For Now, For Good

37. - Present Day

BAYLEE

"Baylee?" Finn's stunned expression makes want to slap him, as if he wasn't expecting to see me.

"Charles?" I reply back, crossing my arms in front of me, "seriously?"

Realisation washes over his face. "Why don't you come in, we can talk about this" he suggests, opening his hotel door wider.

"No I don't want to talk about it, Finn. I want you to explain, give me the only reason right here so then we can part ways, again" I reply in frustration.

"It's not that simple, B" he breathes.

I roll my eyes, "it had been a whole year, Finn. I understood that I hurt you, but why this? I don't understand"

"Can you please just come in." He begs.

I let out a frustrated breath. "You have 5 minutes" I inform him, storming past him and into his hotel room.

Once Finn takes a seat on the chair opposite me, I can tell that he's disappointed in himself. I was with him long enough to pick up on his emotions by his body language.

"Clocks ticking" I sass immaturely.

He eyes me for a moment before dropping his head with a heavy nod.

"I went to your apartment, after we met at the river, and collected my things. But I bumped into the driver when I was on my way out." He recalls.

"What?" I whisper.

"He had come to see you and I made him believe that you and I were good. That nothing had come between us and sent him on his way" he continues. "But I went to the track later, I planned to explain everything to him and I guess, agree, that you and I had probably drifted apart."

My lips are parted in shock, but I need to hear the rest.

"That's when I met Charles" he meets my eyes. He shakes his head as if shuffling through some memories. "The details don't matter, all that matters is that I went to the track with the best intentions and I left with the worst ones. I guess I was just angry with the breakup and how it happened and I don't know" he shrugs.

I understand how he must have been feeling at the time, but what I didn't understand was why a whole year later.

"Is this some plan then? To mess with me a whole year later?" I ask.

His eyebrows tighten, shaking his head only slightly. "No, what? No, this wasn't some plan we'd had. I am over here for work, Charles just told me he was staying here and that's when I ran into you"

I knew for a fact that Ferrari weren't staying in this hotel, but I didn't want to bore him with the details now that we were getting to the bottom of all of this.

Once I finally left Finn's hotel, I felt confused and unsure whether I needed to confront Lando or Charles about this. Being that I didn't exactly know Charles, I thought best that I speak to Lando, given that I know this is entirely about racing and nothing to do with me personally. 

It was a surprise to know that Lando came back to look for me, makes me wonder what the past year would have been like if I had known, would we have been together all this time? Or would something have inevitably gotten in the way like it seems to be this time around. 

"Hey" I announce as Lando opens our hotel room door. 

"Where have you been?" He asks, rubbing his eyes as if he had just been asleep. 

I let out a nervous breath, not really thinking how this would go down and how he would react to me telling him I had gone to see Finn. 

"I needed answers" I shrug, walking further into the room and tossing my bag down against the hall in the makeshift hallway. 

"Answers?" he questions, "We already got answers, Charles is a dick" 

I roll my eyes and shake my head in amusement at him. 

"More than that" I comment, judging the atmosphere around our conversation, testing its stability. 

Lando eyes me for a moment before I see the realisation come over him. "You went to see him?" 

"Finn, yes" I clarify, making sure there was no miscommunication and he assumes I went to see Charles instead. 

Lando sits himself down on the edge of the bed and I take the queue and place myself down next to him. 

"Did you get answers?" he asks. 

I nod my head as I fidget with my nails. "Yeah, I think it all boils down to Charles feeling intimidated by your talent" I mock, batting my eyes at him. 

"I dont blame him" Lando continues the joke although I don't think with any amusement. 

"Basically what I got from it was that he was trying to throw you off your game, with Emily at least. Finn, I think, was just a happy coincidence to Charles" I comment. 

Lando nods his head as if he takes it all in. "That worries me then" he mumbles. 

I look over at him confused. 

"Something as small as that, as simple as that. Something that maybe we should have considered a possibility, was able to shake us so quickly. You see a picture of me with another girl and you instantly think I'm untrustworthy, and then I see Finn, and I think the same about you." He lets out a deep breath of release. "It worries me that, that was so easy to come between us" 

I deflate, not expecting the conversation to go in this direction. I figured that after everything we could just sit back and laugh about it and carry on, but he was right. 

"You and I are going to be tested a lot more if we decided to go this" he shifts so he is looking at me now. 

"If we decide to do this?" I repeat as a question. 

Lando takes my hands in his, "You know what I mean" 

I attempt to blink away the tears as they torment the corners of my eyes and block the passage in my throat. "Maybe you're right"

I feel his grip on me tighten a little, but I continue, "We never really considered the logistics of this. I mean, we discussed it, but it more just trying to make sure our narrative fit the fairytale." 

"I don't want to lose you though" he whispers. 

"I don't want to lose you either. There is no doubt that I care deeply for you, and I think you feel the same for me as well."

"Of course I do" he quickly confirms, sharply. 

I think of a hundred things to say, millions of reasons striking the tip of my tongue, but I can't bring myself to say any of them, because at the end of the day, they all just mean goodbye. 

"What happens now?" Lando asks with a shaky breath.