Danielle span her body round as she looked in the mirror, checking that she was suitably covered from all possible angles. She took a moment to look at herself head to toe, unimpressed by the reflection. Her lack of enthusiasm for going out and now for the outfit had only served to worsen Danielle's mood.
"You ready sweetie?" Ronnie called out; not waiting for a response as she gently pushed open the bedroom door. "You look stunning" Ronnie beamed as she admired her daughter. "I look ridiculous!" Danielle replied firmly, turning to have another quick glance in the mirror.
"No you don't, listen to your mother! You look amazing" Roxy chipped in as she appeared at the doorway. She pushed past her sister and bent down in front of Danielle, placing her hands on the bottom of Danielle's skirt and shuffling it up further up her thighs. "Much better" Roxy said jokingly as she too stood to admire Danielle.
"Rox!" Ronnie cried as her sister rearranged Danielle's outfit. "She is not you, you know. And I don't want any drunken idiots getting the wrong idea about my little girl" Ronnie said kindly, offering a comforting smile at Danielle as she saw the look of discomfort and increasing anxiety in her eyes.
"She is twenty one, not twelve" Roxy laughed, nudging her sister playfully as she passed her. "C'mon, time to party" Roxy said cheerily as she headed towards the staircase, followed by Ronnie and a slightly apprehensive Danielle. Danielle took a moment to look at her mother and aunt as they stopped side by side at the top of the stairs.
Even though they were both wearing just as ridiculous outfits as her Danielle was bemused as to how they still looked amazing. Whilst Roxy's outfit was over the top, her leather trousers a size to small and top barely covering her flesh, she still looked stunning and Danielle knew she would attract a lot of attention.
Danielle admired her mother's outfit as she stood next to Roxy. Ronnie had her hair curled perfectly, gorgeous jewellery dangling from her wrist and neck, wearing knee high boots, a pencil skirt and retro pink top. Whilst Danielle admired the image, she couldn't help but feel disheartened. She wanted to desperately act and look like Ronnie but even after a year, she still felt like a disappointment.
As Roxy hobbled down the stairs, in heels that could quite easily be deemed a safety risk, Ronnie waited at the top of the stairs. "Sweetie, don't listen to Rox; she is only mucking around. I think you look gorgeous and anytime you want to leave tonight, just let me know" Ronnie whispered to Danielle as her daughter walked towards her. Ronnie leant forward, kissing Danielle gently on her forehead. "I am really proud of you" Ronnie said, as she ran her hand down Danielle's cheek before walking down the stairs.
As Danielle watched her mother walk down the stairs, she felt some of her nerves subside. She waited till both Ronnie and Roxy were out of sight before pulling her skirt back down towards her knees. The simplest words of love and kindness from her mother comforted Danielle and even though she wasn't particularly looking forward to the night out, the fact that Ronnie was with her made the evening a little bit more bearable to Danielle.
The three blondes hobbled down the street, passing strangers unashamedly opened mouthed by their appearance. Whilst Roxy revelled in the attention, offering cheeky winks to a group of lads that drunkenly stumbled past them, Danielle felt increasingly uncomfortable. For the first time today she was desperate to just get inside the club.
As they entered R&R Danielle's eyes travelled round the room, desperately looking out for a familiar face. She noticed Chelsea in the corner, her arms wrapped around Theo and Tanya and Jane huddled together on the dance floor, dancing merrily whilst sipping their cocktails. "Right I am going to check that Jack has this all under control. I will be right back sweetie" Ronnie said, letting her hand slip away from Danielle's arm as she headed for the office. "Roxy, look after her" Ronnie called out as she entered the office, before closing the door.
The sound of her name being called alerted Roxy, who had been paying little attention to either Ronnie or Danielle since they entered the club. "Right, I will be over there talking to that rather gorgeous guy" Roxy said cheekily, a devilish glint in her eye. And in that moment she was gone, headed straight across the dance floor to the handsome stranger.
Danielle sighed as she now stood alone, looking on as the party continued. She looked around at the huddles of recognisable faces. She struggled to muster up the confidence to join them, instead choosing to stay in the same spot, leaning against the wall. Despite the deafening music Danielle's mind started to automatically erupt with thoughts and worries again.
She knew that this party was not a good idea the minute she had been bulldozed into attending by Roxy a few nights ago. The sorrow and pain of events in Weymouth still swirled inside Danielle, each loud bang or raised voice making her jump. And as she looked around the room she felt a sense of loneliness engulf her; ever since Stacey had died she had struggled to make friends. James was the one person that she had let into her life since the fire. Ronnie had tried to explain to her what had happened with James but Danielle still felt confused and hurt by his betrayal. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to ever truly open up again.
Ronnie swivelled in the office chair, fiddling with the zip on her boots. She had gone to find Jack but disappointingly he had not been around so Ronnie had decided to check the office books while she was there. As Ronnie flicked through the papers she soon lost interest, admitting to herself that one of the reasons she had come into the office was for some space and quiet. Despite her overwhelming instinct to protect Danielle and Roxy since the events in Weymouth, Ronnie was struggling to cope since they had returned to Walford.
The relief that Ronnie felt that they were all safe had soon passed, to be replaced by confusion and hatred for her father. Even though little shocked Ronnie when it came to her father, she was struggling to understand how he could be so cruel. The thought of Archie asking for Danielle and Roxy to be dragged into such a dangerous situation, just to teach her a lesson, sickened Ronnie. She was consumed with so much resentment and hatred towards her father, and with Archie dead, there was no release or outlet for Ronnie's increasing anger.
Roxy wrapped her arms around the man's waist, leaning with her full weight against his chest. She happily forgot that the man had looked a lot better at a distance than close up, choosing instead to fall gratefully into his chest. She had another swig of vodka, shuffling on the spot as the pair continued to dance together. "I don't even know your name love" the man said, raising is voice over the music. "That's not important" an intoxicated Roxy slurred, giving him a cheeky smile.
"You know I own this place" Roxy said proudly, waving her finger round the room. "I am the R!" Roxy continued, laughing to herself as she realised that what she was uttering was making little sense. "This is my party!" Roxy continued, trawling through her mind to think of any other claims that would impress the man, who was clearly starting to lose interest in Roxy.
As he managed to peel himself away from Roxy she could feel her legs shaking, her knees giving way as she started to fall to the floor. Thankfully a pair of strong and supportive arm's scooped her up before she made contact with the hard floor.
"I see you're having a good time" Christian laughed as he lifted Roxy to her feet. "Where did....I want to say Rob.....or Tom....well where did that man go?" Roxy said, struggling to complete her sentence. "I think he ran away" Christian joked, with his arm now wrapped securely around Roxy's shoulder.
"Why do you do this to yourself Rox? I mean after everything that has happened, are you sure you were ready for a party?" Christian asked, concerned for his best friend's welfare. Deep down Roxy knew that Christian was right; he had hit a nerve that Roxy had tried to hide away since she had returned to Walford.
Even though she had known it was too soon Roxy had organised this party to try and forget about the ordeal. Each night she had fallen asleep nervous, as the events in Weymouth replayed in her head. Roxy hated the fact that she was unable to move on, she could normally wipe her mind of any worries without a second thought and move on without a care in the world, but this time she felt trapped by this reoccurring nightmare. Roxy had seen the party as an escape, dragging Danielle and Ronnie along for support. But as the music continued to blare Roxy was soon realising that such an escape from her thoughts would be easier said than done.
"Dan, where's Roxy?" Ronnie asked as she walked over to her daughter, slightly concerned to find Danielle alone in the corner of the club. "Well she was over there, wrapped around a stranger" Ronnie rolled her eyes as she heard Danielle recall the familiar antics of Roxy, a story she heard many times before with her sister. "And now Christian is trying to stop her falling over" Danielle said, giggling slightly to herself as she looked on at Christian struggling to hold Roxy upright. "You want to go home?" Ronnie asked, sensing Danielle's awkwardness and continued lack of enthusiasm for the evening.
"Yes please" Danielle said, sighing in relief that her mother had instinctively noticed her feelings. She smiled thankfully at Ronnie, who returned the gesture. But whilst they both caught each other's gaze, a sense of hesitation and worry still hung between them. Unbeknown to both Danielle and Ronnie, they were all struggling to cope with the shocking events that have unexpectedly befallen them.