The Chequered Flag || Lando Norris

39 | The Whole World Could Vanish

I turned off the TV and stood up as the door of the room opened, then slammed shut. Seeing Lando stand there, his helmet is still on. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there. After a moment, his shoulders sagged, and he pulled off his helmet and balaclava, defeated. He looked up at me, and I saw his eyebrows furrow. He slowly opened his mouth to say something, but stopped.

I opened my arms, and he walked over to me.

He hugged me tightly, and I felt his unsteady breath against my neck. His entire body was tense, so I tightened the hug, and he collapsed into my arms. We sunk down to the floor, still holding onto one another like it was the only thing keeping us from falling apart.

Lando sighed, and I moved my hand up to the back of his head, running my fingers through his hair. I felt tears start to soak into the material on my shoulder, and I couldn't help it, I started to cry too, holding him tighter.

We stayed like that, on the floor of his room, until we heard a knock on the door. A voice cautiously, calling, "Lando, I'm sorry, but you still have to do interviews."

Lando slowly untangled himself from my arms, but didn't let go of my hand. He opened the door to Charlotte, who looked really unsure of herself.

When she saw me and our intertwined hands, she repeated herself quietly, "I'm sorry."

The poor woman looked as if it was her fault things had ended the way they had. She looked heartbroken as she slowly moved to the side so that I could exit his room and let him get ready.

I started out the room, but a split second later, I felt a tug on my hand.

He hadn't let go.

But I couldn't stay with him.

I looked up from our hands and saw him looking back at me. He looked at me like he wished the whole world could vanish that moment and leave us alone forever. A look that felt like he wanted only me for the rest of his life. That he would be content if we could just stay in that room, not saying a word, until the day we died.

A moment passed between us before he let go of my hand.

My heart broke.

Lando closed the gap between us and kissed me softly. Resting his forehead against mine as tears started to slip out from his closed eyes once more.

After a moment, he stepped back, and I wiped away the tears that had fallen down his face.

I turned away from him, slowly making my way down the hall. Turning back to catch one last glance as I rounded the corner.

A single tear slipped out, and I wiped it away aggressively.

After a couple minutes, Charlotte texted me to tell me I was good to go back to the room.

I got up and made my way back to his room, closing his door and pressing my back up against it. I slid down to sit on the floor, my back still pressed to it as I put my head in my hands.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. How could things have turned so bad, so quickly? I looked up from my hands and cursed at the rain I could see from the room's window.