Skyfall ⇢ Max Verstappen (II)

hold your breath and count to ten

Breathing

/ˈbriːðɪŋ/

the process of taking air into and expelling it from the lungs.

Joy's POV:

I look at my phone to check the time. 6AM. It's been 2 hours since I kicked Max out of the apartment and I haven't been able to fall asleep again. But what would you expect, when you just found out that your boyfriend and childhood best friend cheated on you. 

To be honest, I had absolutely no clue. But when I turned around at 1 to cuddle up to him I noticed that he wasn't there. I checked the apartment but I couldn't find him. I decided to wait until he came back to ask him what was going on, but then I started thinking. He was acting weird the last few weeks, but I thought that it was just the stress of the last rounds of the season. The season had just finished and he became second in the championship, so I thought he was frustrated with himself that he didn't took the title. 

There were also some other little things that he reacted different on. Every time a person would say that we were perfect for each other, or that Max was very lucky to have someone like me he got all uncomfortable. He didn't respond to that person the way you'd expect him to do and he completely ignored it. 

So when I started thinking about these things, all the pieces fell into the right place. So when he came home and walked into our room it was the first thing that popped into my mind. I would never have expected that he would actually cheat on me. But when I asked him and he didn't respond, I knew enough. 

I get up from the couch where I spend the last 2 hours thinking. Thinking about what, how and why. What was I going to do now? I decided to go for a walk in around Monaco, to clear my mind and to make a plan. A plan for the future. Was I going home? Was I going to talk with him? Am I gonna forgive him? How do I tell our family and friends? What is the media going to say?

I put my sneakers on and take my jacket. I take the leash for Jasper and gave my shiba inu a hug. "Atleast somebody who I can count on." I thought. I close the door of the apartment behind me and I walk onto the street. It was very early in Monaco, but surprisingly there were already a lot of people outside. I walk to the beach with my dog and look at the sunrise. Tears start to roll down on my cheeks as I think about what just happened. I sit down in the sand and I burry my face into my hands. "Just let it go" I say to myself. And then everything comes out. My sobs get louder and louder and I can't stop. "𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙣" I whisper, trying to calm myself down. I lay down to calm myself down. But 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣. 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.

"Madame, ça va? Est-ce que je peux faire quelque chose pour vous?" (Miss, everything okay? Can I do something for you?) I hear a familiar voice asking. I look up and I see Pierre. He is looking at me with wide eyes and he sits down next to me.

"Joy?! Are you okay? What happened? Do I have to call Max?" he asks, and when he says that name, I loose it again. "M-max is th-the problem." I manage to bring out between all my sobs. I start crying again. 

Pierre wraps an arm around my shoulders and I wrap my arms firmly around his torso, as if he is the last thing I have. I cry even harder and I burry my face in his hoodie. "It's allright. Can you try to explain me what happened?" he asks as he strokes my back. 

I explain everything that happened, and with every sentence Pierre seems to get more angry. When I am done explaining everything he doesn't say anything, he just wraps his arms even more tight around me. 

"I can't believe he did this to you. He doesn't realize what an amazing girl you are. Joy, he doesn't deserve someone like you." Pierre finally says. I look up at him and I gave him a small smile. 

"What are you gonna do now?" he asks after a few minutes of silence. "I don't know. I'm not staying there that's for sure, but I don't know where to go." I say. "I have an idea. What if we go to your apartment together, you take all your stuff you need and you stay with me. My apartment is way too big for one person and you can stay as long as you want. Maybe a new environment will be good for you." he says. "Pierre you don't have to do that if you don't want, I don't want to be a burden." I answer him. "Oh Joy come on, you are not a burden. I wanted a roommate anyway. And I bought the apartment, so you don't have to pay anything." he says. 

After a few minutes of discussing all the practical things, I decide to accept his offer. He is a very nice guy and I've known him for a long time, even when Max was still karting. We always got along really well so this was definitely going to be a lot of fun. 

And yes, maybe it was good for me to focus on another guy then Max. 

"Let's go pick your things up and then you can send Max a message saying that you're leaving, allright?" Pierre says. I nod and together we walk to my soon-to-be-old apartment. 

While I am packing all my stuff, Pierre is walking to his house to get his car so that it's easier to transport all my suitcases and boxes. Luckily I have most of my stuff at home in Bruges, so it's not a lot I need to pack. 

When he is back and we are done with packing the car, I send Max the message. 

Joy: Max, you can come back to the apartment. I am leaving, I took all my belongings and my key is under the doormat.

I close the door and place the key under the doormat. I look at the door one last time, and Pierre places his hand on my shoulder. "I know this is hard, but staying here isn't really an option, right?" he asks softly. I nod my head with tears in my eyes "I'm here for you" he says. 

"𝙋𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙."