|Love 4 Apex| Lando Norris

🏎 24 - Racing Against Reality

Lando sat alone in his room in the paddock, staring at the wall as his mind raced in a million directions. Pregnant. The word felt foreign, surreal. When had this even happened? He thought back over the summer break, replaying the days, the moments when he and Magui had been together. Could it have been then? A hundred questions flooded his mind. How is this even possible? They'd always been careful, always used protection—he'd been cautious about it, never wanting to risk something like this. And yet, here he was, staring down the very reality he thought he'd kept safely at a distance. Was she sure? Had she done any tests? Was this a possibility or a reality? He found himself clinging to the idea that maybe it was just a scare, maybe something they'd laugh about later. But the reality kept sinking deeper, more terrifying, more impossible to ignore: This can't be happening.

He shook his head, muttering to himself. He was only 23. He was still a kid, really, and he'd barely figured himself out. He could hardly manage his own life, with racing taking up nearly every second of his focus and energy. How was he supposed to handle a baby? The thought made his chest tighten, fear closing around him like a vice. He was a kid who barely remembered to pay his own bills on time, who lived life in a blur between races, media, and fleeting moments of freedom. How could he be the kind of father that a child—his child—would need?

His stomach twisted as he thought about his career, the dreams he'd spent his entire life chasing. Racing was everything, the one thing he'd sacrificed for, the one thing that made sense. He'd fought so hard to get here, and he still had so much more to prove. Every race, every season felt like another step closer to something he'd wanted since he was a kid. Could he really give that up? How would he balance the life he'd built with the responsibility he suddenly found himself facing?

And then, Magui. He hadn't even considered what she was going through. She'd been carrying this weight alone, faced with something neither of them had expected or prepared for. How was she feeling right now? Scared, probably. Hurt. Wondering what this would mean for her, for them, for everything. He had no idea if he could be what she needed. They'd already been strained, barely holding things together, and now this... it felt like a fault line opening up beneath his feet.

He glanced down at his phone, her name on the screen, his thumb hovering just above it. His chest tightened, every instinct telling him to face this, to reach out. He couldn't be a coward—not this time. But the words he needed wouldn't come. He didn't know what he'd say, didn't know how he'd make any of this better.

Just then, a sharp knock at the door jolted him from his spiraling thoughts. Lando looked up, his eyes focusing just as one of the team members peeked in, reminding him that he was needed in the briefing room. He blinked, his mind struggling to snap back to reality, to the here and now. The weight pressing down on him faded briefly as he straightened up, slipping back into the role he knew best.

As he left his room, the realization hit him: he had a race to win. Whatever was happening in his personal life, whatever decisions lay ahead, right now, he had one job. Racing had always been his escape, and right now, it was the only place he could channel everything—fear, confusion, even the creeping dread of the unknown.

Lando entered the briefing room and took his seat across from Rose. She didn't look up—not once. Her gaze was fixed on her notes, her focus sharp, never drifting his way.

As the officials discussed turn six and track safety, he glanced at her, hoping for even the slightest reaction. But Rose's attention stayed anywhere but on him, her silence sharper than any words. Then it struck him: he'd been so consumed by everything with Magui, the endless questions and uncertainty, that he'd completely forgotten to reply when Rose had texted him saying they needed to talk. He'd left her hanging, just when she'd reached out, and now he was seeing the impact of that silence.