ʀᴇᴅ sᴛʀɪɴɢ ᴏғ ғᴀᴛᴇ; ᴍᴀx ᴠᴇʀsᴛᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ

14.

—
The morning after. Supposedly the most blissful time in one's lifetime. It came with lazy kisses, breakfast in beds and messy hair.

Grace didn't get the liberty to experience that. At 4am her eyes shot open, her body uncomfortable. She swung the blanket off of her, carefully removing Max's hand that was settled on her waist , and sprinted into the bathroom.

She was thankful that her watch had been discarded from her wrist long ago otherwise it's loudness would have certainly woken up the Dutch.

She leaned her head over the sink, her breaths heavy and quivering. Her hands shakily reached for the tap, splashing cold water on her pale face.

She reached her hand upto her chest, feeling her heart. It surprised her by beating in a very slow rythm. A gasp escaped her lips as a sharp pain shot up in her body.

Her eyes widened as she saw the blood she had just coughed up into the sink. She forced herself to look away, not wanting to panic more than she already was.

Was this it?

She thought to herself , sliding down the tiled wall. Her head in her hands as she sunk into the floor.

Her head throbbed as she thought about the past few months with Max. A sudden thought caused her to take a deep breath- her parents.

She had barely been in contact with them. Although they were more than happy to let her go on this expedition, she hadn't imagined her final moments without them.

She couldn't die yet. Not without saying goodbye.

"Grace?" Her thoughts halt with a soft knock on the bathroom door.
She props herself up, taking a shaky stand.
"Yeah?" She calls out softly, shaking her head.
"You okay? It's quite early."
The handle twitches, thank god it's locked.
"Oh yeah. Just jet lagged. I'll be out in a minute."

She cuddled right back into his arms, placing her head on his chest. He rubbed her back smoothly, a small smile grimacing his lips.

There was no way she was going to ruin this moment.

When the morning finally came , Grace did get a breakfast - just not in bed. It was up in the sky, on Max's private jet as they headed to Monaco.

Max's smile had not faltered since the moment they both woke up. He had found ways to place small kisses or touch Grace's waist as he passed by her all throughout the morning as they packed up.

He couldn't help but notice how tired she looked. Her face smaller than yesterday, eyes red.

When he had asked her about it , she had blamed it on the jet lag. He had belived it because he wasn't dealing with it much better. His dark circles were more permanent than usual and he was having trouble keeping last nights food down.

When they eventually landed in Monaco , Max went straight to bed. Leaving Grace and his cats alone in the living room. The English had planned a whole movie marathon for herself.

Grace sat on the couch, alternating between petting Jimmy and sassy. She looked down at them before her eyes caught glimpse of a picture of the owner of the house.

He posed alongside his mom and dad- who were both smiling down at him. It was hard to imagine from the picture alone that Max didn't like either of them now.

She admired the Dutch for still having a soft spot for the very people who gave him a million reasons to go to therapy.

It reflected on her own decision to leave behind two loving parents. Guilt wallowing over her- what if she drops dead tomorrow?
Her parents would never know how much she appreciates them or how thankful she is.

The simulator sessions had been taking a toll on the Redbull driver. The Suzuka circuit was one of the most challenging circuits of f1. He had struggled on it last year and judging by the lap times he was putting in, it wasn't going to be any different this year.

He sighed ,rewinding back a video of his lap last year for the umpteenth time. He closes his eyes placing his head back on the headboard of his home simulator.

Japan was it. The second last race of the season. If Max didn't score a considerable amount of points and level Lewis in Suzuka , he could forget about winning the championship in Abu Dhabi.

He feels a familiar touch run through his hair , snapping him out of his thoughts.
He looks up, ridding himself of his headphones.
"What's with all the sighing?" Grace asks looking down at him, brushing some hair out of his face.
"I don't think I'll be able to win the championship this year."
Her hands retract from his hair but Max pulls them back . She smiles, massaging his head.
"Ofcourse you will. There's nobody else who is more likely to win it than you."
"Not even Lewis?"
"I meant what I said."
His eyes scan her face as she peeks over from the headboard of the simulator.
"Thankyou for believing in me Grace."

Grace becomes a recurring guest in his simulator sessions. A key part ,Max believes, that led him to bring down his lap times from a huge margin.

So much they when they finally get on the plan to head to Japan, he's feeling confident in his abilities.

After dealing with the media on Thursday , Max prepares for the challenging weekend ahead. In all his frenzy he forgets that this is the last race that Grace is obligated to be with him by the order of the universe.

That's why when after FP2 on Friday when Grace asks Max to visit a nearby temple, he is hit by a wavering wave of anxiety.

"Why can't we go after the race weekend?"
Grace stops in her tracks, scanning her face in the floor length mirror.
She looked so normal that even she started doubting herself whether all the morning episodes she's been having are real or not.

Her eyes finds Max's in the reflection.
He slides his hands around her waist, placing a kiss on her head.

"Well , why not now? Don't you want some good luck for your weekend?" She asks turning back to face the blonde.

She smiles , his eyes light up.

"You're right. Let's go."

As he walks away to change his clothes, Grace wishes she had cameras for eyes. That way she could always have a picture of his water colour eyes embedded with her; no matter how far away she was from them.

The entire ride to the Rinkoji temple, Max's hand held tightly onto Grace's. It wasn't hard to notice how his knees bobbed up and down. His unsure eyes scanning Grace's content facial features.

Why does this feel like the last time I'll get to hold her like this?

He releases a shaky breath realising that she had rid her wrist of her heart monitor.
He decides against asking her as she looked perfectly nonchalant, staring at the busy roads.

"So whose starting?" She tries , playfully tugging him along to the back of the temple.

Max watches as her brown locks blow messily with harsh gusts of wind, her smile eerily similar. She looked hauntingly beautiful ,like one of his dreams.
Only that she wasn't going to leave at the end of this one.

"I can't believe this is the last time we will ever have to do this." Max starts , staring at their interlaced fingers.
She smiles looking up at him. He notices the corners of her lips twitch.
"Although the circumstances we met in weren't ideal, I'm glad we met....."
Grace tilts her head, her bottom lip wobbling.
"You fit in so perfectly with my life. I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe the universe knew what it was doing. I've never felt this way for anyone before, I actually fell in love with you Grace."
Her eyes widen , before she looks away from Max.
"I love you, Grace." Max squeezes her hand, his heart beating loudly in his chest.
Grace's eyes snap back to his face, her smile wobbling as tears flow down her cheeks.
Max feels the weight of her stare, his earlier confession disappearing into the air.
"Grace? Say something." He presses , tugging on her hold.
"I'm going back, Max."

Only that this wasn't one of his dreams and she was actually leaving.

——
"She smiles , his eyes light up." OKAY??? Picasso?? Or sheakspaeare?? Idk I just liked the line.