Mastermind

Paris August 21st, 2022

Lando's POV

I hadn't heard from Eva in days. That fucking bastard had left me with a split lip, and a best friend with a broken heart. The noise of Paris helped drown out some thoughts of what I would do, if Gasly's address was public knowledge. The sky was dark and showing signs of a warm rain which was similar to the storm raging in my head. I had given her space, but she couldn't deal with this alone. There was no way she had told Lewis, which meant she was holed up in that apartment alone. Also, selfishly, with Belgium coming up I wanted to see if she was in a place to come back to the track. Daniel tried to stop me, he thought I should wait for her to come to me, but there was no way that was going to happen. After the psycho Frenchman laid his fist into my face and I fell on that club floor, Daniel sat me down and I had to give him the whole story. 

"Eva and Gasly?"

"Yes."

"Our Eva...and Pierre Gasly?"

"Yes Daniel.

"Evangeline Hamil-"

"For fucks sake Daniel. Yes! She was in Greece with him for the break and now he's kissing some French model."

"Wow, losing a fight turns you into a whole new man...I'm scared."

I was carrying a chocolate cupcake from her favorite bakery down the street when I finally arrived and my fist hit the door three times. There was no answer so I tried calling her...no answer again. Worry crept into my gut and my thoughts were speeding through at two hundred kilometers per hour. 

What if this had broken her?

What if it drove her back to that dark place?

What

Do

I

Do?

My hand moved hesitantly to the handle and with a slight twist, the door moved and I entered her flat. The TV wasn't on, she wasn't cooking with her headphones in and she wasn't at the piano. So where the hell is she? That's when I heard the soft hum coming from her room.

 Was she in the shower?

I called out and waited for a response. There were a few times throughout the years when we'd stayed together for race weekends and she had never showered in silence. If there was one thing I knew about Evangeline Hamilton it was that she never did anything without music playing. I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers that she would yell at me to get out or anything...show any signs of life. Entering slowly, I rounded the corner and spotted her black hair spilling over the tub edge and fear bolted through me like I'd been struck by lightning. Sprinting across her carpet to the bathroom, my footsteps were loud against the tile. She sat there, her sprawling frame filled the entire tub and the water fell against her clothes which were soaked. My mind immediately went to her passing out from alcohol, but as I approached, she turned her head and I found recognition in her eyes. 

"Hey Lan,"

"Hey Eva." I knelt next to her and watched as the water continued to fall. The spray was cold so she must've been sitting here a while. I reached for the dial, but before I could, she grabbed my hand and moved it back to the edge of the tub. "Just let me turn it off, you're gonna get cold."

"I feel like I should already be cold, but honestly I don't really feel anything...not anymore." Her voice was far away.

"Why don't we get you out of there?"