then you flashed your green eyes at me || Charles Leclerc

chapter sixteen

"This house is amazing!" she whispered excited to Danny, while the agent was in another room collecting papers. 

It was a two floors penthouse apartment, light colored walls and floor to ceiling windows. It had two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen with an open spaced living area and a studio. Was it unnecessary big? Yes, probably. But she loved it.

"And you're sure it wouldn't be a problem for you if we were neighbours?" she asked concerned.

"Are you kidding? It would be great. Heidi would love it as well, we talked last night" he asnwered. Her smile grew wider as she looked around.

"Okay so, I have all the papers here. If you'd like to proceed immediately with the purchase, or if you prefer to take some time to think about it let me know" the agent said. She looked at Daniel, who nodded supportive.

"I'll purchase immediately" she said. She felt like it was a bit impulsive, but it felt right. The agent smiled, handing her the papers and a pen. 

"You're going to need to come to the agency after this, but everything will be settled as you sign this" he motioned the bottom of the page. She read every word of the contract, taking her time. When she was sure she was happy with it, she asked for a copy of it.

By the end of the afternoon, she had shaken hands with half of the people in the agency and had closed the deal. At that point she was so exhausted that she just wanted to rest. So, she took a cab back to the hotel - she would've checked out the following morning - and immediately fell asleep.

She got woken up the next morning by a knock on the door. 

"Good morning sunshine, it's moving day!" Daniel cheered, entering the room. After him Max, Lando, Carlos and Pierre made their own way thorugh the door. 

"Go check out, we've got it from here" Lando said, smiling.

"We even went grocery shopping for you" Pierre said.

"So that you can invite us over for dinner to celebrate the new house!" Carlos finished. She giggled.

"It feels like you've already invited yourselves"

"And our girlfriends, hope it's not a problem" Lando said, walking out the door with a suitcase in his hand. She stood there for a second, processing.

"I'm sorry, did you just say girlfriend?" she yelled, running after him. "How come you never told me anything? Who is she? Where is she from? What does she look like? Don't ignore me!" she followed him into the elevator. He laughed.

"I wasn't sure about it at first, that's why I didn't tell you. And because I knew you's ask a million questions I wasn't ready to anwer yet" he said. "But you'll meet her tonight!" he smiled. 

"You grow up so fast" she said, wiping an imaginary tear from her cheek. He pushed her jokingly.

"I've had girlfriends before!" he giggled.

"Sure" she scoffed, then laughed at his shocked face.

"Hey! I'm also older than you"

"So? You still grow up fast" she wiped another inexistent tear. They laughed it off before she went to the check out.

"No but seriously, are you happy?" she asked, sitting in the passenger seat of his car. The others had already grabbed all her bags and put them in their cars, and were now driving to her new house. 

"I am" he smiled. "I think you'll like her" 

"I hope so too. I wouldn't want to commit murder if she treats you badly" she giggled. 

"You wouldn't hurt a spider" he said.

"Only because I'm scared of them!" she tried. She wasn't intimidating, at all. They laughed and talked a bit more, soon getting to the parking lot of the building. 

She watched amused as all her friends' expensive cars parked beside each other. If anyone asked her, years before, if she believed she would be this happy at 20 years old, she would've laughed. She sincerely did't think she would make it past middle school.

But then that short kid came along with his friends, talking about how much he wanted to drive fast cars, and he stuck around. There was something in him that made her want to stay and not give up. She wasn't sure what it was, but it worked.

And now she was happy. 

She opened the door to her new apartment for the first time and walked in, her friends following. It already felt like home. And having everyone she cared about around her made it ten times better. 

Well, almost everyone she cared about. There was something missing, though she didn't want to admit it. 

As she put down her last suitcase, she pulled Max aside for a second. "Don't make unrequired comments to what I'm about to ask you" she started.

"Okay? Is everything okay?" he asked worried.

"Yeah, no. I mean yeah, I just have a question." she explained. He nodded to make her continue. She sighed. "Where's Charles?" 

"Oh, that" he said. She looked at him with a questioning look. "We asked him to come with us, but he said he didn't care" he looked down at her. "I'm sorry"

"It's fine, I wasn't expecting him anyway" she said, smiling. 

"Lya..."

"No really it's okay" she said. Then she raised her voice. "Okay, everyone out now. I have to tidy everything up and decide if I want to cook or to order pizzas" she smiled. After saying goodbye, they got out giggling. Before closing the door, she saw the look Max was giving her. It was sad. And pitiful. 

She locked the door and walked to the window, sitting in front of the view. 

She really didn't expect him to be there. But she wanted him to care. Not care care. But care, a little bit. She wanted him to not be indifferent.

She felt selfish. Just because she wanted something didn't mean it had to happen. And she wasn't exactly willing to correspond the interest.

Maybe he didn't want to deal with her. Maybe he got scared when he saw her having a panic attack? Or maybe she had just been too rude to him and he didn't want to be around her anymore. Maybe she was too exhausting and annoying? Maybe it was hard to deal with her. Maybe the others didn't have the heart to tell her that she was bad company.

Maybe she was overthinking too much. He didn't care, big deal. She didn't care either.

Right?