Driving Miss Catherine

Curiosity got the Cat

All Seb could hear was the blood rushing through his veins, his heart pounding like a drum. He tried to comprehend what he was seeing; it was what he wanted to see, and what he’d imagined for months, but now it was really here. Kimi was alive, and he hadn’t changed a bit.

“This season’s been shit without you,” he said as he hobbled across the floor. It was clear he was still getting used to the cane, as if he’d been in a wheelchair for a few months. He sat down on a chair close to Seb and hung his cane from the end table between them.

“I don’t know if that’s true. Mercedes has been doing very well, and Dan’s been great, I wouldn’t say the season’s been too bad,” Seb stammered, shocked that Kimi wanted to talk about F1, but still getting over the fact that Kimi was in fact here, alive, right in front of him.

“That’s only because you aren’t there to beat them. And Dan,” Kimi shook his head. “He’s the number one Red Bull driver now, of course he’s winning.”

This drew a smile out of Seb, and for a second it seemed like old times. “Yes, they certainly picked some good drivers to replace us, though I haven’t heard much from the new Ferrari kid.”

Kimi muttered something in Finnish that Cat didn’t catch, but she assumed it wasn’t nice. “No, they aren’t replacements,” he added, in English.

“You’re right, they’re just holding our places for us, until we can come back again,” Seb stated with shaky confidence, as if he wasn’t sure he’d be able to drive again.

“Well, you might be returning, but I’m…” Kimi gestured toward his leg. “Can’t drive without your legs.”

Silence filled the room and months of repressed sorrow came flooding back to Seb. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to say sorry, but he knew that wasn’t enough. He wanted to beg for Kimi’s forgiveness, but nothing could ever make up for what he’d taken from Kimi.

Cat got up, sensing that her presence was no longer needed. “I’ll let you two talk in private. I’ll just be…outside, or something.” Seb barely noticed her leaving, but he stopped trying to hide his emotions. Slowly, tears rolled down his cheeks; whether or not they were tears of happiness or sadness, even Seb did not know.

Cat strolled through the halls of the building, trying to waste time. She realized, as she climbed the steps to the second floor, that no one had been up there for a while. It wasn’t dusty or anything like that, it just had an ‘unused’ feel to it. Nothing was out of place, and there was nothing that didn’t belong. Except Cat, of course. She didn’t belong in Kimi’s house, or whatever this was. Regardless, she kept snooping. Mostly because she was bored, but she was curious about him. What exactly had he been doing for the past six months, and why had he decided to disappear?

She looked through a few rooms, but didn’t touch anything. Nothing looked personal, or like it even belonged to Kimi, so she didn’t glean much. She was about to head into the next room when she heard voices downstairs. She came to the edge of the balustrade in time to see Seb and Kimi leaving the room she’d left them in, but they didn’t see her, so she hid behind a plant.

“So, you’re a chauffeur now? Why?” Kimi asked with a laugh.

“It’s, umm, complicated.” Seb ran his hands through his hair and turned around. For a second, Cat though he’d seen her, but he kept turning and faced Kimi again. “Her dad got me out of a….hard situation, and at first it was just a distraction, but now…”

Kimi raised an eyebrow, the only indication that he was interested in what Seb was saying. “Now it’s what….? You actually like driving people around?”