In the quaint town of Monaco, two childhood best friends, Charles and Avianna, have always had a special bond. Their parents would bring both of them to all the kart racing and formula races. Since then, the two have trained, grown, and dreamed toge...
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I STILL COULDN'T BELIEVE that Charles is in front of me right now. I squeezed his arms to confirm his presence. He's real. Seeing him was mixed emotions. I was worried that I might have ruined his and his family's Christmas, but at the same time, I felt a deep sense of relief and happiness that he's with me in this difficult moment.
"I told you we're fine here. Why did you leave Monaco? I hate you." I cried in front of him like a baby, both hands covering my face.
"No, you don't." He grabbed my hands to peek at my face. He started wiping my tears with his own hands with a concerned but smiling face. "I had to be here with you and your mom." He held my face gently, leaning down slightly, his eyes filled with sincerity.
"Still, you shouldn't have left your family in Monaco." My voice cracked, feeling guilty.
"Don't worry, Avi. If this could help, even Maman and Papa asked me to come here. They were also worried about the situation here." Charles pulled me closer for a hug. It was an embrace that made me feel so loved and valued, the kind I would always choose whenever I feel down.
We talked for minutes outside Mom's room before finally going inside. Mom was still unconscious, which made Charles' face look more worried. His and Mom's closeness is similar to my closeness with his parents. Back then, I would even get jealous of Charles because some people mistook him as Mom's son instead of me as the daughter.
I finally decided to eat, getting the plate full of food Aunt Cleo had prepared for me as she talked with Charles. Aunt Cleo has always known Charles, and he does, too. Auntie was asking Charles several questions about his journey as a driver for Ferrari. I was smiling the whole time as I watched them converse. Aunt Cleo's actually a fan of F1, too, but she's a die-hard Red Bull supporter. I even joked that she should stop supporting other teams because if not, I wouldn't give her any paddock passes. She said Ferrari's now her number one, but she'll still secretly root for Max. I honestly couldn't blame her, though.
Aunt Cleo offered Charles to eat, but he politely declined, saying he had already eaten with his family in Monaco. "Yeah? Charles, you're still a bad liar, aren't you?" Aunt Cleo rebutted, which made the three of us laugh. Charles hasn't changed. He always declines meal offers, but we know that he's starving.
"Unfortunately, Auntie." Charles scratched his head, surrendering, getting the plate with food from Aunt Cleo's hands.
It was almost 3 midnight, so we discussed how to fit ourselves in this little room tonight. It was not possible for the three of us to stay here as only two could sleep: one sofa bed and one chair. Aunt Cleo and I told Charles he could go home and get back tomorrow, but he insisted on staying. So, I convinced Aunt Cleo to go home and rest so Charles and I could look after Mom for the first night.
I told Charles we should have a rotational in using the sofa bed because it would be uncomfortable for him to sleep on the chair with his whole body bent the entire night. Of course, the man wouldn't let me win. He said he's used to sleeping in a sitting position because it's similar to a usual driving position. "Did you forget I'm a driver too?" I argued, but he just laughed at me, gently pushing my forehead enough for my whole body to lie on the sofa bed.
