From Deep End to Surface and Everything In Between (Sebastian Vettel FanFic)

The Morning After

A hurt and disbelieve appeared on Seb's face, and she felt remorse immediately after her words had left her mouth. Shit. 'Nothing at all. I just wanted to check how you feel considering you were so drunk last night... Since nothing happened last night, nothing at all', his mumbled the last few words sarcastically, and she felt guilty, but she was married, happily married. She didn't want to lead him on, so it was better to break the band-aid then.

The conversation had turned sour after her blurting out. She shifted her weight from side to side, looking impatiently towards her watch. 'I hate to cut this short, I still need to pack-' She already imaged facepalming herself because of the grinchy conversation and her super lame excuse to get out of the conversation. 'Sure. Catch you later, Scar',

The light dimmed from Seb's crystal blue eyes. She flashed an uneasy smile, and after a hesitation, she grabbed his forearm to squeeze it. 'See you later.' She speeded to her room, a heartbeat in her ears when she hastily swiped her card to hear the familiar peep to let her in. She slammed the door shut before collapsing against the door.

She listened to how the heartbeat rang in her ears, drumming fast. She breathed in and out until the beating slowed down. The guilt was eating her from inside, and she couldn't believe she had lied to Seb. She remembered everything, it was enough for her to shut her eyes to have the memories flooding back in.

'Why did Seb want to speak to you?' Emily's voice made Scar jump and turn her attention to her friend who stood in the middle of their room with cosmetics in her hands. Double shit. 'He wanted to check whether I got back safely. I was pretty drunk last night.' She shot hopefully convincing sheepish smile towards her friend, hoping Emily wouldn't ask follow-up questions. She didn't dare to confess up to Emily before speaking to Emerson. Few more hours until she's home. Luckily for Scar, Emily shrugged and returned to packing. Scar exhaled quietly as she didn't realise she had held her breath before joining the same activity as Emily.

The moments before sitting on a plane were a blur due to unexpected events. The check out from the hotel was a nightmare, the taxi was late, they arrived last minute at the airport, meaning sprinting through the terminal to catch their charter flight back to London. 'We made it', Emily gasped air when they strolled through the corridor of the plane. 'I hate to be around athletes. You'll all in such a good shape. Did you even get breathless?' Emily shot an annoying look towards Scar who appeared unfaced of the sprint. 'What can I say?' Scar stuck her tongue out, teasing Emily on her lack of stamina. 'Where are you sitting?' Emily asked. '4A.'

'We're not sitting together. I'm 6C.' Emily sulked. 'It's only a two-hour flight. Besides, you may end up having a hot neighbour. So much better than me', Scar teased and winked cheekily to Emily, whose cheeks had turned to rosy red. She nudged Scar's shoulder. 'Stop it. I'll see you after the flight.'

Scar had made herself comfy on her seat, and she beamed when Christian appeared to stand end of the align, pointing the seat next to her. 'I believe we're neighbours again back to London', Christian smiled when Scar lifted her bag out of the chair to make room for him to get his seat. 'It's always lovely to see a friendly face, especially after the weekend at the circus', Scar laughed, and Christian joined her. 'It probably was intense for a first-timer. How did you find it?' Scar jumped into the analysis of the teams, the weekend setup and drama around the race.

'It's an exclusive circle', Scar summarised. 'Are you sure this was your first time attending formula one? It appears you grasped the basics quite well', Christian teased, making Scar giggle and heat radiated to her cheeks. She had an excellent teacher who also performed outstandingly in-between the sheets. 'I had excellent teachers. Funny for you to say that... I got offered a job in the chaos', she mumbled, maintaining the topic's secretive side.

'Would you like to tell more about the role?' Christan offered when he sensed her hesitation. 'I would like to, thank you for the offering.' Scar was grateful that she could speak to someone who wasn't close to her about her fear and doubts. 'The role is Press Officer role. I'm not worried about the responsibilities... I can nail those in no time, and I have dealt with media for a long time... I don't know the sport well enough', her chuckle was uncanny, yet Christian frowned. 'It appears you would have the skills to do the job. You learn the basics of the sport in no time. The drivers are keen on helping you, me too. What else is stopping you?'

Scar stared at Christian for a long time, thinking about why she was so hesitant, although she knew the reason. 'It hasn't been long since I retired. During my professional career, I was always on the road, training with the world best swimmers. Emerson and I have lived in the long-distance relationship majority of our relationship. When the retirement decision was made, I always thought I would have more time for him, for us. This job wouldn't increase our time together, it would have the opposite impact. However, I'm tempted as it sounds fascinating and once in a lifetime opportunity.'

While speaking to Christian, she had reached her decision. After they left the plane, she dialled Graham's number and waited for him to pick up. 'Graham Dankworth speaking.'

'Hello, Graham. It's Scarlette Smith. How are you doing?'

'Scarlette, wonderful to hear from you. I hope you're calling because of good news.' A smile formed on her lips before she changed her mind. 'Indeed. I'll accept the job offer.'

She couldn't wait to tell Emerson, and she hoped they would be able to bypass their struggles soon. On a whim, she decided to postpone her confession of sleeping with Seb. She had missed her husband and couldn't wait to be in his arms. Other problems would simply have to wait until later.