STAY THE NIGHT || Charles Leclerc

NINE

Thursday, 6 January 2022

"Olly, wake up... Ollyyyy... come on Olly"

I groaned, rolling over to face Giada who was prodding me in the back.

"Morning, Gi" I mumbled, squinting against the bright light that beamed through the window

"Sorry I woke you up, I was bored" Giada began "It's getting late, I'm hungry and Charles left to go for a run"

"What's the time?"

"Uhhh... nine thirty"

"Great, I really needed that lie-in"

"What's for breakfast?"

"My goodness, Giada. You're so impatient"

"Sorry. But seriously, what are we eating? I'm starving"

I paused for a moment, thinking about the various options we could have for breakfast.

"Crepes?" I suggested, already pulling up my favorite recipe on my phone

"Sounds perfect" Giada said as she clapped her hands together "Let's get baking!"

*

"It's okay, you always say that the first one always goes wrong"

"That's what my mum told me"

A single tear rolled down my face as I thought about my mother. As a child, I was quite close to my mother, and I remember how I would often get up early to help her make pancakes for the family at the weekends before we went to watch my brother Jackson race.

"Olly?"

I looked up at Giada, who had turned her focus away from the crepes to look at me.

"Oh Olly, come here" she said, taking my hand and guiding me to the island in the center of the room. "Tell me about your mum"

"She is... she was the best mum anyone could ever ask for" I began, taking a tissue to dry my eyes "The crepes were something we would make together in the mornings before Jack went to race"

"What was she like as a person?" Giada questioned

"She was a real character" I paused briefly to laugh as a childhood memory resurfaced "I remember once, she stole one of Jackson's sweets. He told her that he wanted it back, so she spat it out onto the table"

"Ewww! That's horrible Olly!"

I laughed as the scene replayed in my mind. I remembered vividly how shocked Jackson was when she spat it back out. He might have demanded that she give it back, but he certainly wasn't expecting her to spit it out. "Exactly, but that's the type of person she was. He asked for it back, so she gave it to him. It gave us a funny memory as well" I paused to cry for a moment as I remembered my mother "I miss her so much already"

"Olivia Anne Thomas" Giada began, taking my hand holding it in hers "Unfortunately, I never got to meet your mother, or you father. But what I do know is that they were two of the most caring, loving people anyone could ever meet. They raised three amazing children, children who are exactly everything they stood for and believed in. You're funny, caring, thoughtful, honest and loyal. Most importantly, you're one of mine and my boyfriend's closest friends. I'll admit, sometimes I'm jealous because you can sometimes spend more time with him than I do, but I know how strong your friendship is and I admire that. So, let's wipe away your tears, get up from here, and finish baking those crepes. I'm absolutely starving!"

I began to cry again at Giada's kind words as she wrapped me in a tight hug. She always seemed to know exactly what to say, and I was grateful to have her as my friend.

*

"Olly? Gi? I'm back!" came Charles voice from the front door of my apartment

"Hi baby!"

"Hey Charlie"

"What are you two up to?" he asked, throwing his bag into a corner as he jumped onto the sofa and pulled out his phone

"Charles!" I exclaimed

He turned his eyes away from his phone and towards me, looking at me innocently.

"Olly?"

"Bags go in the hallway, Charles, not just slung on the side. Go put it back properly, please"

"Sorry, Ol" mumbled Charles sheepishly, getting up to put his bag in the hallway like I'd asked him to

"I like how he does exactly what you tell him to" whispered Giada into my ear "You have to teach me how to do that one day. I'm very jealous"

I laughed at Giada's comment "A lot of time, Gi, an awful lot of time"

A/N: Sorry for not uploading last week, I was away on holiday! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter <3

Only two more races left this year?! I'll be honest, part of me is glad that the season will be over, it's been SO long this year.