Silent Treatment (10 page)

Helen pulled in a sharp breath.

“Carrie!  Why on earth didn’t you go to hospital? You shouldn’t have let him experiment on you. He’s not qualified. What if he’d made it worse?”

Carrie shrugged.

“Mum, don’t be silly. Daniel wouldn’t have touched me if he didn’t know how. He’s done a first aid course and a sports injury therapy course too. He’d been doing a first year course in physiotherapy at night school too so he can do his thesis in Atlanta. He barely touched me at all anyway.  He just rolled my joint back into place and gave me instructions on how to keep it flexible, but it doesn’t matter now anyway. It’s completely healed so he must have done a good job. You would have stopped me going on the tour if we hadn’t kept it a secret, which is exactly what Jennifer wanted. It was all those special exercises of Daniel’s that made it right in time.”

Helen looked at her daughter
’s shoulder critically and then shook her head in disbelief.

“I might have known you were up to something. You’re never ill. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. Jim suspected all the time that there was something else going on, but he just jumped to the wrong conclusion and thought that Daniel was trying to get you into bed. I don’t think I’m going to tell him he was
even half right. He’ll be so bloody superior, and I can’t believe that Jennifer! What a thing to do! She should be locked up. I hope you reported her to the teachers. She should have been suspended.”

Carrie shrugged again.

“It was the last day of school, mum. There wasn’t much I could do. She’s not going to be at college this year. Apparently she’s given up dancing altogether and is doing something with the local paper. Lisa’s mum cut out a small article she’d done about us dancing on the tour and sent it for us to look at. I don’t know why she bothered. Jen had the cheek to say that we were “Stiff and un co-ordinated.” Load of rubbish of course, but she’s still blinded by her jealousy. Do you know she was doing all sorts of stupid stuff after I won the place to back the band. She put jam doughnuts in my shoes, threw chewing gum in my hair and even managed to steal my locker key and fill the thing with foam. I had a detention for that, though Dan did manage to make the caretaker see reason in the end. Half my books were ruined.”

Helen’s frown deepened.

“Why the little moo! If I ever see her again…”

Carrie shook her head.

“Don’t even waste your time mum. It was all so pathetic, really childish. She can’t do anything to me now so I’m just going to forget about it. Do you mind if I don’t come down tonight, I can’t face dad if he’s going to be like the Spanish Inquisition. Apart from the Daniel thing, I really am shattered.”

Helen stood up and walked towards the door.

“No, that’s fine. Stay where you are, I’ll bring you up a cup of tea and some sandwiches in a while.” She hesitated for a moment and then turned back. “There’s always the phone and email you know. You can still keep in touch with Daniel.”

Carrie looked hard at her mother.

“He never said anything about that to me. I’ll let him be the first to call. If he wants to keep in touch, he knows where I am.”

Chapter Seven

Late November 2007

Carrie watched suspiciously as Lisa walked off the dance floor. Her hands were on her hips and she was breathing heavily. She waved her hand in dismissive frustration at Antonio as he looked as if he were
about to follow her. She hurried out of the door and Carrie saw her sit on the low wall outside the studio, her head in her hands.

Antonio gave Lisa
another hard stare and then turned to the other sweating dancers.

“I don’t know what’s got into her. She’s lost all her stamina. Well
, that’s not happening to you lot. We’re going to step up the training from next week. I’m fitting in an extra hour on Mondays and Fridays. I’m not having any of you lot slacking, we have a load of new routines to work on and I’m going to be doing a lot with your flexibility. We will not be “Stiff and un co-ordinated” ever again. Come on, through the set again!”

There was a general groan from around the room.

Carrie wandered over to the door and watched as Lisa bent over the wall and looked as though she were being sick.

“I’m just going to check on Lisa.
She looks as though she’s ill,” she yelled over the pounding music. She grabbed up her water from the floor, opened the door and was out of the studio door before Antonio could object.

Carrie stood beside Lisa
and put her arm round her shoulder. She didn’t look up but shivered in the cool air, retched again and then wiped the back of her hand over her mouth. Carrie handed her the bottle of water.

“When are you going stop trying to cover this up?” She demanded
as Lisa swilled water around her mouth and then spat it out in the grass at the other side of the wall.

She
looked up, slightly bleary eyed.

“Cover up what exactly?” She dropped her eyes to the pavement as her cheeks suddenly flushed.

Carrie sighed in exasperation.

“For
goodness sake Lisa! I may not have much personal experience but I did take sex education lessons and I’m certainly not stupid. You’re obviously pregnant. You shouldn’t be doing all this dancing! You’re either going to kill yourself or the baby or both. Either get rid of it or stop the dancing.” She sat on the wall beside her friend.

Lisa
’s lips trembled for a second. She took another sip of water and then looked at Carrie with tears in her eyes.

“I couldn’t get rid of it. I love it already. That night in Birmingham was the best of my life. We just couldn’t help ourselves, it wasn’t planned so we
didn’t use anything but I don’t regret a second of it. I wanted him so much and I thought he felt the same. I was hoping that he would have said more about me going over there by now. It’s been nearly three months and he’s only just found a part time job that fits in with the sports training. His trial with the Atlanta Raiders is early next week, so he’s hoping that if he is selected he can afford something more then.”

Carrie nodded, wishing Lisa
would say something about Daniel. She hadn’t had any news at all. No phone calls, no emails and no letters.

She had given up waiting
and, in desperation, had tried his mobile number on several occasions but it had gone straight to voice mail. It was only later that she remembered that he had left it behind in their rush to get to Birmingham. Now she rang it nearly every evening, just to hear his gorgeously deep voice saying.

“Hi, this is Daniel. Leave your message after the tone and I’ll get back to you.”

He never did get back to her.

Mostly she just listened to him, but sometimes she whispered.

“I miss you Dan.” One night she had even breathed, “I love you Daniel,” by mistake. At first she had been frantic with worry about it, but then, when she had calmed down, she realized that it didn’t matter. He wasn’t picking up anyway.

Now, most nights
before she went to sleep, she rang his number and whispered, “I love you Daniel,” as his recorded voice faded away.

She put her hand over Lisa’s
and squeezed gently.

“Have you told Paul about the baby?”

Lisa shook her head.

“I can’t yet. I don’t want to make him have to ask me over. I don’t want to feel like I’m a burden, forcing him to have me there.”

Carrie sighed.

“I think you should tell him right away. He’s going to have to face
up to his responsibilities sometime soon and support you both anyway, so he might as well get used to the idea. It will make him focus on this Atlanta trial if he has an incentive and a baby is a pretty big incentive.”

Lisa
gave a dismissive shrug.

“Depends on if you want one or not. If he doesn’t want
me or this baby, he may not try very hard at all. I want him to ask me over before I tell him.”

Carrie laughed
at her friend.

“Well, I should tell him before it shows too much. You may give him a heart attack if you waddle out of the airport
in five months’ time with a massive baby belly that he’s not expecting.”

Lisa laughed back at her as she rubbed her hand
gently over her still flat stomach.

“I guess you’re right.
That’s probably not the best way to find out that you’re going to become a dad. I’ll just have to be brave and tell him the next time he rings.” Then she suddenly jumped up off the wall and wrung her hands in panic. “But what if he really doesn’t want it or me? What if it was just a one night stand and he says he doesn’t want me to go out there?”

Carrie laughed even louder.

“You idiot Lisa. You know he loves you. He rings you two or three times a day. I think he blows his whole spending budget calling you all the time. You both knew what you were doing when you were at that hotel, and he must have wondered if he’d made you pregnant, especially as you didn’t use any protection. I expect he was waiting for you to say something last month.”

Lisa smiled wistfully.

“He did keep asking me if I was okay.” She yawned widely. “I’m going to have to tell Antonio soon as well. There’s no way I’ll be dancing for the New Year concerts, I can barely keep up now. He’ll want to find someone to take my place.”

Carrie turned sideways to her.

“How do you feel about giving it all up?”

Lisa shrugged.

“Right at this moment, I’m so knackered and my boobs are so sore with all that bouncing around, I couldn’t care less about it all. We’ll just have to see if I can keep fit enough to go back to it afterwards, but if Paul is okay with everything, I won’t be worrying about that anyway.”

Carrie smiled at her again and then looked back to where she could see the others whirling about inside the studio.
She couldn’t look at Lisa as she asked the question that had been playing on her mind for weeks.

“Does Paul ever say anything about Dan
iel?”

Lisa grinned.

“I thought you’d never ask! All the time. They are best friends Carrie. They do practically everything together. They’re even working in the same bar in the evenings and Daniel’s trial for the Raiders is the day before Paul’s. You know, I think if only one of them gets a place on the team, I’m sure the other won’t do it without them. They’re more like brothers than friends.” She patted Carrie’s hand. “I’m pretty sure you don’t have anything to worry about Carrie. Paul says that Daniel keeps himself really quiet. He’s not like the rest of the students. He doesn’t go out with any of the girls that hang around them all the time.”

Carrie sighed again. It wasn’t much comfort. Rather
than reassure her it just made her certain that he preferred men to women. She stood up and turned back to the studio as Lisa’s phone suddenly rang.

Her trembling hand moved to her pocket and then hesitated. Carried waited for a second and then
encouraged her.

“
I bet that’s Paul now. Go on, answer it. For goodness sake tell him before it’s too late. I’m going back in before Antonio blows a fuse. I’ll speak to you afterwards okay?”

Lisa nodded and bent her head to her phone. Carrie heard a few quiet words of their conversation.

“Paul, I need to tell you something, please don’t be mad…No! You idiot, stop shouting! I haven’t found another boyfriend! Just listen a moment will you…”

The doors shut b
ehind Carrie and she joined in with the routine on the edge of the dance floor. She went through the moves as if on automatic pilot, wishing with all her heart that it was her who had had the most wonderful night of her life with the man she loved and that it was she who was pregnant.

She could almost feel Dan
iel’s massive, muscled body clasping her tightly as she danced. She closed her eyes, wondering what their first time together would have been like. She had felt his chest and arms often enough, but the rest of him…She gave a thrilling shiver as she danced, the thoughts spinning around and around in her head, building and then peaking, almost reaching a climax…Then she came back down to earth and opened her eyes as the music suddenly stopped and she heard Antonio’s furious yell.

“What the hell do you mean? P
regnant! You have a contract here and you cannot be pregnant Lisa! I forbid it!” His face was purple with rage.

Lisa lifted her chin defiantly.

“It’s too late I’m afraid. I’m leaving Antonio. I don’t care about the contract. I’m going to America. I was just on the phone with Paul and told him about the baby. He says I’m to take the next flight out. If I don’t arrive in Atlanta by tomorrow night, he’s coming to get me.” She was beaming with happiness as she walked to the back of the studio and picked up her duffel bag, then she skipped straight back to Carrie and hugged her hard. “I’ll call you as soon as I get there okay. Paul’s thrilled. He’s going to find somewhere for us today. He says he’s just being lazy and not looking hard enough. Life’s pretty easy on campus, but he reckons if he and Daniel pool their rent money, they can find somewhere a little out of town with two or even three bedrooms that they can afford between them. We’re going to all be living together.” Her eyes were shining brightly.

Carrie hugged Lisa back. She was thrilled for her friend, but also as envious of her as she had been of anyone in her entire life. For just one second she thought that she knew exactly how Jennifer C
rane had felt when Carrie had won the first dancing audition. But Carrie at least wasn’t going to be spiteful about it.

“Thank goodness,
I told you it would all be okay. Now go and book a flight. You have all my numbers and my email.  Let me know how you’re getting on as soon as you can.” She let Lisa go and turned back to the still purple Antonio. “Come on Antonio. We’ll be fine without her. You still have the rest of us.”

Antonio gave a great snort and spoke bitterly.

“Yes, but for how long? As soon as you girls become interested in men, all sense of responsibility goes out of the window. I’ve seen it happen before. It’s an absolute nightmare. You are the best team I have ever had. How am I meant to keep you all together if you all run off and get yourselves pregnant all the time?” He ranted on, sounding close to tears.

James grinned widely and spoke up loudly.

“I don’t intend getting pregnant anytime soon Antonio and I’m pretty sure Callum, Joe, Toby and Pete feel the same.” Howls of laughter rang round the hall.

Antonio flapped his hands.

“Oh, you lot can mock! It’s not funny. I think I’m going to write it into your contracts that you are forbidden to have sex.” He ignored the boys as they fell about, laughing hysterically. “Okay Lisa, what’s done is done and I wish you well. If you keep the dancing up and ever come back to England, look us up. I’m sure we will be able to find something for someone as talented as you.” He held out his hand to her, but she ignored it as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

“Thanks Antonio.” She stepped back. “I won’t fo
rget you. We’ll be back in less than three years. It won’t seem like five minutes, so keep me updated on everything you are doing.” She gave another quick wave to Carrie and walked out of the doors.

Antonio gave a huge sigh.

“This leaves us with hole in our line up and it’s going to be too difficult to introduce someone new at this late stage. I think we should alter our positioning and have a look round for a replacement after Christmas.” He glanced around at each of them as they all nodded and spaced out again. “Right, Carrie, with one less girl in the crew I’m moving you up a line. Don’t forget to go backwards three paces more when you come to the transition. Okay, let’s go again. On Four.” He started the music up again and Carrie put everything she could into it. It must have been okay as Antonio didn’t moan and only corrected her positioning once. Everyone else fitted in around her and the rehearsal came to a close with everyone hitting high fives and promising to do even better the next time.

That night Carrie rang Daniel’s phone and said.

“I expect you’ve heard the news. I’m going to miss her but I’m really happy for Lisa and Paul. She’ll be with you tomorrow evening…
” She hesitated for a moment and then added quietly. “I wish it was me coming to meet you Daniel. I love you.”