DNF - c.l [1]

35:00

"What do you mean you're a reserve driver this weekend?" Charles snaps his head to look at me as we board the jet for the flight to Japan.

"He wants to see how Carlos is performing," I shrug, lying to him, knowing that if I told him the real reason that would be the end of everything.

"And this is Vasseur's decision?" he asks as he takes my hand, helping me up the stairs as we get into the cabin and sit across from each other.

"Yup," I mutter, putting my water bottle on the table in front of me, letting out a sigh.

Time was running out and sooner or later he was going to find out what this whole ordeal was about, and I also knew it would be better to tell himself, but I couldn't find the gut to.

"Are you sleeping on this flight?" Charles asks from across me as Amanda and Dee take their seats behind us, talking amongst themselves.

"Lets go fuckers, P1 over here for the superior Leclerc," I hear coming from the cabin entrance.

Arthur stood with a 1st place trophy as he called out, the most ridiculous pair of Gucci sunglass I had ever seen and a star wars onesie on.

"I guess not," I say, reclining the chair and closing my eyes.

I feel Arthur sit down in front of me as the table shakes on my knee and I groan.

"Congrats little brother," Charles says, patting his shoulder as he places the trophy down on the table.

"What's that? I'm better than you in the looks department and driving, thanks brother for coming to your senses," he mocks, grinning.

Charles pushes him and they begin to play fight in front of me as I let out another audible groan, hoping they would settle before we took off.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀\ō͡≡o˞̶ ˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

"If the media ask you questions about this weekend just tell them you're not well okay?" Amanda tells me as I open the hotel door, pushing my suitcase inside.

"I don't know why I need to be here if I'm not even racing?" I shrug my shoulders, throwing my sunglasses on the table and sitting down on the bed.

"We need to hold a united front, the media can't know about any of this," she states, standing in the door way as I fall back onto the bed letting out maybe my 50th groan today.

"Which room is Charles's?" I ask her, propping myself up on my elbows to see her typing furiously on her phone.

She points to the door way close to the bathroom and I raise an eyebrow, standing from the bed and going over to the door.

"What? He's staying in the closet or somethi- oh my god," I say as I open the door to see Charles stood on the other side, shirtless in an adjoined room.

I slam the door closed; my eyes wide as I look back at Amanda who was still texting.

"Amanda," I hiss at her as I rush over to her, "you got us an adjoined room?"

"It was the cheapest," she shrugs, looking away from her phone for only a split second before indulging herself back into the texting again.

"You're telling me a team with one of the largest budgets on the grid can't afford two separate rooms?" I whisper yell at her.

I hear the door opening behind me and I turn to see Charles still shirtless, looking at me rather confused, his hand still on the door handle as he looks behind the door.

"What the hell," I hear him mutter as he looks around the room and back into his.

"Tell me the door locks at least," I say to her quietly.