We found ourselves inches apart from each other, his slate blue eyes glistening in the sun and hair drenched in water. I thought about the past week, how Pierre had been there for me, protecting me and keeping me out of harms way whilst helping to piece my broken heart together with his family.
As I was thinking through all of this I watched Pierre move in...
I quickly regained focus and placed my hand on Pierre's chest
"Pierre, I can't" I blurted out "I still love Charles"
The words came out as a whisper as though I was trying to convince myself as well as Pierre. He nodded before shaking his head and pushing himself away from me
"Sorry I don't know what came over me" he ran his hand through his hair as I nodded, swallowing down the lump in my throat.
We swam back to the boat and climbed aboard in silence, a solemn mood cast over the both of us as the yacht made its way back to the dock. Pierre's parents aware of our uneasiness but not mentioning anything. The car ride back to the villa was uncomfortably quiet, so much so that Pierre's mum gave my hand a squeeze and a look to indicate she wanted to talk when we were alone, doing so as soon as we arrived back. She sat us down on the furniture set out on the patio and I sighed, not ready to hear what she was about to say.
"You don't need to say anything but I want you to listen" I nodded along with her "you are a beautiful girl Jennifer, both inside and out. When you are at your best, the light flows out of you, touching everyone you come into contact with. You have a special heart, full of love and warmth for family and friends. We see the effect you have on Pierre, you make him so happy, this is the longest we've seen him happy since Anthoine's passing. But we also see the profound effect you've had on Charles and the difference you have made on his character in such a short space of time. He was broken by Julietta and at the same time both he and Pierre were getting their first sense of real freedom joining formula one which was a recipe for disaster. Yes he's made mistakes but he is a changed man now. You need to be selfish with your decision Jennifer. You need to make the choice that is best for you, okay?"
I continued to nod in response to her, wiping away a few tears that had formed due to her warm words as she pulled my into one of her hugs I had grown used to receiving over the past week.
"Go get some rest, it's been a long day for you" she smiled and I followed her instructions, making my way to my room, packing away the clothes I had hung up in the wardrobe before crawling into bed.
I had to face my problems head on if I ever wanted to solve them. I pulled out my phone, sending a quick text before falling asleep
Jen
I think we need to talk
- -
I woke up the next morning dreading the airport, after our posts yesterday the fans were certain Pierre and I were on holiday together so we had to create a plan for me to make it the the gate, unbothered by fans.
I pulled my hood over my head and searched for my sunglasses and a spare face mask in my bag as we pulled up to the airport. We all agreed that I would go in first and check in then Pierre and his family would meet me afterwards in the first class lounge.
We pulled off the plan to perfection as I sat in the first class lounge with a bottle of water waiting for the others to arrive. I waited for around 10 minutes, assuming Pierre had been caught up with fans, a smile spreading on my face seeing the three of them walk in.
The plane started to board and I took my seat next to Pierre.
"You wanted to talk?" He asked as I got myself settled
Oh boy this was going to be a long flight
"Uh yeah actually" I cleared my throat "I think we should talk about yester-" he interrupted me before I could finish my sentence
"We don't need to talk about it Jen" he gripped my hand, smiling at me "you're with Charles, no matter what's going on currently. I don't want to come in between the two of you and I absolutely don't want to lose either of you as best friends"
"Well you just made the conversation a hell of a lot easier" I laughed
"Friends?" He asked
"Best friends" I smiled back at him
"Have you thought about what you're going to say to Charles when you see him?"
"Nope, still working on that one" I smiled sheepishly
I averted my gaze to my lap, nervously picking at the skin around my nails as a way to deal with my anxiety. I had spent the last few nights dwelling over my situation with Charles and had come to the conclusion that I should hear him out but the best way to do that was face to face. No more running away.
Over the duration of the flight I managed to convince Pierre to meet Charles with me as a mediator because I couldn't face seeing him alone currently. Whenever I was around him I folded too easily, forgiving him too quickly and I had to take Pierre's mum's advice to be selfish and put myself first.
We arrived in Marseille airport and I followed the same routine I had when boarding the plane in Mykonos and waited by the car for Pierre. The hour long drive was filled with us listening to the radio and Pierre translating the songs to help me with my French, his efforts proving fruitless and my bad accent leaving him in hysterics.
Pierre checked us in to the hotel and led us to the suite, luckily the hotel staff had set up a pull out bed on the far side of the room so I wouldn't have to sleep on the couch again.
I text Emma to find out her room number and took off running down the corridor when she replied, hammering on the door until I got a response and jumping into her arms. We both squealed excitedly as Max stared at us from the bed. Emma spent the next hour telling me about her week of travels and that Max had popped the boyfriend/girlfriend question whilst they had dinner, watching the Eiffel Tower and my heart melted. We organised to have a full girly catch up tomorrow morning at breakfast before we parted ways and went to bed for the night.
- -
I woke up early the next morning, stealing the bathroom to get ready before Pierre could and made my way to Emma's room after. We sat downstairs in the restaurant of the hotel as we gave our breakfast orders before I spilled all my gossip about my week with Pierre and his family.
"Oh my god, he didn't" Emma reacted to Pierre almost kissing me "what did you do?" She asked on the edge of her seat
"Well I stopped him obviously before anything happened and we've talked it all through and decided our relationship is completely platonic and Charles will know nothing about it" I explained
"What's happening with Charles? Have you spoken with him?"
"Not a word." I shook my head "I do love him, I've felt incredibly guilty ignoring him the past week but I needed time to think everything through" I picked at the slice of toast that was left on my plate "I need to speak to him but I don't even know if he's here yet"
"He is" Em said quietly "He went back to Monaco with Arthur the day you left and he's been here since Monday"
"Have you spoken to him?" my voice wobbled
"He came to the room looking for you on Monday just after you had left and he knew he fucked up, I actually felt bad for him when I told him you were away to Mykonos with his best friend. He's been messaging me every day for updates about you, just wanting to know you were safe"
The feeling of guilt that I had been suppressing all week finally came bubbling to the surface. I quickly stood from my seat rushing to the nearest toilet, just making it to the cubicle before I threw up. After a few more minutes, I picked myself up from my squatting position on the ground and made my way out to wash my hands and rinse my mouth with water.
I walked out of the bathroom door and straight into something solid
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I wasn't looking" I stammered out looking at the ground in embarrassment
"Jen?"
~ Author's note ~
Who's lurking outside the ladies' toilets??
Hope you're enjoying xx