Mon Amour | 𝑪.𝑳

Part 47

TW: panic attack, mentions of vomiting

Charles LeClerc didn't have many big fears.

Death didn't scare him because he'd become accustomed to it throughout his life. Racing accidents didn't scare him because he'd had a few close calls during his career. He wasn't scared of spiders or insects like any other person.

He was scared of snakes but that was known to everyone.

And truth be told, he didn't like being chased by monkey's either.

He had your natural fears like every other person, loved ones getting sick, loved ones dying, losing friends etc. But there was one thing that truly shook him to the core - nightmares.

The nightmares he found himself suffering with liked to pry on the things that scared him most. Or they would pry on old memories he always tried to keep locked in a box deep down in his mind - Jules' accident, Jules' final day on earth, finding out about his fathers illness, his father dying etc.

The nightmares were always in the back of his mind but were usually clouded over by other things he was thinking about. If he didn't have one for a while, it was inevitable to happen.

And it just so happened to be that evening...

Lyla jolted awake when she felt the mattress dip and heard Charles padding across the floor. The room was dark and it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness she was surrounded with as she brushed the sleep from her eyes and pushed herself up onto her elbows.

Confusion was written across her face as she was greeted with silence and her hand hitting the empty side of the bed next to her.

Then the sound of someone throwing up in the bathroom broke through the air.

She was up within seconds, heading straight to the bathroom and pushing it open to reveal a sweaty and trembling Charles thrown down on the floor with half his body hanging across the toilet. Lyla's movements were gentle and quiet as she made her way over to him and squatted down on the floor, placing her hand on his back which caused him to jolt.

"Woah, its only me." Lyla whispers, removing her hand from his back.

Charles had little to no physical strength in his body as Lyla flushed the toilet and grabbed a towel to wipe his mouth whilst he leant his cheek against his hand which was on the edge of the toilet seat.

The Monegasque never removed his eyes from her, the glossiness that was covering his irises was enough to let Lyla know that he wasn't currently in sync with the world so she made sure that every single movement was gentle. If he jolted at her touch or flinched away from her she backed off until his body had calmed down, she kept telling him that she was there and it was only her, no one else, right up until he blinked himself from his trance long enough to register her face.

"You alri- no, okay." She moves closer to the toilet as he moves himself over the top of it again.

When Charles eventually came to and got back in touch with what was real and what wasn't, he let himself fall into Lyla's arms. Using the Italian's body and strength to hold himself upright.

"Nightmare?" Lyla asks gently, brushing his messy hair from his face as she looks down at him.

"Mhm." He hums, nodding his head subtly.

"Not ready to talk about it?" She knew the answer.

"No." His voice was tired, not physical tiredness but emotional.

"Okay." Lyla whispers, kissing his forehead.

He drifted off into an unknown place once again. Lyla stayed in her position, holding him close to her but not close enough to make him feel suffocated. Just enough for him to know that she was still there despite the fact he was off in dreamland. It was routine for this to happen because it happened a lot and Lyla knew what to do each time it did.