Page 60 of Until The Lights Go Out

He huffed out a laugh. “Worse.”

I shouldn’t have felt that twist in my stomach. “He missed his interview slot,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Again.”

“Yeah, I gathered.”

“Sebastian—” I started, then stopped, recalibrating. This wasn’t personal. It couldn’t be. “I need him on. Even late. It’s throwing off the whole schedule, and PitSpark is not happy we have no content with Theo after two full race weekends.”

He studied me for a second longer than necessary. Then, quietly, “I’m trying. You know how he gets.”

I held his gaze. “I mean, not really… The Theo I knew was a decade younger. This one? This one I hardly recognize.”

“Fuck. I know,” he said, running a hand through his hair, looking haggard. Poor guy looked like Theo was making him work extra hard to manage his chaos. “He’s just going through it. The car isn’t great, and he’s pissed as hell, and well…he kinda does this when that happens.”

A beat passed. My heart strings frayed at the thought that all this was a cover for something else. That Theo was hurting. After all this time, after all of it, I still couldn’t stand the thought of Theo hurting. I squared my shoulders. Sure, I hated the thought of him not doing well, but if I had learned anything from overcoming a soul-crushing car crash, a broken leg, third-degree burns, and learning to walk again, it was to pick your damn self up cause no one was going to do it for you. But, sometimes you needed a little shove, like my sister and Serena had done for me. Plus, I’d be damned if Theo Bauer came between me and my second chance at working in Formula One.

“Where is he?”

Sebastian ran a hand through his hair. “Sleeping it off, last I checked.”

My jaw tightened. “It’s nearly midday.”

“Yeah,” he said dryly. “I’m aware.”

I exhaled slowly, fighting the urge to say something I’d regret. “Can you get him here?” I asked instead. He hesitated, and that was all the answer I needed.

“Sebastian.”

“I’ve tried, he’s not picking up anymore,” he said. “I can call again, I guess.”

“That’s not good enough.”

His brows lifted slightly. “Since when do you get to make demands?”

“Since I’m the one who has to stand in front of a camera and explain why your driver can’t show up to do the bare minimum,” I shot back. The words came out sharper than I intended, but Sebastian didn’t flinch. Instead, something like understanding flickered across his face.

“Alright,” he said after a moment. “I’ll drag him if I have to.”

“Please do.” I turned to leave, then stopped. Because there was something else sitting heavy on my chest. Something I hadn’t meant to say. But it slipped out anyway. “He wasn’t like this,” I said quietly.

Sebastian didn’t pretend not to understand. “No,” he agreed. “He wasn’t.”

I swallowed.

“Is he just—” I shook my head. “Does he always do this?”

“Sometimes,” he said carefully. “A lot has happened that no one knows about, and he still owes you an explanation for that day…” His words hit me straight in the gut thinking about the crash and waking in the hospital room inconsolable at my casted leg and wrapped arm. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, no one but him. But he never showed, never came. When push came to shove, Theo let me down when I needed him most.

I let out a quiet breath. “Right.”

“Maisey,” Sebastian said, softer.

I didn’t turn back.

“I’ll get him,” he added.

I nodded once and kept walking, determined to not let the past come up and haunt my steps. He was not worth my energy. Simple as that—or at least that’s what I told myself.

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