Crash

I'm giving you a way out

"I can't believe I agreed to this," Charlotte grumbled as she and Penelope walked through the office, heading towards the reading room. Charlotte was wearing a pair of very expensive sunglasses even though they were inside and clutching a coffee like it contained the cure to cancer.

"Late night?" Penelope asked, giving her friend a sideways smile.

"Don't even get me started," she complained, massaging her temples. "I thought we had the weekend off, and my assistant forgot to tell me that we had this stupid meeting until I was already in the car coming back from the club. By the way, you're talking really loud."

Penelope stifled a smile, reaching into her purse and producing a pack of paracetamol. She held them out to Charlotte, still trying not to laugh. "Sorry. You want two of these to make up for it?"

"I need more than paracetamol," her friend complained, though the took the tablets with a small smile that was enough to say thank you. "I swear to you, I'm never touching alcohol again. I am sober from this day forward."

"Really?" Penelope remarked, raising an eyebrow. "What about that party you're going to next weekend? You gonna be sober for that?"

"Maybe I will."

"Okay, Lottie. I'll remind you of that when you drunk text me at 3am asking if I know where your Uber is."

"That was one time!"

"Okay. But there was the time when you fell in the pool and-"

"Alright, Penelope," Charlotte interrupted, her cheeks bright red as she held up her hand for silence. "I don't need to relive the trauma again."

"Sorry. I thought it was funny."

"Well, your boyfriend didn't. When I saw him the other day, he told me off for waking him up in the middle of the night."

Penelope laughed a little, directing Charlotte down the right corridor. She was so out of it that she couldn't even remember the way to the reading room. "It was probably a joke."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! It's uh, a French thing."

"Right. Speaking of Charles, how are things going?"

"Good, actually. Really good. I fly out to Monaco tomorrow and I'm meeting his mom for the first time so that should be...fun."

Charlotte slid her glasses down her nose, wiggling her brow. "Meeting the parents? Sounds serious."

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"You nervous?"

"Honestly? I think his mom hates me. I spoke to her once and she might as well have told me she didn't think I deserved to be with her son to my face. I mean, what if we don't get along?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Charles loves you. If she's got half a brain, she'll feel the same, trust me. Plus, why does it matter?"

"Charlotte, it's his mom. He cares about what she thinks."

Suddenly, Charlotte's expression grew serious. She put a hand on Penelope's arm, taking off her glasses and balancing her coffee on the railing. "Listen to me. Just be yourself, and what will be will be. Don't let it get to you. Anyone who doesn't like you isn't worth your time, because you're pretty amazing."

Penelope could feel herself welling up. Charlotte was a year older, and had always been the wiser of the two of them. No matter what problem she had, Charlotte had this way of stepping in and making it seem insignificant. 

"You're not just saying that because you're still a little drunk?"

Charlotte threw her hands in the air, rolling her eyes. "Oh my...just take the compliment, okay? Come on, unless you wanna be late."