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'I start thinking about it, I almost forgot what it was like'
CJ was fully prepared to return home, so much for heading to Spain for some rest. She sat on her balcony, cigarette hanging from her lips as she watched over the edge. When her phone rang, she debated answering it before seeing it was Lauren. They spoke on the phone for a while but she never confided in her about Max, CJ had not told anyone in her new life about what happened in her old life. No one knew she had connections to Max Verstappen, no one knew anything about her and that was how she liked it.
When the call ended, CJ left her hotel room, she only took her room key and phone with her as she returned to the bar. Sitting at a table, she ordered herself drinks, she was not going to hide out in her room whilst she was here.
She kept a low profile but still felt the chills on her body when Max entered the bar. Glancing over at him, she watched as his sister followed him, the man she'd been at the pool with entered alongside Jos. CJ suddenly felt like she was 16 all over again, bowing her head, she looked at her phone hoping that social media would come up with something interesting.
After ten minutes, she heard her name. Looking up, CJ looked at Victoria who was sat down opposite her. "I am so sorry about earlier," she told the woman who she once considered a close friend. "Even after all this time, he's still hurting."
"Me too," CJ admitted as she kept a blank face. She did not want to give too much away, not when it came to the Verstappen family, with Jos being so close by. "When do you leave?"
Victoria furrowed her brows, confused by the question. "We leave in two days. Max has to get to the track for interviews on Wednesday."
CJ nodded, "Good. Your family will not interrupt my holiday for too long."
"I was not the one to upset you, CJ. I never wanted any of this to happen," she told the brunette as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Max struggled after you left, seeing you again is hard for him."
"I see that," CJ said as she looked over to where Max sat with his father and the man in Victoria's life. "Leaving was the best thing for everyone," she told Victoria. "I could never stay with the people who surrounded me. No one stood up for me, no one stood up to your father. If I stayed I would have had to go through with an abortion either way. Not seeing anyone again made it just a tiny bit better."
Victoria reached across the table, she took the hand of CJ as she stared into her eyes. "I'm so sorry I was not there for you. I can't imagine," she started before a tear slipped down her face. "You should have told me, asked, called me, I would have been there for you."
"Honestly," CJ sighed as she thought about the past. "I wanted to call. I wanted to call you, to call Max. I wanted him there, I needed him." CJ hated thinking about it, it was easier to try to forget about it all, that would never happen though.
