UNLOCKED - LANDO NORRIS [Book 3]

14

EVELYN

God, how could I be so stupid. I promised myself that I would put relationships to the side and focus on myself, I knew that Lando was seeing somebody else, and Charles and I had finally gotten to a good place with each other, and then I saw him and everything turned to shit.

When I turned around and saw him once he'd exited the McLaren garage, I was shocked to my core by his expression. I've watched Lando stand in front of me broken before, and its when we were at the cottage and I mixed up a memory, and now, there he was standing before me, the same broken person.

As I walk away from him, I know I need to go and find Charles and apologise. I don't know what came over me. All I know is that when I saw him, all I saw was his arms around the other girl and I saw red, I acted upon impulse.

As I duck my head into the Ferrari garage to see if he's in there, I come up short, there's absolutely nobody in there. I head down to the other end of the paddock to the media pen where I see him standing with a microphone up to his mouth, in the middle of an interview.

I stand behind the crowd of people and wait until he is done.

His eyes dart to mine as the interview wraps up, but they dart away just as fast and he begins to walk off toward the back of the Ferrari garage.

I struggle to keep up with him, calling out his name a few times, getting ignored each time.

"Charles, please" I beg just as he is about to enter and I draw myself an imaginary border not to cross.

He continues his pace, but back in my direction, grabbing onto my arm and pulling me past the Ferrari hub and around the back where all the storage containers are.

"Owe, Charles, you're hurting me" I groan, pulling my arm from his grip.

"Do you want to explain to me what that was, Evelyn?" he hisses.

"I know" I puled, "I came to apologise, I wasn't thinking I'm sorry" I apologise.

"I've been a lot of things to you, Ev. I know that, and I know where we stand, but I never, ever, thought that you would use me like that" he seethed.

He's right, I did use him and I shouldn't have. "I'm sorry. I know, when you kissed me back, I didn't know what to think, I just.." I stutter.

He shakes his head in frustration, "I kissed you back because do you know how long I've wanted to kiss you, Ev. How badly I've wanted to taste you and know exactly what it would feel like to have these against me" he reaches up, touching his thumb and index finger to my bottom lip, a small pinch to it before dropping his hand.

"I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry Charles, please, I didn't mean too. I didn't mean to hurt you" I plead.

"You're right, Ev" he wickedly chuckles, "You never think. You never cared that I was in love with you, not in this way, you were always too busy loving him. And I've been right here, I've always been right here, you just couldn't be bothered to see me"

He darts around me and walks away, but then I hear him turn back, "Tell me one thing, Ev. Have you ever loved me? Not as a friend, not as a brother." he throws his hands up in frustration, "Actually, don't answer that. You wouldn't even allow yourself too even if you did" And then he disappears.

I feel like an absolute twat for what I've done. Even when I try and not hurt anyone, I hurt them both equally.

Making my way back toward the Red Bull garage, I need to find Johan. In the space of an hour, everything has just turned to absolute shit.

"Ev?" I hear Lando calling from behind me. "Ev, hey, wait up"

I stop and turn to face him, unsure if I'm mad, sad or heartbroken by him at this point.

"We need to talk" he says in a pant.

"Lando, I really don't know what else there is to say" I sigh.

"First, you can tell me how you know about Charlotte?" he gasps.

"You think you could keep it a secret? You weren't exactly subtle about it" I roll my eyes.

He half chuckles, "What are you even talking about Ev?"

"I know you're dating someone else!" I shout, sick of fighting about all of this in a public setting. "I saw the two of you, and to be honest. I'm so happy for you Lando. You deserve some happiness and she is gorgeous and I just...Lando, I cannot do this with you anymore. Please, lets just agree that our past is really messy and maybe once we shared something beautiful, but we are never going to again"

I use any strength I have to run from him, and it hurts, the ache in my legs are excurciating I almost can't take it, but it hurts more to stand in front of him knowing I have to let him go.

I get all the way to the car park and toward the first taxi that I can see.

"Yas Viceroy Hotel please" I ask as he pulls out from the curb.

Coming here was a mistake, thinking that I was able to seperate myself and for things to go back to how they were before I lost my memory. Obviously too much has happened since then for it to ever go back.

Once I'm back at the hotel, I pack my things and catch another taxi to the airport, but I wasn't heading home. I couldn't. Nothing felt okay anymore and being at home, I would run the risk of running into with Charles or Lando, and Charlotte. I couldn't deal with that.

Dragging my bag behind me at the airport, I pull up at one of the information boards, deciding where I should go to give myself some space.

As I walk up to the desk, placing my passport up on the ledge for her to take as I slip my vibrating phone out of my pocket. Seeing Lando's name flash across the screen, I decline the call and slide the phone back into my pocket.

"One ticket to Monza please"

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When I see him now on screen in the media pit I think - where is Ev? Lol 😆