Lando wasn't even entirely sure how he'd ended up stood outside Oscar and Lily's hotel room door, the letter from Aimee still clutched in his hand as he pounded on the door.
"Lando?" Oscar looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?" He pulled his friend inside and shut the door in case there was anyone out in the hallways.
"Is Lily here?" Lando asked.
"What's up?" Lily asked, stepping out of the bathroom and looking back and forth between Oscar and Lando.
"Have you heard from Aimee?" Lando asked. "She's gone."
"What do you mean she's gone?" Oscar asked. Lando thrust the letter at him.
"She's gone and I've been trying to call her and she's not answering." Lando explained. "Do you know where she went?" He was almost pleading, praying that Lily was going to have some kind of explanation that made this okay.
Lily shook her head. "I went and knocked on the door at lunch time before I left for the track but she didn't answer and I just assumed she was sleeping." She walked to the bedside table and picked up her phone. "I'll call her."
There was silence in the room as Lily dialed the number, Oscar quietly handing the letter to Lily as she stood with the phone pressed to her ear as it rang. Her eyes widened as she read the letter, a hand coming to rest on Lando's shoulder as he sunk down on the end of the bed.
"No answer." Lily shook her head. "I'll send her a text. Do you know where she might've gone?"
Lando shook his head. "All her stuff is in my flat in Monaco. I don't think she talks to her family... Tracey maybe?"
He went to stand up but Oscar stopped him. "Stay here, I'll go and ask Tracey if she knows anything." He offered, disappearing out of the room and leaving Lily to comfort Lando.
"I don't understand what happened." Lando mumbled, more thinking aloud than actually talking to Lily. "I don't understand."
Lily sat down on the bed beside him, looking for the words. "She's been through a lot, Lando. Reading this... I don't think she meant to hurt you."
"It's a bit fucking late for that." Lando muttered bitterly. "To leave like this and not even say goodbye?"
Lily squeezed his arm. "I don't know her that well, but from what I do know, I'd take a guess that she thought saying goodbye was going to make it harder."
Lando was quiet for a long moment. "She really didn't say anything to you?"
Lily shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Lando."
Oscar walked back in the door and Lando looked up at him hopefully for a moment before Oscar shook his head and dashed his hopes.
"Tracey hasn't heard from her at all." Oscar explained. "She tried to call her too but no answer. She left a message and asked her to at least let one of us know she's okay. I think that's probably all we can do at the moment."
Lando sat there silently for what felt like an eternity, staring at the wall, as he tried to process it.
"Max was having a party tonight, right?" He asked, looking at Oscar. "I need a drink or ten."
"I'm not sure that's the best idea." Lily shook her head.
Lando already had his phone out, calling max to see where they were going. His friend had told him earlier but he'd assumed he'd be spending the evening with Aimee and hadn't paid any attention.
"You're going to have to go with him." Lily hissed at Oscar.
"Why me." Oscar groaned as Lando chatted on the phone about some club they were meeting at. "You know I hate clubbing."
"Look at him." Lily jerked her head in Lando's direction. "He's going to get black out drunk and do something stupid."
"And you want me to stop him?" Oscar raised an eyebrow.
"Oscar's going to come with you." Lily volunteered the second Lando hung up the phone.
"Great." Lando nodded. "I'll go get changed and meet you back here in an hour?"
"Great." Lily answered on Oscar's behalf as he glared at her.
****
Meanwhile, Aimee had landed back in the UK and slowly made her way to Norfolk on the train. The couple of hours on the train had left her far too much thinking time.
Lando had clearly found out she'd gone if the repeated phone calls from Lily, Tracey and even Oscar were anything to go by. She'd blocked Lando's number knowing full well if he called she'd answer. She didn't trust herself.
It was supposed to be a clean break, one that would allow him to move on and just forget she'd ever existed.
She stood at the bottom of the driveway as the taxi pulled away, looking at her parents house, wondering nervously if she was as unwelcome here as they'd once told her she was.
She didn't have anywhere else to go, so she could only hope that the couple of years that had passed had allowed the dust to settle.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she knocked on the door. The lights were on so they must be home.
There was a stunned silence as her mum pulled open the front door, staring at Aimee in utter disbelief.
"Aimee?" She gasped. "What on earth are you doing here?"
The tears were flowing down Aimee's face before she could even think about getting a word out. So she stood there, clutching her small suitcase and sobbing for a moment, until her mum took a step forward and pulled her into a hug.
"Aimee? What on earth happened?" She asked again.
"Who is it?" Aimee looked up at the sound of her Dad's voice behind her Mum and he looked back at her with the same look of shock her mum had.
She wasn't sure how long the three of them stood there, all of them crying, before her dad eventually cleared his throat. "I think you'd better come in and tell us what happened." He suggested, taking her suitcase by the handle and dragging it into the porch.
Aimee's mum nodded, releasing her but keeping an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. It felt as though she was worried if she let go Aimee might just disappear and they'd never see her again.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know where else to go and I know you said-"
"Aimee." Her mum interrupted. "You're our daughter. You'll always be welcome here. I know we said some terrible things when we were angry and I've wished every day since I could take them back, but I'm so glad you're here now."
"Thanks, Mum." Aimee choked out, allowing herself to be wrapped in another hug.
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.
