one more race// l. norris

Chapter 33

sorry guys, i'm desperate to get the storyline moving! i'm not really enjoying writing this story as much as i am the other project i have going on ;)

stay safe. xx

SKY POV

Croatia here we come. I'm so excited to finally get some time to myself. Ally sat in the window seat, I was in the middle and Lando was on the aisle. Oliver, Lando's brother, and his girlfriend, Savannah, and Max all sat a row behind us. We boarded the two hour flight at Heathrow. It was a morning flight so that meant we had some time to explore when we arrived. The plane ride was overly boring. We just chatted amongst ourselves. Apart from Lan, who fell asleep. Typical. Once we arrived, we got in our rental cars and headed for our villa. Instead of staying in a hotel, we booked a 4 bedroom beach villa. A room for Lando and I, Oli and Sav, Max and then Ally.

We all chose our rooms, two were en-suites so the couples took those rooms. Plus, Ally and Max were happy to give up their own bathroom, and said they would share the family bathroom. Lando and I walked in to our room. Threw our suitcases down, shut the door and then Lando picked me up and threw me on the bed. His body following close behind. We lay there for about 15 minutes. Just in each other's arms.

"Lan, we need to unpack. Plus, I want some food." I said.

After sitting up, Lando looked at me, "I agree. I'm starving. Let's unpack and then we all can decide what to do next."

"Okie dokie. Sounds like a plan." I smiled.

After unpacking, changing, and meeting the others in the kitchen; we decided to head out for some food and an explore. It was only 12pm. After walking round the city, we found this lovely restaurant on the beach. We all sat down and surveyed the menu. Let me just say, the food was out of this world. Seriously! No one left an empty plate. We then all headed for the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous. Lando linked his fingers with mine as we skipped along the shore line. "I love you Sky."

I paused, and stopped. Lando turned to face me, "What's wrong baby?". He looked concerned.

"I love you even more Lando." I smiled. My heart was racing in my chest. I loved him with everything in my heart. Every blood cell. Every vain. Every muscle. He gently grabbed my chin with his index finger and lifted it up. I giggled as he placed a loving kiss on my lips. God, I could kiss him all day long. I felt him smiling against my lips. After pulling back, Oliver ran behind us and slapped Lando's arse. "Hey!"

"Haha. Sorry Lando. I had to ruin the moment. It was making me cringe!" he laughed.

Lando folded his arms at his brother, "Fuck you Oli. You also have a girlfriend."

"I know. But Sav and I aren't cringy."

I chuckled as I rested my head on Lando's chest. The rest of the evening was lovely. Lando, Croatia, and the villa pool. To be honest, that was how the entire summer break went. We rented a yacht for a week and sailed around the Croatian coast in the day, and spent the night in the villa. Then we explored the country and did some classic touristy shit. I had an unbelievable time. Lando's friends are really nice. Lando and I have only been together for a few months. 3 and a half to be exact. But he opened me into his world like I'd been there for years. Sure, we are both in the Formula One world, but our friends and families are completely separate. I've never really spoken to Lando about my family. I knew all about his. My family was a bit of a shit show I guess. I've never mentioned it before. I don't really like to talk about it. However, I feel like I need to open up about my family to him.

It was a Wednesday night, we had 3 days left here on our holiday. Lando and I were lay in bed, just holding each other tightly. "Hey Lan, can I tell you something? It's nothing to worry about, just something I want to share."

"Okay baby. What is it?" he asked. We sat up a little bit and I rested against Lando. He was leant against the beds backboard.

"I realised earlier, that I never told you anything about my family. I don't have any family pictures up. I never talk about my family and you always talk about yours. I want to tell you what happened." I paused.

Lando sent me a reassuring nod to continue.

"So I have my parents, Amy and Robert. And uh, I also had a brother. His name was Sam. He was 2 years older than me. We were as close as anything. He was the one who got me into karting, and into F1 in general. When I was thirteen, he was diagnosed with Leukaemia. It was incredibly unexpected. No one could've predicted it. Our family was as tight as a knot before this, we would have movie nights. Random dinners out. Family holidays. Everyone would come to mine and Sam's races. Life was absolutely perfect. Until Sam passed when I just turned sixteen. It's a hard age to lose your brother. At any age in fact. He was my rock. I told him everything. Like you do with Oliver. I truly loved him to pieces. When we were younger we had sleepovers in each other's room, playfights, racing each other at the karting tracks. So, our family completely fell apart when he died."

My voice began to break, tears prickling my eyes. Lando held me tight in his arms, almost crying himself. "My mum and dad tried to stay strong when he first passed. But after the funeral it was a shit show. I was depressed and had to go on medication, my mum became an alcoholic and my dad. Well having his son die in his arms drove him to all sorts of abuse on himself. He eventually drove himself off the edge. Quite literally. He drove off the Tyne bridge in Newcastle. Where we used to live. He died instantly. His head smashed the windscreen. My mum. Well after keeping me fed for another six months after my dad passed, she met a new bloke, started doing drugs. My anti-depressants weren't helping, she pissed off to Scotland and left me with all of the money in her bank. She said she couldn't see me like this anymore and that she wasn't helping me move on. And that I needed a fresh start away from Newcastle. So, I moved in with my Auntie in Surrey and I used my mums money to keep my F3 career afloat. Then I joined the Red Bull Junior Driver programme and here I am I guess. I have been living on my own for 2 years now. So yeah." I finally stopped talking and Lando took a moment to take it all in.

All he did was squeeze me tight and rest his chin on my forehead. "I'm so so sorry Sky. I had no idea."

"It's not your fault. I didn't tell you because I wasn't ready yet. I didn't want to dump all my shit on you." I chuckled, tears gently dripping down my face.

"I understand.". The reassuring nod on Lando's face warmed my heart. We fell asleep staring at the stars out of the window.

After the deep talk Lando and I had about my family, we had become even closer. Even as a Formula One driver, everyone kept there secrets and kept to themselves. My family was my secret. I didn't want loads of people to know about my parents, that was my business. Not theirs.

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so, what did we all think of the 'race'?
i was at a festival so i couldn't watch any of the spa weekend, but i did keep up to date!
glad lando walked away - anthoine was looking down :)
— don't think points should've been given personally
—— happy for george :) even tho there was no race :(
——— BRING ON ZANDVOORT💙