How I Met Charles Leclerc

Chapter 8 - 'I'll Stay With You, If You Like?'

I throw my phone into the deep pockets of my cargo pants after calling the police and I run downstairs to lock the windows and doors as Charles told me to.

There are four men, two of whom I've never seen at the parties, cheering as the fence panels and garden decorations crumble into black ash. I feel petrified, heart racing in all the wrong ways. Two ladies drink from beer cans on the other side of the lit wood, also hysterical at the activities.

Not one of them seem to be in the right mind, even the neighbors themselves seem completely out of it.

I had managed to force my breathing under control until one of the tallest men glance into my window, fixing their crazed gaze on me. Immediately he begins pointing and laughing with the other men, causing all of them to run towards me with pieces of burning timber in hand. I could swear one of them was holding the end which was alight.

Reacting fast, I close the blinds to hide myself but hear them pounding desperately at the glass like wild zoo animals. I freeze, unable to run away to safety. Hiding my head in my hands, I project my screams inward and slide down the kitchen cupboards until I hit the floor.

After a few horrifying moments of thinking the men are going to smash through the glass and take me, I see blue lights flash through the glass of my front door. I run out into the arms of a female police officer who hurriedly asks me if I'm hurt and appears relieved when I shakily answer, 'No'. With no time to waste, she and three other officers charge into my house. I glance behind over my shoulder, two police cars on my drive with a fire engine just arriving.

No sign of who I need to see most.

Slowly, I walk through the hallway and into the kitchen to find the window had been smashed - a hole about the size of a watermelon with a red ring of blood around the edges. Drops of blood on the taps below. This must have happened as soon as I made a run for the front door.

Police officers restrain the neighbors and their friends as the firemen work on putting out the blaze in my garden. Heartbroken and delirious, I look at my broken kitchen window and the violent mess outside, at last releasing the burst of tears which had been repressed since the events began.

I lean back against the fridge, pressing my palms into my eyes, not wanting to see anymore. I can't stand violence or confrontation.

Warm hands make contact with my exposed arms. I flinch as I am pulled into a tight hug. He's here. I open my eyes to see Carlos stood staring out of the window, 'Fuck' he exclaims in shock.

The comfort of Charles' touch brings me down almost instantly. He pulls away to look at me, 'We're here now. You're safe now'.

'I can't believe what's just happened'.

'I know', Charles looks at me with deep sympathy, wiping the old tearstains from my cheek, 'Me too. But we're here now and we won't be leaving tonight'.

'My dad is going to kill me', I stare at the window damage, wide-eyed.

'None of this is your fault, girl', Carlos rubs my shoulder, 'I'm gonna go speak to the police', he says as we all realize everyone had been cleared from the garden, except from the firemen who are still pouring water on the blaze.

'Okay', I shakily nod.

'Not having much luck are we, ay?' Charles lifts my chin so my eyes meet his.

I shake my head, laughing a little.

He kisses my forehead delicately, 'The police are gonna want to speak to you, have you got CCTV here, Marley?'

'Yes but only Dad knows how to control it and access it'.

'Okay', Charles smiles reassuringly, 'Let's go to your room for a while, we'll let Carlos find out more before we do, huh?'

We head towards the stairs. 'Charles, you've really got to stop taking me up to bed under the wrong circumstances', I joke.

'I agree. Once when you were drunk and now, this', he says 'this', what do you even call 'this'?

'Toto told me the message you gave him. That was sweet', I begin, forcing myself into a happy place.

'I meant it', Charles says, sitting me down on the bed then pacing around my room. Quickly, his gaze falls on the complete article on my desk. 'Oh, is this what you've been working on?' He picks it up, stroking a finger over my signature at the bottom. I know he is only doing this to distract me but I admire him for that - I want nothing more than to be distracted right now.

***

About two hours pass and I had a long talk with the police. Even Charles had to speak to them about anything in particular he heard whilst on FaceTime to me. Carlos has been a saint, bringing us cold drinks every now and then, along with two pizzas he ordered to my house. I feel better but still in awe of what happened today.

It's gone 9pm now, outside is completely dark but the police have boarded up the smashed window. As for the hooligan neighbors, all of them have been taken into the police station until further notice. Decisions will be made after Dad hands over the CCTV tape - after we break the news to him.

I tried calling a lot, and so did the nice police officer, who's name was Wendy, but no answwer. I lied about his whereabouts out of shame, saying he's looking after my sick grandma so probably asleep at the hospital. Willing to take a great risk, Charles had even tried calling his number but came back with the same result as us.

I called Mila and she's encouraged me to go to her house but I can't leave until I see Dad. I told her I'm with Charles but has no idea about Carlos' appearance.

***

'Right', Carlos stands up from my desk chair, 'It's late now. There's obviously no way either of us are leaving you alone tonight, so where can I sleep?'

'Carlos, you can sleep anywhere you want, but if Dad finds either of you here he'll flip. That's without me telling him the story of the neighbors'.

'I'll be taking care of that', Charles tells me, caressing my knee as he perches on the edge of my bed.

'If you say so, he'll probably be home around 9am tomorrow. So set an alarm or something'.

'Will do', Carlos says, asking permission to borrow one of many blankets from my bed. He heads for the stairs, wishing us goodnight and making a sly joke about Charles and I sharing a bed.

'You've gone through enough today. Let us handle the rest in the morning', Charles reassures me.

'I know', I rub my eyes tiredly, 'But neither of you are normal people, per say. You're Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Dad doesn't even know I know you both'.

'Stephen is friends with the Toto Wolff. I'm sure you'll be fine'. Charles shifts further onto the bed, leaning against the wall beside me. 'I'm here for you'.

I look at him submissively, 'Can you sleep in the bed with me tonight?' I beg my mind to quieten down about the endless possibilities between us as I ask him.

'Of course, my darling'.

'I'll go get you a change of clothes from Dad's wardrobe'.

'Oh, he won't like that'.

'He'll have to get used to it', I respond cheekily as I leave my bedroom. I feel Charles' eyes burn into me, bringing me back to my developing dream reality with Charles Leclerc.