A/N. Hello again! hoped you guys liked the cliffhanger! I just wanted to thank you all for the support and reviews and the follows! It has been awesome! I have lots of plans for this story, but I only really have a few characters completely mapped out. So I encourage you to give me ideas and things that you'd like to see happen with this story! I'd love to incorporate your thoughts in here. So in conclusion please continue to read and review and favorite and follow, cause that's how I get more readers! Thank you so very much, and enjoy chapter 10! XOXO
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Chapter 10
Tara's POV
"Now get some sleep. We'll work more tomorrow." Zach said, at the end of class.
"Oh good, more work.." Christian rolled his eyes. He and I had paired up for the partner swap, Zach had assigned. I wasn't all that pleased with the idea, but he didn't really give me much of a choice.
"Some of us actually need the practice.." I said walking to my belongings.
"You saying that I don't?" He followed me to the cubbies, and offered me his smirk. I couldn't help but smile at it.
"I'm saying that you've actually bothered to learn your part! I'm actually pretty nervous for some of the people in here. Saturday is not far.."
"Yeah..who do you have on your mind particularly?" He leaned against the wall and took a drink from his water bottle. Did he really have to start a conversation now?
"Well that was fun!" Ben interrupted, bouncing up to us with a grin as wide as the eye could see.
"Very!" I said laughing, reaching up
to wipe the water from the drinking fountain off his chin, with an old tshirt I had handy.
"So you guys ready for Saturday?" A voice asked from over by Christian. It was Mallory. She had her arm around his waist. I tried my very hardest not to scoff in disgust. I just swallowed the lump that had grown in my throat and grabbed Ben's hand.
"I know we are!" Ben smiled down at me, as if confirming it.
"I hope so!" I put on my most cheerful sounding voice. "You ready to go?"
"Uh yeah ok!" Ben picked up his and my bags. And we headed out the door together. It wasn't long before Mallory and Christian were right behind us. And when we headed to our separate locker rooms, Mallory followed me.
When we got there, there was a crowd of girls trying to open the door. As I got closer, I heard thuds, and what sounded like crying.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"The door is locked from the inside, and there is a lot of crashing going on in there!" Lulu, who was a second year, said.
"We should get Miss Raine!" Mallory piped up. As mad as it made me, she was right.
"I'll get her. You guys keep trying." I started down the hallway. I kept up my pace. Something didn't feel right. I was getting worried, so I started to run.
When I got to her office, she was talking with Shawn about his grades.
"Miss Raine?" I called, out of breath.
"Tara I'm busy!"
"I know ma'am. But I think it may be an emergency!"
"You think?" She scowled. I could tell she was getting upset.
"The girl's locker room is locked. And we heard loud banging around coming from inside. Something is wrong!"
"Are all of the girls accounted for?" She stood up, still at her desk though.
"I-I don't know.." I racked my brain. I couldn't think straight.
"Grace was leaving at the same time as me. I saw her head in that direction." Shawn stumbled to his feet. He looked scared.
"Well. If it is indeed Grace, than it could be that she's up to more of her old shenanigans." Our dance, teacher looked cross. "But none the less, I should unlock the door. We'll finish this later Mr. Dalton."
With that we all walked back to the studio building together. Miss Raine didn't seem too worried. But I was. Even if it was Grace. I'd feel awful if anything happened.
When we finally reached the locker room, there was an even bigger crowd. Complete with second and first years. I saw Christian too but didn't pay attention. Miss Raine fiddled with the key, and opened the door.
"Grace?" She called.
No answer.
"Why are the lights off? Grace!" Just then the older woman ran to a sprawled out figure, on the floor.
"Grace can you hear me? Would someone turn on the light! And get Dr. Wicks!"
I ran to flip on the lights. And the second I did. I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
"Kat?" I ran to my crying friend who sat in the corner. How long had she been there?
"What happened?" She didn't answer. She just trembled violently.
"Katrina!" Miss Raine yelled. "Were you here the whole time? What happened to Grace?"
"Sh-she-"
"I'm here! What happened?" Dr. Wicks ran in followed by Zach.
"I don't know! The door was locked!"
"Ok let's get her to my office. Zach will you help me?" The doctor shouted above the noises of the chattering students, the running water and the crying Kat. And together Zach and Dr. Wicks carried Grace to the infirmary, with a hysterical Miss Raine sprinting behind them.
Then the room went silent. Abigail had turned off the sink that was still on. Everyone had stopped their gossip. The only thing to be heard was the soft sniffling of the scared students.
"Kat?" I whispered into the top of her head. She didn't answer. She just continued her sobbing and moved closer into my arms. "Shhh it's ok. Let's get you up to the room. Abigail?"
Abigail nodded and helped me get Kat upstairs. Once we got there, the blonde had calmed down a bit.
"What happened down there Kat?" I looked at her lying in my bed. Her eyes were so red it scared me.
"The towel rack fell on her foot." She said after a long pause. "And I guess she got knocked out when her head hit the ground..."
I pondered these words. Kat's eyes filled with tears again. I knew there was more to the story. But I didn't think that Kat would be sharing any time soon.
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Kat's POV
This can't be happening..
While we all waited for the doctor to let us see Grace, I kept repeating those words in my head. Over and over again. I could got to jail for this.
In my head I went over the scenarios again and again. I went all the way back to when I knocked the bottle of pills from Grace's hand..
******
"What have you done!?" I screamed. I was in over my head. I couldn't think straight. I dove to the ground to try and salvage what I could of the disappearing pills.
"Maybe a favor. Kat I don't think it's healthy to be relying on those drugs to help you deal with Sammy. I had no intention of dropping them, but I think it's for the best. You'd be better off without-" That was when I lost it.
I took her down to the floor. I kept thrashing and hitting any part of her that I could grab. I couldn't stop myself. The pain felt relieving.
When she found her way to her feet, I got scared. Scared that she would hurt me. Scared that she would go tell someone what was happening. Scared that I would lose everything I worked so hard to get here at the academy. So I went at her again. I had to stop her. Swung her to the tiled floor, and began tripping over and throwing everything I could grab.
Then I heard a crunch.
I dropped the blow dryer I was holding and knelt in closer to see the damage I had done. I had thrown the towel rack flat onto her ankle, it got cut in the process as well.
"That couldn't be what crunched." I told myself silently. But then it started to bleed out on to a nearby towel. I lost it again. I started balling.
Then she just looked at me. With pain in her eyes she looked at me.
"I'm so sorry..." Was all I could say. But it wasn't enough. She passed out. I didn't know what to do.
I heard people outside the door. So I hit the lights, and hid in the corner.
*******
"Ok everyone. She's awake now. You can see her. Just a few at a time if you don't mind." Dr. Wicks lead Miss Raine down the hall. I hopped out of my seat and followed.
Once we got in there, it took everything in me not to cry again.
"Hey guys!" Grace greeted us. Just as cheery and flirty as she has always been. It was pretty morbid seeing her in there with a cast on her foot.
"Grace Whitney! What has gotten in to you? What happened?" Her godmother placed her hands on her hips.
Grace looked at me. And then back at Miss Raine. I braced myself.
"I slipped."
The room went silent. At least I think it did. I couldn't believe this. Had I heard her right? No. It had to be a mistake.
"I slipped and knocked the towel rack over on to my foot." Grace didn't look at me. She kept her gaze on the concerned woman standing over her. "And I guess I hit my head pretty hard, cause I blacked out."
"What about Katrina? Why was she there?" Miss Raine asked, accusingly looking in my direction.
"I'm pretty sure I saw her come out after I fell. She was in one of the stalls. I guess I didn't check them all when I came in." The young girl laying in the infirmary bed said.
"Why was the door locked?" Tara's voice sounded. I didn't even know that she was in the room. Grace paused. This was the end of it. Everyone is going to know the truth.
"It's this new thing I like to do. I get to the locker rooms faster than the rest of the girls. Lock the door. Shower in peace." Grace looked down at her hands. "Some of the girls give me a hard time in there, and I just wanted to avoid that."
That was the icing on the cake! Miss Raine dropped her hands, placed one on Grace's.
"Well I'm glad you're ok. But if you'll excuse me dear, I better discuss this with Dr. Wicks." And with that she left the room.
"I think Mallory and a few other people want to see you." Tara piped up from behind me. "I'm glad you're ok Grace." She said just before she left the room.
"Why? W-what did you do?" I stuttered.
"I saved your sorry butt! Now quick before anyone comes in." Grace waved me over to the bed. "You need to go to the locker room and clean up all of the pills. Those are going to be hard to explain."
"O-ok" I was still shaking.
"Go! Hurry."
I ran out the door nearly knocking Shawn and Mallory over as they went in to see Grace.
As soon as I got to the locker room, I grabbed a towel and began to wipe up the dissolved mess. It would be a miracle if I got out of this...
Without getting caught..
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Mallory's POV
"This is bad..." Shawn said. We were sitting outside of the infirmary waiting for news about Grace. Miss Raine, Tara, and Kat were already in there for what seemed like hours.
"Hey..she's gunna be ok." I placed my hand on his back, in hopes of comforting him.
"How do you know?" He snapped.
"Well...I don't. But you gotta have something to believe in. And I believe in Grace. I believe that she will be ok." I looked at Shawn, right as he wiped away an escaped tear. "We can't assume the worst."
"It's really easy to assume the worst."
"Yeah..." I sighed and laid my head on his shoulder. How could I be so positive about this? Why was I so positive? She could be seriously hurt. "It really is.."
We sat together in silence until Tara came out. She walked towards us, but completely avoided eye contact with me. Shawn jumped to his feet, pulling me up with him.
"What did the doctor say? Is she ok?" He stammered.
"She's awake. And acting like her old self. But I didn't talk to the doctor. I figured I'd let you two go in. You guys are a lot closer to her than I am." Tara said with a slight smile. She squeezed Shawn's arm in her best act of comfort, and headed for the door.
"Let's go." I lead the way into the infirmary.
Suddenly a figure raced towards us like the room was on fire. It was Kat. She ran passed us, almost pushing us both off our feet.
"What was that all about?" I looked at Shawn after we regained our balance.
"That?" He straightened his sweatshirt out. "That was Kat."
We both laughed and continued our journey. Once we got there the laughing ceased, and we went silent.
"Aww you guys too? I feel loved!" Grace smiled brightly, despite the bruises on her face.
"Hey." I tried my best to smile, and not pay attention to how hurt she looked. "H-how are you uh feeling?"
"Just peachy! Looks worse than it is." She waved away my question and turned to Shawn. "I didn't expect you to come and see me!"
"Yeah..I uh was with Miss Raine when Tara told her that the locker room was locked." He gave out a nervous laugh. "I really wanted to know of you were ok.."
"Well I'll be just fine! It's just my foot!"
We were all thinking it. But obviously no one wanted to say it. Feet are the most important part of the body for dancers. Was she ever go-
"Ok Ms. Whitney. I have your x-ray results." Dr. Wicks announced as she entered the room, interrupting my thoughts.
"Oh goody. I feel like a child on Christmas morning." Grace rolled her eyes.
"Better hold on to that feeling. I'm afraid I don't have much good news." The doctor stood at the foot of the bed. There was a pause. A long one.
"Hey we should go. Give you guys some privacy, to talk." I suggested, grabbing hold of Shawn's arm.
"No no. Please stay." Grace pleaded with a look of fear on her face.
"O-ok. Sure. Whatever you need." I released Shawn's arm and reached for Grace's hand.
"So the bad news is that, you have broken three different bones in your foot. Not to mention the cuts and nerve damage that rack did. And the possibility of it healing back to the way it was before, is out of the question." Dr. Wicks said with her best bedside manner. I looked at Grace. She was silent for a while. This was unfair.
"And the good news?" The bedridden girl asked.
"Well, the good news is, with the right amount of physical therapy and such, we can work with the injury to your advantage. You'd have different strengths than you did before. But you'd still be dancing."
"Well as long as I can keep dancing then-" Grace began, but stopped. Dr. Wicks was shaking her head."What?"
"There's a catch..."
Oh no. No more. Grace has had enough bad news.
"This will put you back at least two months."
"Two months?! That's insane!" She exploded. She ripped her hand away from mine and say up.
"You really need to calm down!" The academy doctor called and tried to settle Grace. I took a step back to where Shawn was fidgeting with his hands.
"Grace! Listen to Dr. Wicks!" Miss Raine scolded. It was no good. Grace was ranting on about graduating on the original plan. And the two older ladies were trying to get her to sit still.
"You two should leave now!" The doctor shouted over the noise. I nodded and headed out the door. I made sure Shawn followed me out.
Frankly I was relieved. I wouldn't have known what to do if that went any farther.
"Wow..." Was all that Shawn said as we left.
"You can say that again." I chuckled trying to lighten the mood. I looked up at him, he looked like someone had ran over his dog. I stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey, she will be ok! Two months isn't that bad. She'll get through it. Ok?" I reached up to give him a hug. And as he hugged me back I could here the soft sniffling.
"You really care about her, don't you?" I let go and linked my arm through his.
"Yeah..." The dirty blonde boy looked at his feet, as we continued into the waiting room.
When we got there, Christian, Ben Abigail and Ollie were all waiting.
"Hey how is she?" Ben hopped up. It warmed my heart to see so many of them here for Grace. Especially Ben. He was so sweet. Genuinely concerned.
"She's ok. It's just her foot. It's not looking too good..." I explained, as Christian walked up to me and gave me a big comforting hug. I knew it wasn't for the sham relationship or making Ben jealous. He was being a good friend. I couldn't help but tear up.
"She's not too happy about it either.." Shawn added.
"So no serious damage?" Abigail asked from her spot in the room.
"Dr. Wicks didn't mention anything." I shook my head.
"Good." Abigail then gathered her things and left the room.
"She doesn't want to admit it, but she cares about Grace." Ollie shook his head.
"We all do." Christian said.
"Well I'm sure she will be thrilled to know that you came." I smiled. They were all looking at me, as if I knew the answers. I sat down. I didn't know what else to do. And everyone eventually followed my example.
Christian grabbed my hand and held it tight. It really bothered me to know that now he may have only been doing it to keep our "relationship" looking good. When really I needed his friendship right now. I rolled my eyes in frustration and faked a cough so I could free my hand. Then I crossed my arms across my chest and waited. I had been doing a lot of that today. But it was all that could be done.
So we waited...
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