Gridlocked Hearts

XIII

Aimlessly flicking through the channels, Claude sighed, and looked at the clock. He had been sitting on the sofa for over an hour, trying his best to put off his grueling training regime for the day. His back was still sore and stiff from the last race in Spain, and he was still annoyed about his 3rd place finish in Miami.

Unable to find anything worth his time, he groaned in frustration, and chucked the remote to the floor before throwing his head in his hands. The grim and bright white surroundings of his house stared back at him in a cold and lonely way. He'd recently been sent an article from Theo about the white room torture technique. It had probably been his idea of a joke, but maybe there was some truth to it. Maybe that was why he was going crazy. Maybe those white walls really were closing in on him.

The F1 driver pulled out his phone, hoping that it would offer a better distraction, but instead, he was greeted with instagram posts from sponsors, and influencers he barely knew. Ferrari had recently posted a picture of him and Noah. He liked it, and quickly put his phone away. He did not want to think about how good Noah looked with that sun-kissed tan that he had picked up in Miami. 

"Ugh Je m'ennuie trop! [I'm so bored!]," he yelled to no one in particular. The sound echoed through the cavernous, empty house, highlighting the profound sense of loneliness that had settled in.

No one ever truly conveyed the profound loneliness that accompanied reaching the pinnacle of success. For years, Claude had been fed a dream, one that promised that pursuing his passion would be the ultimate fulfillment. Yet, in the relentless pursuit of that dream, he had unwittingly sacrificed love, trust, and, most painfully, his freedom. A bitter undercurrent coursed through some part of him, a simmering resentment for the other drivers on the grid who could openly embrace love, proudly displaying their significant others in the paddock. Meanwhile, he remained hidden in the shadows, a solitary figure, too guarded to trust fully yet too exposed to the possibility of being loved, and incapable of reciprocating.

BUZZZZ

Startled, the driver sat up, and looked at the direction of the sound. If he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that someone was ringing the intercom.

"Let me in!" A familiar voice yelled over the speaker, and the driver narrowed his eyes, before opening the door.

"Why are you at my house?" Was the first thing he asked as he came face to face with his fellow driver.

"Oh hi Theo! It's great to see you. We haven't hung out in ages. I can't believe you travelled five hours to come and see me. That is so thoughtful of you," Theo Larsen stared back at the frenchman with a smug grin on his face, before pushing his way into the house.

"Yeah hi... why are you here?" Claude questioned, folding his arms across his chest. He eyed Theo's dirty trainers on the white floor and resisted the urge to ask him to remove them. His friend simply shrugged before pulling something out from his hoodie pocket.

Claude squinted, and tilted his head in confusion. It looked like the official Formula One game, but that was impossible. It wasn't out for another two months...

"Is that the new season?" He gasped, and his friend laughed and nodded.

"How the hell did you get your hands on that?!"

Theo chuckled before waving the game around as if it was not a super exclusive prototype, that was probably worth thousands of euros and a dozen lawsuits if lost or damaged.

"I have my ways. Fancy a game?" He sent the Frenchman a lopsided grin, and Claude nodded enthusiastically, returning the goofy smile.

The pair made their way toward Claude's gaming room, the white walls of his house seeming to close in on them as they navigated through the labyrinthine corridors. By the time they reached their destination, Theo was almost shivering, and Claude couldn't help but release a frustrated sigh. It appeared that the underground heating was utterly useless when the entire space was surrounded by chilling windows and a stark, desolate environment.