Dopamine | Adrenaline Book Two

22.2- Teammates

The question was heavier Lewis intended it to be, leaving Charles frozen in place for a second as he thought of the day he had— a moment of reflection.

In one day, he had lost Max, been accused of cheating to win, found out his girlfriend had a girlfriend of her own, got second place, and was now at a party where the only solace he could find was by drinking and running away from his own thoughts. The heartbreak Max had inflicted was something he couldn't afford right now, forcing him to flee from it. Yet, one thought of how Max had stood there, unable to trust him to keep their relationship, was enough to bring his eyes to a watery state.

"A little tired," he replied, smiling up at Lewis, but the second his eyes met the warm brown ones, tears began to stream down his cheeks. All day he had been holding it together, but being asked such a simple question was all it took to unravel him. "It's just been a long day, I'm going to get going," he said, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. But once the crying had started, he couldn't stop.

Lewis was caught off guard. He wasn't close to Charles, but he had never seen him cry before, so the scene was a novelty to him. Stepping toward his teammate, Lewis placed a warm hand on his shoulder, which slowly but smoothly turned into a hug.

"Hey..." he spoke, trying to soothe him. "Do you want to talk about it?" Lewis whispered, softly tapping his back. "Or am I the cause of your troubles?"

As he broke away from the short embrace, Charles attempted to mask the fact that he had almost broken out into tears again; that would have been twice in under five minutes. Opening his mouth to speak, he was ready to repeat the answers he'd repeated in his head but the truth was that he really wanted to vent. Talking to Lewis about it wasn't a smart idea and even in his drunken state, Charles was aware of that. Yet, if he kept it vague then maybe Lewis would be none the wiser.

"You're not the cause of my troubles," he began with a reassurance to the man. Yes, Lewis was winning and Charles wished it was his own car crossing the finish line first but it wasn't the forefront of his problems that night.

"It's about a friend," he began, taking a sip from his drink, which he definitely did not need. "Him and I had gotten really close recently. We'd make time to see each other as often as possible, and I thought what we shared was mutual, but he put an end to it." Even with the lack of details, Charles felt an ache in his chest as he recounted the recent events. "He thinks I did something that I didn't, and he won't put any trust in me," he said, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible — a difficult task.

"Have you ever had a friend who was almost a soulmate? In a platonic way, of course," Charles asked.

Lewis, prepared to give a pep talk to the younger man, but hesitated to answer when the question was directed at him. His calm smile, usually presented when talking to Charles, faded into the quietness that now clouded their interaction.

"Yeah," he nodded, trying to avoid mentioning the one person that came to his mind. "I bonded pretty well with Bottas when we were teammates, and I also had some amazing people working with me during my time at Mercedes who I'd trust with my life. I think I'd consider them soulmates in a way; we just worked really well together."

"I think it's normal for friendships to dismantle with life circumstances, and as you grow apart, friendships are not meant to last forever," he said, raising his eyebrow and adjusting his coat. "But you can always think of them fondly and revisit that friendship from time to time."

"I have always believed that relationships, in any form, are what's most special and should come first. He doesn't trust easily and cares a lot about his career, and he thought I was in the way of that," Charles continued, unaware of the changes in Lewis.