Here you are guys, I guess this is what you've been waiting for – almost. Hope you're enjoying this read. I'm halfway through completing my finals, so updates will be a bit few and far between, but it's been good to take revision breaks to write this and post! Reviews still much appreciated, whether you're enjoying or not. Ideas as to where the story might be taken would also be great. I've written up to chapter 30 (lots of revision breaks) so I have various ideas, but they can always be altered. Enjoy x x
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Roxy led her sister back through the hospital waiting room, repeating a pattern now well known to an exhausted Ronnie, with Stacey following close behind them. She had no idea what Danielle was going to say, she hadn't let on, but she was pretty sure that this encounter would be easy for neither her best friend, nor the woman in front of her, who shook visibly as she made her way towards the fourth floor.
Unsure what to think, Ronnie tried not to get her hopes up. Danielle's father had turned her away mere hours before. Even if Danielle did want to see her, she was preparing herself for the worst. After all, she deserved only the worst, because the worst treatment is exactly what she had given Danielle. It made Ronnie sick with self-hatred to think of the words that she had used to describe her own daughter.
As she had expected, Andy still sat in the seat next to Danielle, and it was no easier now than it had been before to see him there. But, this time Ronnie had a chance. She took a deep breath as she knocked on the door to her daughter's hospital room and felt her heart begin to beat faster and faster as Andy made his way towards her; she could just about make out Danielle's frail figure upon the bed, she did not look upwards. Andy did not look at Ronnie as he passed out of the door, preferring simply to walk past, ignoring this addition to Danielle's life. He could not bear to imagine the effect Ronnie must have had on Danielle – all he knew was that Ronnie was deeply entrenched in his daughter's troubles. He wanted so much to send her away again, but if this was what Danielle wanted, he knew that he had to allow it.
The sight that greeted Ronnie as she entered Danielle's room was similar to that she had seen earlier in the day. Danielle lay still on the bed, the room dark, lit only by shards of light. Monitors and machines filled the room, a drip attached to Danielle's arm. But this time her eyes were wide open. But Danielle stared down at the bed, her eyes fixated on the covers still pulled up to her chin, as if it would be a chore to lift her head upwards; but she knew as soon as Ronnie had entered the room as her heart began to beat within her chest so quickly that she was sure Ronnie would be able to hear.
Ronnie could not have reached the bed more quickly, her own heartbeat mirroring the speed at which Danielle's raced. Slowly, attempting to calm herself mentally by repeating Roxy's encouraging words to herself in her head, she reached out to her daughter and stroked her cheek, lifting her chin gently towards her until their eyes met. Danielle made no attempt to acknowledge the gesture, but for now, she remained calm.
The moment had come for Ronnie to tell Danielle every thought, every dream that she had had for the past nineteen years, but as she looked into her daughter's eyes, empty and broken, she knew that no human words would suffice. Nothing could make up for the things she had said and done. Finally, speaking the only words that meant anything to her at that moment, and hoping beyond hope that they would mean something to Danielle as well, Ronnie spoke.
"I love you Danielle, my beautiful little girl".