Fake It - OP

Chapter 44

"Hey Ange," I greet as my best friend's face fills my phone screen. My voice doesn't have much enthusiasm and I know it. For the past two days, minus a quick trip to the hospital to ensure I was okay, I haven't left Lando's apartment. Oscar has basically done the same. Work for me was cancelled, and thankfully not from my end. Something about the studio and photographer falling through so I had another week of Oscar's summer break to spend with him in Monaco. I'm feeling much better, a little spoiled with all the attention I'm getting from Oscar, Lando, Lily and Kelly, but better nonetheless. The main reason I've stayed inside and not gone out was because Mark flies back to Australia tonight, as Oscar found out, and I just didn't want to risk another encounter. "How are you feeling?" I said, trying to break the ice.

"How am I feeling?" Ange may as well have yelled at the phone. "Tell me why I had to find out you were almost raped by fucking Mark Webber from Oscar of all people?" She was pissed.

I cringed at the word. I was still working through what almost happened, but having it shoved in my face was a bit blunt. "The point is almost Ange, I'm okay."

"You're okay," she scoffed and we both paused. I could tell by the look on her face she was thinking. The perks of Facetiming rather than just calling I suppose. "Why didn't you tell me?" her voice was quieter now. more hurt.

"I've been trying to get my head around what happened," I answered truthfully.

"But why Oscar? Why tell him and not me? I thought he was an asshole?"

God, my best friend has never been so out of touch with my life since we met. "Oscar was the one who pulled Mark off me, Ange."

Her dark eyebrows pulled together, questioning me. "That doesn't make him an angel, that just means he has good morals."

"He apologized." My words trailed off. "For- for these last few months, and I." the sentence died in my throat.

Ange paused and I could feel her scanning me through the screen. Her eyes widened in realization. "Holy fuck, you forgave him." She cut me off and I slowly nodded my head.

Ange was silent for a few more moments and I couldn't stand the silence. "He knows he has work to do to win my full trust back, but, fuck if I don't love him, Ange. I've- fuck I don't know what to do, I've never felt like this and we had just finished this extended bit of time off together and we did so many amazing things together, then the whole situation at the club happened, I just. I don't know what to do. So I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Oscar must've thought I did, you should've heard it from me."

Ange let out a long sigh. "I am really glad you're okay, and I'm thankful to Oscar for doing what he did to save you, and how he's helping you now."

"Me too, I'm sorry."

"Just, Blake don't forget how he treated you okay? He treated you like an object for his own personal gain."

"I know that, but I did too."

"No, you didn't."

"I did, we both used each other, that was the deal we made, I play the role, and he pays for the travel. It's not cheap to travel around the world, and I saw so many places, did so many things outside the paddock, you know that."

She sighed. "Yeah, I do, I'm just saying. You going off on random travel tangents while he is in engineering meetings doesn't make up for the worthlessness he made you feel when you were anything but worthless to him."

I nodded. "I won't forget that, he knows it, he's apologized and he keeps apologizing too."

I saw Caleb cross the background of the Facetime shot with a few bags. Ange's attention was drawn quickly to him in the background of the shot before shifting where she was sitting to hide the background movement. "Good, that's good." Ange was distracted in her own way now.