It's You ✮ Charles Leclerc

Cɦɑpteɾ 16

♫ Watch the days pass, talk to no one
'Cause everybody else just makes me feel alone ♫

Natalie Beaufoy POV

I arrived at the paddock with my dad and this time I was the one that drove here because it was a mess, and since I work for Ferrari it would be easier to be let through to the paddock club parking lot. The entrance for the paddock pass holders was close so we walked there and I went straight to the Ferrari garage.

"Are we in a hurry?" My dad asks as he tries to keep up with me.

"We are, Lucas is probably waiting, so hurry up or wait here and I will come back with him and we can walk around together so he is not bored out of his mind in the garage," I tell him and he nods as he follows me.

I finally got to the garage and saw Charles was talking to Mattia and some of the engineers, Pascale was distracted on the phone and I finally saw Lucas, glued to his phone.

"Good morning mon amour," I say excitedly and Lucas immediately looks up and runs in my direction, I kneel down quickly and let him hug me.

"I thought you forgot me," he tells me as he leaves the hug and I shake my head.

"No! You are unforgettable, I was just very late. There is a lot of traffic around the city, I was not ready for that, almost ditched the car and came walking," I tell him seriously and he laughs, I was not joking but we can pretend I was.

"Hey!" I hear Charles' voice and I look up to him, standing up and giving him a smile.

"Sorry for being late, but it's my turn to take the kid, this is my weekend," I say excitedly and Charles nods.

"I will stay here for a bit, if you don't mind," my dad says and Charles nods.

"No problem, my mom can keep you company and introduce you around more calmly," Charles says and Pascale nods excitedly.

"They are kids, they have way too much energy to walk around the paddock," Pascale says as she starts showing him the garage.

"Where is your hat?" Charles asks as he crosses his arms.

"I forgot it at home, I have sunscreen on so that will have to make it," I say before I see him taking his hat off and putting it on the top of my head.

"Don't get sunburned. Enjoy the day. Can you meet us here for lunch?" He asks and I nod.

"I can make that happen," I say as I take Lucas' hand in mine.

Since there was no Formula 3 this weekend, sadly, we would have to be entertained in other ways so we just went around. We did everything on the Paddock Club, the track tour and the pit lane walk, the funny thing was seeing Lucas waving to the drivers who gladly waved back.

I saw some pictures being taken and videos too but I just made sure he didn't notice because I have no clue if it bothers him to be recorded. He was just so excited that he didn't even care about cameras. We passed by the Ferrari garage and just entered.

"It's time for lunch," I announce when I see the Leclerc family waiting and my dad having some fun conversation with Arthur.

"What happened there?" Lorenzo asks amused by his nephew's disheveled look.

"He was always taking the hat off and then putting it on, I had no way of stopping it," I say as I arrange his hair.

Lunch was fun, Lucas watched as we spoke, and we left to watch Charles' practice from the upper floors of the garage and the Ferraris were doing good. It's a good year for Ferrari, which is unexpected but welcome.

After practice was done I noticed Lucas was quiet and I took him to the Ferrari's motorhome, going to the upper floor where no people were usually there. Almost everyone is at the garage, paddock, or media pen.

"Is everything alright? Do you need to recharge your social energy?" I asked once we saw the view of the crowd walking through the paddock, crazy if you ask me.

He gave me a little nod and sat by my side as he watched everyone quietly.

"Do you feel like you have a weight on your shoulders? When my mom left I felt like I was a weight to my dad, he was always seemingly tired, he did all these crazy hours to feed me and I blamed myself. Do you feel that?"

I wanted to know more about him, he took his hat off and looked at me. He did his best to stop the tears from leaving his eyes but his eyes were already red. I instantly picked him up and sat him on my lap.

"Did you feel that too? Was it true?" He asks curiously as he tries to clean his tears and I nod.

"I felt like that for a few years until I made a friend, her parents were divorced and her mom was so mean. I remember thinking that my dad wouldn't hate me, he loved me so much that he would work 12 hours and would still make it a point to come home and snuggle me into bed or kiss my forehead as I slept. I am glad my mom left, she wasn't a good person and she would do more harm than good. How was your mom? Do you remember anything?"

"Will you tell my dad?" He asks fearfully and I shake my head.

"I would never tell him if you don't want me to," I tell him as I clean his cheeks and he looks at me with a little pout.

"I don't like her. She was mean. I knew she was leaving. She always told me I was a bad kid, that I was annoying and to be quiet. Before she left, she told me that my dad would leave too. That nobody liked me."

He did his best to explain it and it brought tears to my eyes. No kid deserved to hear that, and Lucas is above average, I can tell by his words and intelligence, that he is not any 5 year old, he will probably never forget this. So he did what he thought would be best, he kept quiet.

"She was a mean person but she was also lying. Your dad loves you, he would never ever leave you. But do you know what would be good for that?" I ask and he looks curiously at me.

"What?"

"We will take these pillows and we will scream into them as loud as we can, that is how I deal with stress. Just scream all those fears and frustrations out. I will make you forget the lies she told you, but for now, let's take that weight out of your chest," I say confidently as I give him the pillow.

He was doubtful but we did it at the same time, I finished screaming and he still kept going for a while. Until he stopped and I hugged him as he sobbed. It is hard getting 3 years of fears and frustrations out but if any kid could do it, it is him.