@LivUpdates
@ LivUpdates : Praying for Liv's safe recovery and to see her back at the paddock soon 🤍🤍
@User1: Can't believe what happened to her
- @User2: Wait what happened? I live under a rock
- @User3: She was AS and is at the hospital
- @User2: WHAAT nooo poor liv 🥺
@User4: who did it 😡 I just wanna talk
- @User5: Yeah just a lil chat 🔪
@User6: Praying for her and her family 🙏
@User7: If the police don't find him I will
- @LivUpdates:The internet needs their FBI caps asap
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By the next morning, the news about Olivia's assault were all over the F1 community and the regular news as well. They didn't mention anything too specific, simply that Checo Perez's sister Olivia, who worked for Red Bull, had been assaulted in Barcelona and had been admitted to the hospital on Monday. The suspect was a male with bright blue eyes, and the news asked everybody to report any suspicion or knowledge of the assault, since the suspect was still at large.
Since Liv had given her phone to the police, everybody was trying to contact her through Checo, who kept handing her his phone. She received calls and texts from mostly all of the drivers, Ava, her friends back in New York, and even her mother and father.
"No mom, you really don't need to come" she said on the phone trying to make her voice clearer. "I'm totally fine, just some little bruises". The only thing Olivia wanted less than being stuck in her apartment for two months was being stuck in her apartment for two months with her mother.
At noon, however, a visit did arrive. Checo came into Olivia's room "Hey Liv, you've got a visitor" he said with a some guilt on his face.
Olivia made a face "weird, but okay". She was watching a movie on the hospital's TV, Max was seated on a chair next to her.
Through the door, carrying a pot with flowers and a "get well soon" balloon came in Pato. Max tensed up immediately, he was pissed. Olivia was just surprised, she wasn't expecting him to come, although she did think is was weird he hadn't sent her a message or anything.
For Pato, seeing Olivia in her current state was a huge shock. Checo had told him it was quite bad but he didn't expect this. The bandages on her fingers, her head, but the worst part was her neck. Being able to see each finger bruised on her neck, imprinted from the moment she was nearly killed got him in a state of deep shock.
"Oh my God, Liv noo" he said quietly as he saw her, he came in slowly and got close to her. He was afraid that if he moved too fast he might hurt her. The closer he got the more he was analyzing her wounds, the worst it looked. He started getting choked up and he couldn't close his mouth from the shock "Who would do something like this" he asked rhetorically.
"Well usually the ex boyfriend is at the top of the list" said Max coldly as he stood up from his chair.
"Listen man I'm here to help Liv" said Pato, angry that Max would act like that in a moment like this.
"She's got plenty of help, feel free to leave now" said Max as he stood next to Liv.
"That's not your call" said Pato.
"Guys stop, what the hell?" said Checo "Liv doesn't need this, Max you gotta relax Pato is really close to our family, if he wants to be here he can!"
Max stood there quietly, holding in his anger. Then he looked to Olivia, who looked really calm, although she was taking a lot of pain medication at the moment, maybe that helped.
"Actually, can I talk to Liv alone for a second?" asked Pato looking at Checo and ignoring Max's existence. "If that is okay with you Liv" he said turning to her.
"Yeah that's fine" she said looking at Checo then at Max, like she was asking them to give them a moment.
"Sure, I'll be on the hall if you need anything Liv" said Checo . When he saw Max didn't move an inch he added "Common Max, let's go" with a more severe tone of voice, Max obliged and left the room with him even though he didn't want to.
"Liv I'm so sorry, you have no idea. I should've told you this when we were still in Vegas. I just got stupid jealous after I saw that trophy. I was just getting something from my backpack and the gift bag was right there I just wanted to see what you got, I didn't even know it was from Max" explained Pato, Olivia was listening intently "But after I saw it, when we were in the club I saw you were texting him and I just... I don't know I guess I didn't want to lose you and I went overboard and lost you anyways" Olivia felt kind of bad for him, there was something between her and Max but she never told him.
"I guess I probably should've told you the guy that caused my insomnia was Max" she said honestly "It wasn't fair to keep it from you".
"I mean, to be honest it was kind of obvious since I met him at the paddock and he kept asking questions" said Pato with a defeated smile and a shrug "I just didn't think it was a big deal until I saw the trophy".
"Maybe I should've shown you the trophy when you asked about the gift" she said.
"I don't know if that would have been more or less painful" said Pato thinking out loud. "But honestly, when I got that call from Checo, he was wreck he couldn't even talk and it scared the shit out of me. You were in surgery and I just knew I had to find the first plane out" he looked at her neck again and shook his head in disbelief " Liv who would do this?". He was right about something: comparing the current situation with what they were fighting about in Vegas it all seemed so miniscule. And relationship or not, Olivia also considered Pato part of her family.
"Honestly I don't even know anymore, I just know it was a man with blue eyes, that's all I got" she said in a defeated tone.
Pato and Liv were talking for a few more minutes until Max and Checo came back. Pato was mostly asking her about what the doctor ordered, what the police had said, he wanted to know everything.
"So, I bet there's a flight back to the U.S. tonight" said Max casually as he entered the room.
"I'm not leaving Max, Liv is gonna need a lot of help".
"Again, she's got people here to help her" said Max like he was stating the obvious.
"Alright just humor me for a moment, Liv is gonna need rest and help for two months. You are gonna be traveling to the races, being in a different country every week, Checo is gonna be doing the same, and Carola is about to have a baby" Pato paused for a moment, allowing the information to sink in "exactly who is gonna be with Liv?".
Olivia's brow furrowed, she hadn't thought about that, and as much as she wanted to say she could take care of herself truth was she could barely move without screaming in pain.
"Well..." started Max trying to think of something. He hadn't thought about that either. He even considered missing his races if that meant that Pato would leave, but that was impossible, he was fighting for the championship. "Olivia maybe your parents..." he started saying.
"NO" Olivia immediately jumped in. She didn't have the same relationship with her parents that Checo had. She really didn't want to get stuck with them for months.
"You know, that it's actually very true" said Checo deep in realization"Once the baby is born I'm gonna be using every break to be with Carola"
"Maybe we could get a nurse to stay with Olivia, you know? A true professional" said Max.
"Max at this time I really don't want strangers in my home" said Olivia, what if they did something to her? She didn't want to be feeling paranoid all of the time. "I guess you are right Pato, it's not a bad idea" said Liv trying to shrug and then wincing.
Max seemed like he was living his worst nightmare and they all could tell.
"Listen, if you and Liv are together now I'm not here to interfere with that; but Liv is my family and I'm gonna be here for her at a time like this" said Pato to Max.
Checo nodded "You really are family Pato, thank you" he said with honest appreciation, then he paused and turned to look at Liv and Max "and are you together?".
Max and Olivia looked at each other, they were supposed to not be together, but due to recent events they did seem like a couple, Max saving Olivia in her time of need and not wanting to leave her side.
"It's complicated" said Olivia in her small and hoarse voice, although it sounded a little better than the day before.
"I bet" said Checo teasingly. Pato's eyebrows rose, now there was a different type of tension in the room.
Max's cheeks turned slightly red. "Alright, fine" he paused for a moment, accepting his defeat "Well, if you are gonna be here then I guess I'll go to the hotel and take a shower, I'll be back as soon as possible Olivia" he said turning to her.
"Feel free to take a nap too" said Olivia with a sweet smile, she knew Max had barely slept the night before after Olivia woke up from her nightmare. She also had trouble sleeping.
"I'll go with you" said Checo walking towards the door "To check on Carola and the kids, we'll send Charles over".
"Tell him to bring me a milkshake" said Olivia with a smile, they wouldn't let her eat solids yet because of her swollen neck.
"Don't leave her alone okay? Not at any moment" said Max to Pato.
"We'll be fine, I got this" said Pato with a tight lipped smile.
Max and Checo got to the hotel, Max had a shower, he picked up some more clean clothes and before he left he was just laying down for a moment on his bed thinking about Pato showing up when he suddenly fell asleep. He was extremely tired, after Olivia's nightmare he was too unsettled to fall back asleep. He wanted to protect her, even from the things he couldn't control.
He woke up startled not knowing what time it was. He looked at the clock, he had been asleep for almost 3 hours. He stood up immediately and left for the hospital.
When he got there, Pato and Charles were looking at a movie, they immediately signaled him to keep quiet, he turned to look and Liv was asleep. It seemed like peaceful sleeping, he was glad to see that.
Olivia woke up about half an hour later, Max was seated next to her on a chair, looking at the same movie as Pato and Charles "Hey" he said "any nightmares?"
Olivia groggily smiled at him "No, none".
Max smiled "I'm glad" he said as he held her hand.
However, that night once everybody had left for the hotel, Max and Olivia were asleep at the hospital room.
Olivia was in Miami, it was her birthday dinner and she was standing at the terrace overlooking the city. Max had just shown her the sun necklace and Olivia turned around, lifting her hair so Max could put it on her. As Max placed the necklace delicately around her neck suddenly Olivia felt a pull. She couldn't breath the necklace was choking her and digging at her skin. Suddenly it wasn't the necklace choking her anymore, it was Max wearing a Red Bull balaclava, his hand pressed against her windpipe. She started seeing black spots, she felt like she was dying.
Olivia woke up nearly screaming (or as close as she could get to screaming with her damaged voice) and gasping for air once again. Max woke up with her yelling and immediately got up startled, going to her.
"NO, STOP!" yelled Olivia terrified, her breath was rapid and her eyes were wide. Max froze on the spot and then walked a couple of steps back.
"Olivia are you okay?" he said quietly, he was so worried about her. A couple of nurses came into the room after they heard the yelling from the hallway. Once Olivia saw them she started processing what was going on, it had been a dream again, a terrible nightmare, she was still at the hospital, Max hadn't choked her.
The nurses gave Olivia some medicine to help her sleep, but after that Max could barely sleep for the rest of the night. He couldn't get Olivia's look out of his head, the way she had looked at him, terrified or him, like he could ever hurt her.
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It was Wednesday and Olivia was getting discharged. Everybody was there: Carola, Checo, Charles, Pato and Max. They were taking turns inside the room since not all of them fit at the same time. However, they all cramped together in the room when the police came over early in the morning.
"Miss Perez we just wanted to update you before you left. We believe we know who the assailant is" said one of the officers.
Olivia was surprised they knew so soon, everyone wanted to hear who it was urgently.
"We noticed you had a large amount of messages on social media from the same person, his name is Tom Smith. The messages were unopened and under your 'general' folder on Instagram, so we guess you never saw them but there were hundreds of them. He seemed like a fan at first, then he started professing his love to you. But the messages became more intense as time passed by. This has been going on for a couple of months" said the officer.
"So it was like some crazy fan?" asked Pato.
"Kind of, we could read his obsession develop on these texts, it was quite concerning. After months of not receiving an answer his messages turned aggressive, threatening. He threatened to harm you and in a couple of messages to kill you"
He continued "We checked flight records, he flew from Atlanta to Barcelona and attended the Spanish Grand Prix. We checked the security cameras of the hotel and we can see the man fitting his description entering and leaving the hotel around the time you were attacked" he added.
The other police officer got a folder and started taking some pictures out. These were moments captured from the security footage, a man entering the hotel casually with a backpack, then just a few minutes later, the same man leaving the top floor. Now he had a face mask and a baseball cap.
Max saw the pictures and his legs started failing him, he had to sit down on the chair behind him.
"Oh my god" he said in shock "I saw him" he said, his face turning a little pale.
"What?!" he started hearing all over the room, everybody was looking at him.
"We were just gonna say, Mr. Verstappen" said the officer with the pictures as he took one from the bottom where Max is entering the elevator while the man was getting out. Olivia grabbed the picture and looked at it in shock, her hands trembled a little. Max felt like he wanted to throw up, he could have stopped him if he had paid more attention. Maybe if he had really looked he could've seen scratches on his face or blood on his shoes, who knows?
Max put his face on his hands in desperation, he couldn't believe it "I could've stoped him, I could've caught him. I can't believe this" he said quietly, frustrated, mostly to himself.
Charles put a hand on his back "There's no way you could've known Max, you hadn't even found Liv yet, you didn't know she was hurt" said Charles trying to comfort him. Olivia relaxed a little, after seeing that picture with Max in it she had gotten very tense. But Charles was right, Max didn't know Olivia was hurt yet, even if he had seen the man properly there's no way he could've known he should stop him.
Max took a deep breath "I guess" he said "So where is he now? Have you found him?" asked Max to the police.
"Not yet, he was at the airport right after the attack, but we lost track of him. We cannot find a registry of him on any plane, and we lost track of him after that, we haven't found him yet".
"He can't have simply disappeared" said Pato upset.
"Yes he has to be somewhere" said Checo also getting upset.
"We'll find him, right now we notified the U.S. airports and consulate in case he tries to go back to his country. Tomorrow morning his face will be all over the news, we will find him don't worry" the officer assured them.
"What does he look like?" asked Charles.
"This is the picture that will be appearing everywhere, take a good look, keep your eyes out for him and if you see him do not engage, call the police right away". said the police man with the pictures taking a few copies from the same photo and handing them out.
Olivia held the photograph and her eyes went wide, she dropped it on her lap and covered her mouth with both hands in shock.
"Holy shit" said Pato quietly as he held the copy the officer gave him. Carola gasped, Checo looked very confused and Charles yelled out "Oh mon Dieu it looks like Max!".
Max, who was still sitting down processing how he had seen the man on the elevator, turned to look at him and stood up immediately "What?" he asked confused as he took the picture from Charles.
They were not twins by any means, but if someone were to say they were related then anybody would believe it. The blue eyes slightly set apart, the dark blonde hair, the strong jaw, bold lips. "This has got to be a joke" said Max feeling like somebody was playing a horrible prank on him.
"That's actually crazy" said Charles grabbing the picture back and placing it next to Max's face. Max did not look amused.
"It's so creepy" said Olivia looking at the picture on her lap and shaking her head in disbelief. The hair was a bit messier, less neat. The main difference was the eyes and the nose; while he still had blue eyes, Olivia was right and they were more saturated. They were a kind of electric blue, for her it was terrifying to see it again. Max saw Olivia's reaction and grabbed the picture on her lap and gave it back to the officer "alright we get it, it looks like me with creepier eyes" he said feeling defeated. Damn today is the gift that keeps on giving, he thought sarcastically.
The police men gave everybody their cards and phone numbers and they gave Olivia back her things in a plastic bag. They had collected this in case there was any evidence. Max could see that inside was her sun necklace he had given her, her phone and her clothes.
"Your shirt is not here" Max made the observation.
"It's evidence of the assault, it was ripped and covered in blood, we are gonna need it" explained an officer.
"Believe me, you can keep it" said Olivia brushing it off "Burn it all".
Max turned to look at her with his brow slightly furrowed and handed her the sun necklace from the bag.
"Except that" said Olivia as she gave him an apologetic smile and grabbed the necklace. Then she placed it on the bed right in front of her.
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A couple of hours later Olivia was discharged, the doctor handed her a prescription for her medication, which Checo immediately got from the hospital's pharmacy, and they all went to the train station after getting their bags from the hotel. Olivia wore a beanie and a scarf to hide her bandages and bruises as much as she possibly could, which wasn't going so well. Specially in the middle of May. Checo, Carola and the kids were taking a train to Madrid. They didn't want to fly back to Madrid either because Carola was really pregnant and they felt like they were pushing their luck with all the flying.
"I'll fly to Monaco tomorrow at 7 am, I should be there by 9" explained Checo, the next race was Monaco and Thursday was media day.
Him and Carola gave Liv very delicate hugs, trying not to press her body so she wouldn't feel any pain. Then came in her nephew and niece running at her at the same time and almost knocking her on the ground. Olivia was able to stay up and masked her wincing face with a smile and her scream in pain with excitement. "AGH! I'M GONNA MISS YOU SO MUCH" She said as her eyes turned a little watery from the pain.
"Oh my god kids, come!" said Carola petrified. "Get better Liv, we love you!"
"Call me when you are in labor!" said Olivia with an honest smile "I'll be very excited to meet Livo!"
Checo and Carola laughed as they walked away. Then Olivia, Charles, Pato and Max walked over to their train. It was a long train ride to Monaco, they would be arriving very late that night.
"I feel like I have body guards" said Olivia as she walked to the train, she had Max on one side, Pato on the other and Charles was behind her. Nobody was making conversation, they were all alert.
Charles chuckled "Unfortunately Liv I don't think we look that intimidating".
Once they were on the train, they had something to eat. Olivia had a smoothie since she still couldn't ingest solids. Then she fell asleep with her head resting on Max's lap.
Olivia was at the train station, she was saying goodbye to her nephew and niece, then once again she couldn't breath. The scarf around her neck tightened and she was gasping for air. Her nephew and niece looked at her with scared faces and then she fell to the ground. She could see the person choking her had a black balaclava and blue eyes. But they were not bright, saturated, electric blue eyes. They were softer, like the sky during a spring's day in Mexico. She was about to remove his balaclava and then he started calling out her name "Olivia!".
"Olivia wake up!" Max was speaking to her loudly. She woke up started and gasping for air one more time. The first thing she saw was his eyes, the same calm blue as in her dream, she quickly sat up and pushed him away, inching backwards towards the window of the train. She felt the pain immediately on the back of her head, she winced while trying to stay alert and ready to defend herself. Max looked at her and felt worried and sorry, she was looking straight at him and she looked terrified.
"Woah Liv are you okay?" said Pato groggily as he woke from a nap.
Liv turned to look at him, then turned to look at Charles who was asleep with headphones on, then she turned back to Max who was looking at her worriedly and there was something else in his eyes, he was also hurt.
Olivia let out a frustrated noise and covered her face with her hands. Why couldn't she stop dreaming that?! Why did it always feel so real? It was so hard to differentiate whenever she woke up because everything in her dream felt real, she felt like she was actually being choked again, actually dying. "I had a nightmare, I'm sorry" she said with her face still on her hands.
"I'll go get some water" she heard Max say and then he stood up and walked away. She started to feel guilty, Max was being so wonderful to her and she kept making him a murderer in her dreams.
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Max came back, carrying four bottles of water. He placed them on the table. After a while Pato was asleep again, Olivia had her head resting on the train window, her eyes kept closing but she would open them back up with urgency.
"Olivia you are clearly exhausted why don't you rest?" asked Max.
"It's the stupid pain medication, it makes me sleepy" said Olivia turning to look at him.
"Because you are supposed to be resting" added Max.
"I'm fine, I swear" said Olivia brushing it off "I'll sleep when we get to Monaco".
"That's in like five hours" said Max looking at the time on his phone.
"Yeah that's fine, it's not that much" said Olivia and then took a sip of water.
"What do you dream?" asked Max "When you have those nightmares, what do you dream?" he said curiously.
Olivia didn't want to hurt his feelings "You know just regular nightmares, teeth falling off, leaving the house naked, an army of cockroaches chasing after me" she said nodding.
Max just looked at her "Seriously Olivia. We've all had nightmares but you look terrified when you wake up, it worries me".
Olivia looked at him, she loved the emotion in his eyes, she could see how much he cared "It is a terrifying dream" she admitted.
"That's okay, you can tell me" he said as he placed his hand on her leg.
Olivia let out a sigh "I dream I'm being attacked again. That I'm being choked and I can't breath and I'm dying" she said in a low voice as she looked him in the eye.
He had a pained look on his face and nodded "You are right that is terrifying. I guess that explains it".
"Yeah" said Olivia "So I would really prefer to stay awake" she added.
"You have to sleep sometime" said Max as he shook his head.
"Maybe if I get very very tired then I'll be able to sleep without dreaming, you know?" said Olivia.
"Alright, let's keep you up" he said as he stood up, got his laptop from his backpack and placed in in front of them, starting an episode of Game of Thrones right where they had left off months ago. Olivia cuddled up, her head resting on Max's shoulder, holding his arm tight. His hand caressing her thigh as they watched. Olivia thought she was so lucky to have him in her life, and she felt even more guilty for her nightmares. She turned to look at him and he looked at her.
"I love you Max" she said quietly while looking at him.
Max's face lit up like it hadn't in days, he smiled at her "I love you too Olivia" she slowly lifted her head and kissed his lips softly before laying back down on his shoulder.
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I feel so bad for Maxie :(
What do you think about the assailant looking like Max 💀
What do you think of Pato's return????