Fifth Light (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 48: Time's Up

Casey made it through the whole day, including an incredibly anxious lunch break in the cafeteria, without seeing a single sign of Seb. The next day, Friday, was exactly the same.

On Monday, the travelling team would go to their local circuit, at Silverstone, to start preparing the garage and rebuild the car. It felt strange to Casey that she would be driving home each day during a Grand Prix week.

As each day passed, Casey grew a little more numb to the constant feeling of rejection. Sebastian had surprised her. She never would have thought he'd go to such great lengths to avoid her, and for such a long time. He'd left her clueless as to where they stood, what he was thinking, and what he wanted.

She hadn't sent him anymore messages. She didn't want any to beg him or hassle him if he really didn't want to talk. She'd told him the part that mattered the most, that she hadn't done what she'd done intentionally.

He'd made it clear that he didn't intend to reply to it. It really was starting to seem... over.

She spent a lot of the weekend before the lead up to Silverstone deep in thought. Seb couldn't avoid her forever, and in just a few days time he'd be forced to be in the same garage as her. She couldn't stand the thought of him hating to be in her mere presence. If he didn't want to see her, her being there could affect his performance over the weekend and she wouldn't let herself be the reason for his failure. She would always prioritise his career over hers, whether she was with him or not.

It was slowly becoming clear to her what she had to do. But it was really, really going to hurt.

---

Thursday came around quickly. It was the first day of the British Grand Prix and the first day that Seb would be at the track at the same time as Casey.

It came as no surprise to her that he didn't show up in the garage all day, although she did see Britta running in and out a couple of times. Thursdays were always busy for him anyway, mostly comprising of media and fan interactions.

That afternoon, Casey sat in his RB10 to perform the final system checks before the Free Practice sessions the following day. It was taking a particularly long time as a few issues had cropped up and Casey had to wait in the car while the technicians fixed them. She didn't mind though, busying herself with running her fingers over every inch of the steering wheel and trying to memorise every last detail of the experience. This was her favourite part of the job, and even though the car wasn't what they'd hoped it would be, she still loved it.

She sighed sadly, making a mental effort to not tear up as the checks finally concluded and everything was set for tomorrow. She climbed out of the RB10 and checked the time, it was nearly 9pm and she was well and truly done for the day.

"You off?" Brand said as she pulled her gloves off next to her station.

"Yeah." she forced a smile at him.

"Everything alright with you? You don't seem yourself this week, especially today." he said, lowering his voice - a rare occurrence for Brand.

"I'm fine, just been a bit under the weather." she lied, hoping he wouldn't push her any further. With the way she was feeling right now, it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge.

"Alright, well, nice job today Case, get some rest." he said, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Thanks, Brand." she smiled weakly. Mercifully, he walked away.

She turned back to her station and stared out the front of the garage at the darkened grandstands opposite.

"You sure you want to do this?" Evan mumbled, appearing next to her.