Book 1: Leap of Faith -Charles Leclerc

Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

Carlos and Caroline sat at opposite ends of his couch, both devouring their takeout in dead silence. After their moment in the street, Carlos walked her back to his place because it was close by and he didn't want paparazzi getting pictures of these vulnerable moments. He ordered some food and they made a makeshift dinner combined with the food he picked up earlier. The mascara was still pooled under her puffy eyes. The evidence of her cry still lingering on her face and Carlos' shirt. Carlos watched as she shoved a massive bite of pasta into her mouth.

"Wow. You are in rare form right now," he joked.

"Shut up," Caroline said, kicking him on the other side of the couch and making him laugh. "So..." Caroline continued, sitting up to face Carlos. "I told you the truth about me and Charles. It's your turn to tell me about exactly what happened with you and Marie. No bullshit, full honesty. And not the short version you gave me before."

Carlos groaned, sinking lower into the couch. He really didn't feel like going over the whole situation, but he knew he needed to talk about it.

"Fine. Only since you told me the truth. I met her at a party when she was in Madrid celebrating her graduation. We were 18, and I was not a great guy. I felt something for her immediately, but I never texted her back after that night. When she came to work with Ferrari, I knew I knew her from somewhere, but she wanted nothing to do with me for no reason. After breaking through her shell a little bit and winning her over with my charms, I discovered she hated me for not texting her back after we met. I saw that as a challenge to make her like me. Things got heated after that and changed into more than just a casual hookup. We had so much chemistry. So we were together for a few months, did all the couple shit, and things were really going great. Basically she became my best friend. And then one day she plans this beautiful date and... told me she loved me. God, I hate this part." Carlos rubbed his face with his hands, as if trying to physically scrub the memory away from his brain.

"I freaked out. Like full on freaked out because the last time I told a girl I loved her, she broke my heart. And I swear my brain just short circuited in that fucking coffee shop because I... broke up with her. I didn't even know what I was doing while I was doing it. Every word out of my mouth was bullshit and the lamest excuses. By the time I realized what I was doing, she was gone." Caroline watched as Carlos' eyes started to well up, hearing these words clearly made him emotional, which was something she had never thought she would see. Carlos went silent, playing with his fork in his food. Caroline could tell that he hated himself for the whole situation.

"Have you spoken since?" Caroline asked, always needing more details.

"I've reached out a few times, but no response. I see her at work sometimes. But, I think she has been coming around less. I look for her everyday," He continued to avoid eye contact.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes," he replied, without a second of hesitation. "I've loved her for years, I still love her now. It's not something I think will ever change. She makes me a better man. I was so afraid to lose her and that's exactly what happened. She's the best thing I've ever had in my life and I pushed her away because..." he trailed off.

"Because you felt like you weren't good enough to love her? Scared to get hurt again?" Caroline said, attempting to fill in the words that he was searching for.

"Something like that," he replied, looking at her with a faint smile.

"I know a thing or two about that. Carlos, you deserve to feel incredibly loved. You deserve to be with the woman you love, even if you made a mistake. Humans aren't perfect and we fuck up, more times than not. But we are still always deserving of love. Just talk to her and tell her that. I'm sure she still loves you just as much as you love her."

"It's been like four months, Caroline," Carlos said, his sadness filling his words.

"I don't care, Carlos," Caroline said, pulling open her phone's notes page. "We're getting her back. You don't know this about me, but I love planning. I love surprises, and I love love. I'm also stubborn as hell, so there's no way that this won't work if I'm involved."

"Seriously? You want to help me get her back?" Carlos said, with confusion painted all over his face. He ran a hand through his hair, contemplating if this was a good idea.

"Yes absolutely! I'm desperate to have a project to work on to get my mind off Charles. But we might need to recruit his help for this plan..." Caroline said, already furiously typing on her phone.

"Is this going to be weird because we... you know?" Carlos said, gesturing over to the guest bedroom. Caroline glanced into the room, the memory playing back of her getting her back blown out by the guy who now sat across from her with pasta sauce on his face.

"Promise it's not weird for me. You know I think you're great, but there's just something... not romantic about us. And I mean that with full respect." Caroline responded, internally cringing at the memory.

"I feel the same way. Okay, good. Second, what do you mean that you might need Charles' help? Isn't that going to get messy for you? I'm not going to put you into that position."

"I need a little more time to get over these feelings and then I need to be on good terms with him. I'm a professional and I can't avoid the Ferrari garage forever, especially if he needs a fill-in trainer. I'll be fine with it, I promise."

Caroline tried to make the words sound sincere as they came out of her mouth. Truthfully, she knew that she would be terrified to see Charles for the first time again. Even thinking about him evoked emotions that she couldn't name. But she knew that exposure therapy would be beneficial and she couldn't continue to live her life afraid of this guy. Caroline plastered on a smile and continued typing furiously on her phone.

"Now let's get to the fun part. What kind of food does she like?"

Carlos smiled at the girl sitting across from him. He had no idea how he got so lucky to have this friend in his life, but she always seemed to be there when he needed her.