Your way to the top

chapter thirteen

"Yeah she's fine but they want to keep her for another day. Just to make sure everything's fine," I say to Christian over the phone. He called me today evening to make sure everything's okay with Val and me.
"Do you arrive later then or will you just stay home with her?" he asks me.
"My parents are coming over. They are going to look after her while I'm gone. I would like to come a little later tough"
"Sure. Take all the time you need."
"Is Tuesday okay?"
"Yeah sure. No problem." he says, and we continue talking a little. Christian is really understanding, what's a big relief for me in such situations.
After the call I walk inside Val's room again.
"When are you going to fly?" I ask Lando and Charles. They stayed here with me the whole time.
"When are you?" Charles asks me.
"Tuesday"
They both give eachother a look, before they nod and Lando says: "Tuesday it is". They both give me the biggest smiles and continue looking at their Insta.
"You don't need to guys. It's fine. Don't you need to go Australia?" I ask them.
"Yeah we do but it's not that important. You and Val need us, so we're staying until she's better," Charles says.
"You're the best," I say and smile at them. I love how caring they are. They would do literally everything for me. It's a little frightening though. I've only known Charles for a bit over a month now. It's scary how I fell in love with him in such a short time and how familiar he got to me. Also, how good he gets along with Val. She normally doesn't like when a person is with us so much. Only Lando and my parents but no one other. 

We stay at the hospital for another day until they release her on monday evening. They give me some advice and medication for her and we leave. I say goodbye to Mason and give him a big hug.
"Tell your parents to call me if they need anything," he says while he hugs me.
"Sure. See you Mason" I say before we get into the car and drive off. We all go to my appartment and I start making some food. 
"Val, what do you want for dinner?"
"Dino nuggets," she shouts excitetly.
I laugh and walk over to the freezer. I take out the nuggets and start cooking them.
"Hey," I hear Charles whispering in my ear. He puts his arms around my waist and puts his head in my shoulders.
"Hi," I say, and giggle a little bit. His warm breath on my neck calms me.
"You look really good while cooking" he says and I laugh.
"Yeah, even though I haven't showered in two days and look horrible"
"You never look horrible. You look beautiful. Even after a two-hour-race, where you sweated like crazy," he says and starts laughing.
"Haha very funny," I say and laugh too.
"Charlie. We need to play!" Val shouts from the living room. He looks at me with a charming grin and gives me a kiss, before he walks away. He takes a stop in the door frame and winks at me once. I chuckle and feel my cheeks starting to heat up. I probably look like a tomato now. 
Not much later, Lando enters the room too.
"How's it going?" he asks.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean in general. How are you feeling? How's it going with life in general? How is it going with Charlie?" he asks and wiggles with his eyebrows at the Charles part.
"I'm feeling pretty good. I mean, Val's okay again and that's everything that matters. Life in general is also okay. And it's going great with Charles"
"You really like him huh?" he asks. I can see his face light up as I nod. I smile, until a feeling of fear comes over me.
"What's the problem?" Lando asks me. He must've noticed.
"I don't know. Lando, what if Charles leaves me like he did? I can't handle another heartbreak. Not with the life I'm building up here. I finally have my dream job and everything but," I say and take a break. Speaking about my past is rough. Even when I speak to Lando.
"But you're afraid that he's going to break your heart and that you'll be alone again?" he asks, and I nod. He reaches out for me and pulls me into a hug.
"You don't need to be afraid. Life your life in the present. Don't think about the future or the past. It made you the person you are today but it doesn't make you the person you'll be tomorrow. You're young. Don't waste your time. If you like him then date him. It's not that difficult. I know you really like him. So, what are you waiting for?"
He looses his arms and looks me into the face. 
"I have a new job at his rival team. I've only been driving for a month Lando. The people are going to judge me and I'm going to loose my job. I'm a woman. I get judged when I sleep with another guy, when you guys sleep with woman, then it's cool. I'm a whore, while you get to be the womanhero. It's not fair. I fought so hard for this seat. More than anyone else. Nobody believed in me until Christian. I don't want him to feel betrayed"
"I understand Ava. Then just keep it private for now. Reveal it in a few months. But if you're happy, don't hide it for too long. It's going to get you hard if you do so. You deserve to be happy too," he says. He's right. I deserve to be happy too. I always look after other people and forget about me. 
"Who cares about what other people think Ava? You're hot, rich and a formula one driver. Not sure if they can say the same about themselves," he says and chuckles. "You're a good driver but never let that take away your happiness".
"You're right"
"I'm always right," Lando says and we both laugh, while he pulls me in for another hug. We stand there for a few seconds, just feeling eachothers comfort, before I shout for Val to sit at the table.
"Your nuggets are finished," I shout. Not even ten seconds later she comes running and sits down in her seat. 
"Charlie you need to sit here," she says and points to the empty stool next to her. "And uncle Lando there." she says and points to the other one. They both sit down next to her while I hand her the plate of nuggets and ketchup. She immediately starts eating and speaks to them about all kinds of stuff. I quickly do the dishes before I sit down with them. 
"I'm stunned by how much she speaks," Charles says as she leaves to play again.
"Right? As soon as she gets used to a person, she talks non stop" I say and laugh. We all play with Val for a little more, before she needs to go to bed. I pick her up and take her to the shower. Lando and Charles sit down on the couch and start talking but I can't hear them from the bathroom. I shampoo her hair and wash it out again, before I put her pj's on. 
"Say goodnight Val," I say as we walk into the living room. She lays her head on my chest and waves at them.
"Oh, is someone tired there?" Lando asks and laughs. She shily nods and they both tell her goodnight. I take her to her room and cover her with her blanket. 
"Good night mommy"
"Good night Val"
"I love you mommy," she says and smiles at me.
"I love you too Val"
I admire her for a short second before I turn off the light and walk out of the room. I walk into the living room and see Lando and Charles talking.
"What are you two talking about?" I ask them. They both seem surprised by me and quickly stop their coversation.
"Nothing. Why?" Lando asks.
"Okay, wierd,"I say and roll my eyes before I sit down next to Charles. He asks if we should watch a little Netflix and we all agree. We watch some movie and I fall asleep on Charles' shoulder.