Keep the rain [CL16]

Chapter 25 - Charles's P.O.V.

It's been a week since Charles Leclerc and Athena Wolff shared their relationship with the public and we are loving it! New paparazzi fotos show us couple in a hot make out session in the car of the Monegasque racing driver after the spanish Grand Prix.
And not like we're not obsessed enough with the couple, they are also the ones fighting for the championship. Athena Wolff being in front of Charles Leclerc, there must be some tension between the two. We all wonder how they cope with being on different teams.

I didn't bother reading the whole article. I knew it would only rip me apart even more.
And after all it was like the 100th I saw in the last 3 days.
I lock my phone and throw it away from me. It lands next to me on the couch with a light thud.

The media has been tearing us apart and that little incident was just fuel to the fire. The reactions have been mixed. Some people on the internet adored it, said we were a vibe, others hated it, saying it was disgusting for us to behave that way, because we were 'role models for younger generations'. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

It was a stupid mistake. Staying in the car instead of going straight up to the hotel room. I should have known better; that paparazzi would be in-front of our hotel. Yet I couldn't resist pulling her into my lap right in the car.
To my luck, Athena was saner than I was, stopping us before the situation would escalate even more.

And although this situation was already shit for me, I knew that for Athena this would have a bigger blow than it did for me.
She had to prove herself ten times more than I did and all the amazing things she achieved this season got destroyed because I couldn't wait ten more minutes.

I leaned back on the couch in my Monaco apartment, my hands rubbing over my face.
I knew she was already tearing her mind up at this. And now she didn't only need an apology from me but also a distraction.
So, I did what I needed to do.

I grabbed my phone again and booked the first flight to England.

———

I played with a coin in my jacket pocket. Flipping it in my fingers, feeling the cold edges. Only a few more minutes until the Taxi driver would drop me off right before Athena's doorstep.

We had a weeklong break between Round 5, Miami Grand Prix and Round 6, the Spanish Grand Prix. It was Wednesday evening and I promised my team to be back in Italy for training on Saturday. But I knew I had to see Athena. But even bigger than my need to see her, was her need to have me by her side.

We have been texting non-stop. I was trying to get her to calm down, her overthinking taking the best of her. And not like I didn't understand her. I just knew that a few reassuring texts wouldn't ease her mind.
Her father also reacted badly to the articles. He was having mixed-feelings about our relationship from the start, which didn't surprise me, but now with the situation, I knew bad feelings took the upper hand. Athena told me he didn't even contact her, he didn't reply to her texts, which meant that he was so angry that he didn't even allow himself to text her just yet.

I dropped the coin as the driver stopped in-front of an apartment complex. I never was here before, so I prayed that the address was right.
I payed the driver, grabbed my belongings next to me and stepped out into the cold air. It was already March, so the weather slowly turned warmer, yet it was still cold so that you had to leave the house with a coat.

My hands were sweaty in my jacket pockets as I walked up to the building. Suddenly I grew nervous. What if she needed the alone time? What if my intuition was wrong?
I tried to push these thoughts away the same time I pushed open the door into the building.

I stepped into a big hall, a few busy people hushing around. I walked to the front desk, not entirely sure if they would even let me up to her apartment. I guess I would just have to call her down if they didn't.