SEQUEL TO 'DANCING WITH DILEMMAS.'
New arrivals stir things up amongst the dancers at The Next Step, and with their loyalties being tested, how well will they be able to play the game?
The Next Step TV show reimagined as if it was made for the new a...
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1 Year Ago
Noise.
The sound curdled the air around the room, burdening the happiness that was formerly present in the house to stay silent and hang lowly as the cruel sound of a scream threatened my ears.
Loud.
The screech dissipated into the world as it did almost every night, the sound that haunted her much longer than the man who initiated this pain had probably intended.
But she didn't care about that, trauma doesn't end after a set period of time, unfortunately it doesn't have an expiry date.
Thrashing.
Her heartbeat is so fast that I can practically hear it's unapologetic beating. Her pulse raised and her thighs coated in layers of sweat.
"It's okay," I whisper lowly under my breath, hoping I won't wake up Mike and Wendy in the process of trying to calm her down, but I'm almost certain that her scream has woken them up already. "I'm here, I'm here."
My arms are wrapped loosely around her body to show her that she's not alone, my hands not daring to grip on to her soft skin too tightly because she doesn't like to be crowded in this state.
She's always had nightmares, ever since that night almost two years ago, the night that an old colleague of Mike's came over and stole her innocence.
It was my fault. I should've been there to protect her but I was busy doing other things. The worst part is that I can't even remember what exactly I was doing that night, probably something trivial with a group of friends, but I made plans despite promising to keep her company whilst her dad's friends were at her house.
I knew she wouldn't mind if I left her for the night, we've been friends since we were kids so it wouldn't matter if I cancelled my plans with her once.
But it did.
It mattered too much, far too much to ever put into words. That day ruined her life, it forced her into a fear of simple things, like the dark, and yellow and red striped ties, and men who wear a little bit too much product in their hair.
Trivial things that wouldn't usually matter to someone of her age, but they did matter, and they still do.
She's sixteen now, which is still too young to ever have experienced anything like that.
No one should ever have to experience the utterly shattering effect of being forced into a sexual act, no matter how old or young they may be.
But unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world, and pain is always surrounding us, twisting into our lives and intertwining itself into the background of our woeful minds.
