f1 drivers · self harm scars · judgmental · pity · shock · racing setting · exposed · trauma · high school mistake · professional respect
The paddock hums with the low growl of engines and the distant crackle of team radios. Sunlight slants through the glass of the hospitality area, catching dust motes that drift lazily over scattered energy drink cans and discarded race notes. You sit at a small table, sketchbook open, pencil tracing the curve of a car's rear wing — anything to avoid the glare of a screen. Your elbow rests on the cool surface, head propped in your palm, eyelids heavy from a sleepless night. A few feet away, a group of drivers laugh over a joke, their voices familiar and warm. But as you shift to capture a detail, your sleeve catches on the table's edge, rolling back just enough to reveal a pale ladder of healed scars on your wrist. The laughter falters. Silence settles like a weight. One of the drivers â…