Crash

Invisible string

Unfortunately, his time to day dream was up. "Charles?" Penelope was saying, waving her hand in front of his face, very much real this time. "Hello? Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, blinking the memory away. It still freaked him out, even now. "Can you repeat the question?"

His girlfriend rolled her eyes, but he could tell she wasn't angry. "I was lovingly telling you how I booked the rink for 12. Which means we need to leave in like twenty minutes. Does that work for you?"

Charles nodded, lacing his fingers through hers and pulling her close. For the first time in days, he kissed her. A real, proper kiss that was passionate and hot and teased something more. Penelope smiled when he pulled away, raising an eyebrow. "What was that for?"

"Nothing," he murmured, kissing her again before letting her get on. "I just love you. And I never tell you enough."

Penelope grinned, throwing him the car keys from the kitchen counter. "You can show me by being on time for once."

He gave her a thumbs up, knowing what he had to do. Penelope disappeared into the bedroom, and he watched her go. Still, he couldn't help but think about how he wished he'd done things differently, in more aspects than one. He wished that he could rewrite their love story to get rid of all the bad things he'd done, but he couldn't. He couldn't change the way he'd treated her in the past, but he could make up for it in the future. 

Maybe that way, when it came down to it, she'd forgive him. 

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

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Penelope asked Andrea quietly as she laced up her boots at the side of the rink, taking the opportunity while Charles was on the phone to Mattia. He'd called asking if he'd be ready for the weekend, now only a day and a half away, which had given Penelope the chance to question his trainer Andrea alone. 

"Charles need a push," Andy explained, watching his trainee with a careful eye. "He needs something to motivate him into getting back in the car."

Penelope raised an eyebrow, yet to be convinced. "And you think that skating is gonna do that? Charles can't even stand up straight on the ice without falling over."

"That's why you're going to teach him."

Her mouth fell open in surprise. "I...I can't do that"

"Sure you can. You've done it before, haven't you?"

"Well...sure, but that was different. That was before. This actually means something now."

Andrea gave her this look, like he knew everything she was thinking. He'd always seemed wise beyond his years, and now that had been confirmed. She could tell why Charles trusted him so much. "Everything between you has always meant something to Charles. This is a no-pressure scenario, with someone that he cares about. There's no judgement here. This is just what he needs."

Penelope pursed her lips, taking a moment. If this was what Charles needed, then this was what she'd do. She turned to Andrea, giving him her best smile. "Okay! Let's do this."

It took a little persuading to get everyone on the ice at once, but before long the three of them were doing laps in a line, Penelope leading the way. Charles held onto her waist for dear life, his movement stiff and jerky. It was obvious that he was still in a massive amount of pain, but his  trainer didn't seem to care. He pushed him on, ignoring his cries of agony, barking at him in strict Italian that Penelope couldn't understand. 

"It's...so...cold..." Charles said through chattering teeth, his entire body shivering as Penelope just laughed. Both of the boys were dressed like Michelin men, adorned in a hundred layers each. Penelope on the other hand, wore just a jumper and leggings, unfazed by the temperature.