Two weeks had passed since the fight, and I still hadn’t figured out how to fix it. How could I? It was my fault. I messed up, said things I didn’t mean, hurt her when I should have been the one protecting her. I knew that. The guilt gnawed at me, the regret crawling under my skin.

The worst part? The week after the fight, I saw her with him. Charles. Of all people. She looked so happy, walking side by side with him, laughing, her eyes sparkling. The image kept replaying in my mind, making the pit in my stomach deeper. It felt like a punch in the gut.

But today, I couldn’t avoid it. The race. The team. And the reality of being without her.

The race was a blur. I wasn’t fully present, my mind constantly drifting back to the moment we’d argued, the last words we’d exchanged, the look in her eyes as she left. I finished the race, but it felt hollow. I couldn’t celebrate, not without her beside me.

That night, after the team debrief, I did something I hadn’t planned. I picked up my phone, staring at the screen for what felt like hours. There was no perfect time to call her, no perfect words to fix everything. But I couldn’t let things end like this. I hit call.

She picked up after the first ring, her voice soft but distant.

“Lando…”

“Hey,” I started, my voice cracking a little. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I need to talk to you.”

She was silent for a moment, and I could almost hear her weighing whether or not to hang up.

“I’ve been a complete idiot,” I continued, “and I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. I’m sorry for what I said, for what I did. I was selfish, and I should have listened to you. I messed up.”

“I…” She sighed. “Lando, I don’t know if I can just forget everything. You hurt me. I don’t know if I can just go back to how it was.”

“I don’t expect you to forget,” I said quickly. “But I want to make things right. I’ve been thinking about it for days, and I realize I don’t want to lose you over something stupid. You mean everything to me.”