Two months had passed since the talk with Oscar, and it was now time for the last race before summer break; Belgium. Since the talk, Oscar and I had become friends again, and even though it hadn't been exactly the same as before, I still considered him one of my best friends again. Max and I's relationship was still a secret to the public, but at this point, everyone in the paddock knew about it.
Today was the last quali-day, and Max and I entered the paddock together, as always. "Morning guys!" Max and I greeted everyone as soon as we entered our garage. We had arrived quite early, so we decided to go to the driver's lounge and catch up with some of the others before we had to get ready and in the cars. "Hello, Hello!" we started making our way around, saying hello to everyone in the room, which today was almost everyone. I quickly joined the younger drivers who were sitting around in a smaller group, while Max joined Daniel and Charles in another group.
"So, Con, ready for today?" Oscar asked when I sat down beside him, watching as he and Logan played a card game. "Always ready to beat you guys," I replied with a teasing smile, earning a small laugh from Logan, "We know you are," he said, keeping his eyes on his cards. "What are your plans for the holidays? Going home to see the fam?" Logan continued, then looked up at me for a reply. "Well, I might, I haven't quite decided yet. I just know I'm spending some time with Max in Monaco," I explained, realising I hadn't thought about visiting my family at all. "Hasn't it been a while since you've been back home?" Oscar followed up, looking at me with a slightly worried look. I couldn't help but think about it, now that he said that, which made me feel quite bad. Thinking about it, I missed my family, and I hadn't seen them more than twice since the start of the season, having spent all my time with Max.
"It has, yeah..." I say, about to continue when my phone rang, displaying my sister's name, which made me smile instantly. "Speaking of which!" I said excitedly, picking up the phone. "Hey, sis!" I spoke up but immediately could tell something was wrong by the sound of her voice. "Yn... Are you alone right now?" I frowned at her question and automatically looked at both Logan and Oscar, who seemed to pay close attention after the change in my expression. "Um, no, I'm with all the drivers, why, what's wrong?" I asked, and then heard her sob on the other line. I felt the worry rise immediately, and got up to leave and get some privacy. Before I could go anywhere though, Oscar grabbed my arm, making me look at him, "Need me to come?" He whispered, but I just shook my head, thinking my sister just needed to vent for a while. "Casey, I'm by myself now, talk to me," I said as soon as I had entered my driver's room.
Oscar's POV
Seeing Yn leave left me with a pit in my stomach. Something felt completely off, but Max seemed to notice as well, as he almost immediately got up afterwards, following her out. How I wished that I could do that. That I could just be with her every second and through every up and down. But I guess I brought it upon myself. At least we were back to being friends, and I could talk to her again, which always was the highlight of my day.
After almost half an hour, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it up, and it was a message from Max, "Please come. I think she needs you." That was all it said, so I immediately got up and began running to her driver's room. As soon as I got there, I just busted through the door, and the sight broke my heart into a million pieces. Yn was sitting on the floor, crying uncontrollably, and Max was there beside her, trying helplessly to calm her down. He looked at me and in the same second, almost begged out. "Please, I don't know what to do, I don't know what happened, she's just pushing me away..." I nodded and calmly approached her.
I had only ever seen her in this kind of state once in my life, and I remember it as the worst day of my life. I kneel in front of her and gently place my hands on her knees, but feel her immediately push me away. "Con, hey... don't do that please..." I whisper, trying to place my hands on her again, and this time she lets me do so. Her head was buried in her arms, which were wrapped around, hugging her legs. I notice Max slowly backing up, while I try to keep my full attention on her. I try gently pulling her arms away, wanting her to open up a bit more, and after a few tries, she finally looks up at me. Her eyes were red and full of tears, her expression completely heartbroken.
"Oh, Con..." I manage to mutter out, reaching over to place my hand on her cheek, caressing it gently. She immediately starts to shake her head and I can see that she shuts down again, so I hurry and bring her into my arms. We sit there together for a long while, and she starts to slowly relax more and more in my hold. At last, I feel her grab onto my hoodie, and her breathing becomes more or less normal. I look up to see Max still with almost the same expression as before, only he didn't seem to enjoy the sight of us together that much.
"What happened, hm..?" I spoke softly after a while, hoping I had given her enough time to calm down. "They..." I heard her mumble something, but I couldn't hear exactly what it was. "What?" I try again, and she sits up slowly, looking down into her hands, which were playing with the hem of her own shirt. "They died, Osc... My parents...." I felt a hard sting in my chest, hearing her broken words. "What...? How? What happened?" I feel myself tearing up as well, knowing how close she was with her parents. "They... Um..." She tried, but I could tell she was getting more upset again, so I took her hands right away, and she looked up at me. "Take your time..." I whispered, seeing a tear fall down her cheek and she took a deep breath.
"They were in a car accident... Both died on the spot..." She stuttered out finally, and I had no idea how to respond, except by pulling her back into my embrace. "I'm so sorry, Yn..." She wrapped her arms around me tightly and I felt her face buried in my neck, and despite this being my absolute favourite place on earth, I had never been more heartbroken. After a while, I looked up to see Max re-enter the room, even though I hadn't even noticed that he had left. The sound of the door seemed to catch Yn's attention as well, as she pulled away from me and looked up towards him.
"Hey, sunshine..." He said, approaching her, but she kept close to me still. He sat down in front of her and I watched her force a fake smile at him. I hated it when she did that. Pretending to be alright, when she was completely shattered inside. "I spoke to Christian, and we both agreed you shouldn't drive this weekend-" Max started, but he seemed to not know her at all at this point, as he was surprised that she immediately cut him off. "NO. No, you don't get to decide that!" She exclaimed, so I put a hand on hers, hoping to calm her down a bit, but she snatched away her hand immediately. "Don't. I have to drive!" She followed up, and Max sighed deeply. "Schat, you can't drive like this..." She started shaking her head, "We got you a flight back to London tomorrow night, it's the earliest we could get the jet ready, until then, you should rest." He continued, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You do not get to decide on my behalf! If my flight isn't until tomorrow, then I can still race!" She raised her voice, and Max began looking at me helplessly again, probably hoping for some backup on his decision, but I knew it wouldn't be possible to reason with her. "Yn, listen. You can't drive today, you're too distracted. How about a reserve driver for the quali's and then we can re-evaluate your ability tomorrow?" I tried speaking as calmly as I could, and it seemed to work. She seemed to listen. "I have to drive tomorrow..." She looked at me with pleading eyes. The kinds that I couldn't say no to. "For now, just relax, okay? Do you want any of us to drive you back to the hotel, or where do you want to be?"
"I will just stay here until you're done... I think watching the race will be nice," She says, followed by a small sob. "Okay, do you need me to stay with you? I can-" I start, but she cuts me off quickly. "No, Osc, you need to go get ready for the race. You both do. I'll be okay until you're done, I promise," She smiles a little at me, then at Max and we both say our goodbyes before leaving her room.
"How do you do it?" Max asked me as soon as we got to the other side of the closed door. "What?" I asked, but I knew exactly what he meant. "I couldn't do anything, I couldn't even get close to her, she wouldn't let me comfort her or be there... But you? As soon as you walk in, she relaxes and you could get her to do anything... How?" I could tell he was very frustrated, and I already knew that he had his insecurities about my friendship with her. But, I was surprised today myself. "We've known each other for so long, been through a lot together, so it's only natural that she feels safer, I guess," I reply, but hear him scoff. "I'm her boyfriend. She should be able to feel the safest with me." He said, but it felt more like he was trying to convince himself than me. "I don't know what to tell you, Max. Be patient with her, or you'll end up losing her completely. She's good at pushing people away, so be aware and show her you love her," And with that, he took a deep breath of frustration, and walked away.
After this conversation, I wasn't so sure if Max was really good for her anymore. He seemed to let his frustration weigh more than her pain, and if he kept letting his insecurities get the best of him, he was going to lose her. Not only that, he was going to hurt her, badly. And even though I wanted nothing more than to have a chance with her myself, I wouldn't want it to be because he broke her heart. But today gave me hope. She needed me today. Not Max. Not anyone else. Me. And as long as she wants me by her side, I'll be there. Whether he likes it or not.