LOCK UP - Lando Norris [BOOK 2]

16

Nothing about me going to Florence was okay, no matter how much Lando continued to tell me it was, the guilt that drenched every its fine coated my thoughts the entire way up to my departure. And Lando and I had never been in a worst place.

We fought nearly every single day, the art program being thrown in my face every single time he felt defeated. But his championship lead was pulling further away from every other driver the more intense our fighting became. 

I almost considered not going, I think I wrote a draft letter to the organiser every single night, thinking it would somehow save my relationship with Lando. But I felt I owed to it to myself to go. I deserved to go. I earned it. 

"You okay?" Johan asks as he pulls up into the parking at the airport in Belgium. After the Grand Prix, the drivers all disappeared back to their home towns or off on vacation for the 4 week break. 

Johan and Gabriel had plans to go to Paris to meet all of Gabriel's family, he'd been excited about it the moment Gabriel invited him, and had me following him through shopping centres from every city we went too, trying to find the perfect French outfits to accompany his trip. 

"Not really, but I'm going to be" I assure him with a forced smile on my face. 

"What does he mean by a break?" he quotes Lando's words to me from last night after one of our more intense arguments. 

I brush a fallen tear off my cheek with the back of my hand, "He says, he still loves me, and wants to be with me, but for right now whilst I'm being selfish and doing something that isn't about us, maybe it's best to have a breather whilst we discover what it is we really want" I repeat the words, that were engraved in the shape of a permanent scar on my soul. 

Selfish. 

I can't believe he thinks I'm being selfish by taking his program, but maybe it's for the best, a break. But even the idea of a break scares me. What if during it, he figures out that he is better without me. 

"He could have gone to Florence" he states the obvious to everyone else, yet it was never going to be for Lando. 

We check ourselves in for our seperate flights, making our way through security and into the airport lounges. 

"What gate are you?" he asks. 

I look down at my ticket, "4" I inform. 

He groans, "28" he reads his. "Other end of the bloody airport, of course. Here I was thinking I was smart booking a flight around the same time as yours, thinking our planes would take off side by side and we could practise our sign language out the windows" 

I chuckle, "You don't know sign language" I remind him. 

He brings his fingers up into the shape of a love heart, giving me a smart ass smirk. 

I flip him off with a matching smirk. 

"Is Gabriel picking you up from the airport?" I ask. 

"Yeah, he's there now" he blushes. 

"Now?" I chuckle.

"My flight is only an hour" he says like it should be obvious. 

"I love that you're in love" I gush. 

He brings his hands up to either side of his face, squishing his cheeks together, "I love being in love" 

We give each other a tight hug goodbye and make our way to our gates, promising each other to write and call, but also promising the other one to enjoy themselves. 

As I take a seat in an empty chair at my gate, I pull my book out from my purse and disappear into a perfect romance, boy meets girl tragedy where he does everything to keep her, and allow this to be the last time I feel sorry for myself. 

In just under 2 hours, our plane touches down in Florence, a driver holding my name from the Florence School of Art and Design smiles on my arrival and I remember him from last year. 

"Enzo! Great to see you again" I gush as I make my way toward him. 

"Benvenuta, Evelyn" he responds, taking my bag from me and leading me out the doors to his vehicle parked in the VIP lane. 

We pull up to the Hotel Villa Olmi Firenze, a gorgeous palace style 5 star hotel with these elegant old fashioned finishes and decor that holds the character of this structure. 

I pull my bags through the door to where there are a group of other gathering over in the corner, some of which I recognise from being here last year. 

Walking over to a lady with a clip board whom I assume is in charge, I clean my throat as I approach the back of her. 

"Evelyn Verstappen" I announce as she turns around. 

"Ciao Evelyn, my name is Miss Moretti, I'll be your house mother during your stay here at Olmi Firenze. Anything you need whilst you're here, please don't hesitate to say" she greets, handing me a large white envelope with a stack of paperwork. 

"Inside here, you'll find your class schedules, tutoring sessions, workshops, seminars and lecture times as well as a detailed map of the area and recommended restaurants and local attractions. You'll have a small amount of free time in your schedule, but you're final work will require you're own adaptation of what Florence means to you. You'll be able to visit these places and work out how they make you feel" she gushes. 

It makes me feel familiar to these schedules as my mother likes to arrange my life, but she doesn't do it with as much love and passion as Miss Moretti. 

"Thank you so much" I appreciate. 

"You have a private room, thanks to your surname, but you'll receive no special treatment when it comes to this course. That you will have to earn and prove your place here" she gives me a stern look, but it fills me with inspiration. 

"Of course" I dote, accepting the room key from her hand. 

I pull my bag along side me as I find my way to my room. As I enter, my eyes fall immediately to the canopy bed and the gold fixtures that lace the room. 

"Wow" I gush to the peacefulness. 

Dragging my bag to the middle of the room, I keep my envelope under my arms and climb into the centre of the bed. I rip open the packaging and spread all the papers out in front of me gazing at the itinerary and schedule. 

Starting tomorrow, I had a masterclass at the FirenzeArt Gallery across the other side of town at 10am which would go for 3 hours, after that was clear instructions to explore the city. 

Heading down for dinner at the Hotel, I meet a few of the other people in my course and we all exchange stories about what type of art we prefer and a little about our home lives. Of course, I answer a few questions about who my brother is. I can't always escape it. 

Miss Moretti informs us that we have all been assigned a bike each and that is how we will be getting around the city. Our first destination of the Art Gallery only being a short 26 minute ride along the river, Arno. 

The idea of exploring a city on a bike actually excites me, so often I am hailed a car that I ride in the back of, never taking in my surroundings, you remain disconnected from everything around you. But once you're on those two wheels, you're forced to take it all in.