'And if I couldn't have you I would probably go insane cause...'
Charles had not noticed anything was wrong over the past few weeks, he just went around like all was normal. Back home in Monaco, Octavia was anything but okay. Her mother was seriously worried about her. Octavia was out at all hours, she was going out to Monte Carlo where she drank, spent time on random people's yachts and caused a scene about anything. Her behaviour was becoming more and more erratic by the day.
Lando had been increasingly quiet at the track. The press had noticed the change in him. He was no longer the jokey young man he used to be, he'd become quiet and withdrawn but no one seemed to know why. His performance had boosted on the weekend that Charles found out about him and Octavia, his anger had pushed his driving and got him a respectable third place and a trophy but he soon realised none of it was worth anything if he wasn't happy.
"When are you coming home?" Charles listened to his mother say as he sat in his garage looking at the screen which showed stats on his car.
He sighed, "In a couple of days. Why?"
"Your sister, she's terrible at the moment. I've never seen her like this," Pascal knew that Octavia was closest to Charles even though he was not home as much. "I do not know why she is like this."
Charles got to his feet as he walked around to the front of his garage, "What is she doing differently?"
"She's never home," she told him as Charles looked over towards the McLaren garage where Lando was standing next to Carlos. Carlos had a big smile on his face as he spoke but Lando just stared a little blankly at him. "When she does come home she stinks of alcohol," Pascal confided in her son. "I think she might even be taking drugs."
His eyes widened as he thought about his baby sister doing those things. "You just have to keep her home, lock her in. I don't know, you are the one who is there." He didn't want to be the one to tell his mother that he might have been part of the reason Octavia was like this. Turning back to his own garage, he shook his head as he thought about what he had done. "I'll call her later, I'll speak to her."
He listened as his mother let out a sigh, "I think it might do her some good, Charles. Maybe, she will tell you what's wrong."
"Maybe," he already knew what would happen if he called his sister.
XOXOX
Practice was nothing exciting, Charles' mind was not on it. He was thinking about his sister, he hated to hear about how upset she was. When he finally exited his car after the end of the last practice session, the first thing he went to do was call Octavia. Her phone was going straight to voicemail, he called his mother again who just confirmed that she had gone missing again.
He knew what he had to do, leaving his garage, he headed to the McLaren one where Lando was standing with Carlos looking at a screen. Carlos was the first one to look up, he noticed the man standing in red watching on, he nudged Lando who looked over before he got to his feet and walked towards the brother of his ex-lover.
"Charles," he gave him a small nod as he looked at him.
"Have you heard from her?" Charles was abrupt and to the point with his question.
Lando sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest, "She messages me every night." He hated to think about it, "I never reply, if that's what you want to know. I never once asked her where she got the idea that I was seeing Louise. I did nothing."
Charles raised an eyebrow, he'd seen how the two young people had been with each other. Why did Lando choose to ignore Octavia's messages? He shouldn't complain really, it was what he wanted.
"Why?" Lando asked as he waited for Charles to talk.
"I just can't get hold of her," he confided in the man who had betrayed his trust.
Lando offered his phone to the Monegasque, who took it before turning away. Charles thought about the exchange he had with his sister on the day he found her and Lando together.
"Charles," Octavia tried to talk to him as she followed him into his private room in his garage. "Please, just listen to me."
"How long has it been going on?!" He snapped as she closed the door behind herself not wanting anyone else to hear what was happening.
She leaned against the door with her hands behind her back, something she usually did when she was being told off. "It's not important," she looked away from him knowing how he was going to react when she told him.
Shaking his head, he sat on the sofa as he watched his younger sister, "It's important to me. He's one of my closest friends, Oc, so, forgive me if I want details."
"Six months," her voice was quiet as she looked down at her feet. "But," she looked up at her brother as her eyes widened at the look on his face. "It's all my fault. I was the one who made all the moves, I am the one who wanted to keep it a secret." All she could do was beg for her brother not to mess up his working relationship with Lando. Everything she said was lies, she wasn't going to throw Lando under the bus though, she wanted to protect him more than anything.
Charles leaned forward on the sofa as he watched her, "It ends now. You message him now, you tell him that it's over and that is the end of it. No more messages, no more secret meetings, the end of that relationship."
"Why?" She asked as her eyes watered just thinking about it. "Charles? Give me one good reason why."
He got to his feet as she moved away from the door, Charles just wanted her to stop seeing Lando, so it was easy to lie. "He's still seeing his ex, Louise."
Charles watched as his sister's face dropped, gone was her fiesty demenour leaving behind a broken mess. The tears fell from her eyes as she looked away from her brother and wrapped her arms around herself. Instantly, he was filled with guilt and now he didn't know what to do.
"Okay," she mumbled as she wiped her face before she took her phone out of her pocket. Charles watched her as she typed on it before she handed it to him. "I'm just need some air," she was quick to walk out of the room as Charles stared down at her messages.
Charles tried to call her from Lando's phone but it didn't ring then either. He turned back to Lando offering his phone back as he shook his head, "Where is she?" Lando asked as he took his phone back and held it close to him.
"I have no idea," Charles admitted.
Lando glanced back at Carlos and his team before he turned back to Charles, "Where do we start looking for her then?" He would put everything on hold for this girl, no matter their relationship.
"She could be anywhere," Charles ran his hand through his hair. "She's been disappearing ever since..." he trailed off as Lando's phone started to ring.
Charles watched as Lando looked down at his phone before he answered it and put it to his ear, "Octavia, where are you? Are you okay?"
There was only silence for Charles as Lando spoke to his sister.
"What?"
Then Lando took the phone away from his ear and looked down at it, confused.
Charles sighed as he came to the realisation about his sister and Lando. "Oh my God! You're in love with her! Aren't you?"
Lando stared at his friend as he gave him a small nod. "Yes," he admitted. "I love her more than anything. I'd do anything for her," Lando looked at Charles as he spoke, the truth coming out. "You broke her heart when you told her I was seeing Louise still," he finally confronted Charles on the lies he told. "I didn't even need to speak to her to know that, the messages that she sent me told me everything I needed to know."
"I just didn't want her to get her heart broken," Charles spilled the truth. "I don't want her waiting at home for you to return, to not have a proper life because you're always away with work. What kind of life would that be for her?"
"One that I would choose for myself," Octavia's voice made both the lads jump as they turned to look at her.
Both Charles and Lando were surprised by how she looked when they cast their eyes over her. Her brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she was wearing sweats and a baggy tee, her make up was minimal if any, she didn't look her normal self and that was obvious from the purple bruise that was under her right eye.
"What happened to you?" Charles asked his sister but she wasn't looking at him, her attention was on Lando who stared at her with a soft look on his face.
Octavia turned her head to her brother, "I love you very much but please, let me made my own decisions. I love Lando," she looked at the guy she had been waiting to see for so long, he had not wanted to interrupt her moment with her brother, so stayed put but watched on. "I love him and want to be with him," she smiled as Lando smiled back at her before she looked at her brother. "I don't need your permission or blessing, but I would like it. Please, Charles, don't ruin this anymore for me."
Charles pulled his sister into a hug, he held her tightly as he realised he would rather have her happy than what she'd been doing recently. "If he makes you happy," Charles knew he didn't really have a leg to stand on. "Then who am I to stop you," he kissed her on the cheek. "I just don't want to hear about it or see it," he pulled away from his sister before he looked at Lando. He didn't speak as he walked towards his friend, choosing to put his hand on his shoulder and giving him a look which just got a nod from Lando, an understanding between the two.
Octavia waited until her brother started to walk away before she walked closer to Lando. He wrapped his right arm around her as he placed his left hand on her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin as he stared into her eyes. Octavia smiled as she blushed a little, her arms wrapping around his neck before he spoke, "I've missed you."
She felt her eyes water as she pulled him close to her, holding him in a loving embrace. "I've missed you too, so much."
He planted a kiss on her cheek as he held her. He almost couldn't believe that they were together again after Charles' meddling. Octavia was a very special girl and he knew that he wouldn't ever let her ago again without a fight.