𝙾𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚢┃ Charles Leclerc┃

Chapter Thirty One - The Aftermath

I slammed my foot on the brake.

In the middle of the track.

In the middle of a race.

"Ana, don't you dare stop that car." I heard Zak's voice echo through my earpiece. But, I wasn't actually listening.

It was like I was watching everything unfold from a distance, detached from my own actions as if I were merely a spectator to the chaos unfolding around me. My body moved on its own accord, my mind numbed by the shock of what I had just witnessed.

The pounding rain seemed to grow louder, mingling with the frantic voices crackling over the radio in a cacophony of noise. But amidst the chaos, one thought consumed my every waking moment: Charles.

As I floored the brake, bringing my car to a screeching halt at the side of the track, my heart pounded in my chest, the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Without hesitation, I tore the radio from my ear, silencing the protests of my team as I bolted from the safety of my car and into the deluge of rain.

My feet splashed through the puddles that had formed on the asphalt, my senses heightened by the urgency of the situation. Every fiber of my being was consumed by a singular purpose—to reach Charles, to ensure his safety in the wake of the devastating crash.

"Charles!" I shouted, my voice drowned out by the roar of the rain, but I pressed on, my heart hammering in my chest as I drew closer to his mangled car. My hands shook with adrenaline as I reached out, my fingers trembling as they brushed against the cold metal.

"Come on, Charles." I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper as I searched for any sign of life amidst the wreckage. But as the reality of the situation began to sink in, a sense of overwhelming dread washed over me, threatening to consume me whole.

In that moment, time seemed to stand still, the world around me fading into the background as I focused all of my attention on the man trapped inside the twisted metal before me. I waited with bated breath.

The scene unfolded before me like a surreal nightmare, each moment etched into my memory with a haunting clarity that I knew would linger long after the chaos had subsided. The medics swarmed Charles' wreckage with a sense of urgency that mirrored the pounding of my own heart, their movements a blur of motion amidst the backdrop of torrential rain and deafening sirens.

I stood rooted to the spot, my feet welded to the asphalt as if by some unseen force, my gaze fixed on the unfolding tragedy before me. The frantic shouts of the medics echoed in my ears, their voices a jumbled cacophony of sound amidst the chaos of the crash site.

"Is he okay?!" I shouted, my voice lost in the roar of the rain as I strained to catch a glimpse of Charles amidst the flurry of activity. But my words were lost in the tempest, swallowed up by the storm that raged around us. "Tell me if he's okay! I'm his girlfriend!" I choked.

And then, in a surreal moment that seemed to stretch on for an eternity, Charles was pulled from the wreckage, his limp form cradled in the arms of the medics as they hurriedly loaded him into the waiting ambulance. My heart lurched in my chest as I watched him disappear from view, a sense of helplessness washing over me like a tidal wave.

The race had been suspended, the other cars safely making their way back to the pit lane, but all I could do was stand there, a silent witness to the unfolding tragedy. Time seemed to stand still as I watched the ambulance speed away into the distance, carrying with it the man I cared about and leaving me behind in a world suddenly devoid of much.

A pair of hands on my shoulders jolted me from my living nightmare.

"Come on, you shouldn't be out here." The voice of one of the marshals began to guide me back to the paddock, but my brain felt as though it was padlocked. Repetitive images flickered through my mind like that of a child's picture book; the rain, the shiny asphalt, the red metal twisting out of shape.