lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

17.

November 2013

"Listen to me, princess," Anthonie said disdainfully. "You will just go with me, and I don't care if you like it or not," he almost threatened his daughter. Pia didn't look like she would move soon, so the Dutchman just grabbed her hand and wanted to drag her away, but then he heard a voice that stopped him in his actions.

"Grab her like that one more time, and I'm telling you I will hurt you," Sebastian angrily said when he approached them, without looking at Pia. Then he finally did, and his face turned red.

"Oh my God, P. What happened? Did he...?" Sebastian asked when he connected the dots. He knew that Anthoine was such a sore loser, but he would never say he would beat Pia.

"Are you kidding me, Anthoine? I know you're a trash, but beating Pia? Do you know what? Let me return you the same favour," Seb said right before his fist hit Dutchman's face. He needed to take a step back in order to maintain his balance.

Pia couldn't believe what had just happened. It was hard to see that these conditions made Seb do that. She knew that Sebastian despised those who fight, but now he was suddenly doing the same thing.

"Woah, what is happening here?" Pia heard Joanna's voice. She was passing through the paddock with Max next to her side. Joanna intended to talk to the youngster for some time. Probably ever since he won WSK Euro Series in 2011, she immediately recognised the talent in him. When she finally got the chance, she grabbed it. But there she was again, dealing with Sebastian's mess.

"Sebastian, are you crazy? There are cameras all around the paddock." Joanna warned him with the urge in her voice. She wanted him to leave Anthonie alone, not that he would deserve it, but she didn't want Sebastian to be in trouble for fighting. His reputation was already bad enough, so he didn't need any more scandals.

"I don't fucking care about cameras, Joanna. I just want to beat the shit out of this fucker. Just take the kids away," he whispered the last sentence to Jo. He didn't care that much about the young Verstappen, but he didn't want Pia to see this.

"Hey, let's just go and buy some pizza and stuff, ok? Max? Pia?" Joanna tried to gain the attention of both youngsters. The young Dutchman seemed to listen to her, but the brunette Italian was just standing still. She didn't seem to listen to anything. She was looking at her dad and Seb, two men that meant so much to her. She felt so disappointed by her father, and maybe, even more, she was disappointed by herself that she hadn't seen it before. Anthonie was the wicked one from the beginning.

"Pia?" Joanna's voice was soft. Pia would swear it was the first time she had spoken to her like that. Before, Pia almost felt like Joanna was emotionless. She was full of that shit that she needed to fight her own battles, but now Pia could finally hear some emotion in Jo's voice. "Let's just leave." Pia turned around, and Joanna could finally fully see her face.

She had a black eye, and blood was flowing down her chin. Pia was biting her lower lip so hard in order to control her crying that she bit through it. Her eyes were puffy and watery. At that moment, Joanna felt sorry for her. In Pia, she saw herself just a few years back when she was attending a boarding school. She saw that fragile, vulnerable, and weak girl again.

"I'm sorry, I just need to be alone for some time," Pia said before she walked away. Joanna didn't even try to stop her. She knew that Pia wouldn't listen to her anyway. She knew the feeling.

It was true she really needed some time to comprehend what had just happened, but the main reason was that she felt embarrassed. She felt so bad when things like this happened in front of people because she didn't want to people know that her family was so fucked up.

"I will go with her," Max said quickly, and he wanted to follow Pia's traces. He no longer saw Pia as a love interest, but she was still his friend. Max knew about that whole drama in her family because of Jos. He was really vocal about things that weren't any of his business. The young Dutchman wanted to offer her help with whatever, but he hadn't met her so often lately. He was just witnessing how the sparks from her eyes were fading away.

"Max," Joanna gently grabbed his hand. "She needs to be alone." Her voice was calm and soft. Max would swear it was maybe even enchanting, so he just obeyed her.

Pia was walking around with the phone in her hand. She didn't know whether she wanted to call Charles or not. Well, she wanted to call him, but she didn't want to annoy him. She was well aware that he had his own problems and worries.

She was about to dial his number when she noticed Max and Joanna. They were sitting together in a small pizzeria on the corner. Thanks to big windows, she could see inside. Max had his careless smile on his lips, and Joanna was laughing. She didn't see her like that often. She didn't see both of them like this often, actually. Max was a really closed person. Well, they both were, so it was weird to see them like this. Pia expected Max to be shy to talk to Joanna since she was his idol, and Pia assumed that she was also his little crush, but they never really talked about that. And Joanna... Joanna was simply Joanna. She was closed, cold, yet lovable.

Pia was about to hide her phone in her pocket when it started to ring. She quickly checked out the name of the caller. Pia's eyes went wide, and her heart started beating fast and loud against her chest when she read the word Mum written on display. Her chest felt suddenly so tight. She knew that she had to take a few deep breaths because otherwise, she would faint. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to help, and her chest was still tight.

"Hello?" She was able to say just this when she accepted the call. Her throat was tight as well. She started to feel so dizzy. The only thing that she was able to hear in her ears was her pumping heart.

"Pia? Are you there?" The voice of her mother was still the same. It was still so smooth and reassuring. Pia could also hear the worry in her voice. It was no wonder why Gianna was worried when her daughter wasn't replying to her for almost a minute.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Pia let these words slip out of her mouth. She didn't know if she was apologising for being silent or for everything that had happened in the last few months.

"I know you're still mad, but... but I just can't." The first sob left the older Italian's throat. She wanted her daughter back. "I was thinking," she said, and then there was a long silence. "I guess you won't even consider it, but if you would like to come... if you would like to come home for a bit, I would be really grateful," Gianna's voice was shaky and quivery. She was trying so hard not to break down in tears.

Her daughter decided not to fight with it. Warm tears streamed down Pia's cheeks ever since her mum mentioned the word home. That home in Genoa with her mother was the only true home that she had.

"I'm so sorry, mum," she apologised once again. "I will need to ask d- Anthonie first." Pia almost said the word dad. She swore that she would never call that Anthonie again since he wasn't her dad. Not anymore. "I don't think he will let me," she was whispering. Sorrow was seeping through her voice.

"Oh, I know. I would just come for you to Monaco, or we could stay there. I just need to see you." Gianna knew her husband would cause trouble. But since he travelled that much, she could just simply meet her little girl when he would be away. The only thing that she wasn't sure about was if Pia would like to see her.