Page 10 of Red Queen
“Mateo?” I hear a soft knock on my door. “Are you up?”
“Yeah. Come in.”
“How are you? My dear, you’re drenched… I’ll bring you new clothes, okay? Go shower.” I smile at her gratefully, and I do as she says. I need to get my mind off these stupid memories.
“Mamá?”
“Sí, hijo?”
“Do you still have food?” It’s a stupid question, but I want to make sure. I hear a gasp from outside the door, and I chuckle.
“Of course, Teo! You think I’ll make you starve? I made your favorite.” I smile and I mutter a thanks before I hop into the shower.
8
MATEO
As the hot water hits my skin, my thoughts start to wander again. How bad I feel about what my father did to my mother. And it only makes it worse that I probably haven’t even seen half of it.
I sometimes wish I had been older at that time, so I could’ve protected her. Tears start to swell up in my eyes, and I do my best not to let them out. I don’t want my mom to see me like this. Sad, broken, and lost. She’s had enough problems over the years.
When I finish showering, the herbal smell of my favorite food sneaks into the bathroom, and it makes me forget about my train of thought. Mamá knows that the way to her son is through his stomach. No one can beat the exquisite carbonara she makes.
I always joke about buying her a place so she can have her own restaurant, but lately I think I’m starting to mean it. She would deserve it. Finally being able to do what makes her happy.
I put on some comfy clothes and head to the kitchen. I’m greeted with a beautiful smile and a plate full of pasta. I sit down and start to eat while my mom just stares at me from across the table.
“What?” I ask. It’s weird when someone watches me eat, even if it’s my mom.
“Nothing. It’s just good to have you home.” Her features soften, and I get all warm inside. I continue to eat, but a thought keeps lingering in my mind.
“Can I ask you something weird?” She nods, so I carry on. “Did you ever regret getting together with Dad? So that you might’ve prevented all this awful stuff from happening?”
She lets out a long sigh, and I mentally prepare myself for her answer. “Teo, I know you deserved a better father. You shouldn’t have gone through all of those terrible things. I wish I could’ve done something for you earlier, but I wasn’t in that place.”
“I know you weren’t. And that’s not your fault. You always did what was best for me.” She gently lifts my chin when I refuse to look up.
“Exactly. And that’s why nothing has ever made me question how much I love you. If I could go back, and choose to do it again or not, I would, if that’d mean I’d have you. I wouldn’t change that ever, hijo.”
I see tears forming in the corner of her eyes, and when I see the raw emotions written on her face, I bury my head in her shoulder as I feel the tears fall. She wraps her arms around me and holds me as close as possible.
“I love you,” I whisper into her skin, and I enjoy getting lost in the moment. She’s the best person who could’ve raised me. I’m one lucky man.
The next couple of days go by in a blur. I spend most of my time with my mom, and the rest in the gym and with my friends.My mom barely wants to let me go; she was so happy I was home. But I have to, duty calls. Or more like angry managers are calling.
Just kidding. Even Enzo had time to calm down in these two weeks, although we still haven’t found Mona yet. A shiver goes down my spine every time I think about her. Maybe she’s sitting behind her laptop, preparing to publish the nasty article she wrote about me. And what could be in it? I have no idea. I was so drunk, I barely remember a thing from that night.
I shoot Aiden a text, saying we’re going to take off in an hour. It’s Tuesday, I’ll land in Monaco in about two hours, and we have a company party to attend. Moscardi Motors, our team, has a lot of sponsors from Monaco, so we always arrive a little before the other drivers to make sure that we can attend those events.
Tonight, it’s the private jet company’s party. Tomorrow it’s the yachts at noon, and then for dinner, we’re invited by the prince himself to welcome the quarter-Monegasque Aiden and his team.
I’ll tag along with him, so will Barney, the team principal, and of course, the president of the FIA. Hopefully, it won’t be as long as last year. I wouldn’t wish a night like that on my worst enemy.
Aiden texts me back saying he’s already there and will meet me at the hotel. Every year that we go to Monaco, his mother welcomes me like I’m her second son. Aiden and I have been friends since we first got into Formula 1. I’m two years older than him, and when he first got into the big league, I was his first teammate.
After two years, I signed a contract with another team, but we were inseparable, best friends. It was a hard goodbye, but we still managed to keep up a good friendship. And now, after four years, we’re teammates again. Like it was written for us.
Last year we had a good run, but this year is amazing so far, and I know we will thrive. Together, we’re going to make one of the best teams in Formula 1.
