paddock princess [ln4]

peace

For the first time all day, Charlie is at peace.

Even with the harsh bickering of Mathilda and Emile sitting in the seats besides the girl, she felt completely serene. Sebastian sat in the seat across from the tween girls burying his head in his hands as Hannah was desperately trying to get little Luka to eat his mac and cheese.

Completely at peace

Charlie couldn't stop smiling at the combined chaos. This is what she loved the most about spending time with the family.

It felt like what it was; a family.

Growing up, Charlie didn't have a normal childhood experience. It was just her and her dad, and while he tried his hardest to make her life feel complete, it didn't stop the emptiness that was supposed to be filled by her mother.

A laugh fell out of the girl as Luka flung a noodle right at Sebastian's head.

The funeral went....okay, to say the least.

Realistically, how good could funerals really go?

Charlie spent the entire time trying to hide behind Sebastian in the front row pew. She had no grandparents left, and her father was an only child, meaning that she didn't have any family in attendance.

While she talked to some of her dad's old friends, or familiar faces from when she was growing up, Charlie completely dissociated as soon as she stepped foot in the cathedral's doors.

After the incident with whatever Mclaren driver landed on her doorstep this morning, Charlie tried desperately to prepare herself for the inevitable, but the harsh reality she found herself in filled the hotel room like a icy breeze.

When Sebastian went to pick her up, an oat milk latte and blueberry bagel in hand, he found her cocooned to the sofa. Her chocolate hair was half curled and mascara had smeared down the girl's face in harsh lines. His eyes had instantly dropped to the dress thrown on the floor and the way her body shook with silent sobs.

The man had immediately set the contents in his hand on the table and rushed towards the girl, gently whispering comforting words into her hair as his arms wrapped her in a hug.

His presence was all it took for Charlie to stop shaking and finally calm down.

A loud bang suddenly echoed throughout the nice restaurant as everyone looked towards the culprit being an enraged Luka, who just threw his bowl halfway across the room. 

Completely at peace.

Sebastian quickly shoved a Bluey toy in Luka's direction, which magically transformed his pout into an excited smile. Hannah let out a large sigh and chuckled as Mathilda and Emile had stopped their intense argument about which of their crushes is cuter to help the struggling waiter clean up the bowl's contents.

Sebastian and Hannah looked at each other with a softness that Charlie can only imagine forms through an intense love. Her heart fluttered at the sight of her godparents. 

Charlie has had her fair share of relationships. She spent a lot of her teen years hanging out with different guys that she knew from Monaco. Going into university, she hadn't been as active in the dating field, but an occasional casual fling would keep her busy in between the school years.

While the girl wasn't actively looking for anything serious, the idea of having that magnetic love shown in movies sometimes consumed her.

"So," Hannah dragged out, breaking the girl away from her thoughts, "Have you made a decision about the race tomorrow?"

Charlie bit her lip, she knew this question was coming, but the answer still couldn't make its way to her tongue. Reaching her hand out across the table, Hannah tightly grasped Charlie's hand in her own, lightly rubbing a pattern into her palm.

"Hey," she softly smiled towards the girl, "Whatever you decide is perfectly okay."

"I know," Charlie sighed, "I just don't want to let anybody down."

Sebastian's brows furrowed from across the table, "Charlie, I promise that you aren't going to let anyone down."

"Honey," Hannah continued, "You have to do what is best for you. The grid supports you, okay? They are going to continue to support you through whatever decision you make."

Charlie slightly nodded her head to Hannah's words. The part of her that wanted to go to the race, that longed to hear the rev of the engines again, was clouded by the fear of what will happen if she goes.

The idea that her old family would not accept her, as her father didn't, filled the girl with unmistakable dread.

Charlie turned her attention towards Sebastian, who was looking at her with a knowing look in his eyes. An unspoken conversation passed through the two of them, as if he was saying, "I'm going to be right there every step of the way."

In that moment, the girl chose to drown out her fears.

"Well then," she spoke, a wide smile suddenly overtaking her face, "I guess I better find an outfit if the Princess is rejoining the paddock, huh?"