I can do it with a broken heart (Lando Norris)

10. Begin Again

"I know you're just going to tell me you're fine and you've got to get through it somehow..." he sighed "but are you sure it's worth what it's doing to you?" He hadn't realised quite how tightly wound she'd been by the whole thing previously until he'd seen her relax this week. He'd only ever known the stressed out version of Hannah and it was a revelation to see the other side of her.

"No." She admitted. "But like you said, I don't have a choice... can we just talk about something else?"

"What do you normally do, to make yourself feel better?" He asked quietly.

"Run." She shrugged. Or drown her sorrows in a bottle of wine but that didn't seem an appropriate suggestion for the time of day.

"Then get up, we're going running."

****

She'd been quiet for the duration of their run, lost in her head, setting a pace so fast Lando had found himself struggling to keep up. He'd known she was in good shape to keep up with performing all those shows, but it surprised him given his rigorous training schedule that he'd almost struggled to keep pace with her.

The pounding of her feet against the streets had helped to quiet her mind. When they found themselves back at his apartment an hour later she felt considerably calmer.

"Better?" He asked quietly as he unlocked the door, breaking the silence.

She shot him a grateful smile. "So much better. I'd forgotten how nice it is to run outside instead of on the treadmill."

"I'm going to have to up my game to keep up with you." He joked, still trying to catch his breath.

"You might." She winked, elbowing him as he turned to close the door behind them.

He stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, looking down at her. "I'm always going to be here, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know that? Even if we're in different countries. You don't have to do it on your own."

She rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat for a moment as she let his words sink in.

It scared her when he said things like that. Not because she didn't want them to be true, quite the opposite. But because it allowed her to hope that there would be a future in which this all worked out for the two of them. He was so happy to wear his heart on his sleeve and it just wasn't something she'd ever experienced before.

She'd been there with Joe, they'd been engaged. She was so sure he was the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with, and then it all fell apart. He'd made all kinds of promises, just like the one Lando had just made, and he hadn't kept a single one of them. Instead, he'd slowly driven her insane, making her beg for his attention and affection, to the point she'd broken, and then blamed her for what had followed.

She knew deep down Lando wouldn't hurt her intentionally in the way Joe had, but the damage had been done. The idea of opening her heart to someone else was terrifying.

"Let's go get in the shower." She took him by the hand and dragged him towards the bathroom. A surefire way to distract him and avoid having to have a serious conversation, for now at least.

****

He'd watched quietly as she'd busied herself getting ready to do the interview, doing her hair and makeup in his bedroom. The quiet anxiety had set back in, that little frown line on her forehead was back and she was drumming her fingers nervously on the countertop as she finished her hair.