I had spent every second in my childhood room with my parents since I came home from the match. I wouldn't let anyone step inside my door no matter how hard my poor parents tried to get in.
the only time I went outside my room was when I needed to go to the bathroom but other than that I never went out. I hadn't had any water or food so my throat was dry and burning. Lando had texted me several times asking how I was doing but I barely responded to his texts.
i knew george would be stopping by today after he and carmen had run a bunch of errands and i knew he would be asking thousands of questions so i planned to take the first best plane home to monaco.
there was a knock on my door which made me jump because i hadn't heard anyone coming up the stairs but i told the person to go to hell but the knocking continued. i got up from the bed and walked angrily throwing the door open to yell at the person on the other side but was surprised to see lando with pink and white roses.
"what are you doing here Lan"
"I want to support my friend who is not feeling well at the moment, your mother let me in"
"ok come on in"
I closed the door after he entered my room. he sat in my armchair which was by the window, he always sat there every time he was over since how long ago. I sat against the headboard and looked out the window at the rain beating against the glass. Lando looked unsure which made it clear to me that he was going to ask things about Max.
"what is it you want to know about Max and me?"
"how did you know I was going to ask that?" Lando wondered, looking surprised.
"I've known you since I was a kid, I know you inside out"
"okay true. but when did you develop feelings for him?"
"I don't know, I think it was when we were in Australia and you left us alone. I saw a whole new side of him but it wasn't strong feelings then"
"were you with him in Venice?"
"yes we were and we were in the picture but luckily it was a bad picture"
"how are you feeling today?"
"I feel bad knowing that the relationship wasn't genuine but the sadness has turned to anger""do you want to go and be part of a photo shoot with Quadrant, Max is wondering when he will see you again"
"as long as I'm behind the camera I'm on"
Lando got a big smile that stretched almost his entire face. he stood up and before I could react I saw him literally start to fly. I had time to think I was going to hurt before he landed on me and started tickling me. I felt my stomach start to cramp after not being able to stop laughing.
Lando stopped after a little while and then asked me to change into sensible clothes. I was wearing one of George's hoodies and a pair of gray sweatshirts that had a hole in the knee. I nodded and went to the bathroom to change because I needed a quick shower anyway.
after about 20 minutes later I was done and ready to accompany Lando to the shoot. I felt in a good mood now that the sun was starting to come out and that I had gotten outside again.after a short drive we arrived and Lando called Max to let us in through the large front door which was locked. Max was quickly down and opened for us and when he saw me he came up and gave me a hug.
"how long has it been since I saw you"
"the same Max, how are you"
"I'm fine how are you"
"I'm fine. nice to relax a bit"
"haha, you think you can relax? Absolutely not, you're not going to take part in the photo shoot"
"but Lando said.."
"we both know you wouldn't have come along if you found out you were going to be on camera"
Max was right in what he said. I had never been comfortable in front of the camera, but the times I was, I tried to look like it was a natural thing for me. Max showed us the way to the photo shoot and once inside Ria came up to me and greeted me with a hug. i had never met her before but after we had greeted each other it felt like we had known each other for years.
Ria gave me a shirt and showed me where to change. when I was changed for the second time today, Ria explained how everything would work, what reassured me was that I would always be standing next to someone when I would be photographed.
_____
after almost two hours the photoshoot was finished and they forced me to have lunch with them. Ria had noticed my stomach rumbling several times during the shoot but I had been too busy with everything going on around me to notice it myself.
there was a lot of traffic when we came out of the building and we were afraid that it would take a long time before we got food in our stomachs. after 20 minutes we arrived at a restaurant and we sat down at a table when several fans came up and asked for pictures. I tried to make myself invisible because they wanted to take a picture with Lando, Max and Ria. I had no problem not being in the pictures because the only thing I wanted to focus on was food and it was nice not to have the focus on me.
i had ordered a pasta carbonara and lando had ordered something i had never heard of before. we started talking and joking about everything when Lando's cell phone started ringing. he excused himself and got up to leave. I noticed he became serious the second he put the phone to his ear.
Lando came back and gave me the phone. i gave him a confused look but when he insisted i answer i did as he said and picked up the phone and answered without checking who it was, it was an idiotic choice of mine.
"Hello?" I ask
"Belle, how nice to hear your voice"
"what the hell do you want me Verstappen?"
Max and Ria frowned and it made me remember that no one but Lando knew about everything. I stood up and went to the same spot that Lando had been standing at a few seconds ago.
"I miss you liefje"
"stop calling me that" I snorted back
"can you please listen to me"
"you have a minute before I hang up, I'm a bit busy"
"busy with what?"
"don't worry about it, what the hell do you want?"
"okay... i miss you belle and you have to believe me when i say that bet i had no idea about until daniel said it. we were drunk and daniel said it because he wanted me to dare to make the first move because he knew I liked you, I didn't accept any money for what you and I had was real"
"i just have to cut you off for a bit. what we had wasn't real because what we had was built on a fucking bet. you mean nothing to me anymore and i don't want you contacting me again. bye"
I heard him start to say something but I managed to hang up. I went back to the table and sat down. I felt everyone looking at me questioningly before I gave Lando his cell phone back. I asked how their food tasted in an attempt to get them to think about other things, which seemed to succeed because they started talking over each other's mouths.
I felt Lando's eyes check me several times and I gave him a discreet but serious look that said I would explain everything later. the food was extremely good and I could feel the food coma starting to creep in. when everyone had eaten we sat and talked and Ria told us that they were going down to record some videos for Quadrant in connection with the race.
after we talked and laughed it was time for everyone to go home. Lando and I said goodbye to the others and when we had walked a few meters he asked what Max had said. I was a bit annoyed that he gave me the phone but I briefly explained what he had said and what I had said.
"no idiot should hurt my favorite girl and then try to come up with excuses"
"your favorite girl huh?"
"of course you are belle. no one matters more than what you do"
"how cute. you're my favorite guy"
we burst out laughing before Lando started the car to drive me home. once home I met George and Carmen in the living room. I hugged George but he ruffled my hair so it was sticking out in every direction. Carmen got up from the sofa and gave me a long hug.
our mother called out that the food was ready and I excused myself because I was full but I could sit and keep company anyway. Mom had made a roast and I felt crappy for not eating but our mom had assured me it was okay and that she had made an extra plate in case I wanted to eat later.
George talked about their business today and how they had done collaborations with Hilfiger. I also talked about my day with Quadrant and forced the photo shoot. Carmen laughed at me because she knew I was always stiff and didn't know how to stand or move.
when everyone had finished, I said my thanks and asked Carmen to come with me. George wondered why he couldn't come along, but when I said it was a girl problem, his face went ashen. I helped Carmen put away the dishes and when it was done we went up to my room. when we had stepped inside I was careful to close the door behind me.
"Okay Carmen I need help"
"I hope you're not pregnant"
"no absolutely not"
"okay that's great, then I can help you"
"what do i do when a guy i like and had some kind of romantic relationship with kind of tells me the reason it happened was because it was something he did with his friend when they were drunk and he didn't even say that for me it was Lando who told me that"
"let me guess, this guy has dark blonde hair, was at your housewarming party, drives on the same team as you, and is named Max?"
"it's not relevant"
"yes it is actually"
"okay yes he is but don't tell George"
"I knew he was the one you made out with in your room during the party"
"help me, I don't know what to do when I can't avoid him" I said almost desperately.
"i know i avoided him like the plague when i could but i know you can't avoid him on weekends etc. if he tries to get you back or makes any attempts to win you back then ignore it. block him everywhere. you are a strong young lady Belle and I know you know your worth"
it felt good to hear her say that. she went on to tell me tips and things I should do or say to him. we continued to talk about everything and soon George knocked on the door and asked if we were done with our girl talk. we let him in and we decided to play some mario kart on my tv i had in my room.
it was getting late in the evening and I needed to sleep to catch my flight back to Monaco. Carmen gave me a hug before she went with George and I changed to go to bed when I saw that Max had messaged me on instagram.
Max Verstappen1:
please belle unblock my number.
Bellerussell:
no way. do you understand badly? I don't want you to contact me. I'm blocking you here.