Page 79 of Retrograde
Lucie had turned their expensive leather couch into her new and improved depression pit, this time enjoying views of lush, green fields instead of the busy streets of Paris. In her first week here, Jules had gone out and got all her favourite snacks and ingredients to cook her comfort meals, quickly hiding the pistachio cookies when Lucie had burst into tears at the sight of them.
Three months in, and she was finding her feet. She’d been on daily walks and bike rides, regularly had lunch near the waterfalls in Coo, held video meetings poolside. She loved being able to explore Malmedy like it was home and forget that there was hell coming. They had crossed the Silverstone race off their list, and Fuji, and Shanghai.
Girls Off Trackhad skyrocketed. Their partnership with the Formula Voltz team had been secured, and Jasper had the go-ahead for a second car and was allowing themto advertise the academy and the podcast on its livery next season, for no cost. Everything in Lucie’s life was going great, except for her relationship with Brett.
She would be so lost without her friends. Her team. But even as they’d rallied around her, she wondered what the future of this friendship circle would look like. She and Brett had made things monumentally awkward for them, but none of them were going to let him leave Revolution Racing and drive for a different team, or leave the IEC. Lucie wasn’t going to be forced to find new friends either, but it was going to be a long time before she and Brett could be in the same room comfortably.
‘Your bed is coming today. Tracking just got updated,’ Julien shouted across the room from the kitchen. ‘Want to help me put it together?’
‘Sure. Bet you’re itching to get your sofa back, huh?’
‘At least you’ve actually moved from this one,’ Julien smirked.
‘I was on Bea’s for aweek, Jules. I was hardly going to lay motionless on your sofa and cry for months on end, was I?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Also, you chose to buy a stupidly overpriced bed which took eight weeks to arrive and wouldn’t let me sleep on the office floor.’
‘Only the highest quality for you, Luce,’ Julien grinned, biting into an apple as Faith walked in.
‘She told you she was happy with an IKEA bed, Jules. You just have expensive taste in furniture.’ Faith raised an eyebrow, gesturing around the room. It was immaculate, and he hadn’t even hired an interior designer. Hehadn’t needed to change a thing when they’d started dating and Faith had moved in.
‘I’m wearing jeans from a supermarket,’ Julien frowned.
‘Twenty-euro jeans versus a six-thousand-euro bed frame… it’s all about balance, huh?’
Julien scoffed and took one of Lucie’s favourite chocolate bars out of the cupboard along with a bag of Faith’s favourite crisps, backing out of the room. ‘I’m going to lay out by the pool and eat these. They’re the last of each. Serves you two right for picking on me.’
‘It’s freezing out there!’ Faith yelled as he reached the back door.
‘I’m a racing driver, I’m fearless!’ he yelled back.
Faith shook her head in amusement. ‘He’s so embarrassing. Now Jasmine is older, it’s like he’s made it his mission to crack out every dad joke in the book and make a fool of himself at every given opportunity.’
‘He’s completely transformed over the last couple of years. I think he just feels more comfortable with where he’s at in life, now he has no secrets. You and Jasmine bring out the best in him, make him feel more like himself.’
‘Mmhmm,’ she murmured, focused on cutting sandwiches for Jasmine, who was upstairs with her tutor. ‘It’s good to have someone like that.’
Lucie glared her down, half-joking, half-wishing everyone would just shut up trying to convince her to reach out to him. Brett hadn’t contacted her. He didn’t care. That much had been clear when he hadn’t followed her out of the club. ‘You got lucky.’
‘Love is a choice, Luce. It’s not all about luck.’
‘Faith.’
‘Lucie.’
‘He made his choice.’
‘Well …’
‘He did! He kissed her. He fled the country and went straight into the arms of the first woman who broke him.’
‘Oh my God. Lucie!’ Faith threw her arms out. ‘He doesn’t know you’re in love with him because you let him go without telling him! How can you be mad about it? You two need to sit down and talk this out. Soon.’
Lucie crossed her arms like a petulant child, but only because she knew her best friend was right. ‘Well, it won’t be next week. That’s a work event.’
‘A work event where you have toworktogether. You have to film with him, Luce,’ she sighed like a disapproving parent.
‘You can do the filming,’ Lucie suggested. It was the perfect solution. Faith could film and Lucie could sweet-talk sponsors and edit the content.
Faith tutted disapprovingly. ‘You’re a big girl.’
