Life Without You

Chapter Two - Charlie

"Turn step one, two, three and four!" Rachel called from the front of room, slowly walking us through the steps of the new dance routine. Her claps to keep us on beat echoed through the room sharply, irritating my already pounding head.

Suddenly, a new noise rang out through the room, making Rachel stop and turn towards the door to the coat room where our lockers were.

"Who forgot to silence their phone?" She asked, an angry and exhausted bite in her voice.

We all listened to the ring tone for a moment, trying to decide whose it belong to. My face got hot and flushed a bright shade of red as I realized that it was my phone that had interrupted today's rehearsal.

Rachel wasn't strict on a lot of things, but cell phones were her number one pet peeve. Actually, she had loosened up considerably since she first accepted the job. It used to be that if your phone interrupted rehearsal, you would be dismissed for the day. The company was on a tight schedule and they needed you to respect it, and if your phone interrupted that schedule, it was considered disrespectful.

Timidly, I raised my hand as the phone stopped ringing and immediately began to ring again. Everyone turned to stare at me, and I immediately felt as if I was back in middle school.

"Go," Rachel barked. "Everyone else, let's take it from the top. Charlie can join us once she's done socializing."

My face flushed even warmer. Rachel was one of the nicest people I knew, but she had a way of making you feel like you were two inches tall if she was upset.

Quickly, I hurried off into the coat room, digging through my bag to find my phone that was now ringing for the third time. I saw my mom's name and photo on my screen, and hit decline before flipping the switch to silence my phone. But before I could put my phone back in my bag, it began vibrating again, my mom's photo popped up.

Something in my chest tightened. She knew my schedule, and knew that we weren't allowed to have our phones. And usually after I declined her call once, she would respect that it meant I was busy or didn't want to talk. But if she was calling for the fourth time during my rehearsal, especially after I declined her call, something must be wrong.

I held up my finger to Rachel, who was holding her arms up in a 'what are you doing?' position, as I hit accept on the phone.

"Mom, this really isn't a good ti-" I started looking at Rachel who was getting more and more upset, but when I heard her crying on the other end I stopped. My heart dropped into my stomach, completely forgetting about Rachel glaring at me through the window.

"Mommy?" I asked, my voice soft as I reverted back to my childhood name for her. "What's going on?"

"Oh Charlie..." my mom began, and my heart began thudding fast in my chest.

"Mom, what happened?" My voice cracked around the lump in my throat that was threatening tears.

"I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry."

"Mom, what happened?" I growled, tears pooling in my eyes. "Is Dad okay? Is it Toby?"

From the other end of the receiver, I heard my mom suck in a shaky breath in attempt to calm herself.

"Charlie, it's Lily..."

"What?" My voice choked out, barely even a whisper at the mention of my best friend's name. My phone shook by my ear as I began trembling.

"There was an accident.... she... baby, she- she didn't make it," my mom sobbed.

The world began to spin, and I slumped against the lockers behind me, shaking my head wildly.