There was a gapping hole between them that continued to widen, one filled with silence and secrets, one so wide it would take a show of bravery and strength to cross it.
Danielle's breath was heavy, her heart racing and she wished for the sofa to swallow her up. Ronnie was motionless. I make myself sick, I have a problem with food, I make myself sick. The words replayed in her head again and again, a continuous loop that never ceased. Each time she heard the words, her daughter's words, they sounded more painful. Had she known it all along? Had she been too blinded by naivety or a desire for love and a happy family to see the truth? The words made sense in her head, every small detail of their lives over the past few weeks made sense even though she wished they didn't. Ronnie wished this was a nightmare, that she would wake up at any moment. But she wouldn't. The terrifying reality was sitting before her with tears in her eyes and fear etched across her blotched face.
"I, I…." Saying the simplest of words, stringing a sentence together each day was so easy yet Ronnie struggled to find the right words, any words. "I'm going to just clean up this glass, don't want you stepping on it and hurting yourself" Ronnie muttered, almost a whisper. It was the final stab to the heart, the final blow. She had reached out to Ronnie, mustered all her strength to admit the truth and Ronnie didn't care. She couldn't even look at her.
Sitting alone on the sofa Danielle let out a terrified gasp as the reality of the situation dawned on her. She wanted it all to be over, in that very second Danielle wished that everything and everyone would just stop. Bent down on the floor, picking up glass Ronnie heard this gasp, this whimper. The sound of Danielle breathing heavily rung in her ears. What was she doing? Her daughter needed her and she had looked away. However painful and petrifying this was for her, it was a hundred times worse for Danielle. She slowly lifted her head up, her eyes drifting from the glass on the floor, up Danielle's legs and body to her face. She had never seen Danielle like this. Taken aback by how fragile, how scared she looked Ronnie's attention waived and as she moved a hand to get up she leant her palm onto a sharp shard of glass. Wincing in pain Ronnie looked down to see a cut where the glass had penetrated her skin, droplets of blood now running down her fingers. In an effort to forget the pain Ronnie pushed her palm against the side of her thigh, hoping that the cotton of her trouser leg would soak up the blood and Danielle wouldn't notice. With her right hand firmly placed against he leg Ronnie got to her feet and cautiously sat on the sofa next to Danielle. Without a moment's hesitation Ronnie wrapped her free arm around Danielle's shoulder and let her daughter fall into her chest. "I need you mum" Danielle whispered through the tears. "I'm sorry. I'm here. I am never leaving you, not now, not ever." Ronnie promised.
He had always known he wanted to be a doctor. He remembered playing with his neighbour Jimmy in the street when he was five years old. Jimmy had fallen over, smashing his knee onto the tarmac. Whilst the girls has run away screaming at the sight of blood, the boys standing back in shock Al had tried to help. At five he had no idea what to do or how to help yet he knew then he wanted to. 25 years later he found himself on the steps leading up to Ronnie Mitchell's flat, determined to help once more. He didn't have to come back and check up on Ronnie and Danielle but as a doctor and a neighbour, he felt he should.
Roxy watched from afar as Doctor Al paused at the bottom of the steps leading up to Ronnie's flat. What was he going to Ronnie's for? Was it something to do with what happened earlier between Ronnie and Danielle? With questions lingering in her mind she set of across the road towards Al and Ronnie's flat. "Doc, can I have a word?" Roxy called out as she raced towards him. Slightly annoyed that his plan had been put on hold Al turned to face Roxy, ready to listen. "Sure Roxy. How can I help? Is there something wrong with Amy?" He asked. "No, she is fine. We are just hitting the terrible two stage a bit earlier than expected, so I came out to get some fresh air" Roxy rambled. "I was just wondering why you are at my sister's flat" Roxy asked bluntly. "Pardon" Al said, taken aback by Roxy's nosey questioning. "Well is there something wrong with Ronnie? With Danielle? I saw them earlier and there was something going on that Ronnie wouldn't tell me about" Roxy said.
"Well that's the way we should keep it then" Al said firmly, irritated by Roxy's prying. "This is my sister and my niece were talking about. If there is something going on then I should know about it," Roxy demanded as she too became annoyed. She hauled one foot in front of the other up the steps as she came closer and closer towards Al. He was trying to retreat but quickly running out of steps before he reached the door. "Look Roxy I just popped round for a quick visit, see how they both are doing" Al said, hoping to escape this awkward situation as soon as possible. "Since when have you been friends with either of them?" Roxy asked abruptly. Al tried to avoid Roxy's penetrating gaze, his eyes looking past Roxy to the road ahead. His escape route. "I will come back later," He said hurriedly as he squeezed past Roxy, bolted down the steps and off into the distance.
Roxy paid little to attention to Al's figure as he hurriedly made his way towards Albert Square and out of view. Instead she banged her fist repeatedly against Ronnie's front door, stopping only to ring the bell. After minutes of no answer Roxy became more frustrated by the fact that information was being withheld from her. This was her family and she knew how secrets can destroy a family like it had done so many times before with the Mitchell's. "Ronnie, It's me. I just want a quick word" She called up towards the open window. But again there was no response, the curtains only rustling when a gust of wind passed overhead.
Still locked in a tight embrace Ronnie had phased out her sister's voice, the banging against the front door and the continuous ringing of the bell. "Just go see what she wants," Danielle muttered as noise began to disturb the warm and content bubble she had happily fallen into. "I will be right back," Ronnie promised, reluctantly letting Danielle slip out of her arms. "What is it Rox?" Ronnie barked as she opened the door to see Roxy standing in front of her, hands on her hips. "You ok. I just saw Doctor Al hanging around outside your flat" Roxy said. "Yeah we are both fine" Ronnie lied, not wanting to complicate the situation further or create any seed of suspicion or doubt in Roxy's mind. "Then why was the Doc here?" Roxy asked, puzzled by Al's unexplained appearance. "I don't know. You would have to ask him" Ronnie replied sharply, her head turning back and forth as she kept a worried eye on the stairs leading back to Danielle.
"Are you seeing him or something?" Roxy said suddenly, the words and question rolling of her tongue before she had a chance to think. "No, course…" Ronnie began to say; irritated that Roxy would pull such an unrealistic suggestion out of thin air. But before she had a chance to finish Roxy interrupted her. "Because there wouldn't be a problem if you were. He is pretty hot, I just always thought you went for the more bad boy type that's all" Roxy rambled; she failed to notice Ronnie's brow furrow in anger. "There is nothing going on" Ronnie insisted. "Did you come all the way over to ask me that?" Ronnie asked, not only angered by Roxy's appearance but now by the lack of reason for dragging her away from Danielle. "No no, I came out for some fresh air. Amy was doing my head in" Roxy said, managing a small chuckle with soon fell from her face when she saw the un-amused expression on Ronnie's. "Look Rox, there is nothing going on. Why don't you go and look after your daughter and I will go look after mine" Ronnie stated, offering a small smile for Roxy before she slammed the door in her sister's face.