I can do it with a broken heart (Lando Norris)

6. Death By A Thousand Cuts

"My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust —
Tryna find a part of me you didn't take up.
Gave you so much, but it wasn't enough.
But I'll be all right; it's just a thousand cuts."

Hannah had taken Lando's hand walking through the airport once they touched down in Italy, tucking herself in beside him as she waved to the cameras and fans. That empty smile he hated was back on her face again, the flashes of the cameras blinding the pair of them as they walked through the arrivals hall. She still hadn't said a word to him since the night before and he had no idea what to say. The newfound knowledge from his conversation with Cassie on the flight was swirling around in his head.

She stopped at the exit where their cars were waiting. She was headed to her hotel with Cassie and he was driving down to catch up with the team who'd all arrived earlier on his original flight. "Good luck at the race, drive safely." She said softly, wrapping her arms around him. "I'll be cheering for you."

He pulled her into his chest, hugging her tight. "Are you going to be okay?" It was a quiet question, right in her ear, aware of all the eyes on them.

"Fake it till you make it, right?" She offered back uncertainly. She smiled up at him, her eyes shining with tears that threatened to fall. She'd spent the entire flight trying to suppress a rising wave of panic at going back to the tour. "Thank you, for Miami. Most fun I've had in a long time."

"Call me, any time. If you need anything." He said seriously, he knew she had Cassie with her to keep an eye on her but he didn't like the idea of sending her off like this.

She stretched up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his without saying anything else, the noise of camera shutters going mad in the background altering him to the fact she'd done this in front of all the press that had gathered for her arrival. "I've been wanting to do that again since Australia." She whispered in his ear as she turned to leave, already deep in conversation with Cassie as she walked away.

He watched her climb into the waiting car before getting into his rental car, shaking his head in disbelief about what had just happened. He'd be lying if he said he didn't find her incredibly confusing a lot of the time.

****

His phone buzzing somewhere on the nightstand woke him from his sleep and he looked around in confusion trying to work out what time of day it was. The jet lag coming back from America was no joke. He had spent the last two days trying to get his body back into the right time zone with very little success.

It was nearly midnight and he had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but for some reason, Carlos was texting him a link to a video. He was about to silence the phone and go back to sleep when the second message came through. 'Is she okay?' And his heart sank.

He clicked on the link. It was a video from Hannah's show that night, the opening night. He was familiar enough with the show to know the music playing was from one of the final songs, he watched as the clip showed Hannah standing on stage, eyes glistening with tears, almost hyperventilating before she straightened herself up and seemed to snap back into performer mode, carrying on with the song as though nothing had happened.

He didn't read many of the comments, but the majority of what he saw showed nothing but genuine concern for Hannah and whether she was okay. Checking her schedule online though he realised she was due to play another three shows over the next four days before she headed on to France.

He dialled her number hesitantly, conscious of the fact it was the middle of the night. Although having seen the video he doubted she was asleep. It answered on the first ring. "Hannah." He breathed a sigh of relief.