An unexpected ending

The competition day had come and all the girls were loading their stuff onto the bus. "Have any of you heard from Daisy?" Lillian asked. All the girls shook their heads. "She hasn't responded to any of your texts?" Julissa asked Angelina. "No. You?" Julissa shook her head. "I'm gonna try calling her," Angelina said and no sooner than she dialed Daisy's number, the petite dancer pulled into the parking lot. "Uh-oh she's gonna get it now," Lexi said to Davia Evans, a biracial dancer.

Lillian was the first to approach Daisy. Daisy swallowed harshly, waiting for the scolding she was no doubtedly going to get but instead Lillian just threw her arms around Daisy. "Are you okay now sweetheart?" Daisy nodded. "Okay. Good. Now in the future if you ever need a break just say so. You don't have to break down to get a break okay? We all need a break sometimes," Lillian said. "I know. I'm sorry," Daisy said. "That's okay. Just get on the bus," Lillian said.

Daisy took a seat at the far back of the bus and Julissa plopped down beside her. "Thanks for responding to my texts," she said, voice laced with sarcasm. "My phone died," Daisy said. Julissa rolled her eyes at the lame excuse. "Sure. Do you wanna watch Gossip Girl with me?" "Sure," Daisy said.

Angelina was about to join Daisy and Julissa at the back when Lexi grabbed her arm and pulled her into the seat with her and her sister. "You're always with miss perfect. Sit with us for a change," Lexi said. Angelina rolled her eyes at her friend's exaggeration but sat down with her.

Once the bus started moving, Lillian spoke. "I hope you all get along with the person you're next to because that person is your roommate for the weekend."

The bus ride was two hours long and it was just after five when the bus pulled up at the hotel. Lillian checked everyone in and handed them their keys. "How great is it that you and I are roommates? It's been a while. You're always paired up with Angelina and then I get stuck with Davia and I love Davia and all but she snores so I'm glad to not be sharing a room with her," Julissa said. Daisy laughed.

"Do you mind if I shower first? Long bus rides always make me feel sticky," Julissa said as she unpacked her bags. "Go ahead. I'll just lie here till you're finished." As soon as Daisy heard the shower running, she went into Julissa's bags, searching for more of her pills. After about two minutes, she found a small pouch with the pills. Daisy took one and laid down. She checked her phone after it pinged in her jeans pocket. It was a message from her boyfriend.

Blake: How's the ride?

Daisy: It was good. I watched Gossip Girl with Julissa. We're sharing a room.

Blake: I'm about to go shoot some hoops with the guys. I'm glad you made it to the hotel safe. I'll text you later. I love you

Daisy: I love you too

Daisy turned off her phone and stared up at the ceiling. Her wrists started to itch. She rolled up her sleeves and stared at the recent and fading scars. She ran her fingers along them. Each scar told a different story. One that maybe someday others would hear. She quickly rolled down her sleeves when she heard the bathroom door open. Julissa stepped out, dressed in nothing but her underwear. Daisy let her eyes scan Julissa's body. She envied Julissa's slender but curvy figure. Julissa never worked out yet she managed to maintain such a perfect figure. There was no surprise when Julissa had been voted best physique for females in their class. Anyone who looked at Julissa would immediately agree that she was sexy and Julissa was well aware of this and not afraid to let others know just how aware she was of her sexiness. "You wanna watch a movie before dinner?" Julissa asked. "Sure just let me take a shower first."

Daisy dug through her bag for an oversized hoodie and shorts. She brought them into the bathroom then stripped down. She caught sight of her reflection and she had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping. Her eyes had big, dark bags under her eyes and she just looked tired. With a sigh, Daisy stepped into the shower, allowing the warm water to wash away her troubles.

She looked less tired and the steam from the shower brought colour to her cheeks. She moisturized her skin and slipped on her clothes. Once she pulled her hair into a messy bun, she exited the bathroom. "What movie?" Julissa asked. "The Shallows," Daisy said.

The two girls watched a movie until 7:30 when they had to get ready for dinner. "So Angelina said those really cute guys from Ohio are gonna be at the competition tomorrow," Julissa said as she applied a layer of blush to her cheeks. "Oh?" Daisy said. She really didn't care about the guys from the other studio. She had a boyfriend, though she was getting kind of bored with him but she was still loyal. Also she knew why Julissa was telling her this, it was because there were three guys who hung out together all the time and Angelina and Julissa had a thing for two of them which meant they needed Daisy to play wing woman so they could avoid a fifth wheel situation. "Yeah. I'm planning on hanging out with Kyle after dinner and I know Angelina's planning on going straight for Brady," Julissa said as she applied lip gloss. "What about you?" Julissa stared at her reflection in the mirror, satisfied with her pink lemonade dress and bubblegum high heels.

Daisy opted for a simpler look. A white dress blouse, blue jeans and white heels. She pulled her hair out of its messy bun and put it in a neat pony tail. She put on mascara and lip gloss and was ready to go. Just then there was a knock on their door. Julissa opened the door and there was Angelina in a skin tight yellow dress, neon yellow heels and a yellow headband to boot. "Hello ladies!" She greeted. "Ready to go?" "Wait we look hot. Let's take a mirror selfie," Julissa suggested. "Smile," she said. They took the picture and left the room.

Dinner was great. Lillian spent the entire time on her phone while the girls made small talk. All except for Daisy. Truth was she was dreading after dinner because she knew Julissa and Angelina were depending on her to keep Phillipe's company and she wasn't into him. He was a nice guy and all but he just wasn't her type plus she was taken.

In the middle of a conversation with Davia, Daisy excused herself to go to the bathroom. She really wished she had a razor right now. She ran her hands along her jeans and felt a small object in her pocket. She pulled it out. It was a pill she had slipped from Julissa's stuff when she went into the bathroom to apply her mascara. She swallowed the pill and splashed some water on her face. She closed her eyes and leaned against the sink, waiting for the pill to kick in. "Daisy?"

Daisy's eyes snapped open and she directed her attention to the door. It was Yasmine, Lexi's older sister. "Are you okay?" "Mmmhm yeah," Daisy said with an upbeat tone. "Are you sure?" Yasmine walked closer. "Yeah. Just peachy," Daisy gave Yasmine a kiss on the cheek before exiting the bathroom. The shorter girl just stared wearily at Daisy's retreating figure.

By the time she got back to the table, everyone was done eating. "Okay girls lights out at ten. We have an early day tomorrow. The competition starts at twelve and the building is two hours away from the hotel which means I need everyone up by six so we can get done with hair and makeup and leave here at nine. Is that clear?" "Yes Miss Lillian," the girls said in unison.

All the girls took off to do their own things. Yasmine joined the rest of the seniors at the pool, Davia turned in early to practice the dance, Lexi went to go flirt with a cute guy she spotted at the bar near the restaurant and Angelina, Julissa and Daisy went to find the three guys.

By 9:30, Angelina and Julissa had started up a conversation with Kyle and Brady as they dipped their feet in the hot tub while Daisy and Phillipe sat on pool chairs, in complete silence. "Look I'm sorry." "What?" "About tonight. I know you would much rather be in your hotel room than out here with me," Phillipe said. "It's not you, it's just----" "I'm not your type. It's okay. Really I've heard it all before. Besides I know you have a boyfriend." "How?" "I've seen him on your Instagram." Daisy cracked a small smile. "Have you been stalking my Instagram?" "I've been through it. Once or twice." Daisy laughed. "So you are a stalker." "Hey in my defense you are Instagram famous plus you're like totally hot." "Oh am I?" Daisy smirked. "Yes." "What about you?" "What about me?" Phillipe asked. "Why'd you agree to tonight I mean other than to stare at me in person since you think I'm hot?" "I think you just answered your own question." Daisy laughed. "No but for real my friends are really into your friends and I'm not looking for anything right now anyway. Not after what happened the last time." Phillipe hissed after that statement like he regretted it the minute he said it.

"What happened the last time?" "Uh," Phillipe let out a dramatic sigh. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Daisy said. "But if you want to tell me I'm ready to listen." "Well two years ago, my mom and I were in a pretty terrible car accident. It left me paralyzed from the neck down. The doctors thought I would never walk again much less dance but after months of being paralyzed and intensive physical therapy I was able to walk and eventually dance again." "And your mom?" "She died two weeks after we were in the hospital. She suffered internally hemorrhaging." "Oh God I'm so sorry. That's awful." "Yeah it was. So awful that I started going into a downward spiral. I got into a toxic relationship with my ex. She got me into partying and drinking. I was more than happy to follow her since I didn't want to be so stagnant after being bed ridden for ten months. I went out every night, drank, did drugs. It was bad, I was out of control. We were out of control. I fought with my dad and brother all the time. They kept warning me to stop but I didn't. I couldn't." "How did you stop?" Daisy asked. "My brother decided that he was going to do everything I did for one night and I thought he wouldn't go through with it because my brother never drank, much less did drugs but he did. He did everything I did. We both kept going at it until he ended up in the emergency room. He overdosed and it put him in a coma for two months. That's when I decided to go clean. I flushed the remainder of my stash, begged my dad to send me to rehab, cut off all contact with people who tempted me to drink or use, that included my girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. I recognized that she was the source of this toxic lifestyle I found myself caught up in. I loved her but we were toxic together so just before I went to rehab, I ended things with her. She was mad and I felt bad because I knew I broke her heart but after I almost lost my brother I realized I had to stop. I couldn't continue like that and now I'm five months sober. I go to therapy every Tuesday and Thursday."

Daisy didn't respond for a while until she exhaled. "Wow! That was heavy." "Yeah. I'm sorry for unloading all of that on you," Phillipe chuckled. "Well I did ask." Daisy offered a sympathetic smile. "Give me your phone." Phillipe handed Daisy his phone who airdropped something to him. "What's this?" He asked, looking at the number on his screen. "My number. Anytime you ever need someone to talk to, or just someone to listen, just know I'm only a text or call away." Phillipe smiled and wrapped his arms around Daisy. I guess tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Daisy thought to herself with a smile.