"I didn't think you'd actually show up." Lando joked as he opened the door to his apartment to let her in later that evening.
"I wasn't going to." She admitted. "Tracey forced me."
"I knew I liked her." He laughed. "How's your day been?"
Aimee launched in to a tale of the enormous list of jobs she had to complete before the race weekend started and she had her usual job to complete. Lando couldn't help but groan as she reeled off the full list of events and things they'd got planned and he realised that he was also going to have to participate.
"I'm exhausted and we haven't even started yet." He complained. "Can you cancel half of it, please?"
"I wish." Aimee rolled her eyes. "Why do you think we had to come out a couple of days early to get a head start on it all? It's going to be absolutely insane."
"Well, you know what that means!" Lando clapped his hands together, standing up from where he'd been sat on the sofa.
Aimee looked at him dubiously. "What?"
"That if we only have tonight to have fun we need to make sure you get the full Monaco experience!" He was looking at her like an excited child as he rummaged in a draw behind him looking for his car keys.
Aimee frowned. "I have been to Monaco before." She reminded him. This was not what she had agreed to. A quiet dinner at Lando's place Tom probably wouldn't find out about. If she set foot outside with him, the place filled with fans with cameras, the entire world was going to know about it in a matter of minutes.
"Come on." He pleaded. "We'll just go for a drive, I'll show you the sights. The windows are all tinted on the car anyway and we won't get out. Then I can pick the food up on the way back."
"Lando..." she sighed. "I really don't think this is a good idea."
"He's not even here and you're still letting him control what you do." The words slipped out of Lando in frustration before he could stop them. She hadn't said as much, that it was Tom that was stopping her, but they both knew the truth.
"I..." Aimee stuttered, looking for the right words. He was right of course. He always was when it came to this. "It's complicated, Lando." She sighed.
"You keep saying that and I really don't think it's as complicated as you think it is." He shook his head at her. "You can't keep living your life like this." He slammed his hand down on the counter behind him and Aimee couldn't help the way she flinched. It was an automatic reaction as this point.
"I think I should go." She scrambled to get to her feet, her heart pounding in her chest. The logical part of her brain knew Lando would never lay a finger on her in the way Tom did, but after years of living with Tom the fight or flight response to any kind of confrontation was well and truly ingrained into her.
"I'm sorry, don't go." He stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door, holding his hands up as if in surrender. "I didn't mean it, I just... I have a bit of a hard time with knowing what's going on with you and not being able to do anything about it."
"Believe me I liked it a lot better when you didn't know." Aimee retorted, shaking her head. "You've gotta let it go, Lando."
"How am I supposed to do that?" He challenged.
Aimee shrugged. "That's for you to work out."
Her phone ringing cut through the moment of silence that seemed to hang between them. As she fished it out of her pocket Lando could see exactly who was calling her, although he'd have been able to work it out from the face Aimee pulled.
"I'm going to have to answer him or he'll think I'm up to something." She mumbled, shaking her head in frustration.
"Stay here, answer him. I'll go get us some food." Lando proposed quickly, already halfway out of the door before she could argue with him.
****
Lando was half expecting her to have left when he returned with the food he'd picked up, but there she was, sat cross legged on his sofa staring into space.
He'd come in quietly in case she was still on the phone, but quickly noticed her phone sat on the coffee table in front of her. "Everything okay?" He asked warily, stepping into the kitchen for a minute.
She didn't answer him, and it wasn't until he came out of the kitchen with the food and rounded the corner so he was facing her he realised she was crying.
"Aimee?" He put the plates he was carrying down on the coffee table and sat down beside her. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she'd swat him away, before he pulled her in for a hug. "What happened?"
She didn't push him away, just resting her head against his shoulder for a moment before she wiped her tears away and sat up. "It's fine, he's drunk... he doesn't mean it." She rolled her eyes but her lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears again as she said it.
"He doesn't mean what?" Lando prompted.
"Can we just leave it?" Aimee asked quietly. "I don't want to talk about it, or think about it. Just for tonight. He's going to be here the day after tomorrow and I'll have to deal with it then. Let's just have some food and you can take me out sight seeing if the offer still stands?"
"Sounds good to me." He nodded, passing her the food and flicking on the tv. He could probably imagine what had been said to upset her, but if she didn't want to talk about it he wasn't about to force her. The reminder that Tom would be flying out to join her in a couple of days was an unwelcome reminder. "Is there anywhere in particular you want to see?"
Aimee shrugged. "Surprise me."
YOU ARE READING
Stay With Me- Lando Norris
FanfictionAfter discovering that one of his coworkers is in a desperate situation, Lando makes it his mission to try and help her. Except she doesn't want his help, and does everything she can to push him away.
