Lifeline (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 52: That Which Cannot be Unseen

"Where did Seb sleep last night?" Heikki asked nonchalantly, taking a sip of juice at the kitchen counter.

Tully sighed dramatically, "Oh I don't know, the roof?"

Her gloating brother smirked into his glass.

"You already know he slept in my bed. It was too cold downstairs for him. His fever dropped."

"Whatever you say, Tul," he replied, a smug grin entrenched firmly upon his face.

"I wish you'd been aborted. Seriously. Do you know how insufferable you are? I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Since neither you, nor fucking Frodo, were around to bother with it."

"I'm sure Freya would be over at a moments notice if we told her Seb urgently requires her body heat. Shall I give her a call?"

"Oh, curl up and die, Heikki," she growled, glaring at the stove instead of looking at his stupid face.

Heikki had to reign in his natural urge to laugh at how defensive she was being over this.

"And I'm assuming your bed is where one Sebastian Vettel currently remains?"

"Is that a problem?" she retorted, giving him a challenging expression.

"Just checking!"

"Are you done?"

"Won't say another single word," he nodded, pretending to zip his lips.

She shot him one final glare before slipping off her stool and heading back upstairs.

She silently opened her bedroom door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her. Seb hadn't moved an inch since she'd left him earlier that morning. She'd woken up in exactly the same way she'd fallen asleep. He'd kept his word, keeping his distance the entire time.

She walked towards him slowly, taking in his features, unobserved, undisturbed and up close, for really the first time.

She sat on the edge of her bed and watched him sleeping peacefully. His skin was back to a regular, light tan that was stronger on his arms and face, fading out to a paler tone at his shoulders. His arms were beautifully defined, lean but strong-looking, truly athletic compared to Heikki's bulkier frame. His hair was about 5 different shades of blonde, swirled into a soft mess against the pillow. He looked so pure, like he wouldn't be capable of hurting even a fly.

In the stillness of her Swiss bedroom, without Seb returning her gaze, without Heikki or Freya or her parents or doctors or anyone else around, she could finally just look at him and take everything in. Most of all, take a moment in the quietness to appreciate that the person before her was not ordinary.

He was quiet, gentle and reclusive. But beneath that, there was an unquantifiable presence of intelligence. And even though she may not remember seeing it first hand, she knew there was also an astounding level of talent and sheer precision that few humans could ever possess. He had multiple world titles in the fastest and one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and got there at a younger age than anyone before him. He could die in a single moment doing what he did, or kill someone else. His ability to make perfect decisions in split seconds was the only thing stopping that from happening.

She would never be able to even begin to imagine how he did what he did, how it must feel to be able to master such a thing. And for all he had achieved, earned and accumulated, for all his loyalty, patience and gentleness, here he was... alone.

He deserved so much better than what had happened to him. Better than the way she'd treated him.

She thought back to the hospital car park, where she'd physically hit him as hard as she could to get him away from her. As if he'd ever have been an actual threat to her. He wasn't capable. Yet she'd lashed out and hurt him nonetheless. She'd acted without thinking for even one second, without thinking about how it would make him feel. Rejected, hated...