I sat waiting at a red light.

The taillights of the car in front of me blurred into a ball of red as I stared, unblinking.

My mind was reeling, replaying the past 4 hours on repeat.

3:45 in the morning.

The team was out late, celebrating the end of the season as if there was no tomorrow. As if there was no post season testing early the next day.

I had come home late, just after 1 in the morning.

I changed and got into bed, falling asleep the minute my head hit the pillow.

What had woken me was my phone ringing at such an ungodly hour.

I was going to ignore it, but the minute I saw my brothers name flashing across the screen, I sat up in bed.

The blood rushed down from my head, making me feel dizzy for a moment.

"Hello? Emiliano?"

"Dakota," his gravelly voice spoke, sounding drained of energy.

"Holy shit, Emil are you okay?"

He let out a humourless laugh.

"Am I okay? A bit late to be asking me that, huh?"

"What are you on about? I've been trying to call you for fucking weeks."

"Yeah, because you only seem to care once I stop responding. Once it seems like somethings' gone wrong. God, it really took a drug addiction to make you give a fuck," he scoffed.

"That's bullshit and you know it. Of course I care about you, I love you. You're my brother."

"You just don't get it."

"Then help me understand."

"You'll never understand. You'll never know what it's like to be beat up every day after school. The minute you left, they all took their chance. It made me feel weak and pathetic. You weren't there to protect me, right? Fuck no, I didn't need you anyway."

"Emil, you're not making any sense," I frowned, running a hand through my hair.

He seemed to be rambling, but nothing he was saying made sense. He was going in circles without conveying a clear message.

"Look, I'm flying home in two days. Please, just hang out in my apartment or something. I'll come over and we can sort this all out."

"There's nothing to fucking sort out! Everything is just shitty. You can't fix everything Dakota."

"I can try. You're my brother, I'd do anything for you."

"That's bullshit. You'd do more for Alessandro than you would for me," he spoke quietly. My breath caught in my throat.

"Yeah, don't think I didn't see the photos. I'd recognize you anywhere."

"That's not true. Family comes first and you're my family."

"Wrong. I wonder what my parents saw in you anyways. Nobody likes you because of your shitty personality that's just as bad as your looks. Maybe that's why your parents decided they didn't want you." he spat, his words laced with hatred and anger.

"Emil," I whispered, my voice getting caught in my throat.

This wasn't my brother.

Suddenly, I heard sobs filter through the speakers of my phone.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm just a mess. I love you."

"Shh, it's okay. Don't worry, it's going to be okay. Can you tell me what you took?" I asked gently, trying to pry information out of him.

"Nothing. Nothing. I didn't take anything," he said quickly, his words slurring together.

"Emiliano, just tell me," I huffed, my frustration building.

"I didn't fucking take anything! Why don't you believe me?"

"Ok, ok, I believe you. Can you do me a favor?"

"Yes," he sniffled.

"Can you stay in my apartment until I get home? I'll take the first flight tomorrow evening and be there Tuesday night."

"Yes, I can do that."

"Okay, thank you. Can you also share your location with me?"

"Yeah. You're coming home, right?"

"Yes, I'm coming home to see you," I replied gently, trying to hold back my own tears.

"Okay," he replied, almost as if he was a small child.

"I'm going to hang up now.'

"Wait. C-Can you tell mom... and dad that I love them?"

"Sure. Do you wanna call them yourself?"

"No, I don't think they're very happy with me."

"That's not true, they'd love to hear from you. Give them a call if you change your mind. See you soon, yeah?"

I waited for a response, only to hear the dial tone as the call ended.

A loud honk snapped me from my thoughts. I looked up, noticing the light had turned green.

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind as I pulled into the parking lot at the track.

Three days of post season testing and then I was free for the winter break.

I hadn't seen Alessandro after his meeting with Zak. He hadn't texted me anything either, leading me to assume they hadn't reached an agreement.

"Hey Aaron, hear anything from Alessandro?"

"No, he's actually just gone out for brunch for another meeting."

"Oh really? With Zak?"

"Yeah," he replied, leaning in closer to whisper in my ear, "But I think he might be meeting with another team."

My brows shot up in surprise as I turned to look at him.

"What team has a seat available."

"I dunno, Haas?"

"Oh please, Alessandro would bike around the track faster than that piece of metal," I frowned.

I sighed, getting to work on starting up the data screens.

My mind was occupied, suddenly all the gears were turning in my head. I couldn't even begin to think of what other teams Alessandro could be having contract talks with.

Every team on the grid had already announced their driver lineup for the next season, except for McLaren.

I kept my phones ringer on, weary that my brother would call me out of the blue.

Time went by at a snails pace as Pato O'ward, McLaren's IndyCar driver, took Lando's car out for a run.

He had managed to put a good few laps, allowing us to collect a decent amount of data.

Pato was a joy to be around. He had a great sense of humor and was easy to converse with. It was adorable how excited he was to drive a Formula 1 car.

By the time he brought the car back for the day, everyone was dead tired. A late night and early morning had taken its toll on everyone in the paddock.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the sun was beginning to set.

"Dakota! You can go, I'll clean up for you," Aaron offered, coming out from the back of the garage.

"I would say no, but I'm too tired to argue. Just don't break anything," I joked, sliding off of my seat.

"Haha," he rolled his eyes playfully, shutting down the computers.

I sighed, pulling out my phone. It had been four hours since I had last checked my messages.

Four hours too long.

Alessandro grinned, his heart hammering in his chest. A giddy feeling spread through his body as the ballpoint pen ran smoothly across the page.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me," he said.

"It's only the beginning, Moreno," he grinned, slapping his back affectionately.

Finally, a sense of relief flood through him. The weight was lifted off his shoulders. He finally had a seat for the upcoming season.

Dakota's body flinched at the words on the screen of her phone. Her hands shook as a wave of panic swept through her mind.

Mom: He didn't make it. It's over.

Her vision blurred as her lips parted in shock. A feeling settled in her chest.

Panic, like a bird stuck in a cage, frantically flapping its wings. Feathers of chaos swirled in her chest as dread filled her.

Her face heated up, the sound of her blood rushing in her ears.

She stumbled into the pit lane, barely able to see a foot in front of her.

Alessandro nearly bolted out of the building, his hands shaking as they gripped the contract tightly.

Dakota's hands trembled violently, her breath coming out in short pants.

Despite the darkness, he could make out Dakota's distinct white converse as she walked down the pit lane and he quickened his pace.

"I got the seat! For 3 years! Can you believe it? Dakota this is insane!" he chuckled breathlessly, his eyes wide with excitement .

Dakota was losing her mind. It was dark. The crickets chirped loudly in the silent paddock. The distant sounds of people talking carried with the gentle breeze.

Alessandro frowned at the sound of Dakota's breathing. Something was wrong.

The smiled dropped from his face and he quickly grabbed her arms, leading her under the Amber streetlight.

His heart dropped to his stomach when he caught sight of the look of horror in Dakota's glassy eyes.

"Alé," she whispered, her voice so quiet, the wind almost carried it away.

"Dakota, you're scaring me amore, what's wrong?"

A long shaky breath left her lips, her eyes wide and unblinking.

Her words came as a whisper, but loud enough to shatter a glass.

People always say, fate works in mysterious ways.

The day that Alessandro's dream came true had become Dakota's worst nightmare.

"He's dead."