Back To You (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 6: It's Her

Last day in Vienna. Seb was woken up by the alarm that rang on his phone. He took his phone from the nightstand to turn it off. He stretched on his bed. Then, he left the bed and walked to the closet. He wore his t-shirt that he took off before going to sleep. He also tidied the duvet and pillows on the bed. After that, he sat down on that king-sized mattress. He ruffled his hair. He still couldn't believe with everything that happened on the previous day.

He had met her. He was completely sure that it was her. Georgia. A girl who had become his childhood friend, a girl who had stolen his heart, and unfortunately, a girl whom he tried to forget. He couldn't lie to himself that he loved her. He really did. He had fallen for her since they were both teenagers. Her sincerity and genuineness were the reason why he had fallen for her.

But at the same time, when he was 19, he was reaching his dream to become an F1 driver. His biggest dream. At the time, he had only two choices in his mind. Asking her to be his girlfriend but he probably couldn't focus one hundred percent on his racing career or reaching his dream but he had to forget her for a while.

He decided to choose the latter. He thought that moving to Switzerland could be the best decision he took. He could try to forget her and focus more on his career. But, after some years, he realized that forgetting her was the biggest mistake he'd ever done. His parents never told him anything about her, as he requested so before realizing that it was the most stupid thing he did.

He didn't know that her father, Ludwig, had passed away in 2015 and he also didn't know that she had moved to Austria with her mother weeks after his passing, until the previous year. Then, why didn't he try to meet her after making that big mistake? He was afraid. He was afraid if she wouldn't accept him anymore. He was too afraid if she had hated him.

He was thinking back on their last meeting at Frankfurt Airport. If his eyes weren't mistaken, he saw that she mouthed 'I love you' to him. He was a bit surprised at the time as he didn't know that she had a feeling for him too. The only thing in his mind after he saw her again at the bookstore was that he wanted to apologize to her as soon as possible. But he knew that it wouldn't be easy.

---

"Hi, Seb!" Britta kissed his cheek as she welcomed him.

"Hi."

She closed and locked the door after Seb came inside his house in Graz. He took his rucksack off from his back and threw it on the couch. He also sat on that sofa and sighed.

"What's wrong, Seb? You don't seem happy after having fun in Vienna."

"Nothing. Maybe I'm just a bit tired. I obviously had fun there. I bought some souvenirs for you and Antti."

"Oh, thank you." Britta didn't entirely believe him. She decided to sit next to him. "Seb, is there something that bothers you mind? If you need to talk, just talk to me. I can probably help you."

Britta had been working with Seb for years. For him, she was like his sister, as he didn't have any. She was one of a few people who knew very well about his privacy life. He never hesitated to talk about it to her.

He sighed once again, heavier than the previous one. "I met her."

She frowned. "Her? You mean Bernadette?"

"No. I mean, it's her, Gia," he corrected her. His heart felt warm every time he mentioned her name.

"Georgia? Are you sure that it's her?"

"I'm so sure that it's her." Britta fell silent, as a sign that she let Seb to explain about his meeting with Gia. "Yesterday, I went to some souvenir shops. After that, I took a walk again until I found a bookstore. It isn't too big, but I was interested to visit it. When I was reading a book, two women approached me. Then, I found out that they are the owners of the bookstore. One of them asked for my autograph."

"Was that Gia who asked for your autograph?"

"No, it wasn't. She is probably Gia's friend. Gia fell silent all the time. She didn't even say any single word to me."

"Does she forget you or-"

"I don't think so. I believe that she remembers me. She looked so nervous when she saw me. Even when her friend took a photo of us, she was so tense as I held her shoulder. Maybe she didn't even want to meet me. I'm right. She definitely hates me."

Britta rubbed his back. "Maybe she was surprised to meet you there, Seb."

He shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

"At least you know that she lives in Vienna now and... she has achieved her dream," she said as she knew from him that Gia had a dream to own a bookstore.

"You're right, Britta. But, I really want to talk to her. I want to apologize. I want to tell the truth to her."

"If there's a chance, you can visit her again. But for now, there's something that you have to focus on. You will race again this weekend."

Seb massaged his head as he felt a little bit dizzy. There were so many things that he had to settle. Focusing on title fight, breaking up with Bernadette as he felt that his relationship with her wouldn't work anymore, and talking to Georgia.

"By the way, how is she? I mean, how does she look now?" she asked curiously.

"I admit, she's even more beautiful. Her hair is longer. And, she wears glasses now," Seb smiled sheepishly as he was describing her look.

"She is beautiful even since she was child. I remember some photos of her that you showed me."

"Oh yeah, I remember that."

"Sorry, Seb, do you think she is married? Did you see a ring on her finger?"

"I think that I didn't see any ring on her finger. I believe that she is not married." Thinking about that fact made Seb happy. He thought that he still had a chance.

"I don't know if she is dating someone now, but I'm sure that you still have a chance, Seb."

He smiled as she had the exact same thought as him. He suddenly held her hands. "Thank you so much, Britta. Thanks for always listening and giving me the support I really need."

"Don't thank me, Seb. I'm more than happy to help you as you're a friend to me. Now, go to your room and get some rest first. I'll prepare for our dinner."

"Where's Antti?"

"I think that he's in his room. Maybe he's calling his girlfriend. I will tell you both when the dinner is ready."

---

Wednesday afternoon, Seb, Britta, and Antti were on their way from Graz to Spielberg. They went there by train. Antti was focusing on his phone as he was chatting with his girlfriend who lived in Finland. While, Seb lost in his own mind. He was thinking on how he wanted to go back to Vienna, to talk to Gia. But, as Britta said, he had a race to focus on.

Seb didn't even hear that his phone was ringing. Britta was the first to tell him. "Seb, your phone is ringing."

He woke up from his reverie. He looked at the phone to find out that there was Bernadette's name on the screen. He put his phone back inside the pocket.

"Is that... Bernadette?" Britta asked.

He just kept silent, but that was enough for her to know who that was. He didn't even bother to pick up or reject it. Antti looked at his driver for a while before his eyes were focusing back to his phone. He also knew that Seb was often in a row with his girlfriend. But, he felt that he didn't want to interfere too much on that.

"What time are we going to the circuit tomorrow?" Seb asked. Britta was a bit surprised as she didn't expect that he would talk about their schedule for Thursday.

"As usual, we are going to the circuit at 8."

Seb nodded. "Okay."

"It will rain tomorrow, Seb. Don't forget to wear your jacket," Britta reminded him like a sister to her little brother.

"I will. Thanks for telling me." Then, Seb looked at Antti. "Will you join me to walk the track tomorrow?"

Antti nodded. "Of course I will, Seb."

Seb gave him a little smile before his eyes were looking back at the view. He wished that he could meet her again as soon as possible. He would do anything to get her forgiveness.