Starting from the Pit lane - Lewis Hamilton

D'Annunzio

-Marco texted me back-
Amelie had stopped at her cousin's house, it had been years since they had a "sleepover" together. Since they were, perhaps, eighteen.
The girl looked shocked at Melissa, in light of the latest events she knew perfectly well what advice to give "Block him!" but she didn't know how to find the means to react to the amazement.
-Maybe I made a mistake-
-Melissa, what are you talking about?-
-Marco was right when he told me that I could never be enough of a Formula One driver. I knew what I was getting into, maybe I should never have run away from him like that and the one with Lewis was just an adventure, a beautiful one, but in life you have to know how to move forward-
-Lewis wasn't an adventure for you. You were in love- she looked at her -You still are in love with him-
-No, you're right-
-Just like you weren't there for him either-
-I know but that's what we lived through. We both deserve to move on-
-Let's go! You can't be serious!- Amelie blurted out -Do you really want to continue this combined relationship? Which, among other things, seems like something out of a bad Hollywood movie! You who marry the rich man, you don't love each other, you give him a child because the company has to go forward and you hope every day to fall in love with each other while you cheat on each other: is this what you want?-
-No! But apparently it's the best I'll ever get! I was a loved and certainly wanted daughter but, unlike you, I don't know the meaning of love between husband and wife. As a child I never saw my parents behave like a couple and I only felt better after their separation, after the divorce I finally started to breathe! Then, to be honest, looking around I don't see situations happier than mine- she admitted -Do you remember that girl who was supposed to get married, the one who was in you same class? What happened to her?- Melissa waited for an answer -What happened to her? -
-She called off the wedding because he was cheating on her with her best friend- Amelie was starting to understand Melissa's point of view.
-And Stefano?-
-He cheated on his girlfriend with a boy from Milan-
-the old nanny?!-
-she ran away with the personal trainer- Amelie, who had always tried to be Melissa's lighthouse, for whom she had always been there, found herself in a moment of serious difficulty -but my parents are still married-

-But do they love each other? Did they tell you? - Melissa had tears in her eyes -Do they at least tell each other?-

For Amelie it was a low blow but unfortunately she couldn't deny the obviousness. There were even rumors in the family that her parents had not separated and that they had tried to maintain the facade to stand comparison with Melissa's parents.
-Amelie, I'm so sorry for what I just told you. But if this is the reality for both of us, I might as well accept it and make the decision that best suits me. You think I don't feel like a whore? A bitch? To use a man who really just wants to use me- she smiled nervously and put a hand in her hair -this life disgusts me and I know I will regret this day of my life until the end of my days- she took a moment to catch her breath -But if I really want to have a child and find my dream job here I might as well settle for the man I found-
Tears came to Amelie's eyes -you don't have to do it-
Melissa followed her closely –I know it– she said in a feeble voice.
They sat facing each other and hugged. Amelie took her shoulders and looked her in the eyes –promise me though that you won't take this decision for granted. Think about it, please-
-I promise- he smiled at her, wiping her tear.
They slept together that night, like old times, in their old pajamas with coconuts and avocados printed on them.

[...]

They woke up "cooked like hams" and Melissa's mother made them two coffees before running off to go to the office, she was late that morning because the car wouldn't start and she would have had to take the bus after buying the ticket at the newsstand.
Amelie gave her cousin a smacking kiss on the cheek and then went back to her house.

Melissa didn't feel like looking for a job that morning, so she went back to bed for another couple of hours. She woke up even more tired than before and threw herself on the couch and watched Netflix for another couple of hours, her mother texted her around midday to say she was having lunch at the office and wouldn't be home until 7pm.