Chapter 57: Talking

                                    

                                          
Seb turned the television on quietly as they sat down in front of the coffee table. Casey took in a deep breath as she picked up her knife and fork and began to eat.
                          
The meal was comprised of a fried chicken fillet, served alongside a leafy salad and a rather large pile of what appeared to be oven-baked fries.
                          
"Is this on the meal plan?" Casey asked shakily, trying to lighten the tension surrounding them.
                          
"Mmm, about this much of it." Seb replied, gesturing over his plate to only about half the amount of chicken and the salad, "Definitely not the fries."
                          
"Nothing much has changed then." Casey managed a small smile as she stared down at her plate. For some reason she was struggling to look at him anymore.
                          
"Nothing much at all." he agreed pointedly.
                          
Casey got about half way through before she lost her appetite. Her stomach was too busy twisting with anxiety over what was about to happen. And how was she supposed to get home from here? Where were they even?
                          
Seb finished his whole plate, unsurprisingly. He looked over at Casey and sighed quietly, "Well, that's more than I thought you'd eat at least."
                          
He took her plate away and she gazed at the television on the wall in front of her blankly while she heard him clearing up in the kitchen. Soon, he was back, handing her a glass of water which she accepted gratefully.
                          
He sat back down next to her apprehensively and rubbed his forehead in his hands.
                          
"I just, don't know where to start." he mumbled.
                          
"You don't have to do this." Casey replied, feeling her throat constricting already. She was so, so sick of crying.
                          
"I really do." Seb laughed humourlessly, "I fucked up Case."
                          
She sat, staring at her hands nervously. She was so uncomfortable, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
                          
"You didn't." she replied quietly.
                          
"I'm pretty sure I couldn't have handled things any worse if someone had scripted it." he said, shaking his head.
                          
"I don't blame you for anything." Casey replied, she just wanted this over with so she could go back to wallowing in her misery in peace.
                          
She felt him adjust in his seat to move closer to her, so that their shoulders were touching. She still kept her eyes firmly set down.
                          
"The way it came out, at the club in Germany, she... Hayley..." he spat out her name like venom before continuing, "...made it sound so much worse than it was."
                          
Casey busied herself, watching where each of her tears were landing on the floor.
                          
"I fucking lost it. I couldn't stand the thought that you'd done that to me." he sighed.
                          
"Then you weren't there for the British Grand Prix and Evan told me what really happened... I'd got it all wrong. I just wish you'd told me about Austria at the time, what Heikki did to you..."
                          
Casey squeezed her eyes shut, she didn't know if she could take much more of this, but he deserved to get closure. It was the least she could do for him now. "I'm sorry, for not telling you, for ever having anything to do with him," she said, resting her elbows on her knees and her forehead in her hands, "It was so fucking stupid of me on so many levels."
                          
"I forgive you," he said firmly, pushing her hair back over her shoulder, "And now I need your forgiveness too."
                          
"You did nothing wrong," she scoffed.