SEVEN MINUTES || L. NORRIS

SIX

And I'm driving past the places we both know

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LANDO

Of course, I didn't take myself home immediately. I enjoyed driving, obviously, but when I wasn't racing, I used it as a way to clear my mind. However, this morning, I found it difficult to clear my mind. Everywhere I passed reminded me of Isabelle. Of Isabelle and I. Each corner was so familiar and I could picture us strolling across the pavement, our hands locked together, massive smiles plastered across our lips. She would stand so close to me, as she clung onto me, so pleased that I was home for a while. Even before I started going away for races often, it was something we loved to do.

I drove past the supermarket where we used to go for our weekly shop. We would spend a ridiculous amount of hours rushing around each aisle. Even though we both made sure we didn't leave our apartments without a shopping list, we always seemed to forget something between us. That only meant we would have no choice but to spend an extra half an hour remembering what we needed, before rushing to collect it from its shelf. "I want to go home now," Isabelle always whined when she started to get bored of shopping. "My feet hurt and I want to cuddle up to you." She always made me laugh and I'd say to her, "five more minutes, baby." I always saw her rolling her eyes out of the corner of mine, but I pretended I didn't notice. We would simply pay, then rush away to the car, piling our bags in and driving towards my apartment. Issy always looked so adorable on our shopping days. The actual day of the week itself always changed, but her outfit stayed the same. Something would be wrong, if she dressed in anything other than her black hoodie and grey jogging bottoms, with her hair tied up in a ponytail loosely, strands falling by the side of her face. I loved the way she dressed when we came shopping. She always looked so cute in her outfit, but she looked even cuter as she clung onto my wrist as we waltzed through each aisle.

I couldn't help but grin to myself at the memory, as the red light flashed green and I set off past the traffic lights. I noticed I was now driving parallel to a park on the left hand side, one Issy and I spent most of our evenings at if we ever wanted to go for a walk. We had a special spot, however I wouldn't be able to see it from my seat in the car. Our spot consisted of a large tree, with a small wooden bench sat beneath it, covered by the leaves which hung above it, making it the perfect spot to find shade from the sun on hot days. We would take a small picnic to the park and sit on our bench, whilst eating the sandwiches we had prepared. Then, I would take the strawberries and pineapple, Issy's favourite, from the small tub and I would feed her them, every single time. She would giggle as the juices dripped down her chin, as I reached for a tissue to pass to her before it got messy. She always looked so beautiful on those days; she would be dressed for summer, even if it was freezing cold outside. She would make sure to wear the most summery outfit she owned, as even if that meant throwing on a woolly hat to keep her ears warm. I still thought she was the cutest girl in the world. By the end of the day, she would be tired and would end up resting her head in my lap. She wouldn't take her eyes off of me, as she reached for my hand, which she held tightly between her own. I always found myself looking down at her, admiring how cute she looked and also thinking about how desperate I was to take her home with me.

Another important building appeared out of the corner of my eye as I turned the corner, heading onto the quieter road, away from the high street. Whilst turning at the junction, I spotted our favourite ice cream parlour. No matter if it was rain or shine, Issy and I would be down here, admiring each different flavour and topping, before spending what felt like years pondering on which ice cream to buy. On a hot sunmer's day, the parlour was rammed, but that didn't stop us from hanging around so that we were able to buy our all time favourite dessert. We were waiting patiently, Isabelle hooked onto my side, for about fifteen minutes, before we finally got inside and were exposed to the hundreds of different flavours. As always, she chose mint choc chip with sprinkles and I asked for vanilla with chocolate sauce. Each time, she would criticise my choice - "you are so boring, Lando!" - I would only ever giggle and shake my head as we left the busy shop. She would eat her ice cream quicker than I did, as I liked to savour every bite, whereas she wanted to enjoy it quickly, begging me to turn around for more. One afternoon, she was holding her ice cream cone in one hand, then linking my fingers with her other. I noticed a small green circle on her nose and I assumed she had marked it accidentally with pen, maybe, however, I shortly managed to realise that it was in fact ice cream, perched on the tip of her nose. I laughed at her, before she turned to me, with a confused look on her face.

"What?" She asked, pulling her hand away as she stopped to look at me on the street. "What is it?"

"You've got a little something..." I didn't let her know what it was. Instead, I leaned forward and brushed my lips across her nose, licking away the tasty ice cream. Once I'd removed it all, I leaned my forehead against hers. "There. All gone."

She would thank me and take my hand again, before we walked back towards the car park, as we tried to remember where exactly I'd left my vehicle. Issy would never let go of my hand. She was so proud to show me off by walking beside me and having her on my arm. I could tell how in love she was, not with me, but with the moment we found ourselves in. I knew it would be something she would store as a memory in the back of her mind.

"Lando Norris," a small exhale would leave her lips as she spoke my name. I would look at her, smiling and intrigued to hear what she was going to say, even though I already knew.  "I love you."

I let out a harsh cry as I slumped down in the seat of my car, pulling up into the parking space I usually took up outside my apartment. I clung onto the steering wheel as I let my anger pour out of my body in the form of tears falling from my eyes. I whimpered, shaking my head in complete disbelief as I stumbled from my car and towards my apartment.

I wanted to go back to those days so badly. I would do anything to take her for ice cream again, or sit with her on our bench in the park, and I would make sure to put her before my career. She was a million times more important than any race, or any amount of money I could ever be offered by anyone. I wanted her back. I wanted our life to be normal, without me leaving for another country, or even another continent, every other weekend. Although, if I ever suggested putting my career behind me and looking for something else, Issy would never let me. She wanted that for me more than I thought I ever did myself. Now, I simply realised how important it was just to be with her, without the pressure that came alongside my career. Yes, we'd been together since our school days, but that didn't change the press and their involvement in my relationship. Sometimes, I was afraid to expose Isabelle fully to the media, especially with the scale of her anxiety, but she always dealt with it very well. She didn't mind having cameras in her face as much as I'd first assumed. Yet, I still didn't feel too comfortable having her feel so exposed to the media, but she would always reassure me and tell me that it was alright.

I knew now, that even when things were at their very worst for Isabelle, she would never complain. Everything was always 'alright' for her. But now, I knew that she'd lied, every single time.

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