RACING HEARTS: trapped between two champions

Chapter 4 //

It was shortly after 10pm and everyone was partying at the Verstappen mansion, celebrating Max's amazing performance. Everyone except Mia. She found herself standing in the corner of the room, looking around and just sipping her Mojito. Of course she was happy for him, but she wasn't exactly ready for partying, not yet. It wasn't because of anything else than her brain terrorising her once again with a flood of memories. These weren't as strong and as devastating as the other ones, but it was enough to bring her mood down and stop her from enjoying the party.

"Everything okay over here?" Completely wasted Max leaned against the wall and asked his sister. She looked at him up and down, inspecting his weird wobbly posture. "I should ask you that." Mia crossed her hands. "Yup, everything okay. In fact, more than okay." You could clearly hear that he had a drink or two by the sound of his voice. Max was never a big drinker, but he liked fun, and now when he's finally becoming successful, he had a good reason to drink. "I see." One of her eyebrows raised at him, signalising that she's mad. Drinking was never her strong side, and she preferred to stay away from whoever's it was. "Come on sister, don't be so boring and join us!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Jesus... Theres definitely something wro-" Just as she was about to finish the sentence and tell her brother how stupid he is, her phone made a loud buzz. "Hold on, Ill remind you how dumb you are later." She picked up the phone from her pocket and looked to see an unknown number texting her.

'Walk around the city in 30 minutes?'

'Meet up at the square?'

'I know it's kinda late'

'But it's still pretty hot.'

'I'm Sebastian btw'

'Hope you didn't forget :)'

Mia stared at the messages she had just received, recalling how she'd agreed to go on a walk with Seb earlier. Now, thinking it over, the idea felt less appealing than it had before. Why had she agreed to this in the first place? There was no chance she'd actually go. This man was always the same with women, his motives were never a mystery. And even if his intentions weren't the same, there was no way she could go through with it. It would feel like a betrayal. Despite all the time that had passed, Mia's loyalty to her old lover hadn't, and will never fade

Instead of replying, she just left the messages on 'seen' and shoved her phone into her pocket, making her way to the living room, leaving Max talking to himself. Although the main reason for the party was to celebrate Max's victory, almost the entire grid had made an appearance. No one wanted to miss the party at Verstappen's, where the real highlight was often the party itself, more than any race win.

From across the room, Mia spotted Kimi sitting in the corner, sipping whiskey and quietly observing the crowd, not talking with anyone. It was the perfect distraction from her thoughts and a chance to talk to her old buddy again. She slowly made her way over to where he was sitting, slipping into the seat beside him. She could feel his gaze shift as he turned his head towards her. "I thought you weren't into parties." Kimi remarked with his Finnish accent. "I'm not." Mia admitted. "But since I'm now playing the role of a 'happy, healed' girl who's totally over her past, I figured making an appearance would be a great way to start." Mia replied. He picked up on the sarcasm, his own personality being similarly dry. He responded with a small smile and a friendly nudge of her shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, kiddo."

Her relationship with Kimi had always been meaningful to her. Despite not spending that much time together in the past, they connected effortlessly. Although Kimi's personality was quite different from most and somewhat complicated or cold, Mia was one of the few people he allowed to get close and truly bond with him. They shared a mutual appreciation for sarcasm and had a lot of common interests. Whenever they were together, the room was filled with laughter and positive energy.