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63. Dutch GP

"Thank you for being here" he said in a whisper. 

"Always, I'll always be here" said Olivia as Max rested his head on her shoulder and breathed in the smell of flowers he had started relating to home. 

Olivia stroked his hair while he rested on her shoulder and she thought about what she had just said. She would always be there. It was true. In just a matter of months Max Verstappen had turned her life upside down and then back around. He had become her closest confidant, her biggest protector, her greatest love. Those months had felt like an entire lifetime, and she saw that lifetime flashing through her mind. Everything had led her here, to this roof, with this boy. Moving to Monaco, the first night she met him, working at Red Bull, Ashley and her pregnancy, her threats, the chaos and the blood, even Pato; it all led her to this place in his arms. 

But she wasn't an optimist anymore, life had taught her that it is unpredictable and it often takes that which you love the most. After all, wasn't that precisely the reason Max was here hurting? She thought that if for some cruel reason, if fate had other plans and their paths were ever torn apart, some part of her would always linger on every roof top, every sunrise, every coffee cup. She would always be there with him. Always. Maybe who they were at this moment would one day be lost but their ghost would always remain. They were inexplicably tied together. Max, Olivia, the sun, the rooftops, all intertwined with each other by some act of fate.  It gave Olivia some comfort thinking that a part of them would always exist, together on the roof. 

She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of his skin on her neck. She realized this was the first time she had stepped on a roof like this since Barcelona, but she wasn't afraid. Max was there by her side. 

The silence filled with pain was broken when Olivia's phone started vibrating. She was brought back to reality as she let out a sigh and grabbed her phone from her jeans pocket. It was Christian. She stared hesitant at the screen.

"Answer it, it's okay" assured her Max, not moving from the comfort of her shoulders. 

Olivia answered the phone "Liv? Where are you? Did you find Max?" Christian asked right away. 

"I.. I did, I found him" said Liv hesitantly. She didn't want to push Max into racing that day, she wanted to protect him, to comfort him. 

"Are you on your way? Is he coming?" asked Christian worriedly. 

Olivia's mouth opened but she couldn't form a proper sentence for him, she had no answer for those questions "Uhm".

Max could hear Christian's voice coming from her phone, he lifted his head and took the phone from her "Christian we are on our way" he said decidedly. Olivia turned to look at him impressed but also slightly worried. 

Olivia could hear Christian's answer "Oh Max! Fantastic, please hurry!".

Max hung up the phone and looked at the time 45 minutes until the cars had to be on the grid ready to start the race. 

"You are racing?!" said Olivia surprised. 

Max looked at her and tried to force a smile, but she could still see the pain in his eyes, they looked like a troubled storm.

"I think the only thing that could take my mind off of this right now is being on that race" he said "I think I need it". 

Olivia nodded. Max was a racing driver through and through, she would never dare to stop him. She softly kissed his cheek and he closed his eyes at the touch of her lips with his skin. Then she looked straight into his eyes and said "Let's get you in that car".