NIGHT CHANGES || Oscar Piastri

Ignorance (TW)

*Oscar's POV*

You could tell I loved that girl to bits with my heart.

But I ignored her after the four days of fun, as we had our first practise approaching in Bahrain in 2023. I could tell Ali was getting annoyed at me for ignoring her, but my first practise was horrible. I came twelfth with twenty-four laps. Ali was not all sad though, Lando had came fourth. 

Lando was also annoyed at me. He was mad at me for 'ignoring' his sister, which I didn't have time to treat her as I did those four days. Ali was often upset when people declined hanging out with her, the reason unknown to me. I was told she had many boyfriends back in highschool, but I decided to not be jealous and the fact she was always heartbroken at something or someone.

I knocked on her hotel door straight after all our practises and the qualifying. I didn't even have time to talk to her after all those practises and the qualifying. I sensed something behind those doors - the amount of misery trapped in there for over the past few days. I felt extremely guilty for leaving her alone. 

Ali opened the door with the usual strength - throwing it open in my face. But this time she didn't give the same smile that I expected like I did those few nights ago. It was a frown instead of a nice smile, more of an upside down grin. Her eyes were bloodshot red, and she was wearing the usual pyjamas that she did. 

"Are you okay?" I cocked my head as she shook her head. I knew she was mad at me for qualifying at eighteenth. "I'm sorry for coming eighteenth. I know Lando didn't get the result he and you were wishing for either."

"No - it's fine," She finally spoke. "I-I just hate being alone."

"No offense made but-" I took a deep breath. "Why do you get upset every time you're alone?" 

She sighed and glanced outside of the window. "No offense take, but I sense that I'll have to explain. When I was growing up, my family discovered I had a weak heart. By that I don't mean any scientific or health, I mean as love. I would always be heartbroken after anyone I loved left me. Especially that time my childhood best friend Amelia died in that car accident. We were riding the school bus home after a long day of school, and I guess the car behind the bus was growing impatient. It kept nudging the bus until the back of it was broken into pieces. That day me and Am had a big fight, so I decided to sit in the front. She sat at the back, so we didn't need to talk." You could tell by her face she didn't talk about this all the time to anyone at all. 

"If we didn't pick up a fight, she would've survived. It's all my fault she died in the first place. I still miss her so much over the years. The last thing she said to me was that she hated me. It's been on my mind ever since her death." Her eyes were pooling with tears now. One trickled down her cheek slowly as I scooted over to wipe it away. "That's why I was weak throughout high school. And all the boys knew my love for someone else was always stronger than the love for myself. I never did love myself the same way after Am died." 

Tears fell down her cheeks like eternal rainfall. I couldn't stand seeing her like this. I pulled her in, nestling her head against my chest as she sobbed heavily. I knew it was hard for her to speak like this. I forced myself to sit down, hugging the girl tightly who sat on knelt in between the space I had between my legs on the chair. 

"You don't have to speak about it if you don't want to," I whispered lightly into her ear. "It'll be okay. I don't have to hear the rest of the story. If you want to, take a rest first." She took my advice and calmed her breathing down, gulping down the water I poured for her and sitting back down on her bed.

"Okay, I'm fine now." I nodded as she sighed deeply. "There was this one boy that I loved so much. We dated for about five years and I thought those feelings between us were true, Until he broke up with me, telling me that I was actually a bet for a hundred pounds in total. Five years. I needed some space and returned back to school after a full month. Everyone was still laughing at me, blaming me for killing Amelia after all those years."

I was left speechless. I never knew she had felt like this her whole life.  

"Tell you what," I tried a nice smile as I cupped Ali's hands in mine gently. "I've got a surprise for you after the race tomorrow at night. You'll love it. I promise."

"Tomorrow's also Amelia's death aniversary," Ali whispered shakily. "I miss her."

"That's the thing," I suddenly had an idea about it. "The surprise also involves Amelia. I promise you, Alissa. You know I keep my promises well like last time that I did." The last sentence caught her attention, and she nodded recklessly.

"Okay," A watery smile crept up her lips. "I put my trust in you, Piastri." 

"And it's my job to keep you safe and happy anyways." I chuckled as she nodded. 

"I'll meet you here tomorrow night." 

"Wear something warm," I got up, opening the hotel door. She shut the door behind me.

It was something, at least. 

I would bring her up to the rooftop, to see the stars.