December 19, 2023
Monaco
Fallon
I woke up with a groan. Light was flooding in. That wasn't right—I always had my black out curtains closed. I rubbed my eyes and turned on to my side. That's when it hit me. Cologne. And it definitely wasn't Neymar's. I sat straight up. I was in an unfamiliar room.
"Good morning, Fal."
I whipped my head around and saw Max. He was standing in the doorway with just a pair of basketball shorts on. He gave me a kind smile and walked over to the bed. All the events from the previous night or maybe really early in the morning came flooding back.
"Sleep alright?"
"Yeah. Yeah," I nodded, "thanks again for letting me stay here."
"Of course. Your phone has been blowing up by the way," he tossed me my phone.
I caught it easily. I quickly unlocked it and let out a groan. I had over 100 text messages. They were mainly from Arthur. A few were from Charles, Lorenzo, Lily, and my mum. I also had a slew of missed calls.
Apparently Neymar didn't go home last night from the club. That made me nervous. He had cheated on me while we were in Brazil over the sunmer. He and his friends went to the club while I stayed home not feeling great because I was on my period. Neymar begged me to take him back, saying it was a horrible thing for him to do. That's when he first told me he loved me.
How could I not take him back?
"You okay? You just got really pale," Max rested a hand on my shoulder.
"Ney didn't go back to our place last night," I whispered, "and he's still not home."
"Oh shit," Max frowned.
"I-I need to get back home."
"Okay. I can take you there."
"Thank you so much, Max."
"Of course. I'll be outside in my car."
I nodded and quickly got out of bed. I was in one of Max's shirts. I picked up my dress, bra, and heels. I hurried into the bathroom. I took off Max's shirt and got back into my bra and dress. I fastened my heels and looked in the mirror.
My make up was smudged, and my hair was a mess. I frowned and turned the sink on. To waited for the water to heat up before washing my face off. I pat my face dry and then went back into the bedroom. I grabbed my bag and purse.
I walked through Max's condo and down the stairs. I went outside and saw him sitting in his Porsche 911 GT3 RS. I walked over as he got out. He was still shirtless, but he had put on one of his Red Bull hats and a pair of black Ray Bands. He opened the door for me with a smile.
"Thanks, Max."
"Mhm."
He shut the door and then went over to his side. He jumped in and turned the car on. I smiled hearing the purr. I had developed an appreciation for the best cars.
I leaned my head back on the leather rest and looked out the window. The streets of Monaco blurred by. I watched carefully for the spots I knew best. It made me smile. I loved Monaco. It was home. Paris was not home. And Saudi Arabia was definitely not home. I wasn't sure if Brazil would feel like home either.
"What's on your mind, Lady Lec?"
"Oh no, not that," I groaned with a small laugh.
"If you're gonna call me Mad Max, then I get to call you Lady Lec," Max shot me a smirk as he waited at the stop light.
"Fair," I smiled, "I'm thinking about how this is home. Paris, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil aren't home."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes," I nodded, but I felt a small pit in my stomach.
"Good. That's all that matters."
Max started driving again. I recognised the turn that was coming up. It meant we were almost home. I could see my mum pacing outside of the house on the phone. She looked stressed, and I immediately felt bad. Max had barely parked the car before I was jumping out.
"Mama!" I hurried over.
"Fallon Céline Leclerc! Where the hell have you been?!" Mum ran over and lightly slapped my head, "come back. She just got here," she hung her phone up.
"I'm so sorry, Mama. I was at Max's."
"Sorry, Pascale. I didn't mean to worry you. I let Fallon crash at my place," Max rubbed the back of his neck.
"As long as you're safe, that's all that matters. Thank you, Max."
"Course."
"H-have you seen Neymar? He won't answer his phone," I bit my lip.
"You haven't talked to him either?"
"Not since last night."
"What happened?" Pascale raised an eyebrow, "how did you end up staying with Max? I hope you didn't kick him to the sofa in his own place."
"No no. I was in the guest room."
"Oh good. So what happened with Neymar?"
I sighed and looked down at my white stilettos, "we got in a fight, and Neymar got into an Uber. Max saw what happened and offered to take me home. I said I didn't want to come back here and see him, so I went back to Max's."
"Okay. Well, your brothers and Lily went to look for you. They should be back soon. Arthur is furious."
I groaned and took my shoes off. I hold them by the heels, "great."
"I know you didn't mean to scare us. Just send a text next time, but hopefully there won't be a next time."
I nodded. I looked down at my feet. I drew in the dust with my toe. I heard a car pulling up behind us. I figured it was probably some combination of my siblings and Lily.
"Fallon?"
I turned around and saw Neymar. He was still in his clothes from last night. His hair was tousled, and his eyes looked tired. I folded my arms over my chest and watched him walk over.
"Ney," I murmured.
"Hey," he smiled at me weakly before looking at my mum, "hi, Madame Leclerc."
"Neymar, where have you been? You and Fallon scared us!"
"I was at a hotel. How did Fallon scare you?"
"Neither of you came home last night," Mum said.
"Where the hell were you?!" Neymar turned to me.
"I stayed at Max's. I didn't want to come home and fight with you more."
"YOU STAYED AT ANOTHER MAN'S PLACE? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" He grabbed my shoulders. There was a crazed look in his eyes.
"You called her a whore," Max folded his arms, "I wouldn't want to spend time with you either."
"You called Fallon a whore?" Mum gasped, covering her heart with her hands. Her face went pale, and she looked unsteady.
Max caught Mum just before she hit the ground from fainting. I gasped and dropped my heels. I hurried over to my mum and started fanning her face with my hands.
"Neymar, go get some water," I looked up at my boyfriend who was just standing there slack jawed, "NOW!"
Neymar seemed to snap out of it and nodded. He hurried inside. I took my mum's hand and squeezed it gently.
"Mama? Mama?"
"Fallon!"
I turned around and saw Arthur running over. He pulled me in for a tight hug and kissed my forehead. He was swearing under his breath.
"Let me go!"
"No!"
"Mama fainted."
"What?!"
Arthur almost threw me to the side. Fortunately, Lily was there to catch me. Arthur, Charles, and Lorenzo ran past us. They helped Mum stand up. She had tears in her eyes. They started helping her inside.
"Hey. You scared us. You okay?" Lily asked.
"Yeah. I had a fight with Neymar, and then I crashed with Max."
"Okay. Why did your mom faint?"
"Because of what Neymar said during our fight. Let's go inside."
Lily nodded. I could tell that she wanted to ask more questions, but clearly there were bigger things going on. Max and Lorenzo basically were carrying Mum inside. I leaned down and picked up my shoes before heading inside with everyone else.
Neymar was awkwardly standing in the doorway with a bottle of water. Arthur gave him a nasty glare while cracking his knuckles. I ran up and slapped the back of his neck.
"Arrête ça! Il y a des choses plus importantes dont il faut s'inquiéter!" I snapped.
"I won't stop because I don't like him. I don't care if there are other things going on. I will always have time for a nasty look. Especially when you've been missing."
"I wasn't missing!" I protested as we all made it into the sitting room.
"Where were you, Fallon? We were worried," Lorenzo asked.
I went and sat down on the sofa next to Mum. She was sipping on the water that Neymar brought her. She took my hand. She was still crying so Charles gave her a box of tissues.
"Long story short, Neymar and I got in a fight last night at the club. He stayed somewhere, and I was at Max's."
"And Mama fainted and is crying why?" Charles tilted his head
"Because of what Neymar said," Max said from where he was leaning against the wall.
"And what exactly did Neymar say?" Arthur asked, "it's bad enough that it made Mama faint and cry."
"I'm so shocked. I can't believe it. Never would I have thought," Mum whispered shaking her head.
"Fallon?"
"I'm not going to say," I shrugged.
"Fallon-"
"No! Leave it, Arthur!" I glared, "I'm sick of the fighting. I want to take a shower and work things out with my boyfriend. I'm sorry I worried everyone, but I was safe. I was asleep in Max's guest room."
"I'm glad you're okay," Lorenzo cracked a small smile.
"Thanks for taking care of Fal," Charles gave Max a quick hug.
"Sure thing. Feel better, Pascale," Max gave my mum a smile.
"Thank you, Max."
"I'll walk you out," I smiled at the Dutchman.
"Is that necessary? The door isn't that far," Neymar frowned.
"Oh shut the hell up!" Arthur snapped.
"Can you just go to my room?" I glared at Neymar.
"I can see myself out. No need for a fight," Max held his hands up.
"It's fine."
I stood up and walked over to Max. The two of us shuffled towards the front door way. I was a couple steps ahead of him. I opened the door, but didn't walk through. We just stood there.
"Thank you again, Max. I really appreciate you letting me stay at your place. I needed that time and space."
"Of course. I hope you work things out with Neymar, but don't let him off the hook too easily. There was no reason for him to call you a whore."
I bit my lip and nodded. I blinked rapidly trying to keep the tears from falling. Max sighed and pulled me in for a hug. I hugged him back tightly, resting my chin on his shoulder. I pulled away after a few second. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out the door. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and walked over to his car. I waited to close the door until I saw him drive off with a wave.