STAY THE NIGHT || Charles Leclerc

SIX

Wednesday, 5 January
Charles' pov:

After a few more episodes of Gogglebox, I persuaded Olly to stop and eat some lunch, making some pasta with the pesto that I had found in the fridge.

"Mmm Olly," I said as we ate the pasta "Did you make this sauce?"

Olly was a keen cook, and had spent months trying to create the perfect pesto recipe.

"Yup, do you like it?"

"It's beautiful. I think you've finally got it right"

"Thank you Charles, I'm glad you like it"

After we had both washed and cleared up, we headed to the local supermarket. I drove Olly's car, reminiscing my old Fiat that I'd once owned. Mine had driven its final miles a few years ago now, so I drove Olly's on occasion. They were both so similar that during long drives I'd often forget it wasn't my car.

The journey to the supermarket only took us a few minutes, probably spending longer looking for a parking space than the drive from the apartment. I insisted on driving the trolley whilst we wandered up and down the aisles of the store. Olly complained that I acted like a child when shopping, though I was doing it in an attempt to improve her mood. I'd beg to put certain items in the trolley, then would sprint around the corners with the trolley, aiming for the best racing line I could get. At one point my antics almost caused me to hit another shopper's trolley, at which point Olly insisted on taking control of the trolley. I was disappointed that she had ruined my fun, and trudged alongside Olly with my hands dug deep into the pockets of his trousers and head hung.

"Charles stop acting like that"

"But I wanted to push the trolley"

"I let you push the trolley Charles, then you almost hit somebody. So now it's my turn"

"Not fair" I mumbled. The trolleys weren't actually as close as they looked.

"Life's not far, Charlie. You and I both know that. Now, we still need to get passata, pasta, chicken, fresh tomatoes and rice."

*

"Charles, can you grab the passata for me please? I can't reach it"

"Sure" I said, reaching up to grab the passata on one of the higher shelves

"Olivia? Is that you?"

I turned around to the source of the voice, a short distance further down the aisle. I recognised the owner of the voice as Mrs Moretti, the Italian lady who owned a cafe that Olly sometimes helped at. She had owned the cafe for as long as I could remember, and I had fond memories of spending time in the cafe during my childhood.

"Mrs Moretti!" spoke Olly "So lovely to see you! How are you?"

"Ah, I'm doing okay dear. And how are you? How are your parents?"

"They're... they're not here" stammered Olly, her voice cracking as she replied to the old woman's questions

"Oh, really? I thought you said that they would be coming to visit you soon?"

I put the passata in the trolley, turning my head in Olly's direction as I did so. Her mouth opened once, twice but no words came out.

"Olly?" I said warily

No response. Her hands were shaking and I noticed the color of her skin had become paler. It took me a second to register that she was having a panic attack. Panic attacks had been a frequent occurrence for Olly when we were in our teens, but I hadn't seen her have an attack for a few years now.

"Olivia" I said as I placed my hands on her shoulders "Olivia, look at me, follow my breathing. In...and out... in... and out"

"Is she okay?" asked the shocked Mrs Morretti, who I had forgotten was standing behind us

"She's having a panic attack, but she'll be okay" I told her, turning my attention back to Olly for a second. In and out Olivia, come on. In...and out "Her parents... passed away yesterday"

"Oh goodness! Poor girl, I shouldn't have asked"

"It's okay ma'am, you didn't know"

"Okay well... I guess I best be going... don't want to be a bother. Give Olivia my love will you? The cafe door is always open if she wants to come in for a chat"

"I will, thank you Mrs Moretti"

I turned back to Olly again as Mrs Morretti hurried away to finish her shopping. I moved my hands away from Olly's shoulders, taking hold of her left hand. With the pad of my finger, I began to trace circles in the center of her palm, starting small, before gradually making it larger. The action was something that Olly often did to calm her when she was nervous, and it often helped her calm down when she had a panic attack.

"Come on Olly, follow me. In... and out... in... and out"

After a while, I noticed Olly's breathing starting to return to a normal pace and she looked me in the eye. Unlike when she was panicked, her eyes were alive and responsive, I was able to see her emotion behind the tears that they held.

"Olly..." I began, now noticing that my own eyes now held tears

"Charlie" she lifted her hand towards my face to wipe away the tears, breaking the eye contact we held

"Oh Olly" I pulled her into a hug, my chin resting on my head as she began to sob into his chest. "Let's get you home"

I took Olly's hand and we headed back to the car, abandoning any thought of the shopping trolley filled with our food. On our way home, she asked what Mrs Moretti had said, and I explained to her that she had apologized and said that she could always visit the cafe if she wanted to talk. Olly didn't comment on the lady's offer, she was never one to talk about her feelings openly.

Olly went straight to bed when we arrived back at her apartment, and I quickly made myself at home, settling down to watch Money Heist. Halfway through an episode, my phone started to ring. It was Giada, my girlfriend.

"Hey Gigi, what's up?"

"Are you at home? I haven't seen you all week"

"Sorry baby, Andrea's been keeping me busy. I'm at Olly's right now, let me ask if it's okay for you to come round"

I got up and headed to Olly's bedroom, poking my head round the door.

"Olly" I whispered "Are you awake?"

"Mmmhmm"

"Is it okay if Gi comes round for a little while?"

"Yeah... okay. I've not seen her for a while"

"Thanks Ol" I said as I closed the door

"Olly said you can come" I said to Giada as I put the phone back against my ear "Can you do me a favor though please?"

"Sure baby, what is it?"

"Can you pick up some shopping on your way please? I went with Olly earlier but we didn't manage to finish it"

"Yeah sure, just send me the list and I'll grab it on the way"

"Amazing Gigi, I'll send it to you in a second. I love you"

"I love you too Charles, I'll see you soon"

After Giada had hung up the phone, I headed to the kitchen where I began typing a list of all the food we needed. I could remember most of the things that Olly and I had picked up originally, but I added a few things after having checked the cupboards. After double and triple checking the list, I sent the message to Giada before heading back to the sofa to continue watching my show.

A/N: You're all probably bored of the Charles pov chapters at the minute, but I thought it was important to see some parts from his perspective. Next week's upload will be back to Olly's perspective.

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Copsecorner x