Not A Verstappen || CL16 & LN4

Untitled Part 10

The double bed was definitely not made to accommodate three people, even if you were all spooning, so you found yourself sneaking out at sunrise. You hadn't been able to sleep with the thoughts running through your head, wondering why Max couldn't have been more like your mother. You weren't worried about waking Lando as you climbed out from between them, since you didn't have an air horn on you, but you were careful not to jostle Charles who was a much lighter sleeper.

After changing into a pair of leggings and a sports bra, you found your airpods and shoved the Aura ring back on your finger before taking a lap of the village. You quickly settled into a good pace, feeling the rhythmic slap of your trainers on the pavement and timing your breathing to match. It cleared your mind and gave you a focus on something other than everything else that was happening around you. For those precious minutes you didn't think about Max.

So far you had managed to avoid talking about him with your mum, though that was mostly thanks to being blindsided by your relationship status - it had been enough to distract her for the rest of the day. You weren't so sure that luck would last another 24 hours but you would certainly try.

--

"Just leave her be, she'll come in when she's ready." Your mother had been watching you all morning from her spot on the window seat, a cup of tea in hand. After Charles had woken up he had joined her and watched curiously, wondering why you were in the garden. "Avoiding me," she said with a knowing smile. "It's funny that the only times she would willingly do her chores were when she was trying to hide. It was a dead giveaway, but I never said anything. It was just nice to not have to ask her to do them."

Charles chuckled as you battled to trim the agapanthus with a pair of rusted and blunt shears. "Should I offer to help?"

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, checking the time on her watch. "She's nearly done."

Charles quirked an eyebrow as he looked at the progress that had barely started to make a dent in the long drive.

"Fuck," you hissed as you the slimy residue that leaked from every cut leaf made your hand slippery and the shears fell from your grasp, narrowly missing your foot. You went to wipe a wayward hair that fell onto your nose but the sun caught the shimmer of slime and you jerked back with a groan, instead trying to blow it out of your face. You grew more irritated as the hair remained where it was tickling your nose and the urge to sneeze built up. "Fuck this shit."

Abandoning the garden, you marched up the path and kicked your filthy shoes off before storming through the house.

"Good morning, sweetheart," your mother greeted jovially. "Lovely day for a spot of gardening."

"I'm calling Mr Newberry," you grumbled on your way to the bathroom. "He can sort that mess out."

You felt slightly calmer after washing away the slime and the chlorophyll that stained your fingers green and that feeling only grew when you found Charles waiting with a coffee made just how you liked it. "Busy morning?" he asked after handing over your elixir of life and taking his payment with a quick kiss.

"I'm just trying to help out," you said with an innocent shrug. "I made a list of things that need fixing around here and if I don't make the phone calls they will never get done."

Charles tried to hide his amusement but when you narrowed your eyes at him he couldn't stop the smile from breaking through. "Your mother knows you so well," he laughed as he leaned in to whisper, "She knows you are avoiding her."

"No, she doesn't."

"Yes, she does," he assured you, running his hands along your sides before he kissed your forehead. "Just talk to her, amour."