SIXTEEN

*TRIGGER WARNING- MENTIONS OF SUICIDE AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS NEAR THE END OF THE CHAPTER*

"Schumacher is overtaking, I repeat, Schumacher is overtaking!"

Larissa laughed loudly, a bright gleaming smile on her face as she was on Mick's back as he ran , holding his best friend tightly so that she couldn't fall.

Zahra and Gina walked behind them, the pair rolling their eyes at their dramatics. They had been shopping in Monte Carlo, ready for the Monaco grand prix, when the German boy offered to carry his best friend on his back, and with it being Larissa, she was never going to turn it down.

It wasn't until she jumped off his back and ran alongside him, that the real race began.

"Cohen floors it, soaring past Schumacher. Cohen is ahead as they get to the line, and Cohen wins the Monaco grand prix!"

Larissa breathed heavily as she reached the end of their little race, out of breath, as she heard snickering and a French accent nearby.

"A Cohen winning the grand prix? We can't have that."

Larissa stood up at the new voice, seeing a brown haired boy smiling at her with an adorable smile, messy hair and a white t shirt.

"Kid, Cohen's are made for Monaco wins." Larissa smirked as the boy shook his head. She folded her arms across her chest, watching the boy who had a giddy smile on his face.

"Who's the stray puppy?" Zahra spoke as Gina and herself caught up to the two racing drivers.

"I-" the boy spoke, with his eyebrows raised. "-am not a stray."

Larissa had to bite back a laugh at his upset expression. "But, you are a puppy?"

"No."

"Is he bothering you?"

Charles Leclerc smiled as he walked over the group, smiling softly at the Cohen girl who smiled back with the smile that he always seemed to love.

"I'm not bothering them! I was just saying that Cohen's can't win Monaco grand prix races, it's not fair."

Charles shook his head with a small sigh, placing his hand on the boys shoulder. "Arthur, I'm not in contention for a home win, so we do as I told you."

Arthur Leclerc rolled his eyes. "We support your girlfriend."

Charles' eyes widened massively as the words left his brother lips, seeing the Cohen girl and her friends trying to hold back their laughter.

"We support Pierre, and Larissa."  He tried to salvage the conversation as the Brazilian took a step forward.

"So, unless you are just super friendly with strangers, I'd guess that this cutie-" She ruffled the boys hair, seeing a blush covering his cheeks. "-is your brother, and since I heard you say, Arthur, I presume that's the puppy's name."

"Not a stray, after all." Zahra smiled as Gina giggled from behind her.

"I'm Arthur Leclerc, and I promise that I am actually a fan of you." Arthur smiled at the beautiful Brazilian, holding his hand out for her to shake, his smile widening as she shook it immediately.

"Larissa Cohen, pleasure to meet you, cachorro."

Arthur noticed out of the corner of his eye, that his brother seemed to be infatuated with the small Brazilian, his smile never fading as his eyes stared softly at the woman.

Arthur did notice however, that he wasn't the only one to see how much his brother liked the Cohen girl, Gina had spotted it too.

"Are you boys excited for your home race?" Zahra interrupted Charles' staring with her voice, shaking him from his trance.

"Uh, yes. Yes we are." Charles stuttered out as he tried to regain his composure.

"This idiot, will be going for a win in your home race, so we hope that you'll support our, mausi." Mick smiled, wrapping his arm around his best friends waist.

"Of course!" Charles beamed, before he released a yelp as his little brother had elbowed him harshly.

Arthur rolled his eyes, it was so obvious, so much so, that he could already tell.

His brother was soon going to be falling for Larissa Cohen.

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Larissa Cohen was definitely not expecting to come face to face with Jos Verstappen in the Red Bull garage when she was on her way to visiting her Australian friend.

Nor was she expecting for him to try and strike up a conversation with her.

"You're that Cohen's kid, aren't you?" Jos spoke as she was walking past him.

"Uh, yes sir, I am." She answered politely, holding back a grimace at the way he described her and her father.

"Jos." The man held his hand out for her to shake. His body language was off, and she felt uncomfortable but she didn't want to give him a reason to find her rude, so she shook his hand firmly.

"Nice to meet you, sir." She gave him a tight lipped smile. "Your son is a great driver."

Jos gave her a sour look at the mention of his son and she immediately tensed up. She had seen that look before, from her mother when she had told her that she had wanted to become a racing driver.

"He is no world champion, so not that great."

Larissa had to clench her fists to stop herself from punching the man at the words leaving his lips. "You're right that he is not a world champion sir, but speaking as the child of a five time world champion, I can tell that he is well on his way to that title. I'd say three years, and the world of Formula One will be bowing down to him, as a world champion."

Max had been stood just behind his father, and upon hearing the words leaving her plump lips, he couldn't help but smile, his heart racing at the realisation that she believed in him.

"It's nice that you believe in my son, but you can not speak such lies." Jos glared at her, with the pair not noticing that the boy that they were talking about was standing behind them, now with a deflated mood and sagged shoulders.

"If that is a lie, then my father must be alive. Goodbye, sir." Larissa walked past him angrily, a scowl on her face, but it faded as soon as she saw the Dutch man standing behind his father.

Much to her and his father's surprise, Max walked up to the Cohen girl, and pulled her in to a hug. Larissa couldn't help but smile as she allowed herself to hug him back.

Her arms wrapped around his torso as his were around her shoulders, pulling her in to his chest. His heart was beating rapidly, his cheeks were flushed red and his eyes were glassy, but he hid it as he buried his face in her long dark hair.

"Don't listen to him, Maxie. You're a future Champion, I know it." She whispered against his chest, before she felt his coarse lips press against her temple.

"Thank you, Lieve, thank you."

The pair pulled back from the hug after a few seconds, seeing Jos glaring at the pair of them.

Not wanting him to face the very obvious wrath of his father, Larissa took a hold of his hand, feeling butterflies erupting in her stomach as she did, and pulled him hastily along and towards the Australian that they both loved so much.

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Larissa was definitely stressing about the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix.

It did not help that race day would be exactly fifteen years to the day since her father had first won the Monaco Grand Prix.

She was repeatedly wringing her hands together due to her nerves, as a metallic taste of blood filled her mouth from biting at the inside of her cheek too much.

She was picking at the skin on her hands until they bled, biting her lips until blood coated her lips, biting her nails until there was no nail left for her to bite.

She was sitting in her driver trailer, as her legs were bouncing up and down in anticipation. Her eyes caught the floor length mirror that resided in her trailer, causing her to abruptly stand to her feet.

As she stood in the mirror, her hands slowly dropped to the hem of her shirt, which she slowly rolled up to uncover bruises littered across her abdomen.

Some were still black and purple, but most of them had faded in to a brown and yellow mixture. Her fingers gently pressed at some of the bruises, finding that some were completely painless, but others were causing pain to shoot through her entire body.

It was not so bad, since it had been a lot worse during the past few weeks, and she knew that her ribs were healing, she was just thankful that nobody questioned her as to why she wore a full body swimsuit when she had hosted a party on her yacht a few days ago.

As for her head, that was still throbbing around loud noises, bright lights and other things, which in her job was not the best thing in the world, but she saw it as that it could have been worse.

She could be dead.

A knock on her trailer door immediately made her body jump in surprise, her hands releasing her shirt causing it to drop down and conceal her bruises.

She ran to the door, unlocking it to see a bright smile that she always loved, and she was overjoyed in her visitor.

"Asticot!" Larissa teased as Anthoine pulled her in to a hug, nestling his chin on top of her head since there was a huge height difference in the pair.

"Papouille, are you excited for Monaco to see what you can do?" Anthoine Hubert smiled, his hand resting on her soft cheek as he kissed her forehead.

"I am, but I'm terrified too." Larissa admitted shyly, seeing the face of her French friend to soften at the words leaving her lips.

"There is nothing to be terrified about, papouille, the world will not expect you to win it just because your father did, even if it is fifteen years since he first won here." Anthoine reassured her, feeling her melt in to his embrace.

"How did you know that it was the anniversary?" She mumbled against his chest, feeling his body shake as he chuckled.

"I know you. When it's an important day that involves your father, you lock yourself away. Zahra told me where to find you, so, I knew it straight away."

Larissa's teary eyes moved to stare up at her close friend, seeing him frown as a single tear fell from eyes.

"No, no crying. You cry and then I always cry, that's not fair." Anthoine shook his head as his close friend failed to hide her laugh as a tear proceeded to leave his eye.

"You're crying, asticot." She smiled softly at him before standing on to the tops of her toes to kiss his cheeks softly.

"About that, can we change my nickname? You always have adorable names for every one else, but then you are always calling me a maggot. I do not find it fair. I'm your favorite." Anthoine smiled, chuckling softly which enticed his small friend to look at her feet to hide her laughter.

"Okay, cara de peixe." She smiled as his face lit up in to one of his golden smiles.

"Great, much better." He sighed in relief before he noticed that her smile wasn't fading. "Wait, you're giving me that look, what does it mean?"

Larissa couldn't help but smile wider. "It means, cutie pie."

"No it doesn't." Anthoine laughed. "Your father used to call you cutie pie, and it was not whatever that was."

He proceeded to tickle his friend, hearing her squeals as she tried to wriggle away from him. Her lungs and ribs were aching, both from pain and from laughing, getting worse, and more painful, until she finally gave in.

"OKAY! It means 'fishface', please stop." She laughed, seeing her friend smiling down at her.

"I think I prefer being called a maggot."

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*TRIGGER WARNING*

Larissa had been feeling dizzy and light headed all day, but she shook it off. She had climbed in to her car, ready for the Monaco Grand Prix, and for a second, she swore that she had two steering wheels.

Her engineer had told her that due to multiple engine repairs, that the FIA had ensured it that she was starting from the very back of the grid, which she was not happy about at all.

But, Pierre, in qualifying, had made in to Q3, and was placed 4th in the starting line up, which she was overjoyed about.

She wondered, that if he kept it up that he could end up in contention for Red Bull's potential free seat next season.

"You're going to have to work hard for this kid, but we believe in you."

Matthew, her radio engineer spoke to her through the radio, but as could also hear murmurs from the background. She would have questioned it but once again, Matthew spoke up.

"Zahra is in the Ferrari garage again because of threats to Franz, but we've been told that she wishes you the best of luck."

Larissa laughed at the knowledge that once again, her best friend had been banned from the Toro Rosso garage since she had threatened to castrate her team principal with a wooden spoon, if anything went wrong with her best friends car.

"Tell Franz that I agree with what threats she's made, and will just be an innocent bystander in the process."

The words left her lips just as the race began, and the nerves returned, flooding her body as soon as she slammed her foot on to the pedal.

"Fuck the FIA." She spoke to herself as she steamed her way past the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Williams of Lance Stroll.

Surprisingly, the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson let her past despite the very tight corners and street circuit of Monaco.

It would make it a hell of a lot harder to work her way up the city circuit, but she was determined, even if she couldn't win, she would get herself a podium.

If she didn't, she was incredibly tempted to just drive full speed in to a wall, it's not like she wanted to be here anyway.

Zahra had known that her best friend was suicidal, and had been ever since she was a young teenager. The dark skinned woman had always tried to help her in overcoming it, in whatever way she could, but she knew that with the thoughts constantly running through the Brazilians mind, that it would be an impossible task.

Sebastian had known that his niece was suicidal, since he had called off his wedding the night before, after he had recieved a call from his niece that she was wanting to say goodbye to him.

He had remembered running as fast as he could to his car and speeding to the location where her phone seemed to be, since she always had her location visible to her uncles in case of emergency.

He had never seen her like he had that night, on the opposite side of the railings of a hundred and fifty metre high bridge.

He had remembered having to almost throw himself over the railings when she stepped forwards, about to plunge in to the water below, to grab her desperately to pull her back.

He wouldn't have been able to save her, if a homeless man hadn't helped him, having spotted the scene from the other side of the bridge.

Luiz was watching over her that day, Sebastian knew that, since the homeless man looked incredibly similar to his late best friend.

The pair agreed to never speak directly of that day again, with only Hanna knowing as to why her fiancé had immediately made a run for his car keys when they were getting prepared to say goodbye to each other before the wedding.

She didn't hesitate to let every single one of their guests know that the wedding was delayed, due to unfortunate circumstances, which immediately placed her in the list of 'the gods' according to the Cohen girl.

Larissa had barely realised that she had somehow managed to work her way up the grid despite the lack of overtaking space of the city circuit, until she heard her radio engineer speaking to her.

"Currently sitting in P2, kid. Now you're on fresh tyres, defend for as long as you can. Pierre is currently in P7."

She had pitted already? She didn't remember it, but she had been so lost in her thoughts  that she obviously didn't notice.

Her mind hadn't even realised that she was sitting in second place.

Not even after she crossed the line, barely half a second behind the race winner, Daniel Ricciardo.

"P2 COHEN! P2, YOU SMASHED IT!"

Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. What?

"Wait, I came second? I got P2?"

"Hell yeah you did! Gasly has finished P7, we've got double points, you've done amazing, kid, we're all so proud of you!"

Tears welled in her eyes at the realisation, maybe she needed to zone out more often.

"Thanks Matthew, your drinks are on me tonight."

Pierre screamed in excitement as he got his first points, but he almost had a heart attack upon realising that his team mate had got a podium, so as soon as he left his car, he ran over to her, lifting her in to the air.

Daniel Ricciardo cheered as she stepped on to the second place podium, her face not showing too much emotion as her finger pressed against her temple.

She must be in shock, he thought.

As Lewis Hamilton stepped up to the third place podium, they could hear chants for the Cohen girl. Their champagne went all over her, whilst at the same time, she was forced to drink from the Aussie's sweaty shoe.

Or a shoey as he called it.

Her face scrunched up in disgust, despite the fact that she did not even hesitate to accept the shoe, knowing that it was due to come since they had both finished on the podium together.

She smiled at the crowd as they began to step down from their podiums, heading towards the steps, but before she could even get to the first step, her head erupted in to a sharp stabbing pain.

One so sharp and painful, that Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton screamed as her eyes rolled in to the back of her head as she fell unconscious.

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