It's You ✮ Charles Leclerc

Cɦɑpteɾ 9

♪ Make you wanna stand up and scream
Make you feel like there is no one listening ♪

Charles Leclerc POV

I woke up, trained, and took a good shower, as I finished dressing I saw my kid standing in my doorway, very serious-looking so I started to wonder if I had forgotten something.

"Can you point to me what is wrong? Because I've given you breakfast," I say confusedly and he walks off, which makes me follow him to his room where his closet is open. "You are dressed."

The look he gave made me understand he wanted to go all off. He didn't want the sweatpants and shirt that he usually wears, so I gave him an outfit my mother bought him last week, and he smiled happily. I should remind him that he denied even putting it on for my mom to see; he really has his favorite person, and he sticks by it.

We went to my mother's house, and I noticed the nervousness; Carla was there already. She is Arthur's girlfriend, she is very sweet and nice. I think she will get along with Natalie beautifully.

"You are very fancy today," Carla says excitedly as Lucas gets in the room and he nods confidently before going to hug my mother.

"Happy birthday," he says happily as she picks him up and hugs him tightly.

"Thank you, those words are always there, at least," she says, relieved, and he laughs before kissing her cheek and wanting to get to the floor.

He was going to the couch when the doorbell rang, and he ran to the door, arriving there at the same time as I did. I opened the building door when I saw Natalie and waited with the door open, and that is when I saw her and her dad leaving the elevator. He had a very expensive wine bottle with him, too, and she had a gift in her hand.

"Hello! Look who is here to greet me; you look excellent today, almost as good as you look in red. I like it," Natalie says excitedly as she messes up his hair, but he still giggles.

"Charles, this is Anthoine Beaufoy, my dear dad. And dad you know who he is," she says as she gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading inside with Lucas following closely behind.

"It's very nice to meet you, sir; thank you for coming," I say politely, and he laughs.

"It's Anthoine kid, no formalities needed, thank you for inviting me," he says as he shakes my hand and we head inside.

"Guys, this is my dad. Dad, you will know their names as you meet them, or this will be hard. But first and foremost, the birthday girl. Pascale Leclerc, looking as young as humanly possible," Natalie says excitedly as she goes to greet my brothers.

"This is Carla, my girlfriend," Arthur says proudly, and she gives Carla a hug.

"You are stunning," Natalie says happily, and Carla blushes.

"Did you see yourself in the mirror? I need a tutorial," Carla answered quickly, and I liked the whole vibe.

Her dad met everyone, and we sat at the table as the food was getting ready. Lucas would usually stay on the couch, but I saw him quietly making his way to Natalie, and basically everyone started paying attention.

"You like my attention, don't you?" Natalie asks him teasingly as she sees him looking at her, and he nods.

"You are even prettier today," he whispers, and I see she got emotional.

"Oh, that is so nice of you. You look very handsome today, ready to be on the cover of a magazine. Also, what do we think of your grandma, she is the prettiest in the room today isn't she?" She says as she turns him around and makes him look at my mom, who smiles as she nervously grabs my hand.

"Grandma is the wisest woman in the room," he says proudly, and my mom immediately has tears rolling down her face.

"I will take that baby," my mom says as she goes to hug him, and he hugs her back. I heard Lorenzo's and Arthur's phones going off with the picture sound, and I looked at Natalie.

She has something in her, maybe because she has some understanding of what he is going through inside his head. But I thought a psychologist would have that knowledge; I don't really care what she has. I only care that she is making more progress in weeks than I've been able to make in years. The few times she saw him were enough, and I would keep paying her paycheck out of my pocket if I could have my kid talking to me.

I don't need to do that because she is also excellent at her job. We got into talking, and I found out she had been through the same things Lucas had. Her mom also left when she was young, a bit older but still a child herself. Maybe that's why they bonded. Her dad is a hilarious and nice man. I can see where she got that humor.

He told us about his most recent trips, and I showed him the stuff I brought signed for him—all the merch from this year and a paddock pass for the Monaco Grand Prix.

"This is too much. I have my own money if I wanted to go, you might see me in the grandstands though," he says happily.

"No, you are going, Anthoine. I didn't spend any money, Ferrari took care of it, and this won't affect anyone. Just accept it, for Natalie, she will have the weekend off, I have arranged with the team, I want you both to enjoy it," I tell him and he hugs me.

"Take good care of her; she matters a lot to me; she is all I have," he says seriously as his hand is on my shoulder, and I nod.

"Don't worry about it; she is in good hands," I say happily before we return to where everyone else is. Natalie gave us a curious look but went back to dancing with my mom, while Carla danced with Arthur, they were all getting along great.

This is the noisiest birthday we've had in a while, and everyone loves it. This feels like a family day.