lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

19.

January 2014

"I will move back home," Pia broke the news to Charles. She was so excited to go back home. "I cannot believe that Anthonie allowed me to get back to my mum and Seb," Pia knew more than anyone else that nothing was ever free when talking to Anthonie. Everything was business for him. If you wanted something he had, you had to offer him a lucrative deal. Pia desperately wanted to believe that she wasn't part of the deal. She wanted to believe that he had at least one good bone in his body, but the opposite was true. Anthonie closed a pact with Sebastian. The deal was clear - let Daniel be ahead of you in the standings and leave the team after the season. The fact that Daniel would come on top of the four-time world champion would make Anthonie look like the best manager in the world. Furthermore, after Sebastian's departure from the team, nothing would stay in Daniel's way of becoming another Formula 1 champion. Another world champion, raised by Anthonie Teunissen.

Sebastian was facing a tough deal but an easy decision. He would always pick Pia. He had already accomplished his dream of being the champion, and even if he hadn't, he would still choose Pia over his career. So, he acceded to Anthonie's conditions.

Anthonie viewed people like chess figures. He only tried to manipulate them. He tried to find their weaknesses, and he succeeded with Sebastian. His weakness was his love for Sabatini girls.

"Really? I'm so happy for you, P," young Monegasque was indeed truly happy for his girlfriend. He was well aware that nothing was holding Pia in Monaco anymore. She knew that Charles would start driving this year in Formula Renault 2.0, meaning he wouldn't be home anyway. The only thing that could hold her there was Jules and Daniel, but she met these lovebirds during the race weekends.

"I still cannot believe it," she hugged him tightly with tears in her eyes.

"And when they want to pick you up?" The question left his mouth. He was happy for her, but he also understood that these months could be the last ones they would spend fully together. He wanted her to be content.

"Probably next Friday. I talked to my mum and asked her if you could come with me for the weekend. She would take you back on Sunday," Pia offered to Charles. She hoped he'd agree with it.

"I need to talk to my mum and my trainer, but I think it should be possible." He kissed her on the crown of her head. As he leaned down, he could smell her shampoo. Her hair was scented like green apples and rhubarb. He remembered those days when he could smell cigarettes and weed out of it, but fortunately, those days were gone. Pia seemed to be doing so much better the last few weeks, and Charles was so proud of her because of it.

"I love you," these words slipped out of her mouth automatically. It was some time since they had said it to each other. Charles was whispering these words to Pia so often when she was already asleep, but he couldn't remember when was the last time Pia said it to him. She loved him for sure. She was showing him that every time she could, but she said it rarely.

"I love you more," he replied. These words put him at such ease. It gave him the hope that the hard times were already behind them.

---

"Oh, my sweet little girl," Gianna said before she tightly hugged her daughter. She was so happy to hold her again, and she was even more delighted that Pia would go home with her.

"I missed you so much," she said and kissed her forehead, then Pia had finally a chance to look at her properly. Gianna looked tired. Her cheeks were hollow, and she seemed to have more wrinkles than before.

"I missed you too, mum. I missed you too," she repeated those words like she wanted to emphasise them. Then she went to hug Sebastian. It was for the first time since she had learnt he was sleeping with her mother. At first, Seb was surprised, but eventually, he wrapped his arms around her. It felt like redemption.

"Let's just go home," he said before they got in his car.

Stepping into their house again felt weird for Pia. She was looking around just like her boyfriend. It looked different than they remembered it. The first thing she noticed was Sebastian's shoes and winter coats and jackets in their hallway. It was his home now too.

Then she noticed a showcase in the living room, filled with Seb's trophies. Another thing that caught her eye was a photo hanging on the wall leading upstairs. It was a different photo than the one which used to hang there when Pia still lived there. There used to be a photo of her, Anthoine and Gianna. But it was past now there was a photo of Sebastian and Gianna. Thanks to the background of the picture, Pia could recognise that it was photographed in Brazil. Seb was hugging Gianna tightly. He was still wearing a helmet, and Gianna was smiling. She looked so happy. He won the championship.

Then Pia saw another photo. It was standing next to the TV. Pia froze when she realised what it showed. It was a photo of the ultrasound. The date written on the top right corner indicated that it was taken just a week ago.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you. We wanted to, but we didn't know how, but also, we didn't want to hide it from you. We know where it got us the last time." Pia did a quick maths, and she found out that her mother probably got pregnant in Brazil after Sebastian was crowned world champion.

She took a few steps forward in order to see the photo better. It was hard to see there something, but eventually, Pia noticed two little beans next to each other.

"You're expecting twins?" she asked and took a step backwards, causing her to bump into Charles.

"Yeah," Gianna said and then remained silent. "You're the first ones to know," she broke the silence. It was killing her. She was afraid of Pia's reaction, but she was more frightened of losing her again.

"Oh, congratulations. We are happy for you, right, mon amour?" Charles was the one who responded. He tried to make it easier for his girlfriend.

"Yeah, we are." And there it was. The look in her eyes that Charles knew way too well. He exactly knew what it meant. She wasn't angry it was just too quick for her. Sebastian looked terrified when Pia left the room.

"It's alright. Just give Pia some time. Everything is way too quick for her," he tried to comfort them before running after Pia.

"Wait, Charles, I will go." Sebastian's voice stopped Charles in his traces. He felt like he should be the one who would talk to her. In the end, it was he who destroyed her family.

He climbed the stairs pretty quickly, but he hesitated in front of her room. He wanted to knock, but he had to gain courage for it. After a while, his joints hit the wooden door a couple of times.

"Are you angry?" he asked when he entered the room. He expected Pia to be angry or sad, but she was just calmly lying on her bed, looking at the ceiling.

"No, I'm not. I'm just..." She started calmly, but then her voice began to tremble. "I'm just a bit jealous because they're gonna have such an amazing dad," she confessed.

"Oh, Pia," he pulled her into a tight hug. He expected a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. "I had taken you as my daughter even before I started seeing your mum. I know you probably never saw me in that light, but-" he wanted to continue, but young Italian interrupted him.

"Maybe I haven't, but I know that you have done more for me than my real dad ever did. I would like to see you in that light. I just need some time, but I would like to call you dad. I should've started with it way earlier. You deserve that title more anyway," she admitted, leaving Seb speechless. He was just holding her, and then he kissed her on the top of her head. He had done something that every dad would do.