Thanks to Norris

part 53- fixing it

You staggered down the dim hotel hallway, the heavy buzz of alcohol clouding your mind but fueling your restless heart. Every step toward Lando's door felt like both a reckoning and a desperate hope. Your hand trembled as you knocked sharply, louder than you intended, the echo bouncing down the quiet corridor.

The door swung open almost immediately. Lando stood there, calm but wary, his eyes searching yours — a mix of concern and guarded pain.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was low, steady, but carried an edge that warned you this wouldn't be easy.

You pushed past him, the door clicking shut behind you. The room was small, the dim light casting long shadows, but the tension between you was suffocating. You could feel every unspoken word, every grudge, every scar hanging in the air.

You couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Why did you leave me?" you exploded, your voice cracking with raw emotion. "After everything — why did you just walk away like I was nothing? Like I didn't mean anything?"

Tears welled up, spilling down your cheeks as frustration boiled over. You screamed, the sound harsh and jagged, echoing off the walls.

Lando watched you, silent and still, his expression unreadable yet steady. You could feel your anger turning inward, clawing at your chest, making it hard to breathe. Suddenly, your fist slammed against the wall beside him, nails digging into the drywall with a sharp scrape. The sting shocked your senses, but he didn't flinch — never did. He was used to this side of you, the battles raging beneath your surface.

He stepped closer, his voice low and soothing. "You're the love of my life. The only one I've ever truly loved. You don't have to carry this alone."

His words pierced through the storm inside you like a lifeline. His hand reached out, gentle and sure, brushing the tears from your face and steadying your trembling frame. The rage that had consumed you slowly softened, replaced by a fragile vulnerability.

Your breaths hitched as you looked up into his deep, understanding eyes. The distance between you closed — just inches now — until your lips nearly met. The world seemed to pause, your hearts beating in tandem, fragile and electric.

Guided by an instinct neither of you dared to name yet, you both sank down onto the bed. Not as adversaries, but as two souls tangled in pain, love, and the tentative hope of healing — holding on to each other in the dark.

In the quiet stillness of the night, you slowly blinked awake, the soft hum of the city outside barely filtering through the window. For a moment, the fog of sleep clung to you—but then clarity hit like a rush of cold air. The weight of last night's emotions, the closeness with Lando, everything you'd both almost let happen... it was real. Too real.

Your chest tightened with a mix of fear and something like hope. You slipped out of bed carefully, not wanting to disturb the fragile silence. You moved toward the door, your mind racing with a thousand thoughts — about what this meant, what you needed to say, what you might lose.

Just as your hand touched the doorknob, a sudden, firm grip wrapped around your wrist, pulling you gently but insistently back.

You froze, heart pounding.

Lando's voice came, low and urgent in the dark.
"Don't go."

You stood there in his arms, the warmth of his grip a lifeline against the swirling storm inside you. But no matter how much you wanted to stay, the weight of everything pressing down—fear, confusion, the uncertainty of what this meant—pulled you away.

"I have to go," you whispered, voice cracking.

Lando's hold tightened for a moment, then slowly loosened, his eyes searching yours, filled with a mixture of pain and understanding.