lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

20.

March 2014

"I need a little favour from you," Pia heard clearly Anthonie's voice. She was once again hiding in between the trailers. It was some time since she was there last time. She missed too much gossip for her liking.

"Talk," the other man said. Pia wasn't able to recognize the voice. She was pretty sure she hadn't heard it before.

"I'm a bit concerned about that little Frenchman in your team. He seemes to be around Daniel way too much. I just need to know what is going on between them." Pia could still hear his Dutch accent when he was talking in English. She knew that he tried to hide it, but for her, it was one of the few things she loved about him. It reminded her of the times when he used to talk to her in Dutch. She missed it from time to time.

"And why would I give you this information?" he asked Anthonie without hesitation. He was in a better position for this negotiation. He had something that Anthonie wanted and not the other way around.

"What do you want?" He was straight to the point as always. Pia wasn't surprised by it. It was just the way Anthonie was. He didn't have time to mess around.

"I just want a favour in return. I don't know what it will be, but if I have any problems in the future, you'll help me. I've heard you're pretty good at negotiating. Making Sebastian Vettel leave Red Bull is quite a big deal." Normally nobody would dare talk to Anthonie Teunissen like this, but this man had an advantage, and he was fully aware of it. He used it for his own benefit.

"How do you know about it?" The question left his mouth. Anthonie wanted to know if Sebastian had told him that or if he wasn't as stupid as he seemed to be.

"Oh, come on, Anthonie. I'm not stupid. All of a sudden, your daughter is all around Vettel, and you don't mind. Actually, you don't care at all. And then I meet someone from Red Bull, saying that it looks like Red Bull doesn't want to extend the contract with Vettel. That sounds like a deal to me." So, Pia was wrong when she thought she wasn't a part of a deal. Obviously, she was. Anthonie didn't know how to play fair. He was always looking for shortcuts and easier ways. Pia just couldn't believe that Sebastian accepted something like that. In her opinion, she wasn't worth it.

Tears started to stream down her cheeks. She knew she needed to stay quiet because she didn't want to be found, so she bit her hand to soothe her sobs. She was right the whole time. He was so wicked.

"Whatever, just find out what is going on between Daniel and... and... what's his name?" It was amusing to Pia. He didn't even care enough to do some research. How typical.

"Jules. Jules Bianchi," the man standing in front of him answered. Pia could hear it was amusing to him as well, but he tried to hide it as much as he could.

"Yeah, Jules... I didn't make sure Daniel would be on top of the Red Bull standing to find out later he wants to ruin his public image by fucking boys around." That was what he cared about. The public image of his driver because Daniel's public image was Anthonie's public image. If Daniel came out and said he's gay it would be a huge deal. Pia was almost one hundred per cent sure Anthonie would repeal his contract with Daniel. He wanted to represent another world champion and not some fag.

---

"Why would you do it, Seb? Why would you agree with his terms?" Pia asked the German that was sitting in front of her. They were sharing a hotel suite as they used to when she was going to races with Anthonie. She was supposed to stay with him, but in the end, he didn't really care where Pia was, so she used to sleep in Sebastian's suite. She felt safe there.

"What are you talking about, P?" Sebastian asked. He didn't plan on admitting his deal with Anthonie to Pia.

"Sebastian, you exactly know what I'm talking about. I get that you wanted to get me away from him, but letting Daniel be ahead of you in the standings and leaving Red Bull at the end of the season? That's a bit too much, don't you think? I appreciate you wanted to help, but I didn't want you to ruin your own career because of it." Pia was delighted, she could be back home with him and her mum, but this was just a hard pill to swallow. It was hard to admit that everything in life has its price. She was home but at what cost. 

"You are more important than my career. At the end of the day, they are just trophies and nothing more. It's nice to win them, but they are not worthy of my happiness. They are not worthy of losing the woman that I love. I'd do anything for you and your mother." Sebastian was a racer at heart, but he was also a family man. Ever since he met Gianna, he had wanted a family with her, so when Seb had the opportunity to have it, he did everything he could to keep it together.

"I know. Thank you so much," Pia hugged Sebastian tightly. "When we're talking about mum. Have you picked names already?" she asked curiously.

"We don't know the gender yet." If Pia remembered correctly, her mum should have an appointment at the end of March. They should probably reveal to her the gender of the twins there.

"And what you would want? Two boys?" It got Pia thinking. How would the mix of Gianna and Sebastian look like? Would they look more like German or more Italian? Would they have Gianna's emerald eyes or Sebastian's ocean eyes?

"Yeah, probably, or a boy and a girl," Sebastian replied. He didn't really think about it before. It didn't matter for him that much. The only thing that he really cared about was the health of those two little beans in Gianna's tummy.

"Why not two girls?" Another question left the moth of young Italian. Suddenly, she noticed how much she loved these moments with Seb. Just the two of them talking about stuff.

"That would be way too many Sabatini girls for me to handle," he laughed. It was the sound that Pia missed dearly. Sebastian's laugh was comforting for her.

"So, they will be Sabatini? Or will they... Will they have your surname?" Pia desired to know the answer to this question ever since she found out that her mother was pregnant.

"We haven't talked about it yet. I'd love that, but I need to talk to Gianna first. Why?"

"I was thinking, and if they had your surname, I'd want it as well." Sebastian always called her the Sabatini girl, but the truth was that she didn't have her mother's surname. She had to take her father's surname because of the Italian laws. Officially, she was Pia Chiara Teunissen. Oh, gosh, how much she hated her surname. Pia Chiara Vettel would sound so much better.

"Are you sure you would like to take my surname? You can take Gianna's." Sebastian was honoured that Pia would like to have his surname, but he didn't want her to regret it later.

"Italian law says that I should have my father's surname, and to me... you feel like my father and no one else." For Pia, it could be the chance to draw a line with her past. She wanted to bury her past with Anthonie.

"If that's what you want, I will ask Gianna about it," the German softly smiled at her. She was his treasure. "And Pia? I didn't agree to his terms. I would leave Red Bull anyway. I've already signed a contract with Ferrari. I was just one step ahead of him."