Drive to Survive

Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Five

It was Monday and Max was on a flight to Texas after having had the week off for the E-Sport break in the season. Admittedly, he should have gone back to his mum's house for the break; she'd certainly expected him home, judging by the countless messages and voicemails in his phone, most of which had gone unanswered. However, the solitude of his Monaco apartment had appealed to him and that's where he'd stayed, holed up at the gym or on the SIM.

Although, going back home to Monaco had unfortunately brought its own challenges. Walking through the door, the first thing he had seen was one of Dylan's bikinis, strung out across a counter where it had been drying. Her hairbrush was in the bedroom, a spare toothbrush was in the bathroom and that fucking perfume lingered throughout the entire apartment.

He should've left or checked into a hotel.

Instead, he'd stayed and forced himself to be surrounded by reminders of her.

Maybe it was masochistic but it had been nice to feel something again, even if it was a constant sucker-punch to his gut.

"We'll be starting our descent in the next fifteen minutes."

Max looked out the window at the clouds and found his mind wandering back to the last few weeks.

--

*Netherlands*

--

He heard the footsteps hurrying away and he stood still for a moment, gathering himself. He focused on maintaining his composure and pushing away that tiny part of him that was desperate to go after her. His panic went in one box, his worry in another, and his instant regret needed to be shoved deep, deep down.

This was just part of the process to become a champion, he assured himself.

He stayed in his room for a while but eventually, he gathered up his belongings, leaving the room and heading back to the garage. Stepping out of the room felt like confronting the reality of his decision and something in the atmosphere just felt emptier. Most of the engineers had gone home and there were a few remaining staff members getting the last of the kit packed away for the next race.

His Dad was stood chatting with Christian and he walked over. His boss saw him approaching and started to speak, a stern look on his face.

"Max, that was unacceptable to miss the podium ceremony. You'll face a fin-"

"I want you gone." Max cut him off, turning to look at his Dad.

"What?" Jos frowned.

"You heard me. I've done want you wanted me to do and now I don't want to see you for the rest of the season. Get the fuck out." He growled.

There was an awkward beat of silence and Jos looked helplessly at Christian, who shrugged minimally. After seeing that nobody was going to come to his defence, he scoffed and turned to walk away.

"You're welcome, son." He spat bitterly over his shoulder and then he was gone.

Christian raised an eyebrow, "You wanna tell me what that was about?"

"No." Max said bluntly, just about controlling his simmering rage.

"Is it something that is going to affect your performance?"

"Yeah." Max picked his rucksack up off the floor, "I'm gonna fucking win the next race."

--

*Singapore*

--

It was the first day of the race weekend and Max was leant against a wall in the corridor, waiting for the media briefing to start. He still hated these just as much as he had at the first race of the season but this one had him slightly more on edge as he'd not seen anyone since ending things with Dylan.