Page 78 of Fragile

I was looking forward to a week off during half term as Gabriel had mentioned taking me away. It would be a break we both needed. As well as work, I knew he was stressed about his father, even though he wouldn’t talk about it. Where Garrett was concerned, he was still a closed book.

One day at school, I bumped into Samantha Keller who was in the bathroom crying.

She was really upset, and it didn’t take much pushing for her to tell me the problem. Sam was pregnant.

I gave her a sympathetic ear and she explained that it was her boyfriend’s baby and that they had been together for well over a year but that they weren’t ready for children.

“I’m going to have an abortion. I’ve thought long and hard about it. It wasn’t an easy decision and Jack feels the same way. I’ve managed to book the procedure, but it means I have to rest and cannot dance for at least a week. I’ve already missed so much school and work due to morning sickness. The club have already threatened to kick me out. I’m supposed to be dancing there on Friday or that’s it. I’m screwed.”

I listened intently, wondering if there was any chance that I could help, and that’s when I made a slight error of judgement.

As soon as I said those fateful words of whether there was anything I could do, Sam asked if I’d cover her shift at the club. “I only have two numbers. I could teach you the routines and you could cover for me. Then I’d keep my job. Please Leonie?”

I’d thought long and hard about it. It was only two numbers and there wouldn’t be any nudity she’d said.

I checked my rota on my phone, and I had that night off from Felice’s so there was no reason not to help out. I was a dancer and used to wearing very little. I would be on stage and would be safe. They had security. So what? No one needed to know. I knew at the back of my mind that Gabriel would flip if he knew, but it was my life and my decision.

I embraced my inner adventurer and decided to help. What could go wrong?

Friday night came and I texted Asher and Gabriel to say I was doing a favour for a friend, covering their shift at work. So, I wasn’t lying, not really.

Sam had gone through her routines with me; the moves were raunchier than I was used to, with lots of tits and ass but I quite enjoyed the style. It was something new for me. I had always been told that I needed more passion and to let go. Especially if I ever wanted to play the black swan, where the choreography was less tame than that of the white. I decided to use it as a learning experience.

Unfortunately, I received a message from Gabriel who had obviously decided to surprise me by giving me a lift home that night. I wasn’t where I should have been.

I’m outside Felice’s and you’re not working tonight. Where are you? I could feel a tone in that text as I read it, but I refused to feel guilty. Yes, we were friends, with benefits as they say but he wasn’t really my boyfriend.

I decided to ignore the message instead of digging a deeper hole, but as I made my way into the dressing room my phone kept going off, so I put it on silent. The girls there had been briefed by Sam that I would cover her routines and they were very welcoming which was a relief.

It was also great to see Trevor on the door and although he was pleased to see me, he wasn’t impressed that I was covering Sam’s shift.

As I got changed into a red corset top, French knickers, and stockings, I checked my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t necessarily like what I saw, but it was sexy. I left my long blonde hair down, put red lipstick on and then went to check my phone. At that point, I couldn’t wait for it to be over and was looking forward to getting back to the boys. Maybe we’d watch a midnight movie or something.

It was hot, and I fanned my face with my hand and waited for my first routine, my heart crashing against my ribs.

Was it wrong that I was partly excited to be performing there? Maybe it would help me to embrace my inner temptress, a different side of me that I could introduce Gabriel to in bed later that night.

Gabe

Leonie was fucking ghosting me, and it pissed me off. When I went to Felice’s to surprise her, imagine my shock when she wasn’t even on the rota to work that night. She had lied to me; the one thing I couldn’t forgive or didn’t usually was being lied to. Fuck, where was she?

The thought of her with another man seeped into my veins like fucking poison. I’d kill him, strike that cut his balls off, feed them to him and then kill him; either way, it wasn’t pretty.

I called Asher and Max to ask if they knew anything and both did the opposite of calming me down. Ash was blasé and annoyed that I’d interrupted his date with Mark and Max told me to stop being a possessive stalker boy. The fucking twat. He didn’t realise that Leonie and I were fucking and therefore I had certain rights. Knowing where she was for a bloody start.

I drove home in the blackest of moods, wondering if she would be there. Looking all innocent and inviting. My dark side pushed to the surface as I thought of all the ways I could punish her for her deceit. Things had been going so well and I trusted her, had allowed her close and into my life and now I was partly regretting that. I always said I would never let a woman close enough to mess with my head.

I’d also had Kinlan breathing down my neck again, his two goons having picked me up for another discussion about my future. To the point where I told him to fuck himself. I was doing everything in my power to piss both him and my father off. A bit of a dick move considering my father’s health but fuck it, it was an end-of-the-tether situation.

As I drove through London, my gut churned, what if she was hurt? As I drew my mind back to that assault on the Tube weeks ago, I became more agitated.

Turning to head back towards Soho, the screen on the dash of the car lit up and my phone started ringing through the handsfree, it was Max.

“What’s up?” I said, narrowly missing a cyclist. Where the fuck was he going by bike at night? I checked the time; it was almost ten thirty.

“I’ve found her but you’re not going to like it?”

His words caused my heart to thrash in my ribcage, almost as if it were trying to get free. “She’s fucking someone?” I replied, grinding my molars.

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