Aimee had spent the day of qualifying in bed, the knowledge of what she was about to do making her so sick that Lando hadn't even questioned it. She had come to the conclusion that she obviously looked as sick as she felt.
She'd half thought about just leaving while he was gone that day, but she knew it would distract him from the race the following day, and as much as she wanted to rip of the bandaid for her own sanity she couldn't do it to him.
So she waited.
She spent another night laying in bed beside him, taking in every detail of his face as he slept blissfully unaware beside her. Her fingers brushed through the curls on top of his head as if she could perhaps commit the way they felt into her memory. As though this would let her live in some alternate universe where she didn't have to leave. One where Lando wasn't so much better off without her.
"I love you, and I am so so sorry." She whispered into the darkness, kissing his forehead.
She was still wide awake when he got up to get ready to head to the track the next morning. She screwed her eyes closed and buried her face in the pillow, pretending to be asleep because she couldn't face talking to him.
One look at him and she'd be reduced to a sobbing mess on the floor.
Or even worse she'd be back to reconsidering the whole thing again.
So she kept her head buried in the pillows as he padded around the room getting ready for his day.
He reappeared a little while later, sitting down on the bed beside her, hand finding her shoulder. "Aimee?" He shook her gently. "Wake up, Aimee."
She so desperately wanted to keep her head buried in those pillows, but she knew he wasn't going to leave without checking she was okay.
"Mmm?" She mumbled, turning her head a fraction but keeping her face buried.
"I've got to go now, are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asked. "Do you want me to get you anything? Lily said she'd drop by at lunch time before she heads to the track."
Aimee shook her head. "No I'm fine. You go, good luck today."
"Get some rest. Call me if you need anything." He said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
And then he was gone.
The tears Aimee had been holding back flowed freely now. She loved him, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he didn't deserve this, but she just didn't know what else to do.
She allowed herself five minutes to wallow in her own self pity, and to mourn what could've been if she wasn't such a mess and he wasn't far too good for her.
Then she dragged herself out of bed and got to work gathering her things, shoving them all into a bag until there wasn't a trace left in the hotel room that she'd ever been there to begin with.
****
Lando returned from the track much later that evening, after a very long debrief, to find the hotel room in darkness.
It didn't immediately ring alarm bells, assuming Aimee was still asleep, but as he stepped further inside and saw the half of the closet where her clothes had been hanging empty and the suitcase missing from the bottom gone he panicked.
Flipping on the light switch he was greeted with an empty room. The bed neatly made, two envelopes sitting on the pillow. One addressed to Lando and the other to Tracey. The familiar handwriting on the envelope felt like a very bad sign indeed.
He made his way across to the bed in something of a trance, unwilling to believe that this was actually happening. He ripped open the envelope with his name on and sunk down on the bed. The pillow he rested his head on still smelled like Aimee's shampoo and he felt a lump in his throat.
Lando,
I'm so, so sorry to be doing this like this. You deserve so much more, and I'm so sorry that I'm not the person who can give you that.
I'll never forget what you did for me, and I'll always be thankful. You've been the most incredible friend I could ever ask for, and I can't even begin to imagine where I might've been or what could've happened if you hadn't been there for me.
Please don't think I'm doing this because I don't love you. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm doing this because I love you more than I could ever put into words, and you deserve so much more than I could ever offer you.
I've loved every second with you, and I'll always wish this could've lasted forever. But I've got to do this, for the both of us, and I hope one day that maybe you'll understand why I did this, even if it seems impossible now.
I love you with all my heart, and I am so so sorry. No matter what happens, I'll always be rooting for you.
I love you.
Aimee xxx
The first thing he did was pull out his phone and try to call her, but it just cut off without ringing. So he fired off a text message instead, pleading with her to just come back so they could talk about it. The message refused to deliver and he realised she'd probably blocked his number.
He wanted to go after her, but as he sat there and stared at the letter she'd left, he realised that he had absolutely no idea where she might've gone.
He didn't realise he was crying until a year fell onto the paper, smudging the ink on the page slightly.
How could she do this to him?
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.
