: ̗̀➛ part three of the
one for the road series
SNOWFALL / CL16
in which two childhood friends reunite. a formula one driver wants to learn how to snowboard and it just so happens that the daughter of his mum's be...
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✧ ˚ · . CHAPTER FIVE . · ˚✧ we don't talk anymore (like we used to do)
val d'isère, winter 2023
Snow fluttered down in gentle flurries in front of me, the crisp air a welcome relief to my burning lungs. My fierce grip on the icy railing was the only thing keeping me grounded, the events of tonight inciting a tornado of anxious thoughts. I tried, but failed, to calm my racing heart.
My mind was racing equally as fast, spiralling in several different directions that it was hard to keep track of exactly what about this evening was bothering me so much. Of course, being this close to Charles again after nine years of contact alone was enough to tilt my world into confusion, but everything else: seeing how much of Arthur and Lorenzo's life had passed by and yet having close to no information about the gap that my heart wished nothing but to fill with details, and information. I wanted another catch up, like we used to have every vacation.
Why did six month breaks have to turn into nine years of no contact?
The worst of it all was that my chest contracted painfully at the idea of everything that had happened in Charles' life. I had seen his victories and his losses, the new friends and the new relationships, the nearly internet-breaking first post and the equally as impactful breakup statement, but all of that had been through a screen.
And suddenly here he was, and I had him at arm's length for the first time in nine years. My knees weakened at that reminder, my hands gripping the icy cold railing tighter until my knuckles turned white. A breath escaped my lips, creating a fluffy white cloud that slowly evaporated in front of my eyes.
Just like my relationship with Charles had evaporated that summer of '14.
"Arden?"
I hadn't heard the door creak open in the midst of my wallowing thoughts of self-pity, and when I turned around and found myself face to face with the cause of all of my problems, I let out a huff in frustration. "Merde, Charles. Don't you know when to leave a girl alone?"
Charles closed the door behind him and then crossed his arms, leaning back against the glass. His shoulders had broadened since he was a teen, his sweater stretched across them tightly, yet obstructing an accurate view of his waist, the fabric billowing out before tightening once again just above his hips. My breath got caught somewhere in my throat, but I dragged my gaze to the other side of the veranda, to the burning flame in the metallic heater at arm's length from me.
"Oh come on, baby, I know you missed me," Charles teased. My gaze snapped back towards him, catching the daring gaze in his eyes, the slight lift of his dark eyebrow, challenging me. However, the slight twitch in the left corner of his lips gave away his true feelings and the fact he was putting up a facade.
