VIPER || Oscar Piastri

Chapter 60

[POV: Andreanna Saunterre]

"What? What is it?! Is it the—" my dad's voice rang out from across the garage, sharp with panic.

"No— not the car!" I ducked out from underneath it, wiping my hands on my jeans, movements urgent. "Something's not..." I trailed off, staring blankly for half a second as my brain tried chasing the thought I couldn't quite catch; Like a noise just out of hearing range.

"Something's not..." I murmured, but the sentence evaporated. Nothing had happened; nothing I could point to, anyway. Just— some kind of static crawling up my spine. I looked around the garage like maybe something would give itself away.

But nothing did.

I reached for my phone. "Dad," I said, "give me, like—two minutes. I'll be right back."

"What— you can't just—leave in the middle of this!" he called. "We're literally—Andreanna!"

But I was already moving.

As I did, I dialled Oscar.

*

[ Meanwhile: Lando & Oscar ]
[ POV: Narrator ]

Lando was crouched in front of the car, hands braced on his knees. In a moment of anger— or more accurately, fear— he yelled to Oscar, who'd been muttering things like 'you've done it now' over and over just loud enough so that Lando could hear him.

"Can you please do something besides standing there?!"

"Like what? What do you—"

"I don't know—look something up! Search for, like, a YouTube tutorial or Google how to pop a dent or something—anything!"

Oscar protested mildly but ultimately pulled out his phone, thumbing at the screen without much intention—mostly just to shut Lando up. But when he did, he didn't move any further.

Lando, still crouched, didn't notice right away. "Well?? Oscar! Are you doing it?"

No answer.

Lando looked up, annoyed—then stopped cold.

Oscar's face was completely drained of colour.

"...Oscar?"

Oscar didn't look at him. Just stared at the glowing screen.

"Lando."

Lando's stomach sank. "What?"

Oscar slowly turned the phone toward him, like he was holding a live grenade. "She's calling me."

Lando's snapped up; so fast he nearly lost his balance.

Oscar's voice jumped, panic cracking through now:
"SHE'S CALLING ME."

The phone continued to buzz violently in his hand, Andi's name lighting up the screen. Lando was already backing up, hands in his hair.

"Oh my god, oh-my-god, DON'T ANSWER IT!" His voice cracked under the pressure. Then he hesitated. "Wait—no—answer it."

When Oscar moved to do just that, Lando immediately shook his head, more frantic. "NO, DON'T!"