Love, Eternal

Childhood Sweethearts

"So what have you been doing? I haven't seen you in a couple of years properly" Pierre asked her, he was sitting outside with Nola and he was glad because it meant he could try and have a fairly private conversation with her.
"Not a whole lot, just supported mum where I could. I missed Charles like crazy and now Lorenzo is home a little bit more so it means she's not alone and so that's why I'm now here, travelling with him" she spoke softly, Pierre watched her the whole time, observing her. It had been so long since he spoke to her, not since the incident really and he heard of how much she struggled, he spoke to Charles often about Nola making sure she was okay, thankfully Charles didn't find it weird at all.
"How has it been going for you?" Nola asked Pierre, snapping him out of his thoughts
"Yeah, it's been a bit up and down, being kicked from the red bull seat weren't ideal but doing what I can with the car I have and gonna keep pushing" Pierre spoke. "How have you been doing really? You know with like everything that happened with Anthoine?" Pierre asked.

He wanted to ask her about him, he didn't know how he was meant to go about it the right way but now he had said it he instantly regretted it, knowing how much Nola had struggled with it all. Anthoine was their friend, Pierre and Charles raced with him when they were younger, they were all close and went on trips together, college, things like that and when that horrible day came around, it hit them all. Especially when Pierre and Charles were racing the day after at the exact same place, it was a horrible experience. But Nola and Anthoine had something, they started seeing each other probably only a year previously, Anthoine and Pierre used to talk about her when they were kids after first meeting her, Pierre knew he had a massive crush on her, Anthoine knew Pierre had a massive crush on her but he was the one she chose, Pierre never got the chance. They were inseparable apart from when Anthoine was racing, she was there that day, she saw it happen and it hit her hard, they were the type of people that would of stayed together all their lives and been like childhood sweethearts. It hit them all hard, but the heartbreak that followed Nola. Charles and Pierre were best friends with him and it broke them, Nola was the worst of the bunch, she couldn't handle it.

"It was tough, it still scares me to this day when something happens, like with Charles, particularly after losing our godfather to the same sport, but racing is in this family's history, in its blood. I don't think I'll ever not love Anthoine, but he's looking after us all, including you but I try not to think about it or talk about it" she spoke, her words had such a big meaning, she never said what she didn't mean, and Pierre could tell from the way she spoke she was still lost and still broken and trying to heal
"He will always be watching over us" Pierre said, he looked up at her, he could stare into those green eyes all day. "So I was thinking, maybe we could for lunch or dinner or something soon?" Pierre asked boldly, it probably wasn't the appropriate time to ask that question and he immediately regretted it again.
"Erm sure, I don't mind" she replied, Pierre was not sure how certain she was. But he would have to see. He knew they didn't have a break before the next race so it would have to wait, but getting the answer was something and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nola, hey, Charles is looking for you" George come out onto the balcony to get Nola, his announcement making them both jump. Pierre didn't want her to leave him, but the stupid questions he was asking and the fact he had to be careful. She was still his friends little sister, and she dated his other friend once upon a time. Nola went inside to find Charles, Pierre got up a little while later and went to rejoin the party.

Nola was so off after being asked about Anthoine, it really knocked her, she felt off balance. She also felt a little bit annoyed, she didn't like speaking about it. Nola still thought about him every single day and it still hurt so much, everytime she would think or speak about him it's like a knife piercing her heart. She adored Anthoine when they were growing up, she used to tell her mum he kept picking on her and Nola's mum kept telling her it's because 'he likes you', which Nola thought was just silly. Nola and Anthoine would hang out more and more and when Nola was 16, he was 20, they finally started seeing each other properly. Charles didn't know a lot they tried to keep it hidden as much as possible, particularly for the age difference. When he wasn't in the car, racing, he was with Nola, how they managed to make it seem like they were just friends was a mystery. They did everything together, the day before the crash Anthoine made up his mind and decided he was going to tell Charles all about him and Nola and hope he would be okay, they loved each other, they were like soulmates.

Then, they were all in Belgium, Anthoine was racing in Formula 2, Charles and Pierre in Formula 1, Nola was there for them all, and as they watched him race that day, the horrible accident happened. They saw on the screen the car hit the barriers, then another car hit him. Nola remembered the day clearly, it replayed in her mind often, seeing the wreck, not being able to breath, she collapsed to the floor, everything turned into an echo, like it wasn't reality, everyone moving quickly around her. She didn't speak for weeks, she didn't eat for days, she had nightmares every night for months, sometimes she still had them now. It was the most horrible time of their lives.
Nola was already so nervous and scared for racing and had only managed to bring herself to attend a handful of races. It took their godfather, Jules, away from them, and then it took Nola's boyfriend, the love of her life, her soulmate. Nola went through a traumatic time, as did Charles and Pierre obviously, eventually she told Charles everything, he was so lovely and so supportive of her but it was the only way she could try and break through some of her pain, it didn't help a great deal, but knowing she had her brother by her side completely helped her. She didn't see much of Pierre after that as she stayed home and become very secluded from life for a while, isolating herself, it was the only way she could ever attempt to deal with things, seeing Pierre here, having Charles and Pierre in the same room, it reminded her of Anthoine too much, and the fact that he wasn't here.

Nola was snapped out of her thoughts when Charles put his arm round her, he was smiling away and looked at his sister. He was a little tipsy and just enjoying himself but when he saw his sisters face, the happiness faded and concern grew.
"Nola? What's happened?" He asked. Nola could never hide her true thoughts and feelings from Charles, he could read her like a book
"Don't worry, I'll tell you tomorrow, let's enjoy this" Nola said making myself more upbeat as she didn't want to take Charles away from the celebrations by worrying about her "Just give me two seconds I'll be right back" She said to him.

She turned on her heel and walked right back towards the balcony where she was sitting with Pierre, she would deal with this herself, as she opened the door to the outside area she went flying, Nola landed in Pierre's arms as he caught her, making sure she was okay. Nola stood up quickly and closed the door behind her, not wanting to draw attention to the situation. The angry Monégasque inside of Nola coming to the surface.
"How dare you ask me about him" She spoke. She didn't shout or scream, although she wanted to, but her tone was frosty, she surprised herself by how she battled with the anger
"What do you mean?" He replied slowly
"I was fine, and now you've been stupid and asked about him and it's changed everything, I'm not okay, I never will be okay about losing him and you brought it up"
"None of us will ever be okay about losing him" he said softly. Pierre understood Nola was still sad and he had regretted speaking about it, but the damage was done, her reaction was completely warranted but he didn't want to argue with her at all
"So why did you ask?" Nola said, getting annoyed again because Pierre seemed so calm
"Because I wanted to make sure you were okay?" He said
"How will asking about him make anything better. I can't speak about him, it hurts too much, and now I'm just in this spiral in my head again" Nola yelled, that's it, she had officially lost her cool and Pierre knew it
"Calm down Nola, I'm not going to have a fight with you" he put his hands up defensively. He was very hot headed when he wanted to be, he was French, that's what they were like. So if he did argue back, this would be like world war three. Nola felt the tears start falling from her eyes before she could stop them. Pierre put his arms around the girl, he didn't want her upset and it hurt him to know he had caused it, he held Nola while she cried, he didn't know what else to do. Pierre put his chin on top of her head fully hugging her.
The door opened behind them and Charles had come outside
"What's going on?" He asked, he saw Pierre hugging his sister and it was a weird sight to see
"Erm, Nola is upset, it's my fault but I think it's best if I just go" Pierre said letting go of Nola quickly, he wasn't sure how Charles would react.

By the end of the night Nola was in bed, she had told Charles she was just going to go and let him enjoy his evening with his team and friends and she would see him in the morning. Charles arranged a car for his sister and she went back to the hotel on her own.