She looks around—probably because Robert was literallyjusthere—before corralling Matt up the stairs and staging him behind the curtain.
“And joining them is Robert and Matthew from Andes!” The emphasis sounds uneven, like ‘Robert! And Matthew from Andes!’
Even backstage, it’s already going about as well as expected.
Still, Matt takes a breath and walks out on stage to more applause than he’s used to receiving by himself. It dies down as people realize it’s only him.
“Sorry, yeah…” His microphone’s off when he starts talking, but it switches on to a horrible feedback sound as he says, “Yeah, it’s just me right now. Robert—” Matt shouldn’t say Robert’s sick, because it’d worry everyone. “He had a family emergency.”
The crowd literally boos him. Boos. Loud enough to hear from the stage.
“Hey, now…” the announcer says, obviously at a loss for what to do.
The Mercenary guys look shocked too, which is nice of them.
“No, I get it.” Matt is nothing if not aware of how disappointing it is that he’s not Robert. “I don’t want me to be here either, so…”
A girl screams, “Woo! Matthew!!!” loud enough to hear clear as day.
“Oh, um. Thank you, to that person. At least Santiago and Finn are here! What a run they had last week, right? Let’s talk about them.”
Matt switches off his microphone and tries to slink off and blend into the stage curtains. Blinking, he wills away any moisture threatening to gather in his eyes.
It’s fine. He already knows he’s disliked. That’s what he gets for making an enemy out of one of the most popular drivers in the sport.
Facts can’t hurt him.
This is actually really sad
Matthew’s not even bad at driving, people just don’t like that he’s so short.
Where was Robert tho?? We waited for hours to see him
If no one else will be Matt’s fan, I will
bobby
Room number? - Robert
Matt stares at the text for longer than necessary. He received it on his personal phone—the number Robert had blocked years ago. What does that mean for them now?
Matt has just enough foresight to pull on sweatpants and a shirt before he replies. Instantly, a knock sounds at his door.
