1 Step Forward and 3 Steps Back

Chapter 14 - Debutante Ball

The moment that Belly has her first panic attack. She felt like her heart was on fire and she could barely even breath. It was the one thing that Belly nor anyone else saw coming. Belly had woken up to the sound of the waves crashing and although they weren't that close to the ocean, she could hear it. She exhaled as she heard the door opening and then she saw how Conrad came into her room holding a cup of coffee.

"Morning. How you feeling?" Conrad asked as he gave the cup to Belly and say down next to her.

"Does like an idiot work for you, Mr. Fisher?" Belly asked as Conrad scoffed.

"No. Because you have nothing to feel ashamed about. Panic attacks happen often. More often than you could even imagine. Trust me, I know. I've had my fair share of them," Conrad said.

Panic attacks were something that Belly knew the older Fisher brother had struggled with. She didn't know how intense they were or how often they had happened, but she knew about them.

"I know. Susannah once told me that you struggled with them," Belly said.

"Funny, cause Laurel didn't tell me anything about you struggling with them, so what's up?" Conrad asked as Belly shrugged her shoulders.

"I wish I knew," Belly said.

"In a way you do know. Belly, something had happened to you when you saw me and Jeremiah talking. Like something caused you to snap. And instead of having an anger attack, you had a panic attack. Panic attacks happen when you are uneasy about something. What are you afraid of?" Conrad asked as Belly exhaled.

"I wish I knew to be honest. Because I don't. I'm... I'm scared something could happen that causes all of us to completely fall apart," Belly said.

"Belly, we are all still here. You don't have to be worried about that. We are all still here. Yeah, I want to kill my brother, but we are here. None of us are going anywhere. Are you at least looking forward to the ball?" Conrad asked as Belly smiled widely.

"Is it weird to say yes?" Belly asked as Conrad smiled.

"No it isn't. Would've been weirder if you said no. You put in a lot of hard work in this. You'll do amazing, Bells. I know that," Conrad said as Belly smiled.

"Let's see how wrong you are today," Belly said.

"Ten bucks says you ate going to be amazing tonight. I just know it. Come on. You don't wanna be late," Conrad said as he went out of the room.

Laurel looked at Conrad coming down from the stairs while everything seemed unclear. It wasn't like some old thing that they could change. Conrad and Belly have been friends for years, but for as long as they've been friends, everyone also knew that they were meant to be. When Belly was born Susannah told the story that she knew Belly was destined for one of her sons. But she knew that Belly and Conrad would be perfect together. Yet neither really knew how things would turn out.

"She up?" Susannah asked.

"And beyond excited for all of this. Oh, hi, Mr. Conklin," Conrad said as Laurel saw her ex-husband.

"You made it. She's gonna be so glad. Belly! Your father's here!" Laurel yelled as Belly came running down the stairs.

"Hey, Dad. You're early," Belly said hugging her father.

"Where is your brother?" John asked as Belly looked at Conrad and back at her father.

"What? You knew I was going to take Steven out for breakfast," John said as Belly bit her lip.

"Well, what about you rake your daughter with?" Laurel said as Steven entered the room.

"Not a way in hell. Belly gets pampered by Conrad enough," Steven said as Belly shook her head and headed outside.

"One day, you're going to regret not treating your sister better," Conrad said.

The debutante ball was a lot different than Belly could ever have imagined. She saw all of the girls that were there. They were all pampered up while it just came that things weren't the same. She shook her head while started with her makeup.

"Is anything going on between you and Conrad?" Shayla asked as Belly looked at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Belly said pressing her lops together and applying blush.

"You do know. You guys are perfect, by the way. You have to be blind not to see it," Shayla said as Belly exhaled and finished with getting ready.

Belly looked at herself as she went out of the room and stood with everyone else. Her nerves were taking over and her heart was beating at an extreme level. She smiled as she saw Conrad and they had joined hands before being called up.

"Isabel Conklin. Daughter of John Conklin and Laurel Park. Isabel attends Chesterbrook High School where she is captain of the varsity volleyball team and..."

"You look incredible," Conrad whispered as Belly smiled.

"Here they go," Susannah said as Conrad and Isabel joined to dance.

Belly knew she was in good hands. She has always trusted Conrad with her whole heart and she knew that with every step she took, she was able to just trust him more and more. She smiled as he twirled her around, their hands connecting again, and the moved across the dance floor.

"A bit over confident," Jeremiah said.

"She's luminous," Susannah said.

"To Belly, Conrad is the sun. And when the sun comes out, the stars hide," Laurel said as they watched how the dance was over.

"Thank you," Belly said looking into Conrad's eyes.

"No, thank you. For giving me a summer I'll never forget," Conrad said kissing her cheek.