The double bed was definitely not made to accommodate three people, even if you were all spooning, so you found yourself sneaking out at sunrise. You hadn't been able to sleep with the thoughts running through your head, wondering why Max couldn't have been more like your mother. You weren't worried about waking Lando as you climbed out from between them, since you didn't have an air horn on you, but you were careful not to jostle Charles who was a much lighter sleeper.
After changing into a pair of leggings and a sports bra, you found your airpods and shoved the Aura ring back on your finger before taking a lap of the village. You quickly settled into a good pace, feeling the rhythmic slap of your trainers on the pavement and timing your breathing to match. It cleared your mind and gave you a focus on something other than everything else that was happening around you. For those precious minutes you didn't think about Max.
So far you had managed to avoid talking about him with your mum, though that was mostly thanks to being blindsided by your relationship status - it had been enough to distract her for the rest of the day. You weren't so sure that luck would last another 24 hours but you would certainly try.
--
"Just leave her be, she'll come in when she's ready." Your mother had been watching you all morning from her spot on the window seat, a cup of tea in hand. After Charles had woken up he had joined her and watched curiously, wondering why you were in the garden. "Avoiding me," she said with a knowing smile. "It's funny that the only times she would willingly do her chores were when she was trying to hide. It was a dead giveaway, but I never said anything. It was just nice to not have to ask her to do them."
Charles chuckled as you battled to trim the agapanthus with a pair of rusted and blunt shears. "Should I offer to help?"
She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, checking the time on her watch. "She's nearly done."
Charles quirked an eyebrow as he looked at the progress that had barely started to make a dent in the long drive.
"Fuck," you hissed as you the slimy residue that leaked from every cut leaf made your hand slippery and the shears fell from your grasp, narrowly missing your foot. You went to wipe a wayward hair that fell onto your nose but the sun caught the shimmer of slime and you jerked back with a groan, instead trying to blow it out of your face. You grew more irritated as the hair remained where it was tickling your nose and the urge to sneeze built up. "Fuck this shit."
Abandoning the garden, you marched up the path and kicked your filthy shoes off before storming through the house.
"Good morning, sweetheart," your mother greeted jovially. "Lovely day for a spot of gardening."
"I'm calling Mr Newberry," you grumbled on your way to the bathroom. "He can sort that mess out."
You felt slightly calmer after washing away the slime and the chlorophyll that stained your fingers green and that feeling only grew when you found Charles waiting with a coffee made just how you liked it. "Busy morning?" he asked after handing over your elixir of life and taking his payment with a quick kiss.
"I'm just trying to help out," you said with an innocent shrug. "I made a list of things that need fixing around here and if I don't make the phone calls they will never get done."
Charles tried to hide his amusement but when you narrowed your eyes at him he couldn't stop the smile from breaking through. "Your mother knows you so well," he laughed as he leaned in to whisper, "She knows you are avoiding her."
"No, she doesn't."
"Yes, she does," he assured you, running his hands along your sides before he kissed your forehead. "Just talk to her, amour."
A shirtless and sleepy Lando stumbled his way into the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he made a beeline for the two of you. You placed your mug on the table before he reached you and let him fall into the middle of the embrace as his eyes fluttered shut again. He must have been burrowed under the blankets because the heat radiating off him was almost hotter than the blistering shower you had taken.
"Why are you awake?" he mumbled against your neck.
"Couldn't sleep."
"She's being a coward and avoiding her mum."
That made Lando battle his exhausted state and force his eyes to open as his forehead crinkled with a frown. "Why?"
"I'm not."
"Because she wants to know why that person-we-can't-mention-for-another-eight-days keeps calling her."
"You can say his name," you grumbled. "Max Verstappen, World Champion, Number One. Prodigal Son. Cunt."
Your mother gasped as she entered the room with a fresh brew of tea. "I should wash your mouth out with soap, young lady."
You winced at the reprimand. "Oops, turns out we can't say his name."
"This has gone on long enough, take a seat - family meeting," she ordered as she pointed to the table. Lando and Charles took a step towards the door but your mum tutted. "You're a part of this family now too, gentlemen."
"Should I put a shirt on?" Lando asked as he looked down at himself. "Or shorts?"
"Please don't." "Please do." You spoke at the same time as your mother, both of you sending each other slightly irritated looks.
"Two Spitfires, Char, there's two now," he whispered under his breath as he went to get dressed. He obviously had been in a rush and blindly pulled clothes out because the tense atmosphere wasn't enough to stop Charles from grinning at the sight of Lando in his Ferrari shirt.
Seated at one end of the table, you faced your mother while your poor boyfriends were the buffer between. Lacing her fingers together, she stared back at you and made that heavy sigh that every parent could which immediately induced waves of guilt. You didn't even have anything to be guilty over, but it happened anyway.
"What happened with Max?"
You crossed your arms at the direct question. "This is why I don't bring people home."
"What happened with Max?"
"Nothing." You dropped your head to the table with a thud as her penetrating stare became too much to look at.
"What happened with Max?"
"Fucksake," you groaned as her persistence won over your impatience. "He called you a whore...well technically he called me one too, but it doesn't matter. He disrespected you, mum, so instead of calling you what he can do is he can take his phone and go fuck himself with it."
Lando covered his mouth as a quiet squeak slipped out behind his apologetic smile and you reached out with your foot, running it up and down his leg. You felt bad for subjecting him to this drama when he was as introverted as they come - not that anyone would guess after seeing him on tv. Charles seemed to just take everything on the chin and not a lot fazed him at all, but like you he was reaching out to soothe Lando under the table too.
"I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry," you said as you started to push your chair out.
"Wait, please," your mum asked quietly as her face softened. "He shouldn't have said that, sweetheart, and I'm sorry that he did. I'm assuming it was after he found out about the three of you?"
You all nodded sullenly and she sighed. "It's a shock, that's no excuse, but it was a big shock. Maybe you should talk to him? It's been a few days, he's had time to think and reflect. You might be surprised."
"Have you ever heard Max apologise?" you asked Lando and Charles. Both of their eyebrows furrowed in thought before they shook their heads. "See, Max doesn't apologise, and I have no interest in hearing anything else from him."
"As long as you're doing it for yourself, honey, and not on my behalf. I have been called every name under the sun, but it's water off a duck's back. Don't miss out on the opportunity to repair the relationship for some vindication for me. He's your brother and you have missed so much of each other's life already." Your mother sighed again as she saw you had heard her words but they hadn't broken the wall you had built. "Just think about it."
She rose from the table, walking around it to rest her hand on your shoulder. "Just think about it," she repeated before she left the room as you sagged in your chair like a puppet whose string had been cut.
Your phone vibrated in your pocket and you pulled it out to see your reflection broken on the screen. It still hadn't been repaired from the last argument you had with Max when you accidentally cracked it. Perhaps it was a good reminder to keep.
Unlocking the device, you saw the notification from family share - alerting you that your location services were in use.
"Fucking cunt," you groaned before hearing your name from the other end of the house. "Sorry! Can I call him a prick?"
Lando laughed and this time Charles joined in as your mother ranted to herself about your language. You couldn't help that you grew up around mechanics and drivers, they were the most foul mouthed bunch of people.
Reaching across, Charles took a look at your phone before updating Lando. "He tracked her."
"What do you want to do?"
Five minutes ago you would have ditched the phone and packed the car. Five minutes ago you might have threatened harassment. Five minutes of talking with your mother changed everything.
"I don't know," you admitted as you dropped your head in your hands until they were pulled away. You could wear a blindfold and still know exactly who was holding your hand, recognising their touch and feel with the familiarity of intimacy. "What do you think I should do?"
"I'm not ready to forgive him for how he spoke to you, amour," Charles shrugged. "If he was my brother, I honestly don't know if that would change anything."
"I'll follow your lead, baby," Lando said as he lifted your hand to his lips. "Whatever you decide. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking you look really good in that shirt," you said as you looked at Charles for confirmation, his smirk evident. "Really, really good."
"I always look good. Stay focused."
"I am focused. I am going to call the gardener, and someone to fix that bloody pavement. Then, maybe, I'll think about what to do next, it's not like he's going to be knocking down the door right this minute."
Both of them turned to the door expecting to hear it knock and you rolled your eyes. "He's not the bogeyman. He just likes to think he is."
You took your phone back and opened the family share app, selecting Max's phone and watched as it zeroed in on the pin drop. "Shit," you sighed as the blue dot moved along the street. Leaning back in the chair, you craned your neck to see out the window and caught sight of an Audi SUV pulling in the driveway. "I take that back. Can we run?"