SEVEN MINUTES || L. NORRIS

THIRTY ONE

If I come around would you even care?

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ISABELLE

A knock on the door at ten at night startled me; I was afraid to answer it, I didn't want to move myself from my sofa. I didn't know who would be knocking on my door at such an hour, to get into the complex, you had to have a key - maybe one of me neighbours had locked themselves out and needed something, but I was still too afraid to move a muscle. The knocking persisted and I gave in, standing up and walking towards the front door. Cautiously, I pushed the keys into the lock and pulled the door open. My stomach dropped when my eyes fell onto the other side of the door.

Lando was stood before me, tears stained on his cheeks, his eyes red and bloodshot from crying. He sniffled, before he collapsed into my arms. I wrapped my arms around him, allowing him to hold onto my body, his tears falling onto my bare shoulder. I knew he'd been drinking, I could smell the alcohol on his clothes.

"I fucking love you so much, Isabelle," he whispered, as I guided him through the door and closed it behind him. "I can't go any longer without you. I need you."

"Lando, come on inside," I wrapped my arm around his waist and helped him into the front room. He was stumbling over his own feet, clearly drunk, as he reached for my hand. "You're going to be alright. I love you too."

"I want everything to go back to normal," he sat himself on the laminate floor, his back resting against the wall. Lando dragged his kneecaps towards his chest and rested his chin against them. "Isabelle, I love you."

"Lando," I decided to take a seat beside him, clutching onto his hand. Yesterday, I consumed so much alcohol that I passed out on my sofa and slept through until seven this morning. It was Lando's turn this time. He shouldn't have been drinking alcohol so often and in such large amounts, I knew he might get himself into trouble with McLaren if they found out. "Baby. Listen to me."

His eyes flicked upwards, his hands clinging onto my wrist.

"I love you. I never stopped loving you. I want you to come home. I want us to go back to how we were at the start of the year," I reassured him, crossing my legs as I looked into his teary eyes. "It's going to be alright, Lando."

"I just had a drink, Isabelle," he sobbed, his bottom lip trembling as I stroked my finger against his skin. "Just some vodka. I didn't mean to get like this. I just wanted to see you so I had to come over."

"It's alright, I'm glad you're here." I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his forehead, awkwardly leaning across his body. His face lit up and I melted a little inside. "I've missed you."

Lando pushed his legs forward and reached for my body, lifting me into his arms and sitting me in his lap. I rested my face in his shoulder, taking in his sweet scent, one I'd missed so terribly. His fingers ran carefully up and down my back, his breathing heavy as I rested my pelvis over his.

"I love you." His voice was deep and a little husky, something I'd not heard for a long time. I loved the way he spoke to me when he told me those three words. His grip on my body was so tight, the tone in his voice so meaningful as he trailed his lips across the delicate skin on my neck.

"Lando," I muttered, a soft gasp escaping from my lips as his hands fiddled with the soft material of my pyjama top. "Let's go to bed."