Coming Home - A Lestappen Story

Secret

The pair sat and talked for what seemed like hours. Charles didn't want to leave Max alone, because he feared what Verstappen would do if he was left by himself. Max didn't want to be by himself, fearful of the same thing. 

"Do you want to take a shower Max? You have... blood all over. I can take a shot at cleaning this up out here." Charles said before moving away from Max for the first time since he has arrived in the hotel room. 

"Yeah. I probably should. I'm sorry for making such a mess, I wasn't really thinking." Max says sheepishly. 

"It's not a problem Max, I'll be here for as long as you want me to stay." Something that Charles truly meant, he didn't feel comfortable leaving until well after Verstappen was okay with being alone. Even if that meant him staying in the room overnight.

Max Verstappen slowly pulled himself off of the ground, using Charles' shoulder for stability. The dutch driver grabbed a pair of pajamas from his suitcase and makes his way towards the bathroom. 

Charles helps Max off of the ground, and quickly grabs what cleaning supplies he can find in the bathroom. Surprisingly enough, there was a small container of bleach that had been left by another guest.

The Monegasque watched as Verstappen stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. It would be a lie to say that Charles was scared that Max would do something to himself in the shower, but he had to put enough trust in Max that he wouldn't do it again, at least while he was here. 

Leclerc got on his knees in front of the stain, and worked for a few minutes with the bleach to remove the stain from the carpet. It had left a discolored white spot among the grey carpet strands, but it looked a lot better than dried blood would.

- 

Max Verstappen steps into the bathroom and undresses. He looks at himself in the mirror for a few moments, truly disgusted with both what he had done, and what his arms looked like because of it. 

"Neuken.." Max mutters to himself before turning the shower on, and stepping in. This was a new feeling for Max, this level of openness with someone other than his girlfriend. He washed himself up with the body wash the hotel provided. He winced in pain once again as he could feel the soap seep into his cuts, but he knew he had to clean them. 

Verstappen rinsed himself off for a few minutes and proceeded to step out of the shower. He looked over at the small clock on the wall that read 10:31pm. Charles had gotten there just before 8, so the pair had conversated for more than 2 hours. Max didn't mind though. He liked the company.

- 

Charles waited for Max to leave the bathroom. He scrolled through his phone, scrolling mindlessly through instagram until he found a post that caught his attention. It was his girlfriend, Alexandra with some random dude that Charles had never seen before.

This wouldn't peek any confusion in Leclerc usually, as his girlfriend was definitely one to party with a lot of people, but she had told him that she was going out to dinner with friends in Barcelona, not on a yacht in France. 

His worst fears came true when he scrolled to the next photo, this random guy had his lips pressed against his girlfriend's. The only emotion he felt in the moment was disgust. He drafted a quick message to his girlfriend.

"Alexandra. I'm sure you didn't see that guy you were kissing on that boat, posting the photos to instagram. But I saw them, so other people probably have as well. I don't want an explanation, I just want you to tell him to delete the photos so this doesn't turn into a whole thing. I expect you to have your stuff out of my home in Monaco ASAP."

Charles quickly sent off the text, surprised with how little hesitation he sent it. He was sad to have ended things so quickly, but in a way was relieved that he no longer had to deal with any media scrutiny regarding his absent relationship. 

His attention was pulled back to the situation at hand when Max walked out of the bathroom. He didn't want to burden Max with this new piece of information, but Max had already sensed a different expression on the younger drivers face. 

"Is something wrong?" That dutch driver asked, stepping closer to Charles. The younger driver could feel Max reading his face, even through his own pain he cared enough to ask what his situation was. 

"No.. I mean Yeah.." Charles choked out. "I just broke up with my girlfriend." he continued as he pulled up instagram again, showing Max the photo he had seen moments before. 

"Oh shit man. I'm sorry. Do you need to go talk to her?" Max replied, sitting down on the bed next to Charles. 

"No... I think it's for the best? I really don't know..." Charles said before letting a tear escape down his cheek. He was indeed happy that he didn't have to put up a wall of fake love, but he could already hear the questions from reporters when this does become public. The younger driver was becoming overwhelmed by the thought of it. 

Max noticed the change of demeanor from the Monegasque and scooted a bit closer to him. 

Max placed a hand on Charles's back, feeling the tremors of his silent sobs. "Hey, it's okay," the older driver said softly. "Breakups are always tough, especially when you're in the public eye."

Charles nodded, wiping the tear from his cheek. "I know it was the right thing to do, but it's still hard. And the media... they're going to have a field day with this, I just know it Max."

Max understood all too well the scrutiny they were constantly under. "Screw the media," he said firmly. "What's important is how you feel and what's best for you. If this is what you needed, then that's all that matters."

Charles sniffled, managing a small, grateful smile. "Thanks, Max. I just... I didn't expect it to hit me this hard. I thought I was prepared for something like this."

Max nodded. "It's always harder than we think it will be. But you're not alone, Charles. I'm here for you, just like you were for me as well."

The pair were closer than they had ever been, mentally and physically. Both of them being there for each other's problems.

Charles looked at Max, the sincerity in his eyes providing a comforting anchor. "I appreciate that, Max. More than you know."

Max gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We're in this together, remember? We'll get through it, one step at a time."

Charles took a deep breath, feeling a bit steadier. "Yeah, together."

The two sat in silence for a moment, both of them were unsure what they were, the weight of their respective burdens feeling a little lighter. The bond between them, forged through competition and friendship, had grown even stronger in these moments of vulnerability with each other.

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This one was a lot less mentally draining to write, are they getting closer to professing their love? WHO KNOWS (me) 😅

Remember to drop a follow, and vote on this chapter. This book is looking like it will have 15 to 20 parts/chapters, depending how much deeper it gets. Looking forward to writing more for you all 😄

AND REMEMBER, I LOVE YOU ALLLLLLL 😝