Formula 1 | One Shots (1)

The Lost Soul Part 2 | Lando Norris

Author's Note: Note to self, don't listen to sad/angsty music when writing 😅 

Part 2 of 2, final part.
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The Maldivian sunset stretched across the beach, painting the sky in oranges and soft pinks. The blue waves, the white sand...it was paradise. But to Lando, it was just background noise to the yelling of his own thoughts.

He leaned back in his beach chair, a half empty glass dangling from his fingers. He had lost track of the number of drinks he'd downed in the past few hours. His sunglasses were sitting lazily on the bridge of his nose, shielding his tired eyes from the sun. The numbness began to creep in, liquor being his constant companion these past two years.

Two years since Gemma.

Two years since he let the best thing in his life go.

He hated thinking about her, but no matter how far he ran...to the track, to the other side of the world, to this slice of paradise, she was always there. A phantom in his mind, haunting him in the quiet moments. She had walked out of his apartment that day and taken his heart with her, leaving behind only an aching void.

His friends laughed a few feet away, their voices blending into the sounds of the resort. Couples walked hand in hand along the water, a cruel reminder. Lando's lip curled instinctively. Happy couples. Lovers. He avoided them now. They reminded him too much of what he'd lost. What he'd never get back. What he couldn't have with the one person he wanted. 

It was almost funny, really. He and Gemma had planned to vacation in the Maldives at the end of the season two years ago. Their "dream vacation," they'd called it. And now here he was, in the same place they'd talked about, surrounded by his friends instead of her.

Funny. Or cruel. He couldn't decide which. He figured he deserved all the torment after what he did to her.

He raised the glass to his lips, the sharp taste of the tequila doing little to mask the bitterness he felt. As his gaze drifted lazily across the beach, he froze.

A figure stood at the edge of the water, their back to him. Something about the posture, the tilt of the head as they looked out at the horizon...it sent a shiver down his spine. A sense of deja vu gripped him so tightly he could barely breathe.

It couldn't be.

But it was.

Gemma.

His mind raced, his chest tightening as he looked at her. She seemed so calm, so at peace, standing there giggling at the waves crashing. Time felt like it had slowed down as a whirlwind of emotions crashed over him...disbelief, anger, longing.

She turned further, her face now fully visible, lit up by the golden rays of the setting sun. Her eyes looked around the beach, those same eyes that had once looked at him with such love. He swallowed hard, panic and hope raging within him. Did she see him? Did she recognize him?

Gemma's gaze faltered, her brow furrowing slightly as her eyes locked onto his.

Lando's grip tightened around his glass, his heart racing in his ears. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The world seemed to freeze, as she began to take a step toward him.

And then he saw it. His eyes trailed down her body, taking in the familiar features he used to know so well...until they stopped, stuck on her stomach...more specifically the baby bump. 

It felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. The glass in his hand felt like it might shatter under the force of his grip. His whole world came crashing down in that instant.