Lando's pov:
Her eyes glisten even when it's dark. Every time I look at her she makes me so happy, even if she means her smile to be in a "friendly" way.
There is no way I will be able to get over this girl.
And yes, I know I told her I'm fine with her being with my best friend but ... I lied.
I really did want her. Bad.
But I guess today was the first time in a while where she'd ever shown me vulnerability.
~~~~~~~~~~~
After the US Grand Prix I went back to the hotel. And stayed there for who knows how long. I just kept thinking of her.
"Thanks Lando. I totally smoked your arse."
Is what she said to me. After giving me a hug.
After a couple hours I picked my phone up and started to scroll through my Instagram. Looking at all the McLaren fan's messages that had flooded my inbox. Many just asked to marry me.
Then I found Sadie's profile and I clicked on it. It was a picture of her and her brother hugging each other in the pit of one of the races he attended right before his death.
I smiled sympathetically as I looked at how happy she was. Yes, she had that sparkle in her eye like she always does but it was slowly waining.
My eyes then came face to face with her most recent picture. Her, Lewis and Charles with the caption:
"For my Mattie."
She was relating that to her race being for her brother. Then as I swiped right as it had more than one photo attached. It was a picture of me and her.
My heart literally raced 100 mph in around 2 seconds. I then scanned my eyes thoroughly, after Sadie and I had greeted each other we was heading out and back to the hotel, when she stopped to take a snap.
Wow she was beautiful.
As I had just come out of her post and back onto her main page the profile icon was gold round the edges - signalling that she had updated her story. I immediately pressed the icon and a picture of a random page of a book was seen at the bottom of the screen. She was near a pool and the dark sky cast above.
I knew where she was - we were in the same hotel. I thought back to where Leclerc was - he was in a hotel further away. Which meant I'd be able to talk to her, just us.
I wasted no time in jumping out of my king sized bed, sliding on my sliders and running out of my door and down the hallway.
I mean I waited a couple minutes in the lift but soon caught back up to speed again. I was just hoping I could catch her before she left. I was met with millions in the lobby, sat in chairs waiting for their room after they had just arrived - others had just come back from a midnight swim.
Well not quite midnight - it was only 11.
I exited into the warm night and saw Sadie staring into a book on a sun-bed by the pool area. As I walked forwards she hadn't noticed my presence yet, she did that thing she always did where she'd bite the nail on her thumb when she was stressed out. Why was she stressed out?
"Look at you, bookworm." I broke the silence humorously. I must've caught her attention straight away and her eyes grew wide at the sight of me. She popped the book mark into her book and shut it- sitting up.
"Oh Lando, didn't realise McLaren booked this hotel too. Or are you just a stalker?"
"Guilty as charged." I said jokingly. Maybe I did stalk her online but not in real life that would be - weird. I then took a seat next to hers as she reclined back again.
"What book you reading Sayd?"
"Oh you won't know it."
"Come on let me see." She didn't complain as I picked the book up to look at the front cover. "Believe it or not I have actually read a little of this book "
She retrieved her book from my grip and smacked me lightly on the arm. She was surprised to say the least, "Didn't take you as the reading type, Norris." She replied with a smirk.
That pretty smile of hers. My heart did a 360 degree turn just from her calling me by my last name.
The book was "It ends with us" by Colleen Hoover. I had only got to the part where lily had started to read diaries about Atlas Corrigan from when she was younger. I stopped at that point. But I did know that Ryle had hurt Lily physically.
Like how Owen had hurt Sadie physically.
"What part did you get up to?"
She sighs with a shaky breath and flips to the page where the book mark was and begins to read:
"In a matter of one second, Ryle's arm came out of nowhere and slammed against me, knocking me backward. There was enough force behind it to knock me off balance. When I lost my footing, I hit my face on one of the cabinet door handles as I came down.
Pain shoots through the corner of my eye, right near my temple.
And then I feel the weight.
Heaviness follows and it presses down on every part of me. So much gravity, pushing down on my emotions. Everything shatters."
Then she stops flicking the book shut again and chucking it to the end of the sun-bed. She chucked it quite hard - like she hated what she had just read.
And I had reason to believe she had been in the same position as Lily. And my heart shattered into 1000 pieces.
"You can ask, you know. About me and Owen." She reads my mind. I wanted her to open up to me. With everything that's happened I had understood that she probably hadn't had very much time to get over her trauma when she runs around helping everyone else.
"Okay we'll. Is what you just read out similar as to what happened to you?" I leant forward as I saw her body stiffen but she did well to hide it.
She clears her voice and gives herself a few seconds before she answers. "When he first hurt me. I believed it was on accident. I was cutting up food for dinner. He wasn't in a good mood. He was swearing about how his dad was having second thoughts about giving him the company." She stops and sits up more straightly to face me, "I told him to just leave it and there was more horrible things happening in the world. I basically told him to get over himself. And that's when he took the knife from me and held it to my neck."
Her hands slide up to her neck, she was obviously traumatised by what this man had done. How he'd scared her.
"Oh Sadie." I sat next to her as she leant into my chest holding onto the tassels of my hoodie. I felt my jumper becoming damp from Sadie's tears but I didn't care. She needed to cry properly.
"Have you told Charles?"
"Not yet, we'll not fully anyway. Whenever I mention Owen's name he gets angry and walks out. He just needs time." She sniffles from below.
I brought her chin up to face me as I stroked her face. "You can always talk to me okay Sayd. I'm always going to be here."
She smiles at me as she leans back into my neck.
And before I knew it we had both fallen asleep.
[ I hope your all liked this chapter guys. I decided to add a change of events. Lando wants to stir shit up and to be fair I'm not complaining.
But I did want them to have a one-on-one scene together as they seem to haven't had one in years.
Sadie always seems to like to fall back on Lando and for him to be her shoulder to cry on. 👀
This chapter also highlights the importance of talking to someone about trauma. I wanted to let everyone have another insight into Sadie's mind after her abusive relationship but through another person point of view.
If anyone has any ideas they may want me to add into the book just let me know.
Love you all <3 ]