Silver Lining ❥ daerin

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩

𝚂̷𝚊̷𝚐̷𝚎̷

I don't know how much time had passed. It felt like I'd been sitting there forever, waiting, staring at the door, wondering what was going on with Calista. The drive to the track had been fast, too fast maybe, but all I could think about was getting to her. Now, here I was, soaked to the bone from the rainstorm that had picked up out of nowhere, my heart pounding in my chest as I pushed open the door.

And there she was.

Calista—just as soaked as I was, sitting in the middle of the room, her head low, the heater working overtime to try and warm her up. But even with the warmth in the room, something was off. She looked distant. Empty. For the first time since I'd met her, I could see it—an emptiness behind her eyes that hadn't been there before.

I closed the door behind me, worry tightening in my chest. "Calista! What happened?" I asked, my voice sharper than I'd intended, but I couldn't help it. I was scared—scared that something had gone terribly wrong. Scared of losing her in ways I hadn't even thought about before.

She didn't respond right away. She just stared at me, like she was trying to piece together what to say, and that silence made me even more anxious. I took a step closer, my eyes scanning her face, searching for any sign that she was okay. "What's wrong with the Pagani? Is it okay? Your manager was asking me to check if you were alright."

The questions kept spilling out, and still, she said nothing. I was trying to keep calm, but seeing her like this, so different from the strong and fearless Calista I knew, it made my heart clench.

Finally, after what felt like forever, she spoke. "The Pagani..." she said quietly, her voice so steady it didn't seem real, "it's... it's fine. Just a little... damaged. I had a crash earlier. It's nothing I can't fix."

Her voice trembled slightly at the end, and I felt my breath hitch. A crash? How bad? What had happened out there?

"What do you mean, a crash?" I took another step closer, my hands instinctively reaching out for her. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, but the smile she tried to force didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine, really. Just a little shaken up."

I didn't believe her, not for a second. "Calista, you don't look fine," I pressed, my voice softening now. "You're soaked, and your manager was worried enough to send me in here to check on you. What really happened?"

She swallowed hard, and I saw the tension in her shoulders as she tried to hold it all together. "I was racing, and the rain started. It came out of nowhere. I lost control for a second and... I crashed, but it was mostly just a scare."

A scare? Her tone was so nonchalant, like this was something she could brush off. But I knew better. I could feel it—this wasn't just about the crash. Something else was weighing on her.

"You don't have to pretend with me," I said gently, stepping close enough that I could touch her now. I reached out, placing a hand on her arm, feeling the cold seep through her wet clothes. "You can talk to me."

Her eyes met mine, and for a second, I thought I saw her walls crumble. "It's just... everything's changing so fast," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Monaco, the races, and now this crash. I'm not sure how to handle it all."

Monaco? What was happening in Monaco? But I didn't push. Not yet. Instead, I let her speak, let her spill out the things she'd been holding back.

"You don't have to handle it alone," I reminded her, my hand tightening on her arm. "I'm here, Calista. I'm right here."

She didn't say anything for a moment, but I could feel the weight of her emotions pressing down on her. And that emptiness behind her eyes? It was still there, but I could see something else too—fear. Not of the crash, not of the race, but of something deeper. Of what?