Crash

Family Dinner

Over the course of the next week, Penelope and Charles spoke every day without fail. She found herself telling him more about herself than she'd told anyone in a long time, but it didn't scare her. He felt familiar, like coming home to a warm fire after a cold winters day. She was safe with him, and she liked that. 

Charles had left for Monaco a few days ago, and he'd already insisted of giving her a virtual tour around Monte Carlo. She returned the favour by giving him a tour of the Percy Jackson set after hours when no one was around, smiling to herself as he freaked out at every little detail. He asked her question after question, making her promise to take him there in person when he was back. 

Outside of Charles, Penelope's work life had been just as busy as ever. She'd been training for three hours with Jasper every morning, finally getting their routine onto ice. It was far from perfect, but at least it was a step forward. Her work on the show was under control too, though the days were long and exhausting, littered with the odd press junket and interview that she put on a smile for. 

As for Frankie...Joe had managed to convince him to check back into rehab after a tumultuous morning of arguing. Penelope had tried to visit him but he'd refused to see her, and no matter how much she tried to persuade the warden to let her in anyway, it was no good. She knew he was probably mad at her for calling Joe and sending him there, but she didn't have any other option. She'd rather him be alive and furious at her than happy and dead in an alley. 

Now, it was Friday morning. Jasper had just left, and she wasn't needed on set today, meaning she had a rare afternoon off. That worked out well for her, giving her enough time to start packing for her trip to Monaco tomorrow. 

During one of her and Charles's late night calls, he'd asked her if she wanted to spend the weekend with him, just as they'd discussed in the restaurant before she had to leave. Perhaps against her better judgement, she'd said yes. She'd told her friends that she was going there for work, dismissing their questions with quickfire answers. No one knew about Charles, and for now she needed it to stay that way. 

Just as she was beginning to work up the motivation to start organising her suitcase, there was a brisk knock at the door downstairs. She heard Jane rush to answer it, followed by a voice she knew all too well speaking in fluent Spanish mixed with the odd phrase of English. 

"¡Hola, mi amor!" Penelope's abuela Mirabel called from downstairs. 

Penelope made sure to run to greet her before she could make her way up the stairs. Her grandmother was intelligent if nothing else, and she had a knack for asking questions Penelope didn't want to answer. She had a plan, the same work excuse she'd used on the others, that she was planning to use on abeula and her family. She didn't need the contents of her suitcase thwarting that. 

"Hola Abuela," Penelope said warmly, her grandmother smiling as she saw her. The two of them embraced, and Penelope drew solace from the familiar feeling. Her grandmother wore a floral dress, and smelled like sugar, just as she always did. "I thought I wasn't seeing you till later?"

"Well, I was visiting your hermano Nick and I wanted to drop off some things."

"Thanks, Abuela. Do you want me to bring anything later?"

"No, no. I made extra cookies, so I bring them for you. I want you and your hermanos at mi casa for seven. Por favor, no llegues tarde."

Penelope rolled her eyes playfully, earning her a tap on the arm from her grandmother. "Ow, Abuela!"

"Ay, hush. It was nothing."

"Look, I promise I'll be on time, okay?"

"Okay, mi amor." Her grandmother reached out and placed a hand on her cheek, gently turning her face side to side. "Ay, Penelope. You look tired, no? You been sleeping"?