ELYSE's POV
A throbbing headache woke me up, the consequences of the previous night were really coming back to haunt me.
First it was the headache I knew would last me the whole day then it was finding Neymar roaming around in my apartment, second it was finding that god-awful text I don't remember sending.
To my shit luck, the 'seen' receipt was right below my message with no reply in sight.
After Neymar gave me a brief rundown of the events of last night, he was on his way to Liverpool and it was time for me to head back to the Redbull HQ.
On the way there, I kept praying that Max would've gotten so shit-faced to the point where he also couldn't remember what happened last night or I was going to jump off a cliff.
As I was pulling into the parking lot I spotted the last person I would find here.
And I mean, I don't usually care nor focus on the driver of random cars... but a bright red Honda NSX being driven by Kelly Piquet, leaving the Redbull HQ parking lot left an unsettling pit in my stomach.
Uneasy, I swallowed my worries and walked into Christian's office where I was given the tasks of the day– which was mostly sim work. To my luck, Max would also be there and by the way he kept looking at me, he definitely knew something...
While tensions between us were rising for no apparent reason, Thomas could clearly sense it and decided to small talk with me to ease my nerves and not screw up each lap attempt I tried.
A loud huff interrupted Thomas and I's conversation.
"How many times do I have to make it clear that there are people trying to concentrate here?" Max's voice was stern. "You can take your conversations outside and come back when you're actually going to work."
I scoffed at him, as if he doesn't talk with his engineer while on the sim. But then I regained myself and remembered what Violet previously told me.
Control your anger, don't blurt out the first thing you thought of when you're mad which you might regret later on.
Peacefully, I grabbed a random headset beside me and handed it to him. "Here, blast whatever music or anything on full volume to solve your problem."
He looked at the headset with disgust and I spared him no mind and continued my chat with Thomas.
A few hours later and the sun was starting to set and the moon was beginning to lighten the dark sky. My favorite time of the day.
Just as I was packing my stuff and about to head out, the last person I expected to approach me was standing right in front of me.
"Christian wants us at his office." Max informed me, an uneasy demeanor displayed on his face, almost like it was uncomfortable for him to be in the same room as me privately– yet alone talk to me.
I briefly nodded, setting my things aside to grab later and following the broody Dutch man in an unforgiving silence.
Entering Christian's office, it was filled with probably half of Redbull's staff.
"Ah, finally our two stars are here to join us." A cheerful Christian greeted us.
"Anyways, since it's New Year's Eve this weekend, I'm honored to invite you all to our annual New Year's party." He announced and cheers erupted all around the room. "You all know how this party goes, and I'm happy to celebrate going into a New Year with our new addition to the Redbull family, Elyse."
Another round of cheers went around for me and I could only smile and laugh.
Christian continued to rant about pointless things for a few more minutes before we were finally let go and I could leave.
Right as I left the HQ, I stopped in my tracks the moment I spotted the same bright red Honda parked in the parking lot with Kelly inside, sitting in the passenger seat, too busy scrolling on her phone to realize I was staring at her.
Before anyone could call me a stalker, I made my way to my car which was just a few cars beside that damned bright red Honda. I sunk deep into the seats of my Mercedes'– which I know, is very disloyal of me to my new team, but considering half the cars I own are Mercedes, I don't have much of a choice.
After sitting for about five minutes, waiting to see who the hell Kelly Piquet was waiting for when I knew she had nothing to do with anyone in Redbull anymore.
At least that was what I thought until I saw non-other than the man himself, Max Verstappen, hopping into that Honda's driver's seat and greeting Kelly with a kiss. That memory being the last thing I saw of the two before they drove off.
I'm sure I must have sat in shock for a good half hour before I mustered the ability to drive again. That was after I called Violet and complained to her over the phone, with a few tears being shed, of course.
So, for the few days that followed, I made sure to avoid Max at all costs– even if it was going against Violet's advice, but I just simply couldn't face him after what I saw– that's why when he'd be in the sim, I'd be with engineers discussing ideas and debriefing and vice-versa. And it was safe to say my plan of avoiding him at work went successfully, but I knew it would be short-lived since I'd be seeing him at the New Year's Eve party tonight.
Thankfully, Ashley had finally arrived to Milton Keynes earlier and I was taking her with me to the party for... well, support.
The getting ready process helped get my mind off certain things, and I was generally happy to have one of my best-friends with me after spending quite a while all by myself.
We both put on our best dresses, put our edgiest makeup looks– looking 'ready for revenge', as Ashley would say.
We decided to Uber there considering the party was being held at Christian's huge mansion which was at-least half an hour away from us.
Upon arriving, many luxurious cars littered the entrance, the disco music from inside was louder than ever, a banner with the words 'Welcome Home, Redbull Family' was displayed on the front of the house.
A kind caretaker took Ashley and I's matching fur coats and pointed us to where the actual party was at.
Mix of rays of red, blue and yellow lights shined in different directions, reflecting the colors of Redbull Racing as a team.
A few Redbull employees greeted me as soon as they spotted me. Once Ashley saw Christian making his way over to me, she dipped and headed to where Thomas was.
"Elyse! I'm glad you could make it." He shot me a homely smile and briefly side-hugged me. He handed me an extra drink he was holding and held his own drink up high, "To new beginnings?"
"To new beginnings." I repeated, clinking my glass of champagne with his.
While Christian left me to go and talk with some of the sponsors that were attending the party, I downed the drink he gave me and made my way to the bar to get another.
I was pleased to have Ashley and Thomas join me at the bar, ordering shots. Which would be classified as rather unprofessional at a team event filled with sponsors, but who cares? It's just one night and this excruciatingly bad year comes to an end. And maybe, just maybe I could finally let everything go.
We slowed down on the shots and referred back to classy, bubbly glasses of champagne.
Just as everything was going splendid, the 'power couple' decided to make an appearance. It was almost as if everyone's eye's were glued to the two, admiring their open love to each other.
Before jealousy could seep its way into my veins, I grabbed Ashley back to the bar.
"That's it I need to get drunk.. like now." I huffed and pushed back a string of hair that managed to escape the bun it was in.
Ashley laughed at my behavior, knowing full well the reason behind it but agreed to supervise me while I drunk away my sorrows.
There were 30 minutes left until New Years. And here I was, wandering off in some barely lit garden with a half empty bottle of wine and glass. I took off my heels considering how uncomfortable it was to walk with them on grass. Echoes of the obnoxious music sounded to where I was, and I was quietly humming along.
The view from the garden was certainly spectacular. The mansion itself was on a hill, overlooking the city of Milton Keynes. I don't know how long I sat there, staring at the stars and thinking about someone who had another girl on his arm.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard someone yelling, "5 minutes left!"
I blew raspberries and raised the bottle of wine in the air, "To another miserable year." Then I downed the remainder of the bottle and threw it off the hill, hoping it didn't smash into someone, or their car.
As I was getting up, I found Max standing a few meters behind me. He immediately looked away when I caught him staring. For some reason, I decided to walk towards him.
"Didn't your mother teach you it's impolite to stare?" I asked, my words obviously dripping with sarcasm though I don't think he really picked up on that.
"I wasn't staring at you." He replied, standing his ground.
I raised a brow, not believing a word that came out of his mouth, "Hmm, sure." I turned around, giving him my back. "Well, if you weren't staring at me, what were you staring at?"
"The view." He stated, not adding many words to his sentences and I tried my best to not show how much his two-worded replies bothered me.
"This view?" I started to slowly walk towards the edge of the grassy hill, and a shriek left
me as I nearly slipped after my foot got tangled in a string of weed seeds which made Max come forward and grab onto me preventing me from falling.
I could feel my body heat up and a childish giggle escaped me, "Aw, how kind of you to save me." I don't know what was wrong with me – probably the insane amount of alcohol in my system – but something urged me to put my hand on his cheek and lightly caress it.
Before I could do something I'd regret, I created some space between us. An uncomfortable silence washed upon us.
"What are you doing here, away from the party and your girlfriend?" I knew it was petty to ask, but I couldn't help it.
His eyes dropped to the ground the moment I mentioned Kelly.
"What are you doing here all alone, with nothing but a bottle of wine?" He asked in return.
"Avoiding you." I spoke without hesitation, knowing full well I'd never have the guts to say that out loud if it weren't for the alcohol, yet alone be willing to approach him. "Now answer my question."
"It was all too much out there, I wanted some fresh air." I noticed that by the tone of his voice and the way his eyes slightly squinted that he was most definitely lying.
"Hm.. I thought you come to these events every year, aren't you supposed to be used to it by now?" I thought out loud. "And does wanting some fresh air include secretly staring at me?"
His eyes faltered for a second, "No, you were just there by coincidence." He shrugged.
"I think you're forgetting that I know when you're lying, right?" I chuckled lightly, "This is reminding me a lot of that time when you took a picture of me but said you were 'screenshotting' something." I laughed at the memory, pretty sure I looked like the biggest idiot ever, but I didn't really care.
We both didn't say anything for a while, just admiring at each other at a distance. Well, I knew I was admiring him. But by the way he was looking at me, I could feel myself teleport back to when he looked at me like I was the only girl in his eyes.
"I miss those times..." I continued to blurt out. "Don't you?"
"Elyse.. I—" He began to speak but I interrupted him.
"God, I hate the sound of my name on your tongue." I looked away from him, diverting my attention to the scenery ahead of us, too afraid to see his reaction. Or maybe the lack of reaction coming from him. I don't know why my drunken self didn't take that as a sign to stop talking, but instead I took it as a motive to carry on— pouring out my entire heart in-front of him right there and then.
"I hate the way you walk past me like I mean nothing to you. I hate the way we're back to how we used to be. I hate the way you look at me and make me feel. I hate the fact that you hate me. And most of all, I hate myself for letting you walk out of that room when it was the last thing I ever wanted."
By the time I finally looked back at him, my tears were filled to the brim with tears threatening to fall, making it hard for me to see his face.
"Elyse... I–... I don't hate you." He seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "I—"
"10!" The screams of people from the party counting down interrupted him. The very moment one tear managed to slip and I was quick to swipe it away and step back with a sniffle.
"No, it's fine. I understand if you do." I told him.
"9!"
"I know I hurt you and that I'm a bad person, but I've been trying to work on becoming a better person." I added.
"8!"
"Because I don't want to repeat the same mistakes again and hurt the people I love most because I'm too dumb and scared of losing them." I don't think I've ever admitted this to anyone before, but here I was.
"7!"
"But you were the last person I wanted to loose."
"6!"
"So, I'm sorry for choosing a sport over you and hurting you."
"5!"
"Trust me, if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have let you go. Ever."
"4!"
His face was a mix of surprise, disbelief and heartbreak.
"3!"
I was starting to realize how foolish I seemed after letting the alcohol speak for me.
"2!"
"Shit, I'm sorry you should go to your girlfriend–"
"1!"
"—they say it's bad luck to not kiss anyone on New Year's—"
"Happy New Year!"
It all happened in a blur, Max's lips were on mine.
Max's lips were on mine.
It was as if time had come to a halt as his luscious lips pressed against mine, kissing me slowly and passionately as if he was savoring this moment as much as I was.
And just when I thought that was it, his hands made their way to my cheeks, cupping them while deepening the kiss.
We broke away to catch our breaths and stood there, both of stunned at what just happened. More me than him.
"I don't want bad luck this year if I want to beat you." He shrugged, justifying the reason for kissing me the way he just did.
I offered him a smile, already missing the feeling of his lips fitting perfectly with mine, the sensation lingering longer than it should.
"Well, I better head back— I've been gone for too long." I awkwardly excused myself and he simply nodded, his usual cold stare being replaced by a more gentle one.
As soon as I gave him my back and started walking away from him, I heard him say; "Oh and El?"
I stopped in my tracks, trying my best to hide the smile on my face as he called out for me by one of my nicknames– sure it wasn't something special like Ly, but still.
I turned around towards him, waiting for what he was going to say next.
"I really don't hate you." He genuinely said, "I never did, and never will."
I couldn't fight the smile anymore, "Then why didn't you say that when I sent you that text?"
"What text?" He asked, a confused expression written on his face.
"Oh." My smile faded at his cluelessness. "Nothing." I lied.
"Anyways, I need to go, Ashley's calling me." I pointed at my dead phone, not that he had to know that, and took it as my chance to leave.
Shortly after, I rejoined the party.
"Hey! Where were you all this time? We missed you at the countdown." Was the first thing Ashley said the moment she found me, "Nobody could find you or Max—"
She stopped in the middle of her sentence, then looked at me in bewilderment. "Oh my God, I'm so dumb– no way!"
I looked at her with concern while grabbing a new glass of wine and taking a sip.
Ashley continued to laugh hysterically while I tried to get as far away from her as possible, knowing she already figured everything out.
"I'm going to the bathroom." I told her, "Don't follow me." I pointed a warning finger towards her.
"Yeah? Probably because you're going to get some D." She fell into another fit of hysterics and I made my way to the bathroom to try and make myself seem as presentable as possible.
In the midst of reapplying my lipgloss, someone entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut, locking the door. The sound of heels clicking against the bathroom tiles grew nearer and nearer to me and I could clearly see the culprit in the mirror, standing behind me.
I rolled my eyes, mentally preparing myself for what was coming next while adding the finishing touches to my makeup before turning to face non-other than Kelly Piquet herself.
"I think you know why I'm here." She crossed her arms over her chest.
I scoffed at her attitude, "No, I don't and quite frankly I'm not interested." As I was making my way past her, her hands firmly grabbed onto my shoulders stopping me momentarily.
I ripped her hands off me instantly and she looked at me like I insulted her whole family bloodline— but she could at-least be grateful I didn't crush her hands instead.
"No, I think you will be interested when it involves losing your career." She spat.
Before I could argue, she already shoved her phone in my hands displaying photos of Max and I kissing and I could already see where this is going.
"Being a home wrecker is one thing, but fucking your way into a team just to save yourself and your pathetic career?" She looked me up and down and laughed, "That would definitely sell stories, am I right?"
I swear, if looks could kill, she would've been buried ages ago.
"Get to the point, Kelly."
"It's simple really, you stay away from my boyfriend and these photos don't get published and you get to keep your precious seat." She shrugged with a bitter sweet smile on her face. "It can't be that hard for you, right? I mean it wouldn't be the first time you choose this sport over Max, would it?"
"If that's all I'd like to get going." I brushed past her, making sure to aggressively bump my shoulder into her, making her loose her balance and topple over.
Pretending I didn't give a shit in front of Kelly was easy but crashing into Max and having him catch me like he always did, knowing that I now have to stay away from him really stirred my emotions.
"Fuck.. I'm sorry." My voice wavered as I apologized, not for bumping into him, but for repeating the same mistake twice.
"What's wrong—" I didn't stay any longer to explain, taking off as soon as I could and not looking back twice.
Once I was far enough away from him, I searched for Ashley who had a concerned look on her face the moment she saw my shivering lips.
"Let's get you home, Ellie." She wrapped her arms around me while escorting us out of the party, "We can order a bunch of ice cream and then you can tell me all about it."
Sometimes I keep wondering how the hell I end up in these situations, and how, no matter how hard I try to avoid repeating the mistakes I made before, I always fall in the same ditch despite knowing each crack and crevice of the street.
-
i'm sorryy😬😬
but i hope u enjoyed this chapter as much as i did😙
lmk how u want to see this play out cuz im in desperate need of ideas rn😭