It's You ✮ Charles Leclerc

Cɦɑpteɾ 44

♫ It's you, it's always you
If I'm ever gonna fall in love, I know it's gon' be you ♫

January 15th, 2024 - Monaco

Natalie Beaufoy POV

I should've known better. I should've been more careful. It all seemed to go in slow motion as I tried to hold onto the car's wheel as it spun out of control. My arm instantly reached the middle of the vehicle. What if his car seat wasn't secure enough? What if he got hurt?

I don't even know what followed; I felt completely numb as I tried to look back. I needed to see Lucas. I could hear his muffled cries, but my ringing ears didn't hear much.

"Mom!" I could distinguish those words from his mouth; the desperation made me try to unbuckle my seatbelt, but I couldn't. I was fucking stuck. 

I managed to go for the seatbelt cutter, and I looked at the broken phone on the car's floor. But I didn't need it, as I noticed the sirens in the distance. I got out and took Lucas out of his car seat as he clung to me and cried. 

He was hurt, I saw blood on him. My baby got hurt. I took him to the sidewalk, and I simply collapsed; all the pain I wasn't feeling came at once. But how? The airbags shouldn't cause this much pain. I don't remember what happened. I just saw a truck coming in my direction. I don't know what time it is, I don't even know where I am. 

Charles is skiing with his friends, and I just crashed the damn car with our kid in it. What have I done?

"Ma'am?" A female paramedic asks me as she kneels before me, and I shake my head.

"Please, take care of him first. I beg you," I plead to her as I point to Lucas, but two men are taking care of him already.

"We've got him covered; we need to take care of you now," she says, and I nod confusedly. 

Until I knew it was more serious than I thought. Everything got blurry, and I collapsed on the floor. 

Charles Leclerc POV

I was out all day, and as soon as I got to the hotel, I noticed my phone's repeated ringing. I put everything down and picked it up. Lorenzo's trembling voice was heard, as were some loud noises in the background.

"You need to come back," he tells me and I am taken aback.

"Why? What happened?" I am in complete panic as I run to my room, looking for my passport and closing my bags.

"Don't go on social media; it will look worse than it is. Everything is just rumored for now. No one knows the details," he tried to sound calm, but he seemed to be crumbling down.

"What the fuck happened?" I ask as I prepare to run to the airport.

"Someone crashed into Nat, Lucas was in the car with her, and we are urgently trying to know anything about her," his words got to me, and I registered them until I didn't.

"What do you mean? Are they- Is she- Is he okay?" Nothing crosses my mind as I stop in my tracks.

"He seems to be okay, I think he is under examination. No one is saying anything, it's only been an hour since we've been contacted," I could only nod like he could see me.

"I will be there as soon as I can," it was all I could say. 

I am in fucking Switzerland, and I can't do shit. I looked like a fucking idiot at the airport. I paid for a private flight to Nice. It took me 2 hours to arrive in Nice from Zurich, and I still had an hour's drive to the hospital. 

I should've stayed still, but I went onto social media, and there it was. The car was destroyed. There is no way Natalie came out unharmed. Lucas might've had, but she sure didn't. I got inside the waiting room, and my brothers, my mother, and Anthoine were there—waiting. Lucas isn't here. 

"Why is it taking so long?" I ask worriedly, and they shrug.

"We tried, but no one is saying anything," my mom tries to stop me from going to the front desk, but I do it anyway.

"Lucas Leclerc is my son. He is a minor, he is a child, I need to be by his side, and I sure as hell want to know how the fuck he is and how his mother is," I demand it; I am always polite but keeping us in the dark for 4 hours was a bit too much for me.

"We will lead you to him," she says as she calls for someone and a few minutes later a doctor appears.

"How is he?" I ask scaredly. He signals me to get in, and everyone stands outside, waiting.

"We did some exams to check for concussions or whiplash, but the car seat was good, most of the hit was in the front, and he has some cuts from the glass that shattered. Otherwise, he is fine, so you can go inside. We just had to calm him down; he was too hysterical and kept calling for his mom until he fell asleep," he is calm as he explained it, and I am relieved, partly at least.

"But, how is the woman who was driving the car? Natalie Beaufoy?" I asked him, and his face seemed to change. That didn't seem good.

"Is she the mother? She isn't registered as such," he is nervous, and I nod.

"We are working on it, the process is underway. How is she?" I ask once again, why is he avoiding the question.

"We can only give that information to a close relative and-"

"Her dad has been outside waiting for the past 4 hours; if you can't tell me what is happening, then tell him," I interrupted him, but he got the message as he looked down.

"I will call him in; thank you for reminding me. You can stay with your son if you want; he has been cleared, but I would recommend being careful because symptoms may appear in the following days," he explains before he heads off.

Why all the secrets? She was in my car with my kid, and I am not a close relative. Fuck that shit. I softly sat by Lucas's side and ran my hand through his hair. I'm glad he is alright, but I can't shake the bad feeling I got.