Lights Out • 1 • Formula One ✔️

Chapter 84

Max cooked the two of us an amazing dinner Friday night and it felt good to be able to catch up with him. I told him all about my conversation with Zac Brown and my potential seat at McLaren if the Mercedes deal falls through, whereas he told me all about his week and the encouraging developments happening at Red Bull (although there were no specifics). It made me remember all of the times we would spend talking when we first started dating; there were no worries or unnecessary pressures, only now he knows I'm 'A'. I remembered all the little things that made me fall in love with him in the first place: his laugh; his dumb jokes that you can't help but find funny; how he tries to make me smile at every opportunity, and also his fucking incredibly cooking abilities.

My amazing evening seemed to set me up for a decent practice and qualifying the next day. The painkillers seemed to work better on the Saturday than they had done on the Friday, so my stint lasted for significantly longer than expected. I out-qualified Esteban by a small margin to start P5, however we would be separated on the grid by a Daniel Ricciardo. The other Red Bull (Max) would be starting behind Esteban as he seemed to have some issues during the final qualifying session. The team still hadn't appeared to have picked up on the injury which gave me a boost of confidence going into the race on Sunday.

"I still can't believe you're racing even though you've fractured your hand," Kudzai said. Her arms folded across her chest and her lips went into a tight line. Esteban had let it slip (as per usual) to Kudz that I had an injury a little after qualifying. If possible, she seemed to get more annoyed because I kept it from her.

I tied up my final boot before standing up from my stool and grabbing my helmet. "Well, you know who to complain to if it bothers you that much." The team still didn't know as I had successfully hidden it to them. It seemed miraculous that no one had spotted the splint. Kudzai wouldn't dare tell anyone about my injury as she knows what an important race this could be for my career, but I didn't appreciate her lecturing. I specifically told her to keep it to herself.

Kudzai pursed her lips and looked down to her board of notes. "I've got no more questions. See you after the meeting." Without another word, she walked past me and out of my driver cabin. Once this weekend is over I'm sure we'll get back to how we were, tensions at the moment are extremely high for the both of us.

I sighed before putting my helmet over my head. There was a driver meeting before the race and since the other drivers now know who I am, I was expected to attend. If things were my way, I would stay in my cabin until I needed to get in the car for the formation lap. It felt weird having to wear my driver gear unnecessarily and as soon as I get to the meeting I'm at the very least tying the overalls around my waist.

"Wait for me!" A voice called. It was hard to hear since my helmet was tight against my ears, but I could just about make out my teammate's voice. I stopped so Esteban could catch up to me. "Thanks."

"No problem," I replied, lifting my visor slightly so he could make out parts of my face. There didn't seem to be much press in the area because of the pre-race shows that we're going on.

"I wanted to say sorry again for telling Kudzai." Esteban patted my shoulder apologetically.

"Honestly, it's fine," I reassured. "Anything I say to you, I say knowing that Kudzai is more than likely going to find out about it. She didn't seem too mad at me today which is good news."

"She's been quiet." I noticed how Esteban's eyebrows furrowed slightly in sadness as he continued talking. "I don't know if it's because of the baby, or because of the disagreement you guys had, or if she somehow found out about the proposal, or-"

"Dude, chill." It was now my turn to place a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be back to herself in no time. You could list the probable reasons for her being quiet and never find a solution. If it was something really important, she'd tell one of us. Trust me - I'm her best friend."