his girls (Charles Leclerc)

eight

November 15th: Charles' pov

Juliette
Can't talk until my break sorry.

Charles 🙂
Why  are you at the shoot??

Juliette
I'm better.

Four hours ago she was hotter than hell, and now she's all good? No way, not buying it.

Charles 🙂
I'll pick you up in ten minutes, you're going to bed.

Juliette
I can't just leave, I promise I'm fine. I've got Tylenol in my bag just in case.

I'm swearing again, in my head that is. I'm swearing, the words are so creative that if my thoughts broadcast over the radio, you'd hear one long beep.

Charles 🙂
Call me when you're on your break, and call me if you start feeling worse, I will take you home and force you to take Esmes bed.

Juliette
Promises, promises.

Instead of running around my house like a headless chicken to get ready for training at the gym with Carlos, I set up camp in the living room, taking care of the infuriating media side of being a formula one driver - a task I tend to avoid.

I'm willing to bite the bullet today just in case Juliette needs me to pick her up at any point during the day, and what a blessing that I'd stayed at home. Less than two hours later, my phone began to ring, it was her.

I answered immediately "Juliette are you alright?"

"Hey man!" A photographer yells, his arm around Juliette, she seems almost ghost like, swaying on her feet and bracing against the wall when he lets go of her.

"What happened?" I looked down at the phone, looking closely to her scraped knee and her weak body, hardly being able to hold herself up properly.

"She passed out shooting," he explained his hands in his pockets "I think she's got the flu. She's feverish."

"I shouldn't have come today," she utters, each word a strained murmur, "I don't feel so good."

————————

"I don't feel so good." She repeated as I carried her into Esme's house, thankful that Camila was at the park with her aunt whilst I brought her inside.

"Yeah, no shit." I pressed my hand to her head, pulse throbbing in my neck. She's too hot. Hotter than before. She'll end up in the ER if we don't lower the fever. "When did you take Tylenol last?"

"Four in the morning."

"So irresponsible Juliette." I take her shoes off scooping her into my arms again, "You should've taken another dose at eight."

"You can't be trusted with your own health." I sit her on the couch, aiming the thermometer at her head, my hands turn cold when the results flash on the screen. "One oh-three oh point six. Shit, either we get it down in the next fifteen minutes or I'm taking you to the hospital." Grabbing my phone to text Esme, concerned over her sister.

Charles
Your sister passed out at a shoot, I brought her back home but her temperature is too high

Esme
she was shaking last night, told her to not go to work and I'd watch Camila - should've known she never listens. Icy bath now. On our way home.

"You really aren't doing to like this Juliette." I warned her, helping her up as we reached the bathroom, I instantly began pouring the cold water in, sticking my hand to check the temperature.

Her eyes fluttered, all she let out was an "I'm so sorry." Seeing her fall apart like this does something to me I can't explain. Maybe it's my desire to live up to Pierre's honour. Maybe it's because I'm trying to be helpful, or maybe it's something else entirely.

I pushed her hair back from her face, "Don't be sorry, don't be sorry." I immediately began to dump in bags of ice, the water turning cold enough to numb my fingers entirely as I swirled the cubes around, hearing Esme come through the door downstairs.

As the bath reached enough water for her to be submerged fully into it, Esme ran up the stairs and entered the room, "Oh god, you're not looking so hot right now Juliette." She commented.

Juliette ignored the statement and rubbed her eyes, them still fluttering as she spoke asking the question "Where's Camila?"

"She's happy downstairs with the dog, come on let's get you in the bath." Esme told her promptly pulling her jacket off of her, not wasting any time to take off other items of clothing and just putting her into the tub.

Esme rested her hand against Juliette's forehead, feeling for herself just how overheated she was, Juliette didn't even wince at the ice bath, she was too sick to be bothered over a little coldness.

"Charles?" I heard from behind me, the small girl poking her head into the bathroom door, I quickly ran out to get her out of the room, not wanting her to see her mum in that condition.

"Camila I've been meaning to talk to you missy," I told her as I shut the bathroom door behind us and walking her down the stairs with me, "I've heard you have been asking your mum to move here?"

She nodded proudly, running around the kitchen island to grab a stuffed bunny on the floor, "I like being here, mummy doesn't."

I raised a brow "You don't think your mummy likes it here?"

She shook her head, "Nu uh." She looked over the height of the kitchen stools, wondering whether she was tall enough to attempt to get up, "Mummy cries more here."

Juliette Laurent, she's beautiful and still so very sad.

As I thought about what to reply to her my phone began to ring, I sighed and held it to my ear, "Charles, babe why didn't you go to the gym today? Carlos showed up to ask if you were sick?"

I gulped, unsure of what to respond "I uh got distracted."

"You're with her right now aren't you?" She spoke, the silence deafening as I tried to come up with a response that would satisfy her rather than annoy her, which I was doing a lot lately.

"Look she needed me- she passed out-

"Charles..," she sighed "It's been so long since he died, if she needed you when she was away she would've called and did she ever? No. She was fine then and she's fine now."

"Charlotte you don't understand," I looked down at Camila and walked alway for a moment so she wouldn't listen "The anniversary is coming up and she has to deal with all of his family being pissed over her and Camila, it's not easy to deal with."

She scoffed down the line,"Yeah I didn't say it was fucking easy, but you need to focus on your career Charles. Your life. Not hers. Ours."

I argued back, keeping my voice somewhat low praying no one could hear me "She is apart of my life, both of those girls are apart of my life now and you have to accept that Cha, Pierre would've wanted me to."

She huffed,"Would he though Charles? Because I don't think he'd make you prioritise them over your own life."

I countered back, "I don't understand why it bothers you so much."

She let out a breathe "You're at that house every single day, if you aren't there you're texting her, talking to me about her, feeling sorry for her. She isn't Pierre Charles, staying around her isn't going to bring him back and the sooner you realise that the better."

"Charles?" Camila called out from the kitchen.

Charlotte scoffed "Is that the kid? Fuck sake."

I hung up the phone.