around them. Behind me, I could see cars swerving around because the row behind me was stacked four across. I went around turn one and two. Who thought it was a good idea to put bees next to a track notorious for crashing? Oh. Seb, of course. Over the next few laps, the course evened out a little. Apparently Perez was a menace throughout the race, and retired his car. Hah. It was lap thirty and not much had happened. The mclarens were playing incredible defence. Glancing at their manovers, I thought about what I would do in this situation. Perez was back on the track, in the thick of it, but still five laps behind. If he was not -5 laps, he would be in eighth, behind Lewis. I heard my engineer fall quiet, before he explained that Hamilton had been hit by Perez. He was okay, his car was just holding some damage. My team had me drive a few more laps, just until Perez's car was retired to pull into pit.
I had now fallen into a rhythm on this track. I was in P7 after a slow pit, I was close behind Lewis. This straight was a long one until the spoon curve, so if I could go faster than he did on the straight I could catch him in the next curve. Mercedes had given both of us the go ahead to let me pass. Accelerating, I raced down the staright, the power of this car was insane compared to the ones I had used in previous races. Slowing down, I started the turn before... I don't even know what happened. The ringing in my ears was what jolted me conscious. I opened my eyes to see a crack spanning across my plastic viser. I was stuck between two sides of the barrier. (Think Grosjean but no fire) I almost screamed as I tried to lift my neck, having definitely hit something. If I stay put, they'll get me out. I slipped out of my harness, as safety training taught me. I reached forward, feeling for the wheel, only to realize it was not there. It was there a minute ago. Huh. Why do I feel so weird. Why does my shoulder hurt so much? I got to get out of this car, it could catch on fire at anytime. I pushed up with my legs, trying to get out only to hit my head. I bit back a scream as the pain reverbrated through my strained neck and shoulder. My cracked viser fogged up as hot tears spilled out of my eyes. Wait. There was a rule. Don't cry. But I'm hurt? So I can cry? My radio! Why was it so quiet?
"M-mar-Marcus? Are y-you there?" My voice was gravily and it hurt like hell to talk. No response came through. "M-Marcus please!" I started to panic. Where was the rescue crew? I grabbed my shoulder, and felt a sticky substance. Blood. Was I hit by debreis from Lewis's car? I knew he had damage. Just then A man in a jumpsuit came up to the right of my Halo. I could not see him without turning my neck and having it hurt like hell.
"Bianchi," he greeted. There were four other rescue people now. "I'm John, this is Emerson, Florence, and Max." For a second I thought it was my Max. My Max had come to get me out? But as they all came into my line of sight, my heart dropped. It was not my Max.
"Do you have any pain Bianchi?" He said, putting his hand against my collarbone and gently taking the back of my head forward. White hot pain flooded through my system. "Ok, I'm sorry Ceceile." As he was talking, he signaled for his crew to prepare to help get me out. They first helped me take my gloves off, which wasn't so bad, but when they started to take off my helmet, black spots danced across my vision, and pain erupted to the point where I could feel it everywhere in my body. They got it off, amidatedly my neck sagged backwards against the seat. Breathing heavily, I managed to wiggle myself out of the car, grasping my injured shoulder, which was obviously dislocated and hit by debris at some point.
(I have never done this in the past, but I'm gonna give an insight to the other drivers POVs/Radios directly after the crash)
HAMILTON POV/RADIO
SHIT. Shit, shit, shit, shit. Part of my car had peeled off. "Red flag, on driver crash, Bianchi not responding. Marcus is trying to get through to her. Radio seems to be broken. A red flag is in place. Repeat, red flag in place." No no no no no no no no. This was not supposed to happen. Not again.
"No. God. Please no" Emotion made me choke up at the thought of losing her. She was a spectacular driver, and an amazing person. Is. She's not dead. This is all my fault. "Any updates?"
"None yet, Lewis. Pull behind the other cars." I did what they said, as was the terms of the red card. I shuddard, remembering what I saw in my mirror. I bit my lip, worried. Taking off my helmet and balaclava I was met with a furious Max. Before I could blink, he lunged at me.
"She's your fucking teamate Hamilton! What the hell? I though you had some common sense to fucking pit! He punched me in the jaw. I reeled back, seeing red.
"Well maybe if your fucking teamate decided not to hit every person on this track I wouldn't ever had damage!" I replied, taking a swing back at him. We glared at eachother before security came to stop it. He stormed away, seething. I went up to the TV in silence, waiting on any word. The medical teams were there.
MAX VERSTAPPAN RADIO
"Shit! I saw that crash in my mirrors! Is Cece ok?"
"Still waiting on response, Max. Red card has been issued, pull into the pits," control replied.
"A-affirmative, GP."
"Ceceile Bianchi was hit by debris from Lewis Hamilton's damaged car."
"What the actual fuck is wrong with him?"
LANDO NORRIS RADIO
"Red flag out Lando, pull into the pit."
"What happened? Is everyone okay?"
"Car hit by debris on spoon curve. Car 66... Cecelia Bianchi"
"NO! Is she okay?"
"No information yet."
CHARLS LECLARC RADIO
"Oh shit, that's a lot of debreis. Who was it?"
"Figuring that out now. Red card in place, Pit."
"Okay."
"Car is 66, Ceceile Bianchi."
"R-repeat?"
"Car 66, Ceceile Bianchi."
"No. No! Fuck! Please, I can't loose her too!"
The remaining drivers all huddled around a tv in the cooldown room, waiting on any update. Max was gripping his seat, with his eyes glued to the screen, still angry, yet equally terrified. Charles was squatted down with his hands over his face. Pierre was next to him, trying to calm him down from the mixture of ptsd and anxiety attack. Lewis now, Lewis was not even in the room. He had gone with the engineers to hear news the second it come through. Normally this was not allowed, but they could see how distraught he was. The news however came through at the same time for the drivers, as the televisions had all camera trained on the crash.
"Ceceile Bianchi is okay for now, with shoulder wounds. Investigations have already begun withing the Mercedes factory to see what debris would have hit Bianchi. The two Mercedes drivers had complained about the car throughout the week, maybe if management had listened, this would not have happened." All the drivers were still glued to the television long after, worried about the driver.
(BACK TO Cece)
I was awake in the ride to the hospital. I did not think it was nessissary, as they had bandaged the bleeding, and set my shoulder, which was in a sling. Messages had started to pour in, and I could hear the constant ding next to me. One of the rescue crew turned it to do not disturb, which was nice of them. When I got there, I realized just how hurt I was. They brought me to a room, and prepped for surgery to remove some of the debreis that had gotten stuck in my shoulder. It was a two hour long procedure. I woke up in a hospital. The bed was slightly bigger than ones in France, or the United States. At this point they had given me pain meds. After a little while, they gave me back my phone, so I could check the standings of the race. Max got pole, but also penality for... fighting? Lando got second, and Piastri got third! I was so proud of them! The race had finished about an hour before, so next I checked my messages. Mami had called and texted me, obviously scared from what happened with Jules. I responded to her text first. Next, I opened Toto's message. It was basically saying how sorry he was about the car, and that they would fix that next race. He was also apparently flying here, which I was not sure he could do after just having surgery, but hey, he's rich. Next, the slew of drivers messages. Charles, Lewis, and Max had tried to call me, the rest had texted sweet messages asking if she was okay.
Just as I was about to respond to Lando's text, a commotion was outside my room. Soon, someone sprinted into my room, and closed the door. Scared, I jolted, yelping as my injured shoulder hit the bed again.
"Shit. I'm sorry, I jsut need to see you were okay." Standing there was Max, in a hoodie, over his kit and sweats. I felt blush rising to my cheeks. His sleeves were rolled up, from putting on handsanitizer, with his muscles and veins bulging he was just... gorgeous. He walked farther in, almost scared.
"Hey. Look at me. I'm okay, Max." Just then, security burst in. Damn, he was fast. That far of a lead on my security who were trained on this. Why was he so fucking perfect?I waved Jaque, my security off, showing it was okay. He gave me a wary look before exiting the room. Shifting over in the hospitel bed, and giving him room to sit on my good side, he pressed himself up to me, as if needing to feel me to realize I was okay. I smiled at him.
"You talk funny," I said out of the blue. He shifted, to glance up at me.
"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, confused.
"Like that, you talk like you're trying to be American. Don't do that." He tried to contain his laughter, but in the ned failed miserably.
"No but you should take it as a complement. I think your natural accent is pretty." He just laughs before sitting up, and going to the chair next to the hospital bed I had propped up. We talk for a few more minutes before I notice something. There was a small bruise forming on his left cheekbone. Weird. Max had to text someone, so I went on my phone too for a second, before the door opened again, and Lewis walked in. My smile at seeing him immediately falls. I struggle to sit up more, worried. There was a gash below is right eye, which had bruised up.
"What happened?" I motioned him over, lifting his chin, and looking at his eye. Reaching up, she grabbed a loose icepack on the table, and gave it to him. Hamilton put it on while replying.
"I was being stupid, nothing more. Are you okay?" He asked, looking at her shoulder with regret. It hurt me to see him like that.
"Look at my eyes Lewis, not my shoulder. This was no ones fault. Racing is dangerous, I knew every single race when I chose this lifestyle. They say I will be able to race in Qatar, so it's obviously not that bad. Please stay, Lewis. I'm so very bored," I said, dramatically causing both men to laugh. "Just don't punch eachother anymore please," I added. Lewis made it a point to sit as far away from Max as he could. Boys. We stayed there for a few more hours, before the two of them left. Visiting hours were almost over, and I was staring at the wall, bored out of my mind then the door opened again. It was Charles. He had red rimmed eyes, and couldn't even pretend to smile when he saw me. I propped the bed farther up, and opened my good arm for a hug. He layed next to me, similarly to Max had. I wrapped my arm around his body, albeit somewhat awkwardly, rubbing his back.
"Hey. I'm alive. I'm conscious, listen to my voice, I'm here." He nodded into my shoulder. When he pulled away, his cheeks were more tear stained then they were before.
"I-I'm so sorry. I've been such a dick to you, Cecelia." His voice was emotional, causing his accent to come thrugh more.
"We cope in different ways, Charles. We should have never had to go through what we did, but I do believe it made us stronger. Look at me, I'm the first woman to ever win a formula one race. You could never loose my respect and friendship. I promise." He just nodded, unable to talk. He sat down, and we just enjoyed eachothers company for a little longer, until they made him leave. After, I fell into a restful sleep, only to be awoken to arguing outside my door a few hours later. Looking at the clock, it is four in the morning. This is when I normally wake up anyways. A member of my security, Pierre cracks the door. I turn on the light by my bedside and nod. Toto comes in on one of those scooters in which you put your leg on after surgery. I want to laugh, but that would be rude. He just looks so ridiculous.
"Hey Toto! We're matching!" I said, lifting my arm then wincing. What the butt did they have me on? He laughed, before sitting in the chair Max was in a few hours ago. I'm not gonna tell him.
"Suzie is mad that I'm here, but she's in Austrailia, so it's fine. So. What went wrong? I'm going to talk to Hamilton and the rest of the team in an hour, but I want your point of view." He looked at me with an intencity that made me realize why he was team principal. He genuinely cared about making this team and it's drivers work well. I blew out a breath.
"I genuinely don't know. I had just pit, with fresh tires, Mercedes authorized me to go around Hamilton, I was gaining around the spoon curve, then all the sudden I was against the side, trapped."
"I know, I gave the all clear for you to pass." My eyebrows raised, surprised because he was supposed to be resting.
'I'm sure you know, but they say medically, I can race in Qatar, as long as I have the team principals sign off. I can race Toto, let me do what I was made to do." Toto glanced at me, then my shoulder, worry crossing over his face.
"If it was Hamilton you would have already signed off."
"You're not Hamilton. After Lewis's first crash, he had to wait over a month before racing again. It's not because your a girl, It's because I don't know enough about you," he said. His gaze was almost challenging me to respond.
"Then let me prove myself."
"I think you're going to sit out in Qatar unless you are fully 100% by the 30th of September. That's when we're leaving for Qatar." I open my mouth to argue that statement, before realizing it's useless, and nodding. Max texts me, so I pull out my phone, maybe not the nicest thing, but I made sure to always answer him quickly.
Madman
Hey, Eva asked me to text you to see
if your okay. Maybe text her back?
Cecelia
I didn't know you had eachothers
numbers. I'll text her back.
Madman
Yeah! We started texting last
week and she's so sweet! I got
Redbull to fly her out to Qatar as
my guest, so she'll be there!
Ceceila
Oh... amazing! I'm excited to see her.
Madman
I'm so excited to see her too!
Text you later!
I press my lips together, annoyed. I don't like Max Verstappen. Why am I reacting like this then? This is just so confusing. I look up to see Toto still there. Shit, I forgot about him.
"Sorry, I had to iron something out. Anything else, sir?"
"No, I just don't want to be early. Plus I just wanted to talk. How has the transition been from F2 to F1? Still enjoying your decision?"
"Absolutely. These have been the most amazing month of my life! I'm sure I would have fun in the Academy with Bia, but they'res just something about racing here. The feeling where everything just falls away. I don't think I ever mentioned this, but in my first race, my radio was slightly broken, and I could hear the audience, which made me realize everything I had done is worth it. It was a different transition, but to compete on this level has always been my dream," I replied. I struggled in the middle of my monolouge, but felt like I did good in the end. He only nodded, before saying goodbye, and wheeling out of my, or technically his hospital room. I streatched my non-injured shoulder before getting up and out of the bed with the help of Jaque. Someone what put me in new clothes after going through surgery, so I was not in my grimy race outfit. I opened the door, and began walking around the hospital floor. Smiling at some of the nurses who had helped me, and signing some fan merch from visitors in the hospital. It was the least I could do for the various reasons they were here. A few hours later, I was discharged.
Calling my driver, I waited a few minutes for him to pull up. While I was waiting, people stared to look over at me. My security took notice, and stepped closer, challenging anyone to do anything. A car horn beeped to signal my ride being here. I climbed into the backseat with Jaque next to me, as he was my main bodyguard. We rode back to the hotel in silence after hearing the ultimatum Toto had given me. The next few days were a blur. The punctures into my shoulder were doing much better, almost no need for a bandage, and the shoulder itself was already feeling stronger. I had been going on runs around Tokyo, having not been able to do any strenuous workouts for the past to days. Wiping off me sweat, I stopped my tracking watch. 8.3 miles. Pretty good for a quick run. Hopping in the shower, I used the cover the hospital had given me for my shoulder. They did not want the stitches to get wet. Speaking of those, I would get said stitches out today! From there, I would work out in every waking hour, and some non-waking hours to build up strength in that side. I could already feel my right side calibrating to work twice as hard. For the first time, I went down to the gym in the hotel and got some resistance bands, and a mat. Going into a corner, I began with some simple front raises. I did two minutes of those, before doing some pull-aparts, which were far harder. I had to stop after about 90 seconds for risk of hurting my progress. I added a few more exercises, and did five reps before calling it good, and walking around. I no longer needed the sling, but me bandage was stil in place under my shirt, making my shoulder humorously bigger than my other one. I undo the bandage, replacing it with a smaller one after showering, and throw on a black dress with a denum jacket. I grab a matching black mini-kelly, and leave the room. Texting, Saumi, my Mercedes representative, I told her I was going shopping. Why go to Tokyo if you can't shop? F1, duh but shopping is fun. I still am not cleared for driving, I will be in two days, when I go to my check-up, so Jaque will drive me. The majority of drivers had left for Qatar already, so there was no one really other than Lewis to call. Deciding against calling him, I asked Jaque to take me to Ginza. I was told by my friend, Hana, that it was the best place in Tokyo to shop for high-end products. When we arrived, Jaque parked, and let me out of the Benz I had been issued to drive. My left arm hung at my side, I was almost afraid to use it, which would be a habit I would have to break. Walking into the first store; chanel, I was met with a greeter who ushered me into the back room upon arrival. Only then, did I relax. They brought out a few of their new jewelry pieces, each more stunning than the last. A lion necklace with over two thousand cut diamonds and rubies. Probobly the most stunning pink-sapphire and dimond pairing I had ever seen, and lastly... lastly a blue sapphie rink that just took my breath away. The center stone, probably the size of my eye was the most stunning shade of blue I had ever seen. Across the band, there were yellow diamond stars, with a gold band. My brain shortcirkited at the sight of such beauty.
"Combien de?" I said. "Sorry, How much?" The price was insane, but hey. If the boys can wear half a million dollar watches, I can get some fine jewelry. I also got a Coco bracelet for not very much because it had a C on it, a black wool jacket and shield sunglasses from there, before moving onto the next store. We went into Tasaki, where I got the 'Aurora' earings, which was white gold, and had a pearl before cascading down in an ombre of diamonds and sapphires. The piece was beautiful and would go perfect with her Chanel ring. Finally, I went into Gucci Ginza, knowing what I wanted. I needed a new classic Gucci belt. Back when I was in the wold of modeling and fashion, I was a representative for Gucci, but when I chose driving over walking, they took all my products on loan. Since then, I never really touched a Gucci item, however I was in despite need of a belt, and my old one had gone with everything. I went up to the counter. Unlike Chanel, they did not seem to care about status. Thats nice, I guess. I got the belt, but when I got to checkout apparently my account reset? They let me buy the belt, as it was not one of their as high end items, but it was obvious they would not let me get anything much more expensive. For this purchas, I took out the company card, as I would be wearing this mainly in the paddock before the race. When I was first given the card, Hamilton said they were lax with what you used it with, as long as it's not over 10,000 USD. Ending my shopping trip, I tentatively put the light Gucci shopping bag on my left arm, seeing how much weight it could support without hurting. It worked! I was surprised that it did not hurt! Maybe I would be competing in Qatar. I posed for paparazzi as I walked out of the shop, before being ushered to the waiting car. Climbing in, I tripped over the doorstop. Jaque was blocking, so photographers could not see, but some pain shot up my arm. Not very much, but enough to make me worried.
The next day, I went to the Mercedes AMG Peteron stand up gym, and practiced the wheel. This was what I would have to master if I wanted to race. It was fine when I turned left, but when I turned right, I could feel some pressure. I turned it to see how far I could go without hurting myself, but I never really reached that point! This was an immensely good sign. I used the resistance bands some more, before going to reflex testing. This was what I was best at when training. When I started, the first few buttons were on my right, so it was not that bad. Lunging forward, I hit a green button near my left pinky, barley giving it a nano second to flash. In doing this, the shoulder muscle stretched, causing my to bite back a scream as the stitches stretched too. Those would be coming out later today. Having enough, I went to legs. After an hour and a half of leg exercises I had to leave for fear of missing my appointment. I showered, before putting on a pretty basic outfit with a silver and teal rolex I had receved as a signing gift with rolex being a major partner of F1. Putting on my new C bracelet, I walked out of the hotel. My car was idling with Jaque in the drivers seat. I texted Saumi, telling her I was going to the appointment, before we drove off. Jaque and I talked for a little while, until he started hinting at things. I'm sure he thought he was subtle, but it was obvious, like other people around me, he wanted a relationship. I thought he was just being friendly in the past, but there are many instances where he was too touchy. Where he lingered a few seconds longer than he had to, even when he was doing his job. One time, I slipped, and he caught me, but in doing so, he grabbed my ass. Maybe it was an accedent though, and I'm just feeding into this too much. We had finally arrived at the clinic. They took the stitches out, and bandaged the wound with less heavy bandages. I had four days remaining if I wanted to race.
The next days were spent almost day and night in the gym. Stregenting my shoulder, arm, legs, and almost every other body part. I had gotten my drivers lisense back, so Jaque was now in a seporite car, tailing me. The rule was no one except drivers were aloud in this gym, so he had to wait outside the doors. I may request a new bodyguard, as it was becoming more and more of a worry something would happen in my mind. When I wasn't working out, I was logging sim hours. Over twitch, i connected with nearly eight hundred people who I raced against in groups of twenty. Some of them were spectacular drivers. A friend I had made through this, and I was hoping to invite to Qatar, Patroan was in said groups, and the only one who beat me out of all the races I had done. He could always beat me, which was just infureating. There was talk of Williams replacing Saragnt with him in 2024, as he was an American racer, which is what the FIA and the F1 company wanted. It would be so amazing to have him race! On the 29th, I stayed up late racing just him and bots in a private server, to see if I could beat him. He won 6 of the eleven races we did, so he won, but it was incredible that I even got that close to him. He held fastest lap time, across many countries leaderboards, and was internationally know as a legend. As I logged off, he wished me a good night, before we both went to bed.
It was it. When I would see if I could make it to Qatar. Mercedes was going to give the seat to Russel, but because it was only my 4th race, and I was in 8th for championship points behind Lando, they were thinking about giving me the contract. Russel had not even been seen on the track yet from his broken leg and hip and three ribs from an ugly crash before summer break. Alphaturi was thinking of taking him and replacing Yuki, who still did not have a contract for the 2024 season. The team was up in the air on weither to take Russel, keep Yuki, or give Yuki's seat to Lawson. My guess is they would take Russel. As I drove to the track, I drummed my fingers on the wheel. What if the crash would be my last time racing? I pulled up. Getting out, I scanned my badge before going in. When I was a candidate to take George's seat, they ahd given me a pass my first day, which I had lost on my second. Frantic, I called Lewis, who had given me his number the day before. He was with Toto at the time, and I almost cried from embarrassment. The person I was competing against for the seat crashed, so I got it with amazing lap times and a joking warning from Toto which scared the shit out of me at the time.
The idea was pretty simple. If I could go around the track as fast as I normally do, as well as pass a tailored physical to the sport, I could race in Qatar. I got into gear, with the engineers looking at me worriedly. Did they think I would crash again? Fair, but their judgement of me hurts. After checks, I got into the car, and felt the power. Holy shit. This car was amazing. I idled at the starting line, as my race engineer got ready. Green. I shot off the line, determined to show I war ready, I was. There was almost no need for the bandage, as the skin was healing. I had been working out, so I may have actually been faster. As I approached spoon cerve, I got a little nervous. It was insane how fast they could fix the barriers. There was literally no sign of my crash. I went around the track 17 more times before being called back in by my race engineer. Stopping the car, I immediately broke into a smile as Toto nodded to me from the balcony after hearing confirmation from race command and the FIA. I would be racing in Qatar!
Madman: How did you do? Ceceile: I got cleared! I'm going to. be racing in Qatar!
Madman: Yay! I was wondering, I know it's
late notice, if I could fly you out to Monaco?
Me and some family and friends are having a
b-day celebration for me! I heard you know
Eva and Sugar. They'll both be there.
I gritted my teeth. Why did he invite them? Eva I'm excited about seeing, but it makes me feel weirdly jealous knowing she'll be both there and in Qatar. Jaim, I just don't like. It seems almost every celebrity knows her, and loves her, but she just makes me so annoyed constantly. And finally, Sugar. Sugar was the main reason I was thinking about declining in all honesty. Her and I had dated for a few months. Secretly, of course. Imagine the news if a female olympic athlete had sex with a female formula 2 driver came out? I was absolutely heartbroken when I found out she was cheating on me during this time, tho. Since, I blocked her everywhere, and haven't had any contact. She came out as queer, and is currently engaged to another woman. To think if I came out as bisexual. No one in motorsport would like me. Just thinking about it gives me anxiety. Realizing it was Max's birthday, I sighed before texting him I would come. Almost immediately he sent over the plane tickets. I chuckled, accepting them before texting Lewis and Toto that I would be going to Monaco before Qatar. The tickets Max got for me left in three hours, so I turned the car around to grab my bags from the hotel, before driving to the airport. I went to a separate entrance for more famous people, with shorter lines, so I was through security within half an hour. I walked back into the main terminal, and went to my gate, C7. Haha, very funny Max. Sitting down, I just play on my phone for a little while until a shy fan comes up, asking for a picture. I get up, while smiling and comply. This was insane, that someone would just come up to me and ask. Wow. Amazing. They called my boarding group, and this time I was in seat 7C. It made my cheeks blush with how much Max put into just my gate and seat. The flight was uneventful other than the person next to me wanting to film a tik tok with me just like saying they met me I guess?
Madmax Ceceile: I'm here, i'll rent a car, but will you send directions?
Madmax: Nonsense, my sister just landed
and I'm going to pick her up, I'll take you too.
Ceceile Okay, Thank you!
I put my bags down, and sat in one of the empty seats in the waiting area. I got bored, and started looking at team strategy on my phone. I had done the sprint race before, which is where I had met the boys for the first time, but I had not done great on it last year, especially in my F2 car, which was like a snail compared to these cars. However, I was excited of one person. Nissany. We both drove for DAMS, so we become quite close in a short amount of time, having to trust eachother. I was pulled out of my thoughts by a woman coming up to me. I stand up, closing my phone. "You're Ceceile, right? Max talks about you!" "Oh! You must be his sister!" I take my airpod out, a habit Lewis had instilled in me, and we started talking. Was there some gene in the Verstappen family that I just found hot? I subtly flirted, as was my personality, but nothing to make it seem obvious. "So, how's racing going? Max doesn't tell me that much about how much you kick his butt," She laughed. "I am very intent on kicking the Verstappen family's butt," I smirk. Shit. What was that? To my releif she just laughed. Not in a 'this is awkward, I'm gonna laugh this off', but in a 'this is actually really funny' way. "Now I know what he means when Max says your a fucking demon on the track. I'm sorry about your crash, are you okay?" I nodded. "It looked worse than what it was. The suit caught most of the debris, with a piece of the bargeboard puncturing my shoulder. I had intense PT all of last week." She nodded along, as we talked for a bit more. I stopped flirting after I found out she had a husband and two kids. A few minutes later, Max texted that he was outside. We both brought our bags out, and put them in the trunk. She slid into the passenger, while I stepped into the back of the aston martin. He turned to me slightly, while keeping his eyes on the road. "How are you, Ceceile? I would not have asked you to come if I did not hear you were cleared." "I'm good now. I'm just using bandages so I don't get an infection, but the punctures are scabbing over now." He smiled slightly at the news, glad I was okay. The three of us fell into a comfortable rhythm of talking and not over the time we spent in the car. Max drove us to the hotel where all of us would be spending the night, so that we could get changed. The building was stunning with architecture that reminded me of my home, and a gorgeous chandelier. Victoria and I check in, while Max goes up to his room to change. Apparently my room was right next to Max and Sugars' which was just lovely. I go in, being sure to lock the door, and take a shower. Blowing out my hair, I think about that moment when I was not sure if I would race again. How terrified and distrout I had been. I can't let that happen again. After my hair is dry, I put on make-up, and a cute pink and white outfit. I should have gotten that pink chanel ring. It would have gone perfect with this. I took out a thin silver necklace I had gotten for my fourteenth birthday, and put it on. I took the necklace with me everywhere, however, I never really wore it. I guess I just wanted some good luck tonight with all the bad luck I had been getting. —Going up to the restaurant, I told them it was a reservation for Max, and they brought me to a back room. Walking in, I sucked in a breath as I saw the people already there. Eva gasped in happiness when she saw me, and ran up to give me a hug in a stunning long sleeve black dress. Max and Victoria were not there yet, but there were about ten people here already. I reconized a few people. Daniel was there, which I was excited about. I had never met the man, but almost everyone on the grid had told me how nice he was. Who he was talking to tho made me freeze. I thought I was ready for her. I hadn't thought about our relationship in almost a year, but seeing her there. Her dark hair was put up in a bun, with her natural freckles inficized with make-up. Her skin glowed beautifully in the light. I hated that woman. I looked away, right as Max arrived! I smiled at him, and for a minute our eyes locked. My face blushed a little, and I could swear there was some pigment on his cheeks as well.
For the rest of the day, we partied. At sunset, we went out on a boat, and all talked, before going back to the restaurant. Thats when everything went wrong. I had excused myself to go to the bathroom for the first time that night, feeling somewhat safe. Doing my business, I washed my hands, and went out the door. Blindsided, I was shooved against the wall, roughly. The shock lasted for a moment, as she began to kiss me. Snapping back, I realized what was happening. I used my arms to break her grasp, before pushing her away. At this point, I had began to cry a little; my mascara inching it's way down it's face. "My love, don't cry, please. I'm sorry for surprising you, I just missed you so much." I shoved her away, before going back into the bathroom and locking the door behind me. Letting out a small cry, I called Max.
"Ceceile? Arn't you in the bathroom?" When he heard my faint crying on the other end, I heard him start to make excuses to leave for a second. All the while, Sugar was still pounding on the door, begging me to let her in. Max never hung up. Not when he and Sugar had a hushed arguement that turned not so hushed as he yelled at her to leave, not when he gently knocked on the door, and asked me to open it, and not even when we hugged, and our phones made the earsplitting noise it makes when your too close to someone.
"I'm sorry for ruining your birthday, Max."
"You could never, Ceceile." And with that, we both went back to the party for a little while, before he drove me home.