Playing With Fire (Sebastian Vettel)

23. Summer's End

Antti said goodbye to Seb and Mollie, telling them he'd collect them after breakfast the following day to head to the airport.   Summer break was over. Belgium was waiting for them.

Mollie was excited, but scared at the same time. She felt so much better in herself but was terrified that all her demons would return when she got back into the car.

She'd had a couple of Zoom meetings with Matthew and Tom, talking things through. They had been fantastic. They weren't expecting her to jump straight back into the car and win. They just wanted to see her giving it her all and enjoying her racing again.

She'd briefly had a chat with Sophia too. She hadn't be able to apologise enough about what had happened at Silverstone. Sophia had been great. She was just happy that Mollie was finally getting help and facing up to what was plaguing her.

She'd apologised to her parents, her Dad in particular, for how she'd shut them out.

The only one left to apologise to was Ash. She was going to do that in person the following day.

After Antti had left Seb announced that he was going to cook Carbonara for their dinner. Mollie smiled, she'd never tasted Seb's cooking before, apart from his pancakes. Britta had told her before that Seb's Carbonara was a culinary delight.

He told her to stay out of the kitchen whilst he was at work and brought her a glass of ice cold lemonade outside to the patio where she was sitting.

She thanked him and took a sip. She still wanted to drink sometimes but it was getting easier to resist. She was also able to think of Elena now without breaking.

She could see what other people had been trying to tell her. Elena had made her own choices. Mollie wasn't to blame. Well, there was still a part of her that kept asking what if. What if she had settled? What if she had never fallen for Seb? But now there was a part of her that knew what happened had happened for a reason.

She also knew that in a way she had been right about something. The old Mollie had died that day with Elena. Now she was rebuilding a new Mollie, a stronger Mollie.

At some point she nodded off and before she knew it Seb was shaking her awake.

"Dinner's ready liebling," he said, softly. She smiled up at him and he kissed her forehead.

She got up and followed him back inside. On the table were two steaming bowls of Spaghetti Carbonara and a small plate with slices of cheesy garlic bread on it.

"Bet you never told Antti you were cooking garlic bread too. It's not a cheat day, is it?"

"Shhh. What Antti doesn't know doesn't hurt him." She laughed.

Seb pulled her chair out for her. She sat down. He sat opposite her.

She picked up a slice of garlic bread and dipped it in the carbonara sauce. Taking a bite, she sighed.

"Mmmm, so good."

"I'd make someone a good house husband one day, wouldn't I?" he joked.

Mollie wound some spaghetti onto her fork and tasted it.

"Oh my God. Seb, when you leave Formula 1 I'm definitely hiring you as my chef."

"I don't cook everything so good. This is my speciality."

"I'm sure you have other talents that you can use as well as cooking me carbonara," she flirted. Seb stared at her intently.

"Mols, we need to talk," he said, seriously.

"What about?" she asked.

"Us."

"What about us?" This was what she had been dreading. He said he loved her but had she pushed him too far? She knew she'd hurt him deeply in Miami. Was this the moment when he told her there was no way back?

"Mollie, we've both hurt each other so much. I've been giving you time before we talked. You getting better was the most important thing. Now I need answers. I know you love me. I love you. But is it enough? I will always be here for you whatever. We were friends before we were anything else. I just need to know where we stand. I keep asking myself whether we stand a chance or whether it's best to draw a line and concentrate on rebuilding a friendship. There's been no easy answer but in the end I know what I want."

Mollie choked back the sob that was rising in her throat. He was going to break her heart, wasn't he? She stood up, pushing her chair away from the table. She turned and fled upstairs to her room.

"Mollie, I'm sorry. Don't get upset. I never meant to upset you," he called through the door.

"Please just leave me alone."

"I can't leave you like this. I'm sorry. I should have left this instead of bringing it up the day before we fly."

"It's ok. I understand. I was awful to you in Miami. I get it. I really do. I just need time to process it. I just.... I hoped we could work things out."

She heard Seb start to laugh. What was so funny?

"Open the door now you dopey girl."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Mollie Elise Rashford. You've got the wrong end of the stick. I was trying to tell you that I love you and I can't live without you. I want you back Mols. I want you to be my girl again."

The door opened. He looked into Mollie's tear filled green eyes.

"Mollie, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes,"she cried, throwing herself into his arms. He lifted her off of her feet and she wrapped her legs around him. He held her tightly.

"I love you so much Mollie."

"I love you too."

"Mols, I want to take you to bed but I don't want to rush things. I think we need to start off slow. Let me take you on dates. Let me kiss you. We'll start from the beginning."

He lowered her back to her feet.

"I agree. But please hold me tonight. I just want you to hold me."

"Baby, I'm never going to let you go. Now come and finish your dinner. The chef will be offended if you don't. Then after, we can curl up in bed and watch a movie." He kissed her softly. She parted her lips, sighing. Everything would be ok. She had Seb back. With him by her side, she knew she could face anything.

***

Antti grinned as he pulled up outside Seb's place the following morning. He spotted Seb and Mollie holding hands. They were both glowing!

"Something you want to tell me boss?" he asked.

"Maybe," Seb smiled. "Mollie and I, we're back together!"

"Congratulations both of you!" Antti exclaimed. "That's just the best news."

"Well the press were already speculating so we thought we might as well," joked Seb.

Mollie laughed but inside she was petrified of facing the press. Would they be kind?

She knew they would be asking so many awkward questions that she wasn't ready to answer. How would she cope? Belgium would be a big test. Would she pass or would she fail? It was make or break time.