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After Mater left, leaving only a note, Lightning couldn't sleep peacefully. 'How could I do this to my friend?'
A heavy weight was pressing on the boy's chest, anxiety and shame had been tormenting him for the last few days. Lightning slept very little, he was tormented by nightmares, and there was no one to help him. Doc was at home, and the boy didn't want to cause him unnecessary worries.
He sighed heavily, trying to drive away sad thoughts. It was already late, he slowly got out of bed and carefully approached the window, from which there was a beautiful view of the city. Italy was beautiful! It was a pity that they were leaving tomorrow.
'Mater would have liked it here,' the thought rushed through the young man's head. His heart stabbed painfully, forcing the racer to sigh convulsively.
The walls of the room were pressing down on him, the air seemed to be running out, breathing was becoming more and more difficult with each breath, as if something heavy was lying on his chest. His head began to buzz, thoughts, like a herd of wild mustangs, galloped through his head. 'What did you do?', 'How could you?'.
Quickly grabbing his jacket, Lightning ran out of the hotel room, racing down the hallway as fast as he could. He needed air.
'Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe', the racer gasped for air, realizing with horror that he could not inhale fully.
When he ran out into the street, the air hit him with cold. Lightning made a few more conclusions, hoping that the cold air would help him come to his senses. He was wrong.
He didn't stop. He ran. As fast as he could. He ran from nightmares, from normal thoughts.
He...ran away from himself.
He didn't know where he was running, when the adrenaline ran out, Lightning realized how tired he was. When Monty finally stopped, his legs felt weak and he fell to his knees. His heart was beating like crazy, jumping out of his chest. When the guy came to his senses, he finally looked around. He was... on the beach?
'Have I really run that far?' Monty thought in horror. The beach was at least 15 minutes away from the hotel.
The moon was shining brightly, reflecting off the water. The waves roared, penetrating his head, enveloping his thoughts. His breathing was fast and ragged, coming to his senses after a long run.
«Hey» Lightning jumped in surprise, quickly standing up and began to look for the source of the sound. A couple of meters away from him stood a guy. The moonlight was bright, but he still could not recognize the person who called out to him.
«Who's there?» Lightning asked quietly, still breathing heavily. He was confused by how much his voice was shaking.
There was no answer. Instead, the boy began to walk slowly towards him. Lightning flinched, backing away. His heart began to pound, fear and panic filling his head. The racer began to breathe faster, making him feel dizzy. The world before his eyes began to swim.
«Stop! Stay away!» Lightning screamed in panic. The figure in front of him suddenly froze. Without realizing it, Monty began to cry.
'What...to me?' His strength left him, and he began to fall.
The world suddenly went dark, and Lightning fell to the sand. A moment later, a pair of hands grabbed him, shaking him violently. The racer no longer had any strength, and he allowed the darkness to envelop him.
Francesco Bernoulli
A young Italian was resting at his parents house. He was still reeling from the Lightning's victory over him.
«Son» Mrs. Bernoulli addressed her son. «Are you okay?»
«Yes, mom, Francesco is okay» the boy answered with a soft smile. «He's just a little upset».
«Don't worry, son. Your father and I are proud of you, no matter what» the woman reassured her son, gently hugging his shoulders.
«Thank you, mom» Bernoulli replied, noticeably more cheerful. «I'll go for a walk. I have to leave tomorrow» getting up from his soft chair.
«Be careful, and don't be late, it's already late» the mother called after him, hoping that Francesco had heard her.
Leaving the house, the boy headed for the alley next to their house. Walking along the minimalist alley, Francesco glanced at the nearby beach. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to the figure of a guy.
'It's one o'clock in the morning, the hotel is far away... who would even be walking here at this hour?' - The racer walked carefully so as not to attract attention. Coming closer, in the rays of moonlight stood... Lightning McQueen.
'What is he doing here?' - the Italian racer asked, frowning.
«Hey» Francesco shouted, attracting the attention of the American. Bernoulli grinned when he saw how scared Lightning was. The guy said something in response, but the Italian did not hear.
'We need to get closer' Francesco took a step towards Lightning.
McQueen abruptly backed away. Coming a little closer, the Italian saw that the guy was shaking, breathing quickly.
«Stop! Don't come near!» - the young racer's voice was full of panic, he was shaking violently and... crying.
Francesco stopped abruptly, looking at the guy standing in front of him. His appearance broke his heart. He looked very young, too young, and so defenseless.
'What happened? Why such a reaction? Did I scare him so much? And... what should I do?' - Francesco frowned, thinking about what was going on.
Suddenly Lightning staggered and fell, and Francesco rushed towards him. He shook the guy in panic, hoping to bring him to his senses. When Lightning did not respond, Bernoulli did not know what to do. Not thinking of anything better, he picked up the guy and carried him to his home.
'He's so... light' - the racer thought, carrying not so much a "guy" as a "boy". 'How old is he anyway?' - the Italian frowned once again.
Entering the house, he was met by his worried mother. Francesco quickly explained what had happened and carried the blond into one of the guest rooms. Putting the boy on the bed, he quickly examined him for injuries.
'He's not hurt... what happened? What was he doing there so late? The nearest hotel is about 15 minutes away...' Bernoulli thought about what had happened and sat down on a chair in the corner of the room. After half an hour of thinking, Francesco decided to go to bed. A quiet voice stopped him.
«No» the boy muttered in a half-whisper of panic. «No...stop.»
Monty began to tremble, thrashing in bed. The Italian's heart sank, and he hurriedly approached.
«Hey, kid» Francesco shook Lightning gently, but there was no reaction. «Lightning» Bernoulli called again.
McQueen stood up abruptly, breathing heavily, tears streaming from his wide-open eyes.
'Where am I?' the blonde thought in panic. The room was dark, and he panicked when he noticed someone's quiet presence. Lightning panicked even more when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. The tears turned into sobs, and he began to tremble violently, greedily gasping for air.
Francesco noticed the panic, and recognized what was happening as the beginning of a panic attack. «Hey hey hey, it's okay, it's okay! It's me, Francesco!» the Italian began, speaking loudly and clearly. He sighed contentedly when Lightning paused for a second, staring at him, recognition flashing in his eyes.
«It's okay» Francesco repeated, slowly running his hand down the boy's back. «Breathe deeper, come on, deep breath... exhale» the Italian demonstratively inhaled and exhaled.
Lightning slowly repeated after him. After a few breaths, the boy restored his natural breathing flow. The trembling became almost imperceptible, but he was still crying.
«What happened?» Bernoulli asked softly.
Lightning said nothing, he didn't know what to say. Even if he knew, the crying and the lump in his throat would still not let him say anything intelligible. He just cried harder.
Francesco carefully hugged the boy, trying not to scare him again. In response, Monty grabbed him with a death grip, like a life preserver in a storm. Bernoulli gently stroked his hair. «It's okay, it's okay».
The crying and the recent panic attack had exhausted Lightning, and he fell asleep to Francesco's soft murmurs. The Italian racer carefully laid him back in bed, and after making sure the boy was asleep, he adjusted his blanket and quietly left the room.
Lightning woke up slowly and heavily, his eyes ached, and what did he want when he fell asleep at almost 2 am, and what happened during the night only made everything worse. The boy felt disgusting, both emotionally and physically.
«Good morning, Lightning» Francesco stood in the doorway. Lightning just looked at him, unable to do anything. «How are you feeling?» the Italian continued, slowly approaching the lying racer, not paying attention to the lack of an answer.
Monty tried to say something, but nothing came out except a quiet, painful groan. Francesco frowned deeply, and stretched out his hand and placed it on the young blond's forehead.
«You have a fever» Bernoulli said worriedly. He quickly left the room and returned with a thermometer and a bag of ice. He took the boy's temperature and was clearly not satisfied.
'39°C is bad', Francesco thought, and carefully placed the ice on the boy's forehead. «Hey Lightning, does something hurt?» the Italian asked softly.
«N..no» the blond said with difficulty. The room became quiet again, Francesco sat on the edge of the bed looking at the boy. His heart involuntarily sank, no matter what, it was very painful for him to watch someone suffer. Lightning looked so exhausted and pale that it became uneasy.
«Monty» McQueen broke the silence, slowly opening his eyes. Francesco looked at the boy, uncomprehending. And Lightning explained, «Call me by my name, Monty».
The Italian smiled softly, «Okay, Monty». The room became quiet again, and Lightning slowly fell asleep. Bernoulli stood up and quietly left the room, 'The boy needs rest.'