Lock Up ⏐Charles Leclerc

Chapter 1

Hi, guys!

I'm relying a lot on google translate for most of the Italian phrases here so please don't judge. If there's anything to correct, just comment it. Thanks and enjoy!

*****

The sun was bright yet the weather felt cold as I stepped out of the car I had rented for the following month. It was my first time to spend my annual isolation here in Tuscany since my usual destinations would either be in France or somewhere else in Italy. America would never be my first choice since there would always be a hundred percent chance that someone would spot me and my location would be on the internet in minutes. I've never actually tried it but based on the number of times I've gone to New York City and had a group of people follow me around, the answer was a definite no.

The house was my first investment ever since I began acting seven years ago. I've withheld spending large amounts of money since I wanted to build my own house that I could go to in the countryside. Every inch of this house has held a part of me since I was closely involved with the designing process. The house was already built when I purchased it so the only things that I could design were the interior and the landscaping around it. I made sure to dedicate rooms where I could spend my entire day without getting bored since social media wouldn't be an option. For the past year, I've been flying here from time to time to check the progress, giving me time to get to know the people within the village as well.

I was only about fifteen minutes away from the village proper so a short bike ride was enough for the trip. Around me, only two other houses were visible and the next ones would be about an hour away. The three houses were originally owned by one person who lived in Rome. He'd rent out the houses to tourists who were planning to stay for more than a week and decided to put up one for sale. As soon as I saw it, I immediately asked my manager to make an offer and after a month of negotiations, the house was finally mine.

Only three people were aware of my location– my parents and my manager, Olivia. She's only been working with me for the past three years since my mom and I used to handle all of my job offers and auditions. It was when I had my big break and won the highest award for actors in Hollywood that it became overwhelming to handle it on our own. It wasn't just about scheduling and organizing my events, but also looking for new movies that I could audition for as well as going through the offers that were given to me.

All of my social media apps were deleted on my phone, leaving only iMessage as the way for me to communicate. I unloaded my things from the boot of the car and headed for the front door. The house was clear of any dust or unwanted dirt since I had hired a caretaker to check in every few weeks. Heading straight to the bedroom, I had a change of clothes to get rid of the flight's icky feeling.

I changed into a pair of light blue jeans, a plain white shirt, and white sneakers. To combat the cold, I grabbed my red puffer jacket and headed out of the house again. Despite having a caretaker, I still like to do things on my own so I needed to stock up on supplies for the weekend.

The village was filled with people since it was currently a Saturday. I smiled to myself as no one approached me for a photo or an autograph. During my first visit here, there were a few that asked for it but none followed. I remember standing by the sidewalk for ten straight minutes, enjoying the mundane life. It was when a young woman, just a few years older than me, spoke up.

"Everything okay?" she asked. Her English was flawless but you could still sense an accent behind it.

I nodded my head and smiled brightly at her. "More than okay, actually."