The Bull Prince | Max Verstappen

Chapter 50

 So. Chapter 50. To be honest, I never thought I would write even twenty but here we are. I hope you enjoy the story so far. Thanks for the great feedback and the lovely comments. They mean the world to me and always motivate me to write. I don't actually know where I wanted to go with this story as I started writing it, but I can tell you I'm nowhere near that any longer. I originally intended to end the story about fifteen chapters ago, but yeah. Didn't happen. I hope you will keep up with me for another 50 and until then enjoy this chapter. 

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As a child promises are made easier. You promise your parents to be good, you promise your teacher to make an effort, you promise your sandbox friend to stay friends until the end of all days. These promises are easily made, we promise to love, to be loyal, to devote ourselves to something. We promise things, we swear,  but we also lie and we betray. That is in our nature. People are fickle.  

Sitting in his office in the FIA Headquarters Nico turned his gaze outside where the sun was slowly rising again. A new day. He couldn't be more resentful about it. One new day after the other until they all blurred together. Today, yesterday, tomorrow. Every day felt the same. Nico felt equally hopeless on each and every one of them. 

He had won. Went and done it. Finally, he was one of them. He was the world champion. Nico Rosberg beat all the others, he made his father proud. The debt that a famous name like his brought with it was finally redeemed. For the first time in his life, he was free.

But his win was so bittersweet. No Sebastian, no Max, no Joanna, and no Lewis. In the end, nobody of the big ones was left to challenge him apart from Daniel, but the Aussie was in his own world. Not really present, but enough to secure a second-place for Red Bull.

His win was easy, maybe even undeserved, but Nico couldn't care less about what the media or the fans thought. He was finally free. No more pressure to beat the people he considered his friends. This chapter was now closed and a new life would start for him. From now on, he will never have to force himself into a car. He will be the one to watch them from afar.

 But what does it mean to succeed when you realize in the end that it wasn't what you had thought it would be?

Fishing his phone from his pocket, Nico unlocked it before looking for the one contact he wanted to call every minute of the day but never did. Lewis. His name macked him every time he let his thumb hover of it a second too long without actually pressing down on the screen. His father's words came back to him. 

When you don't know what to say why do you even call, boy?

Nico had heard that sentence so often in his life. Different versions but always the same meaning. At some point, he had learned to say what he needed to. Some learned the hard way, Nico was one of them. Always had been. So instead of finally call Lewis to see how he was doing, he called Joanna. 

The Austrian had vanished after her brief visit in Paris to get the FIA council up and going. All she had told Nico was that she would go home to get back the man he loved and that the German should do the same thing but after their goodbye in Paris a few weeks ago there was radio silence. Joanna didn't call back, didn't react to his messages, and didn't acknowledge his tries to reach out to her, which was strange. 

The Austrian was always ready to call him out on his bullshit and to be true Nico had expected a call from Joanna after the official statement about his retirement got released.  But there was nothing. However, knowing Joanna, he wasn't worried yet. 

The Austrian was a storm with skin. Untamable, wild, and savage. She needed her time on her own, to explore and be free. To let herself feel how the earth trembled beneath her bare feet and how the oceans seem to breathe in the salty air. Sooner or later Joanna would return, she always did. On her trips, which were mostly spectacular, she always came to the same conclusion. She loved that she was free and could just pack her things and leave, but sometimes freedom is not to leave but to stay.