Dance Moms - Chlobird

Chapter 10 : The Promise

After their weekly session, Chloe walked back to her car. The glimpse of sunshine was now covered by clouds, it looks like it's going to rain again.

And soon, snow will follow! She smiled staring up the cloudy sky.

This will be her first winter in Pittsburgh after so many years, and she welcomes it. The cold reminds her of playing sleds with Paige, and ice skating with her old team.

But the cold also reminded her of Brooke, the girl whom she left sleeping outside her own doorstep last night.

Chloe has only been working at Studio 19 for a month, and already hearing enough of the girl, who has the reputation of constantly showing up late, unexplained absences, drinking problems and a poor attitude. The reason they kept her around was that she could deliver a handful of choreographies in a short period of time, faster and more creatively than any other staff in the studio. That, and she's willing to run errands and do janitorial work.

Having seen where the girl lived, Chloe felt awful leaving her there, alone and in the cold, sleeping like a homeless. She drove to the studio and approached the front desk, checking if Brooke had shown up to work.

"No she hasn't. Probably got drunk again." the desk clerk Shannon shook her head in disapproval. "Do you have class today?"

"No, just want to see if her choreography is ready." Chloe lied.

"One of these days she's gonna get fired. That girl needs to put her life together!"

"I couldn't agree more." Chloe thought out loud.

Stepping out of the studio, she took out her phone and dialed Brooke's number, it was out of reach. She walked back to her Ford, fished out the key fob to start the car, her mind setting a route to Brooke's apartment.

DON'T! A part of her said. Let them live the lives they choose, so you can live yours!

She remembered the promise she made when she decided to stay in Pittsburgh – to prioritize her life.

Looking back at the many life-and-death situations in her past, most of them triggered by impulse, and in result her recklessness put her loved ones in danger. Her mother used to joke that she was a trouble magnet, and it has proven to cost her dearly.

So she kept her promise, minding her own business, moving on to the rest of her day like an ordinary person.