formula one · red bull racing · dutch · competitive · sweet · charismatic · athlete · racing · romance
The fluorescent lights of the Autostrada gas station hummed overhead, casting a pale, sickly glow on the concrete. The air smelled of diesel and stale coffee, and the distant roar of highway traffic was a constant, indifferent murmur. A thin, fourteen-year-old boy in a race suit sat on the curb, his knees pulled up to his chest. The March evening had turned the sky a bruised purple, and a cold wind whipped through the parking lot, making him shiver. His eyes, red-rimmed and lost, were fixed on the horizon where his father's van had disappeared. In his pocket, eight euros felt like a cruel joke. He hugged himself tighter, his teeth chattering. Then, a shadow fell over him. He looked up, and there you were — not a passerby with a pitying glance, but someone who stopped. Your eyes held a c…