Red Hot! (Sebastian Vettel)

30. A Summer To Remember (3)

Seb looked at Penny, then at Emmy.   Were neither of them going to go and talk to her? What the hell was this? He turned and dashed off after Libby.  

"Fuck off!" shouted out Rosie as he passed her. 

"You fuck off too bird," he muttered under his breath.

Libby had already yanked open the door that led out to the garden and was running down the lawn.

Seb chased after her but she'd got a good head start,  and by the time he was halfway down the garden she had scaled the wooden rungs nailed into the tree trunk and was disappearing into the treehouse high up in the branches.

"Libby!" he called out as he reached the bottom of the tree. "Libby, come on! I haven't climbed a tree in twenty years!"

There was no answer.

Seb crouched down and tightened a lace on his trainer that had come undone. Then he stood up, sighed and placed a foot on the first rung. Right, he thought. It can't be that hard. He carefully began his ascent. Slowly, but surely he climbed the rungs.

Finally he reached the doorway to the treehouse. He stopped and popped his head through, clinging on tightly to the door frame. Libby was sat in the corner, her knees brought up to her chin.

"Can I come in?" he asked her gently.  She shrugged her shoulders but did not answer him verbally.  He took the shrug as permission. 

He lifted one foot inside and hauled himself in.  He made his way tentatively over to Libby and sat down besides her, in the same position she was. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes.  Seb didn't want to pressurise her into talking.  He just wanted to be there for her in case she did want to talk.   He heard a small snivelling noise coming  from her. Was she crying?  Libby didn't cry.  Libby was tough.  He took her hand in his,  linking their fingers together.   

"Are you mad at me?" she finally said, her voice breaking.  She was definitely crying. 

"Mad at you? No! Of course not.  It doesn't matter to me who your father is.   Now your mum, yes I am mad at her, she shouldn't have behaved like that."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have sprung you on her like that.  I knew she wouldn't be happy,  but I'm an adult and you're my friend, and I wanted you here.  You've done nothing wrong.   Why should everyone suffer because of what that man did?"

"Libs, you don't have to talk about it.  I'm here.  It's ok."   He released her hand and held his arm out.  She shuffled a few centimetres closer and he wrapped his arm around her and hugged her to his side. 

"I've wanted to tell you so many times."

"Why didn't you?" 

"I guess I didn't want you to see me any different.  I guess I worried you'd see me as flawed.  The girl whose father didn't love her enough to stay."

"Never Libby.  I see you as a beautiful, kind, amazing woman who I'm proud to call my friend.  As I said, you don't have to talk about it, but I'm here to listen if you want to."

Libby wiped the back of her hand over her face.   Seb was once again proving he was an amazing guy and why he was her best friend.  Perhaps talking to him could help her? Well it wouldn't make things any worse so it had to be worth a try. 

"My parents met when my father moved to the U.K. to race in the lower formulas.  She'd been at a race meeting with a group of friends. He was 17, she was 19.   It was love at first sight,  and when he was offered a seat as the Williams test driver in 1987 they moved in together in a flat in Wantage, not far from the factory.  She worked as a dental nurse in a nearby practice while he travelled the world with the team.  It worked, back then there weren't so many races so they still managed to spend enough time together to fall pregnant with Sadie."   Seb began to absentmindedly play with a lock of Libby's hair.   "Then Mum fell pregnant with me and Emmie.  She had real bad morning sickness, and Sadie was still a toddler.  Dad was so busy, by then he he'd got a full time seat with Arrows, and Mum couldn't cope.  She moved back down here so Nan could help her.   She soon realised that she wanted to stay down here rather than move back up to Wantage, so she and Dad found this place."