Sunday 2nd September 2018
Sienna POV
'Mum, I'm home' I shout as I drop my luggage on the floor by the stairs. I can hear her banging around in the kitchen, probably making lunch.
'Hey sweetheart, how was your flight?'
'It was ok, long, but a few movies kept us occupied'
'How's Paige doing? Bet she loved having you girls out there for the summer'
'She is doing so good out there, mum, I'm not sure she'll ever come back. She's made this whole other life for herself. She's met someone too, Emmy, who is lovely and really cool'
'Ah I'm happy for her, sad she won't be coming back but happy she's found her place, and she's only a plane ride away'
'So, what have you and dad been up to whilst I've been away' I ask her, stealing a carrot from the chopping board.
'Oh you know, the same old same old. We did manage to get away for a week but your dads been pretty busy with Lando and there's the big announcement tomorrow. He's obviously also been going to races but he'll be back from Monza tomorrow, in time for your birthday. Are you watching the race this afternoon here?'
'I'm gutted I missed Spa, that's always been my favourite. Yeah, I'll watch it here with you. Did you get race snacks in?'
She chuckled 'of course I did. On the subject of Lando... how have things been between you two? Have you spoken to him at all whilst you've been away?'
'It's been nearly 5 months since we had that talk in the park and we've only seen each other a handful of times since. We did speak a little whilst I was away, just general chit chat but I messaged him before each race to wish him luck. I'm so happy that he's about to realise his dream, I just wish we were in a better place where we could be celebrating together. I miss him. But I'm excited that Tom arrives tomorrow so you and dad can finally meet him and he's going to be here for us to celebrate my birthday together.'
'Can't believe you've been with him 6 months and we're only just getting to meet him!'
'Well I've spent 6 weeks of that time out of the country mum' I laughed.
Monday 3rd September 2018
Lando POV
'I'm Lando Norris and I'm the youngest ever Formula One British racing driver'. That sentence sends a shiver down my spine as I say it and I can't wipe the smile of my face. Today, it's being announced that I am to drive for McLaren as part of their line up for next season, alongside Carlos Sainz, following Fernando's retirement announcement over the summer. Before I leave Monza, to fly home, I am filming a segment for Drive To Survive with Netflix.
All my hard work has finally paid off and all my dreams are coming true. Well... the dreams concerning my professional life at least. The ones concerning my private life are still not coming true and at this moment Sienna feels further away than ever. I know I was the one that initiated a bit of space but god do I miss her and I must check my phone 100 times a day to see if this is the day she's text me or even better, called.
It's her birthday tomorrow and it feels weird that I'm not going to see her, but, her boyfriend, Tom, is going to be there for a few days and that's not a situation I can handle. It also means that it's got serious between them if he's meeting David and Susan and it feels like a sucker punch to the stomach to know that he's going to be sitting at the table in a place that should be mine. There's no way he loves her the way I do. I've even given her birthday present to her dad to take back with him. He actually apologised when I gave him the bag, his eyes full of pity. 'She'll come round' he said. 'We know she loves you, she's just scared. This guy won't last.'
I really hope not and is it bad to hope David and Susan hate him?
Liked by siennadavis, georgerussell, carlossainz and 5643 others
lando norris To be announced as a race driver for McLaren is a dream come true. Although I've been part of the team for a while now, this is a special moment, one I could only hope would become reality.
I'd like to thank the whole team for this amazing opportunity and for believing in me.
For the remainder of 2018, my focus remains firmly on the Formula 2 championship. My objective is to win the title before joining McLaren full-time, which will be tough, but I will fight as hard as I can for the remaining four races.
Tuesday 4th September 2018
Sienna POV
I roll over and open my eyes. The sound of the rain as it thrashes against the windows is somehow soothing and it muffles the sound of Tom's gentle snores next to me. The initial meeting between him and my parents when he arrived yesterday went really well and, by the time we sat down for dinner his nerves seemed to have calmed right down. I know my dad can seem scary when you first meet him, but he's a teddy bear really.
Tom's eyes flutter open, almost as though he could sense me staring at him. 'Morning, happy birthday' he smiles and follows through with a soft kiss on the lips. 'What are the plans for today?' he asks.
'Well there's the usual birthday pancake breakfast first' I say and I smile remembering last year.
'The pancakes are that good, huh?' Tom asks, misinterpreting my smile, thinking that it must be the thought of pancakes causing it. I wasn't going to correct him and tell him that actually I was thinking of another guy.
I move swiftly on 'Then I normally open the gifts my parents have got me and I know they've booked somewhere for dinner but I haven't planned anything else. Seeing as the weathers rubbish maybe we could go karting?'
He scrunches his nose up at the mention of karting 'Or we could go and see a film instead?' he says hopefully.
'Sure' I reply not wanting to cause an argument on my birthday. Tom is not into any kind of racing whatsoever. He doesn't understand the fascination and has never tried to understand it either.
'Morning sweetheart, morning Tom' my mum says, engulfing me in a hug as we walk into the kitchen. 'Happy Birthday. Can't believe your 20 already! Where does the time go?' she says wistfully.
'Hey sugar, happy birthday' my dad booms from the table, sat with his morning cup of coffee and surrounded by wrapped gifts. 'I believe these are for you' he points at all the bags on the table.
I bound over to him to give him a bear hug. 'Morning Dad' I take a brief look at the bags and my heart skips a beat when I see one with Lando's name on it. I wasn't even sure if he'd remember.
I shove the plate of finished pancakes away from me. 'Well mum, you outdid yourself this year, they were delicious. Now time to open my presents' I squeal.
I've deliberately left Lando's until last. My hands are shaking as firstly I pull out a pandora box containing a charm bracelet and two charms; a diamante encrusted 4 and a racing car. 'It's perfect' I whisper, I suddenly feel emotional that he's not here to give them to me in person and I try my best to stop the tears from forming. There's a much bulkier package in the bag as well, and as I take the paper off, it becomes clear that it's a bright papaya McLaren hoodie.
'Take a look at the back' my dad instructs.
I turn the hoodie round to see a number 4 on the back. I look back at my dad questioningly.
'It's the driver number he's chosen' he explains.
He's chosen the number 4? That's what the 4 charm represented, not my birthday date. However, I can't help but wonder if that's why he chose it or was it just a coincidence.
A/N I have a few more chapters and then there maybe a bit of a gap in me updating whilst I figure out how to tie this part of the book to the second part which i wrote first! I had a very clear vision of the storyline in the second part and how the story ends, it was always the beginning I wasn't sure of!
I may also go back and edit the chapters i've already written as I'm not 100% happy with some of them.