Crash

Hit the Breaks

The next morning, Penelope woke up in the bed alone. She felt disorientated, her mind foggy from the time shift, but when she reached for Charles he was gone. 

"Charles?" she called out, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders for warmth. 

There was no answer. The only thing she could distinguish from the silence was a lively humming that seemed to be coming from down the hall. She padded down the hall towards the noise, yawning periodically as she went. 

"Charles?" she said again, and this time, she was met with a reply. 

Charles was standing by the kitchen counter, his hair scruffy but his eyes bright. In his hands he held two glasses of orange juice, and a plate of toast lay not far away on the counter. "Morning," he mused, edging close enough to kiss her. "I didn't want to wake you."

Penelope kissed him back, taking one of the glasses with gratitude. "Thank you. That's really sweet."

"What can I say? I'm just an angel."

Penelope gave him a smile, looping her arms around his waist and leaning against his chest. "Mmhm. A saint."

Charles chucked to himself. "Yes...I have a feeling you might not be saying that after I tell you what we're doing today."

Penelope stiffened in his arms. "What?"

"Well, you know you promised to come racing with me..."

"Nope. Nope I don't remember that at all."

"And since you're here in Monaco, I went to the trouble-"

"Charles, you're not serious."

He grinned as he kissed her again. "Oh, but I am."

Penelope groaned, rolling her eyes. "Great. TMZ are gonna have a field day when we crash in a fiery blaze."

Charles gave her a look. "That is insulting."

"You're telling me you've never crashed in a race before?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Only a few times. And hey look!" He stepped back, showing her his arms and legs in turn before doing a little spin. "I'm still in one piece! You will be too."

"Charles-"

"It'll be fine! I'll go slow. Sort of."

Penelope grabbed her juice and the top slice of toast, giving him a disgruntled stare. He moved to kiss her, but she held a finger to his lips. "Oh, don't worry. I can go slow too." She gave him an overly sweet smile before turning away, storming down the corridor until she reached Jane's door. "Jane! Wake up! Hope you've got heath insurance, because you're gonna need it."

*****************

"You look great," Jane tried to convince Penelope, doing her best to keep a straight face. "Honest."

Penelope tightened her ponytail, tugging the sleeve of her suit with a disgruntled sigh. "Shut up, Jane."

"Oh, come on! It'll be...fun! People pay a lot of money for this stuff. You're getting a free ride with a professional driver, that's pretty cool."

Jane was fortunately saved from another of Penelope's rants by Charles, who knocked as he poked his head round the door. He was wearing his driver's suit, still looking as pleased as ever as he beamed at the both of them. 

"You ready?" he asked, holding out his hand for Penelope to take. "I, for one, can't wait." 

Seeing the excitement on his face, Penelope's stony expression melted a little. She knew how much he loved racing and it was sweet that he wanted to share that part of his life with her. She didn't want to ruin that for him. 

"Come on then, Leclerc," she told him, taking his hand. "Show us what you got."

Both Charles and Jane seemed taken aback by her change in spirit. Charles led the way, but he gave her a curious look. "Not scared anymore?"

"Oh no, I am. Terrified, actually. But you survived the ice so I guess I'll survive the car."

Behind them, Jane seemed to have a sudden interest in that last sentence. "Wow, you're honoured. Penelope doesn't take anyone to the rink. She took me once and I fell and broke my wrist."

Penelope gave her an apologetic smile. "Yeah...never gonna live that down am I?"

"I mean, you did let go of my hand like 2 minutes before I fell..."

"You said you were ready!"

"You should have known it was too good to be true!"

The girls laughed, Jane rubbing her wrist like she could still feel the break. Charles looked between them, nudging Penelope with his elbow. "What I'm hearing is that my life was in great danger. I'm lucky to have escaped in one piece."

Penelope's sarcastic reply was cut short by Jane, who let out a thrilled squeal as the three of them entered the race area. It was a large patch of concrete, like a glorified car park, decorated with white lane lines and traffic cones. A red car covered in the Ferrari logo sat right in the middle, ready for use. Jane started at it in amazement, taking a string of pictures. 

"Oh my god," she stammered. "My grandad is gonna freak out."

Charles patted the bonnet of the car. He opened the door swiftly, bowing slightly as he extended his arm. "Ladies first."

*******************

What happened next involved a lot of screaming. 

Penelope sat in the passenger seat, clinging on for dear life with her eyes squeezed shut as Charles drove them in circles around the track. Jane was in the back, squealing with joy, calling for him to go faster. 

"This is amazing!" Jane yelled. 

"You two are fucking crazy!" Penelope wailed, her heart skipping another beat as Charles turned a corner. She had her eyes firmly closed, but she felt his hand take hers across the dash. It brought her both comfort and unease - on one hand, she appreciated the gesture but on the other, it meant he had less hands controlling the wheel. If she hadn't been paralysed with fear, she probably would have told him to put it back. 

The end of the ride couldn't have come soon enough. Once the car was at a stop, Jane had thrown her arms around Charles and thanked him a thousand times before heading off to take more pictures. Penelope was still frozen in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead as Charles opened the door for her, practically breathless from laughing. 

"Oh my god," he wheezed, "I wish you could see your face! You were all like 'Ahhh! Stop the car!'"

Penelope managed to come to her senses enough to glare at him. "Glad you found it amusing."

Charles wiped a tear from his cheek. "Oh, don't worry, I did."

Suddenly, his expression changed. His eyes fell on something in the distance, and his face went pale, as though he'd seen a ghost. Charles stood up straighter, brushing the dust from his driver's suit before running his hand through his hair. Penelope watched him with wary eyes as she stepped out of the car, trying to follow his eyeline until she spotted what he was looking at. 

A man was approaching on the horizon, waving in a friendly way that told Penelope he probably wasn't a stranger. He had sandy blonde hair and the same warm smile as Charles, only perhaps a little younger. He seemed confident, walking leisurely with his hands in his pockets and a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses covering his eyes. 

Penelope turned to Charles as he cleared his throat uncomfortably. This was the first time she'd seen him seriously nervous before. "A friend of yours?" she asked, trying to keep her tone light despite the bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. 

"There's something I should tell you."

"Well, now is probably a good time."

Charles looked at her apologetically. "See that guy over there?"

Penelope nodded. "Yes."

"That's my brother." Charles shrugged sheepishly with a smile to match. "Surprise!"

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