Timeless - Max Verstappen

Chapter 24

Q2 ends with max being knocked out. He pulls the car up to the garage and he storms out before the team can even wheel it into the garage. He storms down to the FIA to complete his post qualifying checks. After a few minutes he storms back through the garage and motions for me to walk in front of him. I move from my spot where I was watching q3 and walk in front of him, towards his driver room. He slams the door behind him and I flinch. Regret and anger fill his eyes but it it gone by the time he places his helmet down and unzips his race suit. Tying the arms around his waist. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "I just want to sit here with you." He says. I nod, sitting down on the couch and he flops down next to me.

After a few minutes he speaks up. "I'm sorry for slamming the door." He says softly. "It's ok." I say, my heart breaking at the softness of his voice. "No it's not, I saw you flinch. It makes me so angry that someone treated you so badly that you flinch and I hate that I caused you to flinch like that. The last thing I want to do is hurt you and the fact that some guy treated you so badly and made you think that any guy could hurt you is disgusting and makes me furious. You deserve to be treated like the princess you are. Well you are a princess but even if you weren't I'd still treat you like one because you deserve it." He says strongly.

"I know, I don't like it either. It's been a few years so surely I should be over it by now but I'm not. It's much better now but sometimes I'm stuck in that scared 19 year old girl who begged her parents to let her have a boyfriend. Who, after a month of being together, would use concealer in the early morning to cover the bruises he left behind from when he came over the night before. He was friends with Thomas so my parents trusted and liked him. He would tell me that they wouldn't believe me if I told them and for some stupid reason I believed him. After four months my mom walked in to my room early one morning saw all of the bruises and I cried and told her everything. She held me and proceeded to ban him from the castle. My brothers were so upset and I begged them to not do anything to him. I didn't want them involved and I just wanted to leave it all in the past. I went to therapy and threw myself into my degree to try and distract myself from what was going on in my mind. The therapy really helped and ever since then no man has touched me besides my dad and my brothers after that, until you. By the time you came into my life I was much better and more comfortable around men." I say. Max takes my hand in his and holds it there. Comforting me. "I'd hug you right now but I don't think you want one, considering how sweaty I am." He says which makes me laugh a little as I wipe away the stray tear from my cheek. "There's my favorite laugh." Max smiles at me softly and I can't resist. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him in close. He hesitates for a second before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. We sit there for a little bit. Comforting each other. "I have no idea what I would have done if you weren't here right now." He says to me. "I'm so glad I decided to come and surprise you." I sigh and he lets me go.

"Anna. I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now. I know we've only been close for three weeks but it feels like I've known you for years. After everything we've been through, in this life and the previous ones. Would you please do me the honour of being my girlfriend? I know you said you want to take it slow and I promise I will from now on, I just need to know that you're mine and only mine. Please." He says to me, looking straight into my eyes, into my soul. The soul that has belonged to him long before I met him. "I would love to be your girlfriend. It would be an honour." I smile at him and he smiles back, placing his lips against mine and sealing our relationship with a kiss. It's a soft and relatively short kiss but it's filled with love. We end the kiss and pull away as there is a knock at the door. Max gets up to answer it and it's Brad. "Hey man, you've got to go for interviews now." He says to max. "Ok I'll be there now." Max says before softly closing the door. He opens his mouth to say something but I stop him. "It's ok. I know you have to go. I'll be waiting here for you." I smile at him. "Thank you." He smiles sweetly before walking over and giving me one last kiss before he walks out.

I walk out of Max's room and Christian Horner walks up to me. "Princess Anna. It's great to finally meet you." Christian says. "Please, call me Anna and it's great to meet you too Christian." I smile. "Thanks for talking to max. You must have some magic dust around you because ever since Zandvoord he's been much happier. He walked out of that room with a smile on his face fifteen minutes ago and we were all expecting the exact opposite of that so thank you for helping him. He really needs someone to be there for him all the time and I'm glad it's you. You seem like a wonderful girl." Christian says and I can see the emotion in his eyes. "Thank you so much Christian, I really appreciate that so much. I'm just doing what I can to help my boy. He really means a lot to me." I smile.

~

I wave goodbye to max as I walk into my hotel room. His room is almost directly across the hallway from mine. I switch the aircon on and the room immediately begins to cool down. I jump in the shower and wash the sticky air from my body. Relaxed, I sit on my bed and switch on the tv to find one of Max's interviews playing. The smile on his face is prominent. The interviewer asked him about how he is so happy and he said he was looking forward to working hard tomorrow.