Book 1: Leap of Faith -Charles Leclerc

Chapter 14

Chapter 14: August 3rd, 2023

Caroline sunk deeper into her couch as she pressed 'next episode' on the remote. She was three hours into her Love Island binge, letting the soothing British accents take her mind far away from her thoughts. She was fully nested into the corner of the couch when she saw her phone light up out of the corner of her eye. Uninterested in being a functioning human being, she ignored it and pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt. She couldn't help but replay that moment in her mind, over and over again.

The look on his face, the bite in his words. It was as if anger seeped through every pore of his body, an emotion she never thought she would see on the sweet guy she knew. He threw her an emotional left hook, right to the jaw. She blacked out after that moment, not realizing how she had left until she found herself crying in an empty bathroom. She was grateful that the race was still going and that no one would see her falling apart. The tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking her face. Her sobs echoed through the room until she was barely able to get a sound out. The familiar pain in her heart resurfaced, and it felt like she was right back where she was a year ago. Her brain seemed to only repeat one sentence, "I told you this would happen."

After dehydration set in and she had no more tears left, Caroline ventured out of the stall and cleaned off the mascara that had pooled under her eyes. She looked relatively normal, even though she felt massacred inside. She left the bathroom and watched the rest of the race, seeing Carlos soar to a P1 finish. Caroline smiled as she watched him hop onto his car, throwing his fist into the air. She double checked that no one needed her after the race and made a quick beeline to her hotel.

Caroline groaned at the memory that started over again in her head. She was desperate for something to make her feel better, so she grabbed her phone and called her mom. She knew it would make her either feel better, or cry until she did feel better.

"Hey mom," Caroline started, feeling her voice already cracking.

"Hi! What's going on? You sound upset," she replied.

Caroline sighed, knowing how many times she called her mom after the whole Thomas debacle. She felt like such a burden for needing her mom right now, but decided to tell her the same version of the truth that she told Nicole at the restaurant. She started with the bench, the boat, the restaurant, Austria, and everything in between, filtering out the spicy content for her mother's ears.

"So yeah, basically after all of that he uh... yelled at me that he didn't want me or need me and then I left. That was at the race last weekend."

She hated lying about it, but still wasn't ready to admit the full truth, even to her mom who had no idea who Charles Leclerc was. Her voice trailed off, holding back the tears that were forming again. The pain in her heart resurfaced as she recounted the details. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid.

"I'm so sorry, honey. Especially after... you know who... I know that didn't feel good. I'm so proud of you for putting yourself out there though! I think you just need a little reboot- you should get some food or go for a walk," her mom replied after the long story. Caroline knew her mom had no idea what to say, but even just her voice was soothing enough. After a bit more discussion about him, and a quick catchup about the rest of the family, Caroline said goodbye to her mom. She immediately felt better, knowing that it was exactly what she needed. After hanging up the call, she saw that she had a text from an unsaved number, from about an hour ago.

CS: Hey! It's Carlos. Are you in Monaco? I am craving some patatas bravas."

Caroline did a double take at her phone, not believing that he actually followed through on his word. She looked up from her phone at the TV, realizing that she hadn't left the house for something other than work since the weekend in Spa. Her mom's advice ringing in her ears, she quickly typed a response