egas was supposed to be a good weekend. It wasn’t. A bad qualifying session left me furious, my mind racing faster than the car had managed on the track. I stormed back into the garage, helmet still on, wanting to smash it against the wall. The crew buzzed around, avoiding me, they knew better than to get in my way. But then I saw her, Olivia, my engineer and my best friend since childhood who I had a situationship with.

She stood by the telemetry screens, focused on her work, or pretending to be. She didn’t even glance up. Usually, she’d come over, check on me, offer some dry joke or a calming word to bring me back down. Not this time. I froze for a moment, the anger inside me flipping into something heavier. This distant behavior wasn’t new. For weeks, I’d felt her pulling away, like she was building a wall between us. I didn’t understand it. Did she regret what we had for months? Did she not want me anymore? Without thinking, I ripped off my helmet and stormed toward her. The words came out before I could stop them.

“What’s your problem Olivia?” I yelled, loud enough that the entire garage went silent. Heads turned, but I didn’t care. She finally looked at me, wide eyed and stunned.

“Max—” She started, but I cut her off.

“You’ve been avoiding me for weeks, and now you can’t even bother to ask how I’m doing after that disaster out there? Do you just not care anymore?” My voice cracked, betraying more than just anger. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She looked completely shocked, and for a second, I thought I’d lost her for good.

“I thought you didn’t care about me.” She finally managed, her voice barely above a whisper. That stopped me cold. My heart pounded as the realization hit me like a wall.

“I care! I care so much it scares the hell out of me.” I said, my voice dropping, raw and unguarded. She stared at me, her lips parting slightly in disbelief. The whole garage froze.