Crash

Teddy bears

It's funny how in times of tragedy, the world seems to just stand still. 

Red flag. The race was over, at least for now, but the pain that they were about to go through was only just about to begin. There were thousands of people here, and yet it was eerily quiet. Penelope's ears were ringing, her heart beating so quickly it felt like it might suddenly stop. Every time she blinked, she saw something new. She wasn't in the garage anymore, surrounded by chaos. She was at a dinner party, a handsome man holding his hand out to her, asking her to accept his offer. She was sat in the passenger seat, driving through Monaco, hands in the air and wind in her hair. She was running through a crowd at Nationals, his arms outstretched, holding a bunch of red roses, waiting for her. She was dancing at a wedding, his hands on her waist, telling her that he'd chose her over anything, that they'd always be together. She was sitting outside a party, being given a ring, a promise made between them that one day it would be for real. She was crying in his bathroom, she was begging him to forgive her, she was thanking the gods that he did. She was sitting in a hospital room, her only company the beeping of the monitor, only it wasn't her brother Frankie in the bed - it was Charles. 

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her shoulders, jolting her back to reality. "Hey!" Jasper said sternly, shaking her as she blinked the vision from her mind. "Penelope, snap out of it. Come on, hey!"

"What happened?" she choked, hoping that what she knew to be true was some kind of cruel nightmare. 

"Charles crashed. He's...he's still in the car. They're trying to get him on the radio."

"He's not talking?" she said, her voice breaking at the thought. She pushed her way past Jasper, her fingers seizing Will's arm. "Is he okay?"

Will didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the screen in front of him, not moving from the pictured wreckage of the car. Maybe it was just her brain finally going crazy, but Penelope could've sworn she saw tears in his eyes. 

"Will!" she said again. "Please. Please tell me."

"There's nothing," he said finally, the words slicing through them all like an axe. "I'm sorry."

With trembling fingers, Penelope pulled her headphones up to her ears, listening intently. Normally, this would be how she'd listen to Charles's radio during the race, a direct link to him. A few times, she'd even spoken to him, sending encouragement or notes of congratulations after a success. Now though, all she heard was static. 

"Charles," the voice of Charles's race engineer said over the radio. "Let us know that you're okay."

There was no answer. Penelope felt something inside her threaten to break, the sound of Pascale's crying eating away at her bit by bit. Lorenzo cradled his mother while Arthur stood with his head in his hands, for once without a playful comment or remark. Jasper tried to comfort Penelope, but she pushed him away. She didn't need wrapping in cotton wool, she needed answers. She needed to know that he was okay. 

"Charles," Xavi repeated. "Are you okay, question?"

Once again, there was no response. Penelope's fingers trembled as she wiped away a tear with the back of her hand, hoping no one would see. There weren't enough words to describe the fear she was feeling. Will's hand shot out, grabbing hers and holding on, making it impossible for her to let go. Together, they waited, all of them unable to move or breathe or process what was happening. 

It felt like forever that they were stood there, waiting for any sign or any scrap of news. It could have been hours or minutes or seconds - it all felt the same. Then, all of a sudden, someone at the back of the garage stood up from their seat, pointing to the screen.