A/N: College has started, so updates had been less frequent. But trust me, I haven't abandoned this story; more chapters are being written!

Song in parenthesis by Prince, who was an underrated genius.

Warning: This chapter does allude to talk of suicide, but nothing actually occurs.

Chapter 14- Estrangement (When Doves Cry)

Getting back to Quebec was noticeably awkward; no one spoke a word to each other on the flight back. Josée desperately tried to talk to her mother on the plane, but she averted her eyes and shook her head. Josée had pleaded, but her mother refused to speak. Jacques stared out at the window the entire time. Josée couldn't keep anything in her stomach down. The next four hours were painful that it felt like an eternity.

Josée had been noticeably quiet. Like she had thought last night, she was going to be angry like she was this morning - yet she didn't lash out at him. It was more like she was irritable rather than furious. Jacques seemed to get out of her way as much as possible, and was waiting for Josée to lash out at him like last time. But she did not. She was quiet, her conversations with Jacques were limited to asking him for directions or to pass him something from a compartment shelf.

They would rather have the awkward silence than a bunch of cameras and reporters swarming them when they arrived back in Quebec, being asked thousands of questions.

Chaos.

Luckily Josée and Jacques had sunglasses on to block out the flashing lights. Unfortunately, they did not bring earplugs - which would help block out the shouting.

And then came the big question: "Is there anything you'd like to say about the gold medalists Leonardo Dubois and Olivia Simmard?"

There were many things Josée and Jacques would've loved to say, really. They longed to tell them about how Leo and Liv were not deserving of the gold medals, and that they were the worst people Josée and Jacques ever had the misfortune of meeting. They longed to say how Leo and Liv would bully, sabotage, and threaten other ice dancers. They longed to say how Leo and Liv were callous, didn't care about ice dancing at all, and were hellbent on making other's lives miserable.

But they couldn't.

"We would like to congratulate them," Josée said politely, with a forced smile. "As you know, we're wonderful friends with them... they're such good skaters, I'm not surprised."

It hurt so much more to lie.

So much more than ever.

"Oui," Jacques added, equally as pained as his partner, "They are very talented. Congratulations to them." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Josée getting mildly upset - she could hold it well for the cameras and they wouldn't suspect a thing, but Jacques knew much better. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd. "Now if you excuse us..."

Despite saying that, the cameras continued to swarm them; it took security getting involved again for Josée and Jacques to be ushered to safety in their cab.

They agreed to go to Josée's house to talk about the future.

On the way to her house, it was so quiet, so tense, and so nerve-wracking; Josée's mother hadn't spoken a word, other than saying they were going to her house, and had given Josée the cold shoulder ever since she and Jacques had gotten silver. Fleur needed to stop by her house, and despite Jacques' pleading eyes at the horror of being left with Josée and her mother, Fleur promised saying that it would be quick.

The three of them sat at the living room table. Jacques' eyes stared down at it, unable to see the disappointed look of Josée, and what was probably the furious look from her mother. He was right; Josée was also disappointed, staring down at the table, and Josée's mother's piercing eyes looked between the pair, assessing the situation.

After an agonizing five minutes, Josée's mother spoke. "I hope you understand how embarrassing this is," she spat venomously. Neither Jacques nor Josée tried to interject, and it was very wise not to do so. She turned to Jacques, glaring at him menacingly. "You dropped her. You let her fall."

"I know, Louise, I'm s-"

"Shut up," Josée's mother sneered. "You have no say in this anymore. In fact..." she smiled maliciously. "I don't want to see you ever again."

Josée's head snapped up and hid her gasp, her eyes widened as she looked back and forth between her mother and her partner. Jacques looked absolutely appalled, looking at Josée for her to say something, but alas, she stayed quiet on the matter - but still shocked, nonetheless.

Jacques looked back at Josée's mother, who was smirking at him. "Excuse-moi-"

"You heard me loud and clear," Josée's mother remarked coldly. She turned to her daughter, who still bore that look of shock. "It is disgraceful that you could even think that he was a good partner, that he was redeemable, and that he was good for you... but I've always known. I've known since he was little that he was awful and would drag you down."

Jacques turned to Josée to see what her reaction would be, but her eyes avoided his. Jacques' heart sunk considerably; he wasn't surprised that she didn't defend him, but that didn't mean he wasn't disappointed by it.

"N-non, Louise..." Jacques spoke up desperately, shaking his head. "I think that we should reconsider-"

"After what you just did?" Josée's mother let out a bitter chuckle, "It is disgusting what I witnessed at the olympics, an actual embarrassment. It takes a while to build a good reputation, but it takes as little as a few seconds to annihilate it. That is what both of you did."

Josée's mother got up from her end of the table, her chair scooting back abruptly which made both Josée and Jacques flinch, as she walked over to where her daughter was sitting to tilt her chin up aggressively in order to face her. "Say something, would you? Anything you'd like to say about your abominable placing?"

Jacques could feel her anxiety from beside her.

"It was... it was..." Josée began to stammer nervously. She tried to get out of her mother's grip on her chin, but her mother had a rough hold. "It was very bad."

Her mother groaned and harshly let go of her chin. "Anyone with a brain could tell you that," she snapped.

"B-But maman..." Josée started, hesitating a little - Jacques could tell. "I don't... think that we should stop being partners..."

The moment that those words slipped out of Josée's mouth, Jacques felt a wave of relief flood all over him. He felt like Christmas had come early. It was possible that she didn't hate him after all! That she was ready to potentially forgive him. It was possible that she didn't, of course, but that it wasn't enough to break up their partnership. Either way, Josée saying this was taking a huge stand, disagreeing with what her mother said about him leaving them and never seeing them again.

Speaking of Josée's mother, Jacques fearfully turned to her to see what her reaction was. Her eyebrows were slightly raised indicating surprise, but then it morphed into a look that sent chills down Jacques' spine. It was not a look of anger, it was not a look of fury, she had smiled and grabbed her daughter's chin again, having her face her.

"Oh Josée..." Her mother stated, in a faux-sweet tone. "You're not being rational here. Think about it..." Josée winced and tried to look at Jacques, but her mother redirected her to face her, grabbing her chin again. "No, no, no... Don't look at him," she ordered in a light sing-song voice. "I forgot how naive you could be, darling." Josée blinked in surprise; her mother never called her that. "Do you really want to be partners with him still?"

"Josée, don't believe what she says..."

"Shut up," Josée's mother hissed at Jacques, before turning back to her daughter with a smile so unlike her. "Josée, do you really want Jacques to be your partner?"

Josée winced again, trying to avoid her eyes as she mumbled, "...I... I still do." Jacques broke out into a smile, which her mother saw, and was by no means happy about.

Instead of Josée's mother being mad, she broke into a bigger smile and laughed. The unnatural sound startled both Josée and Jacques. "Oh Josée... he dropped you at the olympics! On the most important day of your life! How can you trust him anymore to be your partner?"

Josée hesitated, visibly uncomfortable. "I... I..." Maman had a point...

"Come on, Josée. Let's be reasonable here," Josée's mother went on, much to both Josée and Jacques' discomfort, but for entirely different reasons: "Haven't I always told you the truth? Has he been honest with you lately?" She let out a chuckle. "You can never trust a man, Josée. Haven't I always told you that? He proved my point at the olympics."

Josée's face faltered significantly. "But... But Jacques and I are honest with each other... we're friends-"

"And look what being friends with him cost you!" Josée's mother shrieked, laughing hysterically like her daughter had no idea what she was talking about. "It caused him to drop you. You and him have fought before, how do you know he didn't purposely drop you at the olympics?!"

"That is enough!" Jacques shouted, he couldn't believe his ears. The lengths Josée's mother was willing to go. "I would never try to hurt Josée!"

He looked over to Josée, waiting for her to open her mouth like she did before to defend him, but she didn't. "Josée..." It was the way she avoided looking at him told him that she was starting to believe her. He was far too frustrated to deal with this. He shook his head and stormed out of the house.

Josée jumped out of her chair and ran outside to catch up with him. "Jacques, wait!"

Jacques turned back around. "What?"

Josée was taken aback by his sharp tone, looking down at her shoes. "Jacjac, I'm sorry, but you know I can't..."

"I can't believe you're buying this shit."

Her eyes widened at his bluntness. "Jacques-"

"Don't you see what she's doing?!" Jacques exclaimed, rubbing his forehead. "She's trying to manipulate you, she's trying to-"

"She's not exactly wrong with what she's saying!" Josée suddenly yelled angrily, fire in her eyes. "You did cause gold to slip through our fingers and leave us stuck with silver! How dare you talk about maman that way! Like she's some sort of monster! I can't stand when you do this and it's why our partnership always had issues!"

"So you agree!" Jacques yelled, "You agree that she's the issue here!"

"You know that's not what I meant! The issue is that you see her as this awful person-"

"Because she is an awful person!"

Smack!

Josée, for a moment, was shocked that she had raised her hand and struck Jacques across the face, leaving him with a stinging red cheek which he rubbed gingerly. However, the shock wore off and it was replaced with immediate fury. "You know nothing about her!" she shrieked, tears forming in her eyes. "She's right; she was always right! You are the reason we lost and... and..."

Did she really want this?

...Yes. She had to stick with her guns this time. "We're not partners anymore, and... and..." She really, really wasn't sure, though. "...I don't want to see you again."

Beat.

Jacques processed this slowly. Once it processed, a wave of emotions spread across Jacques' face too quick to read. "Fine. I don't care anymore. Have a nice life, Josée." He sounded so detached that it hurt her. Yesterday night, she was wrong; Jacques didn't hate her right now - he thought nothing of her, and that was somehow much worse.

Jacques stormed off, not looking back. Josée sunk to her knees and let out a wail into her hands. She cried, and she cried, and she cried... That was, until someone patted her back from behind. Josée turned around to see her mother shaking her head while clicking her tongue.

"Oh Josée, you know I only want what's best for you, non? I told you that Jacques would eventually bring you down, hmm?" Josée nodded once into her hands and cried even more into them as her mother went on, rubbing her back with a satisfied smile on her face, "We'll have to get you a new partner. But you have to remember that no one could be there like I am for you, darling... No man can handle you like I can, hmm?"

Josée nodded again. "Oui, maman." She wasn't... she wasn't sure at all.

But it's not like that mattered anymore.

Jacques went straight to his apartment that he had gotten a few months ago before the olympics. After his mother went to her house, she said that she brought his luggage over there - she had a spare key, just in case - along with his father and his sister. The moment he walked through the door everyone knew something had happened. Hector and Gabrielle tried to congratulate him, but Jacques didn't talk. He stared down at his shoes, his breathing slightly labored.

"Son?" Hector called out to Jacques. "Jacques?"

Jacques' sister looked nervously back and forth between father and son, and then to Fleur. "Maman, something isn't right..." Fleur nodded, not adding onto what her daughter said. Gabrielle went on concernedly, "Jacques, what's happened? What's going on?"

Jacques took a few more steps inside, gripping onto a shelf tightly as his face went ashen pale. "She... she said... said that... she didn't..." he couldn't finish, raising the concerns of his family who watched alarmingly when his breathing worsened as he tried to explain what happened. "She... didn't want to be-"

He toppled over with his hand to his chest, his eyes laced with panic as his heart beat rapidly against his chest, starting to hyperventilate. Fleur, Hector, and Gabrielle hid their gasps and rushed over to steady Jacques on his feet.

"Let's sit down," Fleur guided Jacques to the sofa, followed by a nerve-wracked Gabrielle and a stealthily calm Hector. Jacques sat down, with Fleur and Gabrielle on each side of him trying to calm him down, but to no avail. "Deep breaths, Jacques... it's okay."

"N-Non! It's not," Jacques insisted, hardly managing to get his words out. Is this... Is this what Josée felt whenever she got hysterical? "I-I can't-"

"Put your head in-between your knees," Hector ordered, in a softer tone than usual. Jacques shook his head roughly, almost in defiance as he gasped for air. "Son, you have to listen to me. Put your head in-between your knees." Jacques tried to bring his head down, but Hector had to help him. He slowly brought Jacques' head down to his knees as he continued to struggle with his breathing. "Deep breaths."

"I'm dying."

"You're not dying, you're having an anxiety attack," Fleur told him. "Breathe, we're not going anywhere. We're still here." Jacques' breathing evened out slightly, with the assistance from his parents and his sister. After a few minutes, Hector let go of his head and Jacques composed himself. Fleur asked calmly: "Tell us what happened."

Instead of Jacques hyperventilating like before, he burst into tears. "We're not partners anymore..."

Beat.

"Are... are you sure?" Fleur asked, bewildered. "Are you sure this is what Josée wants-"

"Apparently," Jacques spat pathetically. "It's what her maman wants, but Josée didn't argue... she just lets her maman convince her into these things all the time, always has... and I can't... I can't take it anymore." Jacques wiped his tears away angrily. "That doesn't mean this doesn't hurt. I want to be her partner, but doesn't she see what her maman is doing? Or does she choose to ignore it... and... and..." He choked back a sob, as he muttered quietly: "...this is all my fault."

"Oh honey..." Fleur ran a hand through his hair, while Gabrielle looked on worriedly, and Hector stood up straighter with an uncomfortable expression. "I'm sure this was just one huge misunderstanding-"

"It wasn't!" Jacques exclaimed, shrugging Gabrielle's comforting hand on her shoulder. "Josée told me she didn't want to see me again, so if this truly would make her happy, then I should do just that! Stay away from her forever! Because I ruined her life, I owe her that much, at least." He wailed into his hands. His family didn't say anything, they were far too busy processing what this meant, along with listening to the painful sound of Jacques crying.

"It's not..." Hector paused, hesitant to cut in: "It's not the end of the world, son... it's probably like what your mother said, a huge misunderstanding, non?" His face faltered significantly as Jacques shook his head roughly. "It'll be erm... okay," he offered lamely. Jacques mumbled something under his breath that he couldn't quite hear. "What?"

"I should just fall into a frozen lake and drown."

"What?" Hector nearly, not quite - but nearly shouted. Gabrielle went incredibly pale and Fleur did everything she could to hide a gasp. Hector looked at his daughter and his wife, and they stared back hoping to god that they misheard what Jacques just said. Hector knew that they unfortunately didn't. He turned back to Jacques, who stared down at his shoes, resigned. "Don't say that," he ordered sternly, no - almost desperately. "Shit like that is taken very seriously-"

"I'm staying at his apartment for a while," Gabrielle cut in, shaking her head in fear. "I'm not leaving him alone."

"I'm not going to do anything," Jacques spat bitterly, rolling his eyes. "It's an expression of how I feel. I am twenty-one years old, I can take care of myself!"

"You're talking about hurting yourself!" Gabrielle countered, shouting at him with tears in her eyes. "For fuck's sake we can't lose you after we already lost Bernadette-"

"What does Bernadette have to do with this conversation?!" Jacques snapped back at his sister, "It's like you're trying to make me more upset!" He stood up from the sofa abruptly, brushing off Fleur and Gabrielle. "I'm going to my room. Don't worry, I won't drown myself or anything," he added for good measure, then he slammed the door.

"Goddamn it her mother is fucking satan." Both Gabrielle and Fleur knew whom Hector was talking about. "That woman has caused so much pain and agony, and I'm not even saying it in a joking manner - that woman is awful. It's like looking back into a mirror of my past-"

"Hector-"

"She is going to hurt her daughter so badly," Hector interrupted his wife, nowhere near finished. "Things like this make me think that we should've done something about Louise years ago, but where would that leave the kid? Away with some family she doesn't know where she'll probably be treated like garbage anyway? Now she's nineteen and we can't do anything about it. She's so fucking attached to her mother, and it just... takes me back."

Gabrielle blinked slowly. "Papa, what are you talking about?" Hector didn't answer her.

Fleur sighed deeply and turned to her daughter. "Go check on Jacques in his room, please." Gabrielle looked between her parents, knowing something was wrong, but rose from her seat and left the living room, leaving them both alone.

"They're just children," Fleur said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Oui, they're legally adults, but they're still children."

"I'm telling you, Fleur. One day Louise is going to hurt her daughter so bad, and it will be on her hands. She's going to push her too hard one day-"

"Wh-what?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if the kid thought of jumping off a building more than once-"

"Hector!" Fleur exclaimed in horror, her eyes wide. "I don't want to think about that possibility..." Then, she started to cry. "They're just children."

Hector sat down and awkwardly rubbed his wife's back comfortingly.

Three months later, Josée had gone through not one, nor two, but three ice dancing partners. There were a lot of complaints from her partners, whether it was her "controlling personality," her "superstitious attitude," or, the most prominent issue - calling her partner "Jacjac" at least once a week. Her mother claimed they were put off by her determination to get back to the top after her embarrassing display at the olympics, or there was her nez crochu that could cost her points because the judges always looked for attractiveness as well - which lead to her mother also saying it could be her weight, that her partners found it difficult to lift her.

"I'm telling you," her mother had told her, "You should start eating better."

Since then, Josée had lost nearly fifteen pounds. Her mother was somewhat satisfied. And sure, maybe she had to slip back into old habits that weren't necessarily healthy like skipping meals, or if she caved and ate a large meal she would bring it back up, but it was for a good cause, she insisted. Jacques used to tell her it wasn't though.

Jacques...

He was right. She knew it wasn't healthy because Jacques told her so, and Jacques was always right about her health. She missed him. Just a little bit. Okay, she missed him more than a little bit; she missed him so, so much but of course she couldn't tell her maman that, she would lose it on her! Besides, her mother would know best, wouldn't she? It was the most important day of her life that he had ruined it; surely someone like him couldn't be in her life anymore. While he was right about her health, he certainly wasn't right when it came to carrying her across the ice to get gold.

But at the same time, Jacques had been her best friend since childhood, and to be frank, other than Rachel, her only friend.

"I don't understand, Josée," Rachel told her in the locker room after her lesson. She, too, had lost weight over time, but for an entirely different reason that had nothing to do with dieting. Josée took off her skates as Rachel went on, "You clearly miss Jacques... and I talked to him, too. When he's not at the ballet company I see him time to time..."

"The olympics was three months ago, and people still harass me about the incident," Josée hissed, rolling her eyes. She wanted to be strong; she didn't want to go back. Her mother would find her disappointing more than she already did. "He's clearly moved on from ice dancing, anyway."

"But he's so much more gloomy," Rachel remarked. Josée felt a pang in her chest; but tried to focus on putting her skates away as the blonde continued, "I've talked to Lucas, and a few other friends of his... they're saying he's out partying and going home with a different guy every night..."

"Jacques' love life is none of my business," Josée cut in, trying not to be bothered.

"...and I think Jacques has picked up smoking again."

"He's not the only one who's picked up a bad habit, I suppose," Josée accused lightly.

Rachel's eyes widened just a little, before restoring to an annoyed state. "Oh, come on now. Don't be silly."

"You've lost weight from the garbage you put into your body."

"So have you from the lack of things you put into your body," Rachel countered calmly. Josée didn't have anything to say to that. Rachel was far too quick; quicker than Josée could ever be. "I still don't understand why you can't just tell your mother you want to be partners with Jacques again. You're nineteen, you should be able to get your own apartment and live on your own."

Josée hesitated and bit her lower lip. "Um, maman doesn't think I'm mature enough to handle living on my own-"

"Josée," Rachel cut in sharply. "If you're old enough to compete in the olympics and win money, you can handle living without your maman. Believe me, you're mature enough for that... it's that your mother thinks otherwise."

"Well, she must have a reason for thinking that," Josée said.

Rachel shook her head. "You know what I think? I think she's trying to control you."

Josée blinked, not quite comprehending. "What are you saying? Parents are supposed to do that."

"No they aren't," Rachel told her honestly.

"The reason why you think that way is because your mother wasn't capable of controlling you, she was too busy getting high or whatever it was..."

Rachel frowned at her friend's choice of words. "There's a key difference between controlling and caring and you fail to distinguish between the two."

"There's nothing to distinguish, it's the same thing."

"No it isn't." Rachel took a breath. "My mother was too busy to take care of me. That's what parents are supposed to do. When you try to control someone, in this instance a child, you are monitoring their every move and aren't setting healthy boundaries. From what I've heard over the years, your mother is capable of caring for you, she just doesn't want to. She wants to control you. If she cared about you, she would want you to succeed on your own and thrive-"

"But my mother does want me to succeed!" Josée argued.

"Does she want you to succeed or does she want to succeed through you?"

"Rachel you-" Josée stopped, and processed the statement. "What?"

"Well..." began Rachel, "You talk about how your mother was an ice dancer, and she quit to raise you... it was right before the olympics and all that. She brings up how lucky you are that you could go to the olympics."

Josée crossed her arms. "This is exactly why Jacques and I stopped being friends." Her tone indicated a warning, and most people would know to back off.

Rachel was not most people. Instead, she persisted: "Why? Because Jacques would tell you about your mother and that she's not very nice? He's known you for almost how long now... almost fourteen years? I think he would know something from observing her over the years, even if he's not as swift as you think. I'm just offering a perspective that I've heard, and telling you based on my own personal experience, that mothers aren't perfect."

Josée pressed her lips together in thought; she didn't like this conversation. "Maman had raised me. She knows me better and knows what's best for me," she excused, though she wasn't sure. She grabbed her belongings, with an unsettling feeling in her stomach. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow." And she walked out without saying goodbye. As she walked home, Josée's head was bombarded with intrusive thoughts regarding her previous conversation with Rachel.

Does she want you to succeed or does she want to succeed through you?

...She hated that question. She hated what it implied. She hated that Rachel was so smart, because had it been from a person who wasn't - it wouldn't have bothered Josée so.

Coupled with the fact that Josée missed Jacques so much, she hated that Rachel's argument came from a logical place. it was different from Jacques because he would argue that her mother made her feel bad; and Josée knew that her own feelings weren't a factor in the equation - according to her, they didn't matter.

But Rachel's perspective raised too many questions that she's had over the years, like why her mother hated Jacques so much and was eager to get rid of him. It was the way her mother had successfully isolated her for years up until ice dancing, where she met Jacques - and that's when the problems really started. There were questions, such as why her mother was so angry over Peggy Fleming complimenting her when she should've been happy. It was... it was almost like she was jealous.

Josée shook her head of the thoughts. No, like she said, it was Jacques who started all these problems - if she had listened to her maman and have not grown attached to Jacques this would've never happened, and she would've been a great ice dancer and a gold medalist.

And she would have her mother's love.

...Right?

Another three months later, Josée unfortunately saw a pattern that she desperately tried to ignore, and she was starting to think that Rachel and Jacques were right for both emotional and logical reasons.

Competition season was coming up, and none of her partners were well-suited for her because of reasons said before. She did not just go through three partners within this batch of three months, but five. Each time that they quit on her, Josée was punished by her mother's berating and painfully long stays in the closet. Within each time her mother shoved her in there, Josée's mind wandered back to Jacques.

Jacques, who was probably having his own life right now and wanted nothing to do with her. Her heart ached because of that possibility; but Josée decided this was her fault. After all, she was the one that told him that they couldn't be partners anymore.

But... it was under her mother's persuasion, wasn't it? But... her mother mocked her and said that she never took the blame for herself ("Nothing's ever your fault, isn't it?") and always tried to deflect it onto someone else, and that her mother was saying she was acting like a baby and she needed to grow up. But... at the same time her mother treated her like baby and didn't want her to move out and train on her own, though she could very well afford to.

Which one was it?

"Josée," her mother hissed from the living room table. "Another partner quit on you." Six partners in three months. "It's like you're trying to embarrass me."

Josée stared at her hands. "I'm... I'm sorry, maman. I didn't mean to."

"You never mean to do anything," she sneered. Then all was quiet again.

"...We could... we could always..." Josée paused, her eyes widening in realization of what she was about to say - it was such a huge risk. "...We could always go back to Jacques." She watched fearfully as her mother's eyes went from her paperwork to her daughter's frightened ones.

She stood up so abruptly Josée flinched, making her way and grabbing her by the arm. "How could you suggest something so stupid?"

Josée winced, trying to get out of her grasp. "N-non... it... none of the other ice dancers are a good match-"

"And you think that moron who sabotaged you is better?" Josée's mother huffed and dragged her. "Closet for you, for thinking such a terrible idea."

"But maman-"

"Don't argue with me, Josée. Meeting that boy was utterly foolish," her mother remarked. "Get in the closet-"

"No."

Time stood still.

Josée didn't understand why at first, not until she realized that she was the one who dared to say that word to her mother. She watched as her mother's eyes grew wide with what looked like fury. She was shocked, however, to the point where her grip on Josée's arm had loosened. She shook her head and chuckled. "I must've misheard... did you just say 'no' to me?"

Josée stared back at her mother nervously, realizing the many potential scenarios that this could go in, depending on her answer. Her first thought was to deny, to tell her that nothing happened, and if her mother continued to challenge her further, Josée would say it slipped, that it was an accident and would take the punishment of the closet.

But then Josée thought about what Rachel said, and what Jacques has been saying over the years about her mother. She thought about how she had been nothing but miserable these past six months without Jacques, despite her mother saying that he was the one making her miserable. Her mother was telling her how she felt, which... well, that couldn't logically make sense now, could it?

"Josée," her mother repeated her name, cutting through her thoughts. "Answer me!"

It was now or never.

This determined everything.

Josée closed her eyes for a moment, before snapping them open determinedly as she broke out of her mother's grasp. "I said no."

"You're speaking to your mother in such a way?" She retorted.

The ice dancer hesitated, biting her lower lip. "Maman, all... all I'm saying is that we should try talking to Jacques again! We've been partners a long, long time! And I... I think we should try it, because you aren't..." Oh god, she could feel herself regretting her next words: "...you aren't listening to me!"

Beat.

"So you're saying that I'm a bad mother?" her mother challenged, glaring at her. "After I've fed and clothed you, after I've put a roof over your head? When I very well could've gotten rid of you the moment that I found out I was pregnant? Or dumped you in a children's home?"

"Maman, I never said that-"

"Clearly I could've done those things, but I didn't! I raised you to be a winner who never quit!"

"I know maman..."

"No, no, no... you've made your point," her mother interrupted, sighing frustratedly. "I see how it is. You think you're so mature now, don't you?" Josée didn't know how to answer; she felt herself trembling a little. "It's not like I raised you or anything like that, non! Nothing of the sort. You clearly know what's good for yourself-"

"I just want you to listen to me!" Josée cut in desperately, her eyes shining with tears. "I miss Jacques!"

"OH LOOK AT YOURSELF!" Her mother shouted at her, grabbing her arm again. Then, she laughed at the tears slipping from her eyes. "Crying like a little baby because you miss that insolent boy!" She proceeded to mock her, raising her voice at a higher pitch: "Are you a baby? You're pathetic! A pathetic baby who-"

"GET OFF OF ME!" Josée suddenly shouted, managing to yank her arm out of her mother's grasp to grab her mother's arm with her free hand. Josée took a few shuddering breaths in realization; there was no turning back from this. "You were... you were hurting me!"

"Stop being so sensitive, Josée..." her mother stated coldly, then she smirked. "You're always so sensitive... I'm not hurting you." She used her free hand to run her hand through her daughter's hair. "What kind of mother would hurt their own daughter?"

Josée closed her eyes; holding her tears back and ignored the pumping of her heart. "You are... you... you don't listen."

"Get out."

Josée felt her heart stop and opened her eyes to see her mother's smirk vanished. "Wh-what?" Her mother's voice was low... too low... and stealthily calm... it unsettled Josée.

"You've made your decision," her mother began, her eyes darkening considerably as she yanked her arm away. "Now I've made mine. I want you out of this house." She turned around and made her way back to the living room table wordlessly. It was all quiet; with Josée watching her mother's hand move toward a vase. Josée gasped as her mother, all of a sudden, let out a piercing scream as she chucked the vase in her direction - with Josée barely managing to duck in time for as it shattered against the wall behind her.

"M-maman!" Josée shrieked in a panic. "Why did you-"

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?!" her mother roared, "GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!"

Josée didn't need to be told twice. She sprinted out the door, blinking back the tears trying desperately ignoring the profanities coming from her mother's direction. Her mother's voice faded after some time of running. Josée couldn't believe she did that. She just couldn't believe that she talked back to her mother and avoided a closet punishment. Guilt plagued her, however, hiccuping and gasping for air as soon as she felt she was far enough from her house. Her mother didn't want her anymore.

If her mother couldn't love her, who could?

Josée caught her breath this time as an idea came to mind, though she felt it was unlikely to go according to plan. Gathering her courage, she started running again.

Jacques missed her.

The first few weeks since quitting ice dancing, Gabrielle stayed at his apartment to make sure he wasn't going to "hurt himself," whatever the hell that meant. Jacques hated that his older sister treated him like a child, since he was twenty-one years old. And sure, maybe he spent the first week in bed crying himself to sleep every night and that wasn't exactly healthy, but it's not like he was going to throw himself off the roof of his apartment building – though he refused to admit those thoughts involuntarily warped his brain now and then. Okay and yes, he had fallen back into his own habits such as smoking cigarettes, which he hadn't done since his sister died, but it's not like she would come back from the dead to yell at him - he tried that trick before.

After he got over the hurdle of two weeks, he decided to go back to the ballet company to earn proper income. It worked for a while, yes, that it helped him get over his sadness over his partner but he would get days like these where he couldn't help but think about the olympics, had he not caused that mistake of dropping his best friend face first onto the ice. Things would've gone a lot differently; winning the olympics would be one thing, and Josée being his partner would be another, and she would have her mother's love.

Josée...

Speaking of - not that he knew it at the time - Jacques was startled at the frantic knocking on his door. He frowned thoughtfully; his parents said they were going to stop by later, but apparently they decided to show up early. Rising from his sofa, he went to the door and answered.

He was greeted with a face he hadn't seen in months.

Josée's pretty and delicate face was red and stained with tears, she was taking shuddering breaths over and over as if to compose herself - but she was failing miserably. She wiped at her face tiredly as she sniffled and hiccuped. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was hugging herself tightly. She looked thinner. Almost immediately, Jacques felt a tug at his heart - while he didn't think he would ever see her again, if she came back in a state like this, something must've happened.

"H-h-hi," Josée manage to stammer out, gasping between breaths. Josée couldn't even look at him; she was scared of his rejection - she just felt it coming. She took two even breaths, closing her eyes. She stared down at her shoes, wringing her hands that were shaking a little. "It's been a while."

"...It has," Jacques agreed, in a tone that Josée couldn't decipher. He didn't sound angry, but he didn't sound happy either. He sounded so neutral, like he was detached from her - and it destroyed Josée inside. "What happened?" He asked softly, concern in his voice.

The moment that innocent question escaped his lips in that voice she missed, Josée burst into tears and cried into her hands. "I missed you! And I am so, so sorry! I should've listened, and... and I feel awful! Maman was wrong, and I tried to tell her that I wanted to see you again, and she told me that I was being too sensitive and she kicked me out of the house forever!" She shook her head into her hands, sniffling loudly. "Rachel was right too, you were always right about maman! And I... I don't know what to do. You're my best friend and I ignored you! I am sorry. I'm really, really sorry." Her body shook so badly with sobs she sunk down to the ground. "...I'm sorry. Can we just go back to how things were? Please."

It was too quiet, other than the sound of Josée's weeping. She already figured that Jacques didn't forgive her. After all, this wasn't the first time she tried to abandon her partnership and then begged him to take her back. The first time she had gotten lucky, she supposed - the same wasn't going to happen now. She felt herself growing tired from all the crying, it wouldn't be long until she fell asleep outside of his house and he would slam the door in anger from seeing her again.

But that's not what happened.

Josée felt herself gently being lifted from the ground and into caring arms. Josée had stopped weeping to stare up at Jacques - who was holding her - in surprise. He had tears of his own forming in his eyes and kissed the top of her head. He readjusted to carry her bridal-style onto the sofa, not before shutting the apartment door with his foot. Josée let out a sob of relief and cried into his chest as Jacques cradled her comfortably and rubbed her back. "Josée..." he breathed in alarm after a few minutes passed, "You've gotten thinner."

Josée nodded into his chest. "Mhm..."

"That's not good, chouchou."

Josée felt more relief wash over her at the pet-nickname of his. "You're right, it's not." She lifted her head from his chest to look at him. "You smell like cigarettes, that's bad."

"I know..."

"I'm sorry. And... I'm sorry for slapping you the last time we spoke, and I shouldn't have said those terrible things. It was horrible of me. Tu m'as manqué, Jacjac."

She missed calling him that.

"Shh..." Jacques lightly brought Josée's head to rest on his shoulder as he continued to rub her back up and down. "It's okay. Je suis là maintenant, tout ira bien." She nodded into his shoulder and leaned into him. "I'm sorry too, Josée. There were things I shouldn't have said, too. I... I missed you as well. You can stay here. I can go get your things so you won't have to." Jacques could tell that Josée was still hesitant about being away from her mother. "Everything's going to be okay."

Josée buried her face in his shoulder. "You said that already."

"I know," Jacques said softly. "I just think you need to hear it." For the next five minutes, Josée and Jacques remained on the sofa until she calmed down in comfortable silence. The silence was interrupted by Fleur and Hector walking in on the scene.

"Josée..." Fleur said in surprise. Hector raised his eyebrows, yet said nothing. Fleur, understandably, had questions. "What on earth happened?" Josée winced and looked away from Jacques' parents out of shame. They were probably mad at seeing her; for abandoning their son for six months.

"Josée tried to tell Louise she wanted us to be partners again," Jacques explained lightly. He could feel her body tensing up at the mention of her mother's name, so he started to rub her back again in efforts to calm her down. "She didn't take it well." Josée hesitantly lifted her head to meet Jacques' parents' eyes, who didn't seem all too mad.

Fleur sat down beside them on the sofa and held Josée's hand. Josée felt uneasy; it was like Fleur knew something critical had happened. "Did she hurt you?"

"No," Josée said, far too quickly. Fleur and Hector exchanged a look. "She um... I'm not allowed to live with her anymore."

"She threw you out?" Fleur asked incredulously. "How could she do such a thing?!"

"Thank fucking god," Hector muttered. Josée felt her eyes well up with tears at hearing that and cried into Jacques' shoulder. Hector's face faltered immediately and grew awkward. "Oh... oh fuck. I mean, uh..." He grew uncomfortable under Jacques' glare for the first time. "Fuck. Sorry. I didn't mean it in that way."

"What papa means," Jacques began, still glaring at his father, "...is that maybe leaving your maman is something you need to do?" Josée didn't answer him, but her tears did subsided instead resting her head on Jacques' shoulder again and hiccuped. "Well we don't have to think about it now. But tonight you should stay here." Josée mumbled something incoherently. "Mm, what was that, chouchou?"

"She... she tried to throw a vase at me," Josée repeated, frightened. Fleur and Hector's eyes popped out, while Jacques felt his jaw clench tight and his eyes flare madly.

"She did what?" Jacques asked lowly, hoping he misheard. Josée nodded quickly and sniffled; growing upset. It took several breaths Jacques had to take in order to calm himself down, to prevent himself from lashing out. "You're not going back there, Josée."

"But-"

"You're not going back there," Jacques repeated, this time more assertively. He hugged her tighter. "She could've really hurt you."

Hector shook his head in utter disbelief. "There's a special place in hell for that woman."

Josée bit her lip, the guilt weighing on her. "Non, non! It's not like that, it's-"

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"JACQUES, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE WITH MY DAUGHTER!"

Josée's grip on Jacques tightened, her eyes wide with fear. She felt a weight pull her down, and her breathing get heavy.

"Jacques, stay here with Josée," Hector ordered, walking to the door. "Fleur and I are handling this."

Fleur stood up from the sofa and followed. "Hector, please don't get crazy."

Hector didn't respond to his wife and threw the door open. "Can I help you?"

"I want to see my daughter."

"You lost that chance once you attacked her and threw her out."

Beat.

Josée's mother effortlessly pushed Fleur and Hector out of the way to see her daughter in Jacques' arms. She laughed at the display. "Josée, are you kidding? You just jumped into his arms? After he let gold slip from your fingers?"

Jacques could feel Josée shaking in his arms. And he longed to shout at her mother. He wanted to tell her how awful she was and how she dared to nearly kill Josée, but of course Josée's well-being was more important. "Chouchou, it's okay... shh..." he whispered in her hair. "..She won't hurt you while I'm here."

Instead, to his surprise, Josée met her mother's eyes, and asked: "Is anything going to be good for you? Do you even care?"

Josée's mother seemed baffled by the questions. She glared at her daughter. "Everything I did was for you and you alone. The sacrifices I made to ensure that you would be the best that you could be. I gave you a talent. I gave you that ability and you forget that. And you sit here crying about how hard you have it. Poor little Josée. Grow the hell up. You hate me now, but you'll thank me for everything I've done for you."

"Maman, I could never hate-"

"But you know what?" Her mother continued sharply, "It's fine. So what? I hated my mother too. I was hoping you'd come to your senses and realize your mistakes in leaving. This little display only proves how pathetic you are-"

"Oh will you shut up?!"

Everyone was appalled by who had interjected, including the interjector themselves...

Fleur took another breath, shocked that she could scream that loud, and crossed her arms glaring at Josée's mother. "For fourteen years I have listened to you berate that girl time and time again and I'm sick of it! I should've done something much sooner! Stay the... stay the fuck away from my children, and I'm not just talking about Jacques and Gabrielle! Leave this apartment, you reptile." Hector looked at his wife in awe. Jacques' jaw had dropped at the swearing. Josée's heart was fuzzy at the implication.

Josée's mother, however, was less than pleased. "And why should I do that?"

Fleur pressed her lips together thoughtfully. Jacques looked at her; she looked... so unusually angry. He watched as Fleur broke out into a smile and turned to him. "Forgive me, mon ange... I'll buy you a new one."

"Wait, maman, what are you..." Jacques trailed off as his mother's eyes went on a lamp. Realization dawned on him when Fleur grabbed the lamp and Josée's mother's expression looked mildly shocked. "MAMAN!" Jacques screeched, with a high-pitched gasp as his mother chased Josée's mother down the stairs. There was back and forth shouting between the two, with Hector rushing down the stairs when he heard something break. Jacques felt Josée panic and her breathing get a little labored, so instead of checking the commotion downstairs, Jacques kept trying to calm her down and rubbing her back.

"It's okay, Josée... it's okay..."

"YOU'LL REGRET THIS JOSÉE!" Josée heard her mother scream outside, "YOU'LL REGRET IT WHEN I'M DEAD ONE DAY, YOU'LL SEE!"

Josée let out a sob into his neck in horror at the mere mention of her mother ever dying. Jacques hugged her tighter. "Non, chouchou... shh... those are just ah... empty words and threats. Shh..." Josée hugged him back; she couldn't imagine why she had abandoned him in the first place. She never wanted to let go of him again. "Josée, I have a good idea." He stopped rubbing her back and leaned over to get the paper. Josée settled in his chest. "Let's try reading something, like a distraction!" Josée was hesitant, but nodded that she agreed. For the next few minutes, ignoring the chaos that was going on downstairs, they silently read the paper.

There was a title that caught Josée's eye. "Jacjac, look." She pointed to the section. "That's interesting."

Jacques frowned and read aloud what she pointed to, "The Ridiculous Race - oh, it says Ridonculous." He paused, frowning a bit. "Weird name. What do you think that is?"

"Page seventeen to read more about it," Josée replied, her eyes gleaming in interest. "Let's find out."

Jacques gave an odd look to Josée, but nodded. He turned to page seventeen, and they read on. A reality TV show competition set in July - and they were taking sign-ups now. The more Josée read about it, the more she liked it. Throughout the whole blurb, Josée felt her grin widen more and more as she read.

Maybe... Josée thought... things weren't the end of the world. Maybe... Josée thought... things were just getting started.