Free Now- Lando Norris

2. You can run but you can't hide

"Something wrong with the bed in the other room?" Flo asked as Lando wandered sleepily through into the kitchen the next morning.

Lottie was still fast asleep on the sofa, and he'd been careful when he got up not to wake her. She'd been restless all night and she looked so tired. Even asleep her face was still pinched in pain.

"I got up to get a drink and got wrapped up watching tv." He shrugged, walking past Flo to make himself a coffee.

Flo paused for a moment, as if considering whether she believed him, but then moved on. "Mum is on the way over by the way."

"You told her I was here?!" Lando cried.

"No." Flo shook her head. "She was actually coming over to keep an eye on Lottie while I go out for a bit. And probably clean my whole house and restock the fridge because that's what she does every time she comes over."

"Does she really need to come if I'm here?" He asked.

"No, but if I told her why she doesn't need to come then she'd know you are here and then she'd insist on coming anyway. I thought this way you could surprise her and I still get my fridge restocked. It's a win win." Flo shrugged. "What's wrong with you? Why are you hiding from Mum?"

"I'm not hiding from mum." He protested. "I just wish you'd warned me she was coming."

"I am warning you now." Flo pointed out. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me." He snapped, slamming the mug he was holding down on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, because that's a completely normal reaction." Flo turned to look at him properly.

"Just leave it." He sighed, turning on his heel and heading for the kitchen door.

"Where are you going?" Flo called, watching in bewilderment as he disappeared.

"Out." He snapped, running up the stairs two at a time to get changed.

He reappeared a couple of minutes later in gym clothes, beanie hat pulled firmly onto his head and headphones already blasting music loud enough to drown out anything his sister might have to say.

"Lando it's-" she called, but he didn't hear her, shooting out of the front door, slamming it so hard behind him it seemed to shake the whole house.

"What was that?" Lottie asked, blinking sleepily and looking around. The sudden noise had woken her from the deepest sleep and she had absolutely no concept of what time of day it was, other than that fact there was a dull kind of daylight outside of the windows.

"That was Lando in a mood." Flo shrugged. "You'll get used to it. Or he'll bugger off back to Monaco in a day or two and we won't have to worry about it. Don't worry about him. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Please." Lottie nodded. "Are you sure he's okay?"

"I don't know." Flo admitted. "There's something going on, he'll come out with it when he's ready. Or he'll just get over it. It's just what he does. Toast okay? I'll put the kettle on."

"Thanks." Lottie nodded, shifting awkwardly in her makeshift bed on the sofa as she tried to get comfortable again.

She was still floundering around trying to sit up a bit more, her ribs protesting violently at the smallest bit of movement when Flo came back.

"You do know we need to get you off my sofa at some point." Flo sighed, giving her a hand to sit up a bit, before pulling the coffee table closer so she'd be able to reach it and placing the mug she was carrying down.