"You can't kick your parents out!" Aimee protested later that evening. The doctor and come around to confirm they were happy to discharge her, she just needed to come back the following week for a check up.
"I'm not kicking them out. Mum booked the hotel herself." Lando protested. "We were hardly going to leave you on the street."
"I can stay in the hotel." Aimee argued.
Lando shook his head. "No, they said you couldn't go unless you're going with someone to look after you."
"Yeah but they don't need to know, do they?" Aimee tried again.
He shook his head. "Not going to happen, now are we doing this or not?" He asked, gesturing to the wheelchair.
Aimee looked at him for a minute from where she was perched on the edge of the hospital bed, trying to get a read on whether she might be able to get him to cave in and take her to the hotel room his parents had booked.
"You're never going to get my Mum to agree either, so just stop arguing and get in." He sighed.
She still didn't move.
"Aimee, please." He sighed. "I'm exhausted and could really do with going home to sit down before qualifying tomorrow. Can you please just get in?"
Her expression softened immediately, she looked at him and realised he did look exhausted. She couldn't imagine a night perched in the tiny hospital bed with her had been particularly restful.
"I just feel bad." She sighed.
"Don't." He shook his head. "We all just want to make sure you're okay, so let us. Now come on." He held his hands out to help her up, supporting her as she did an awkward little shuffle round to get into the wheelchair.
The next hurdle was trying to get her into his car. The sports car may be fun to drive, but was incredibly impractical for trying to manoeuvre someone with very limited mobility in and out of.
"I didn't really think this through." Lando admitted as he stood looking at the very low passenger seat and then back at Aimee sat in the wheelchair with her entire leg in plaster.
"I don't think there's going to be a good way to do it." She said. "Just shove me in there and hope for the best."
He laughed, shaking his head at her. How had she managed to make it through all of this with her sense of humour still in tact?
She bit her lip to the point she drew blood as he awkwardly scooped her up and did exactly as she'd suggested. Her entire body screamed in protest and she was exhausted even from the minimal effort she'd put in.
"Sorry." He apologised as he lifted the broken casted leg and deposited it in the footwell as gently as he could. He could see all over her face how painful it had been.
"I wonder if it'll be just as much fun getting out at the other end." Aimee joked weakly. She reached out to take the crutches she'd been sent home with from him, slotting them into the footwell.
Lando disappeared for a second to return the wheelchair, then jumped into the drivers seat and started the engine with a roar.
"Mum and Dad are at home, they can give us a hand if need be." He told her.
"I'll manage, I'm sure." Aimee said quickly. Lando's mum was lovely, she'd been really good company to watch the practice sessions with, but the idea of them having to carry her out of the car was too embarrassing to ever recover from.
"Mum's cooking dinner." He explained as he headed slowly out onto the road in the direction of his apartment. "She said she couldn't cope with the idea of you being discharged from hospital and having to put up with my cooking."
Aimee laughed quietly. "Is it really that awful? She didn't need to do that though. I'm honestly not even hungry."
"It'll make her happy, she does this every time she visits." Lando shrugged. "You've just made it even more enjoyable by giving her someone else she can fuss over."
"I'm really grateful, you've all done so much for me. Too much." Aimee said quietly as he drove them through the winding streets.
"Don't say that, I told you I'd be here and I meant it." Lando said softly, eyes flickering between her and the road.
Something in expression had shifted since they'd left the hospital, a quiet air of sadness descending upon her.
"What... do the rest of the team know?" She asked quietly.
"I don't know exactly what they know." He said. "I told Zak and Tracey, but I don't know what they've said about Tom. I can text Oscar and ask."
"Thanks." Aimee mumbled.
Lando's eyes flickered back to her. "Nearly there, we just need to get you upstairs then you can get some sleep." She looked exhausted.
"You make it sound like it's going to be so easy." She joked weakly.
They had eventually made it up to his apartment, with a fair bit of assistance from Lando's dad to navigate the steps, much to Aimee's embarrassment.
"Why don't you go and lie down for a bit?" His mum suggested immediately, looking at her as she hobbled through the door on her crutches.
Lando was lurking half a step behind her, arms outstretched ready to catch her. It was a well founded fear, she'd already nearly lost her balance twice in the ten metres she'd walked.
"Just down there." Lando pointed in the direction of his spare room. "You going to be okay?"
"Yep." Aimee forced out, gritting her teeth as she took another step.
It was incredibly slow progress, but she did eventually make it, sinking down on the edge of the bed with a sigh of relief. Lando gently picked her leg up and raised it on to the bed, she was unable to hold in the hiss of pain that escaped her and he immediately looked apologetic.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked.
"I'm okay, I think I just need to rest for a bit." She reassured him. "Thank you."
He lingered in the doorway for a minute. "Okay, we'll be just out here so shout if you need anything."
He closed the door and Aimee sunk back against the pillows, absolutely exhausted.
She wanted to sleep, desperately, but every time she closed her eyes she was back in that hotel room with Tom standing over her.
YOU ARE READING
Stay With Me- Lando Norris
Fanfiction*Completed* After 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.
