Lifeline (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 66: Moving On

"Boy oh boy would I not want to be him right now." Evan hissed in delight, peering out the window at Jacob as he watched Seb stroll towards him and Tully, who looked like they'd been having a quiet little catch up between themselves. It was like watching a lion saunter up to a wounded gazelle.

Britta gritted her teeth next to him, worry etched all over her face, "Oh, I hope this goes well... maybe Tully will keep them level."

"Lucky she's got so much experience handling both of them," he snorted.

"Oh hush," Britta chastised, "She was suffering a very traumatic brain injury. You can't keep giving her slack about it like she did any of it on purpose."

"I know, I know..." Evan chuckled, his eyes glinting as he watched Jacob compose himself and turn to face the lion.

—

Tully held her hand out to Seb as he reached them; a gesture of loyalty, he presumed. It didn't go unappreciated. He smiled at her as he took it and squeezed her fingers, coming to a stop at her side.

"Hey Seb," Jacob began, taking a deep breath and turning against the railing to finally come directly face to face with the driver for the first time since before the crash.

"How've you been?" Seb asked. His tone seemed almost neutral, almost. But Tully couldn't miss the terse edge there.

"I'm still here, can't complain, and you?" he replied, a faint smile gracing his lips, but not nearly reaching his eyes.

"I won't sugarcoat it. It has been the worst year of my life," Seb shrugged, looking first down at his own thigh and secondly across at Tully's face.

An awkward silence descended on them as Jacob looked away.

"But... things have come a long way," he continued after a moment, "It's all finally getting back to normal."

"That's... really good, I'm glad," Jacob said, clearing his throat anxiously, "Look, I won't take much of your time. I know I don't deserve any of it to begin with. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am, for the part I played. For everything I did after we all got home. It was... beyond fucking awful."

"It was," Seb agreed, "After knowing each other for so long... to betray me at the worst time of my life. At the time, I hated you."

Tully felt her throat constricting in a rather unwelcome way as she watched the two of them staring at each other tensely. She could see anger flaring in Seb's eyes as they all mentally transported back in time, thinking about what had happened between them all right after the crash.

"Neither of you deserved what happened," she quickly interjected, "I wish I had treated both of you very differently. I know, brain injury and all of that, blah blah, but it was still me underneath, all of my worst traits amplified and unleashed on the fucking world."

She turned to Seb, "You are nothing but kind and good, loyal to a fault, everything anyone could ever ask for and a thousand times more. I tossed you aside, like you were worthless, an enemy even. If I was capable of that, I was capable of anything."

She turned back to Jacob then, "And you, well you were vulnerable, collateral damage. I saw that I could take advantage, break your morals while you were down and alone, and I did, just to avoid reality for a while."

"You can't take all the blame," Jacob shook his head, "You never put a gun to my head."

"What I have to force myself to remember... only way it can make any sense to me..." Seb began, shaking his head, "Is that we'd all just experienced something extraordinary. The worst day of our lives. Something we will probably all think about every single day. That can make people do things they never otherwise would."