xviii.

mick said something yesterday. he said not to dwell on the past. and somehow, even after whatt happened yesterday, something feels light. like the weight of yesterday isn't a burden for you today. you feel lighter and the morning brighter as you drive to the coffee shop for work.

     "ah, someone soke up on the right side of the bed today," emma, your colleague says while you're putting on your apron. "you sorted it out with sean?"

     sean is your regular customer, who happens to have a crush on you. he runs his own company though a small one. you can say he's a boss and maybe that's the reason why he's quite flexible with his time. he goes to his office, but most of the time he'd work from the coffee shop until four.

     you snorts at emma. "nah."

     your shy smile makes emma raise his eyebrows. she wanted to ask who had made you this happy until she notices a familiar figure outside the coffee shop that distracts her.

     "oh! mick schumacher! quick, we gotta–" emma was rushing to the cash register but she suddenly stop and turns to face. "is– is he– oh my god, he's your date!"

     "no, we didn't– why is he here?"

     you were supposed to hang out with mick once your shift ended and that's not going to happen for like another eight hours because you just punched in.

    "i thought you're supposed to know because he's your friend."

     friend? you see yourself raising your eyebrows with that phrase. on the outside, yes, maybe mick is a friend to you, but on the inside, he is more than that. but of course, emma thinks mick is your friend because you never told emma anything about mick.

     and not like you never wanted to talk about the argument with mick, but after what happened to your father, after sending mick and sebastian back to the schumachers, you just didn't have the energy to talk to anyone. so after saying goodbye to them, you drove home and fell asleep immediately.

     and that sleep was probably the best sleep you've ever had because you almost didn't remember what happened until you see mick today. you think that must be the reason why he's looking for you here.

     when you turn to look at emma once again, that girl has a playful smirk at the end of her lips. you try to ignore how your colleague is witnessing you blushing as you watch mick entering the coffee shop. it didn't help when mick is looking perfect from top to toe. instead of the usual worn out hoodie, mick is wearing a black leather jacket, complimented with black ripped skinny jeans. he smoothes down his helmet hair, causing every woman to turn their heads to him.

     "h–" you were about to greet mick when sean (oh that devil!) suddenly appears opposite of you at the 'pick up here' counter. you scowl at the man. and your scowl turns into disgust when you see sean's flirty smile as he grabs his drink from your hands.

     "so about yesterday..."

     "sorry. i'm busy," you quickly tell him.

     sean sulks. and before he could ask if you're free tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, you smile at the man behind sean and you made sure that sean sees the biggest and sweetest smile on your face. confused, sean turns around to the person he found you're smiling widely at. his heart boils at first. he hates knowing that he has a competition. but he quickly cowards away when he sees it is the son of michael schumacher glaring at him.

     unclenching his jaws, sean says, "so you're the reason why catherine keeps rejecting me."

     mick raises his eyebrows as if asking "what?" but sean takes that gesture as if telling him to back off.

     defeated, sean nods his head understood. he can feel his heart shattering. disappointment written on his face. if catherine had told him earlier that she has someone waiting for him, he wouldn't try to steal her from mick.

     "take care of him, bro," sean mutters. he quickly leaves the coffee shop, unlike other times where he would linger near the counter to see you work.

     a long sigh of relief escapes your lips once sean steps out of the coffee shop. the air feels a lighter around you. your throbbing head immediately soothes as soon as sean disappear from your eye sight. you cannot say that you feel bad for sean because you made sure he knew how you're feeling towards him.

     "hi." your voice sounds softer and calmer when you greet him this time.

     mick forces a smile onto his face when you smile at him. it has nothing to do with the previous customer you dealt with, but it's the dark circle under your eyes. it's the slump of your shoulders as you stand behind the counter. also it's the tire in your voice when you're speaking.

     whatever you said yesterday makes sense to him now. the amount of attention and care you have to put for your father is... and the fact that you have no one else except annie. but then again, annie is only a caretaker. you're paying for her service. what if she decides to leave too?

     and still, you keep on smiling as if the weight of the world is nothing to you.

     "going somewhere?" you ask. you know mick doesn't take his motorcycle out if he didn't think about having a nice ride. and judging from the hump on his back, you know that there is a second helmet in his backpack.

     "can you take an early leave today?"

     it's the restraint in his voice that makes you frown. "something's wrong?"

     sebastian and corinna would ask him the same question every day just to know how his days go by either they're there or not, but when the wuestion came from you, it always feels different. like he is ready to cry his eyes out and vomit everything that is bottling inside him.

     mick doesn't answer. he refuses to answer. he keeps his eyes onto the wooden counter. his finger traces a random pattern.

     "wait here." mick needs you. and you are willing to give everything for mick.