A Twist Of Magic

Chapter Fifty Six

"Make sure you take care of him." I told Robyn as I gently stroked Cameron's cheek.

"I will, don't worry." she reassured me.

"If there's any problems give me a call." I said.

"Of course, just go and have a nice time." she smiled.

I nodded my thanks at her and glanced up as Caitlin and Joanne entered the room, both of them looking stunning in their gowns. The two of them had done an amazing job on my makeup, the smoky purple eyeshadow perfectly complimented my white and black dress, and my long brown hair had been curled and was tumbling loosely on my shoulders.

"Wow." Mark breathed as he walked into the room and gazed at Caitlin. She smiled happily as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"It's so unfair that you have a date." Joanne pouted at them.

"I'm sure someone at the party will ask you to dance." I reassured her.

"Us single ladies have to stick together." she smiled, linking arms with me.

I smiled back at her and quickly put my mask on. Despite my initial reservations I found myself quite excited about the ball. To be able to escape from all the stress and pretend to be someone else for a while seemed like a welcome relief.

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Eventually we arrived at the venue, the four of us gasping as we took in our surroundings. Everywhere that we looked there was hanging lights. Beautiful glitter covered ivy wove it's way down the ornate staircase that lead to the large circular dance floor. The twinkling shadows on the dance floor caused by the large chandelier gave it a magical feel. We followed Mark down the staircase, smiling slightly as I saw that his hand still hadn't left Caitlin's waist as he guided her protectively towards the dance floor.

"It's really magical." Joanne stated.

"They have a magician performing some illusions later." Mark told her.

The three of them turned to face me as I gasped and froze, my feet rooted to the spot.

"Is that why you convinced me to come here?" I asked.

"What?" Joanne frowned.

"If Danny is here I'm going home." I told them.

"Oh shit...no he's not here." Caitlin said quickly, finally realising what was bothering me and clearly feeling guilty that she had given me a fright.

"He'd better not be." I said firmly, not entirely sure if I believed her or not.

Caitlin smiled and turned away from me as Mark took her hand and gently led her to the dance floor. Joanne and I watched sadly from the sidelines as the two of them happily danced together.

"This is humiliating." Joanne piped up.

"At least we got to dress up." I sighed.

Both of us looked around as a masked man walked up to us.

"May I have the pleasure of this dance." he asked, holding his hand out to me. I glanced at Joanne who nodded at me enthusiastically. I smiled back and hesitantly took his hand. It had been so long that I'd spent time with a guy that wasn't Daniel, that I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. The only saving grace was that I had no idea who I was with and he had no idea who I was. Nerves tingled in my stomach as we began to dance, desperately hoping that I would remember what Jack had taught me. As we glided around the floor, I gradually began to relax and enjoy the experience. He seemed like a good dancer and was able to expertly lead me around the floor. The song eventually came to an end and we stopped dancing.

"Would you like to get a drink from the bar?" he asked me.

"Yeah sounds good." I smiled. He took my hand and gently led me over to the bar where I gently perched on a stool.

"So what's your name?" he asked me.

"Amelia." I answered.

He smiled and watched me closely as I picked up one of the shots on the bar and quickly downed it. Even though the mask was covering some of his features, I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. My thoughts were interrupted as my phone began to ring.

"Hello." I said, quickly answering it and placing my hand over my other ear, to try and drown out the noise of the music.

"Hi Amelia, it's Robyn." she said.

"Oh god, what's happened?" I asked quickly instantly panicking.

"Someone turned up at the flat and I don't know what to do." she told me.

"What do you mean someone?" I frowned.

"I don't know..just some guy." she replied.

"Tell her it's Danny." I heard Daniel's voice in the background.

My heart plummeted slightly as I heard Daniel's voice. Without seeing him I had no idea what mood he was in. Had he come over to apologise or was he kicking off again? I needed to get back home and protect my son in any way that I could.

"Okay I'll be right there." I stated, quickly hanging up.

As soon as I hung up I quickly climbed off the stool and virtually ran outside, not even caring that I hadn't told Joanne or Caitlin where I was going.

The taxi journey back to the flat seemed to last for an eternity as my anxiety increased. Even though I knew in my heart that Daniel wouldn't do anything to hurt Cameron, I couldn't stop the doubts that were swirling around my head. The last time that I'd seen him he'd been so angry that I almost didn't know what he was capable of.

As soon as I reached the block of flats I quickly paid for the taxi and frantically ran upstairs, almost tripping over as I rushed to the flat. I flung open the door and rushed inside, frowning as Daniel and Robyn both turned to face me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked Daniel as I quickly walked over to the cot and sighed in relief as I saw Cameron sleeping silently.

"I came to see you." he said quietly.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say." I snapped.

"I owe you an apology, what I said was below the belt and I'm really sorry." he tried.

"Save it okay...I don't want to hear it." I replied, my temper rising. I couldn't even look him in the eye after what he'd said.

"Should I leave?" Robyn piped up, looking between the two of us awkwardly.

"No it's fine, Daniel is just leaving." I said quickly.

Robyn hovered awkwardly as I quickly removed my mask and my heels. I sighed when I saw that Daniel was watching me closely, clearly having no intention of leaving me in peace. I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen to make a mug of tea. Maybe if Daniel wouldn't leave when I asked him to maybe if I ignored him he would finally get bored and leave me alone to live my life...