The past year has gone from bad to worse for Charles Leclerc. He lost the World Championship to his greatest rival and then his three year relationship with his girlfriend, Ceci, also ended.
He swore to focus on two things next season, win races and...
Anita spent close to one month in the hospital before she was given clearance to go home. Throughout her stay , she resisted the urge to call Victoria. Instead, she kept in touch with Charles. They exchanged a lot of texts and voice messages throughout the month. Whenever the time difference would permit, Charles facetimes her to check on how she's doing.
This time he is in Australia, which is 11 hours ahead. He rang Anita after he heard her voice message sharing the good news that she can finally go home and thanking him for taking care of her medical expenses.
"Please allow me to pay you back for everything" was her last voice note.
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It was 7 am when he called.
"Good morning, Anita."
"Hey. Did you get my voicemessage?"
"Yes. That's why I called"
"I will have 3 weeks after Australia before Baku, I would like to fly to the UK to help you get settled back in"
"I'm good. You don't need to do that, you've already done so much for me. They will take my cast off today, so I'll just be with a sling and can take care of myself. For rehab, I can go to the nearby hospital"
"Anita, I insist. You don't entrust your whole life to me and then expect me to just let it go after you've recovered." He laughs at the thought of what happened the past month. From being strangers to acquaintances and now friends.
"Ms. Nelson, are you still there? Why are you so quiet?" He panicked a but at the sound of soft sobs from the other line
"Hey... Anita, are you crying? What's wrong? Hello?" Charles asked again worried.
"I'm still here. I'm sorry..."Anita said in between sobs.
"What's wrong?"
"Sorry... it's just that you've been too kind to me and I miss Victoria. I'm sorry I shouldn't be bothering you. I should go."
"Hey. Don't say sorry all the time. I like being your friend. That's what friends do for each other, being present when one needs company. On Victoria, I saw her in Jeddah and she was worried about you."
"I know. Anyway, it's probably late there."
"Wait, Anita, are you saying goodbye without showing your face?" Charles switched on his camera hoping Anita would do the same.
And she did. He looked at her face, angelic but a bit red from all the crying.
"There you are. Look at you. You are so red from all the crying"
She wipes her tears and tried to fix her hair with just one hand.
"I look awful. It's so hard to move with just one hand."
"You'll get used to it. So, what time do you get released?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe after they take my cast off"
