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

chapter thirty-two

"Lando Norris?" a nurse asked, walking in the waiting room. Alya stood up as fast as she could.

"Yes, here" she said, realizing just then that his family was there too.

"He's okay" she said. Everyone sighed in relief. "We had to rush him into surgery for his knee, it was hurt pretty badly. In a few months and with a lot of physiotherapy he will be fine"

"Is he awake?" Alya asked, almost whispering.

"Yes, if you'd like to see him follow me" the nurse said. Alya looked at his family, waiting for them to go first.

"You go ahead dear" Cisca said. "We'll go in right after you"

"Are you sure?" she asked. When she nodded, Alya followed the nurse to Lando's room.

She let her through the door, before closing it behind her. It was just a normal hospital room: the walls were white, the bed was white and made of a plastic material, the bedsheets were white and greenish, the machines that were attached to Lando's arms were beeping regularly and the smell was absolutely terrible. It smelled like medicines and gauze.

"Hey you" she said, her eyes locking in Lando's. He looked tired.

"Your face is puffy" he said, looking at her. "And red. Have you been crying?" he asked worried.

She looked at him and ignored the question, her eyes getting watery again. "You know, when I said 'break a leg' earlier I didn't mean literally. It meant good luck. Maybe next time I'll be more specific" she tried to laugh.

Lando giggled sadly.

"You scared me to death" she said, tears finally leaving her eyes. "Don't you dare ever do anything like that again"

"I'm sorry" Lando said, opening his arms. She snuggled up on the bed, letting him embrace her and crying. "I'm so sorry"

"I know" she sniffed.

"I'll be more careful"

"I hope so" she lifted her head to look at him. "For your own safety" she pointed at his face.

He laughed. "I know you're not kidding"

"Damn right I'm not" she giggled. "If you ever try to do anything like that again I'm gonna kill you" she said. "And then I'm gonna bring you back because I can't live without you. But I'm still gonna kill you"

"If you can bring me back from death, you could become very famous"

"I'm already famous enough" she shrugged, laying her head back on his chest. "I'm gonna keep it to myself to save y'all reckless drivers"

"Okay" he smiled.

"Okay" she smiled as well, tears still streaming down her face. "Don't do that ever again, please"

"I won't" he said, tightening his grip around her shoulders.

They stayed silent for the following few minutes, hugging as she was calming down. When his family and Louisa - who must've gotten there just a few minutes before - got in the room, she let them have a moment alone.

She reached the waiting room to find all the drivers sitting in the chairs. As they saw her, they all got up.

She glanced quickly at the clock, realizing that hours had passed since the accident.

"He's fine" she said, putting her hands in her pockets. "He had surgery on the knee cause it was hurt pretty badly. In a few months he'll be back on track - literally"

They all sighed in relief, walking up to hug her.

"You can visit him in a few" she said. "There's his family in right now"

They nodded, as they kept comforting her. When Charles' turn came, she swung back and forth on her feet, avoiding his gaze. He still hugged her, leaving a kiss on the top of her head.

"Thank you" she mumbled in his chest. "For earlier"

"Of course" he whispered back. "I'm here. I'll always be here, in any way you'll allow me to"

She inhaled, taking in his perfume and the coziness he let her feel. Then she pushed back.

They looked at each other in the eyes for a second, before they all started walking to Lando's room.

"Charles" she called shyly, as he was the last one in line.

"Yeah?" he turned around quickly.

"I'm sorry" she said.

'I love you' was what she meant.

"It's okay" he said. "I'm still here. I have a reputation of being pretty stubborn"

'I love you, let me in, please' was what he wanted to say.

She shrugged lightly, letting him intend that she didn't have more to say. He nodded slightly, turning away to go to Lando.

She sat in the chair where he was sitting on earlier, sighing.

She wanted him back into her life.

She wanted to be able to hug him whenever she wanted.

She wanted him to love her back - because it was love - and she wanted to kiss him every morning and every night.

She wanted to feel protected in his arms.

She wanted to feel loved in his embrace.

She wanted to be loved as no one had ever done before, as she knew he could love her.

All the progress they had made, all that they had found out about each other. She wanted it there, in her reach.

She needed to be able to feel in her hands whatever he had given her. And she needed to have it there and then.

But he was in a relationship. Alexandra was there, and she didn't want to ruin it.

She never could've imagined that he wanted her to say something.

He wanted her to tell him to get his ass back into her life.

He wanted her to say a single word, to be entirely happy again.

He was ready to give up everything, just to kiss her again.

He needed her words, her laugh, her eyes, her everything in his life.

She didn't know that.

And she didn't know that he was thinking about her in that exact moment, while his mates were joking in the room with him.

And she definitely didn't know that somewhere, in a hotel room, Alexandra was thinking about them and her relationship with Charles.

She could've never imagined that in that exact moment, a few months after getting together, she was ready to leave him. That she wanted him to be happy, and she knew that she wouldn't be the person to make him live at his fullest. That she wanted to stop before her feelings wouldn't allow her to. That she knew, deep down, that somewhere there was someone else waiting for her - someone that would want her, not her company, and not someone else. 

Alya didn't know that.