Everything beautiful is fragile

#62

It had been a few months since Matthew started at the ballet school and as he got more work he visits home, became less, Millie had settled into her college, making a few new friends and getting some unwanted attention from some of the older guy students.

She flopped on the sofa, Jacob was on nights and her mum would be home from work soon, she smiled as she saw his name come up on her phone, she answered the FaceTime, her voice happy, 'hey' her smile but it soon vanished when she saw his face wasn't smiling, she knew something was wrong, 'what's that matter Matt?' 'Millie I' as she could tell by his tone 'Millie I won't be' she sighed cutting him off 'don't worry about it', 'Millie i' she took a deep breath, but he could see the tears in her eyes, he could hear the pain in her voice 'its fine, it's not like the trial starts tomorrow' she could see a female close to him.

Matthew pushed his dance partner off him 'oh come on Matthew we need to spend this time dancing, you know you want to hold me, like last night' the tears Millie had been trying to hold in slowly creeping down her face, 'forget it Matthew, I was right along' with that Millie ended the call, leaving her phone on the coffee table and headed upstairs, she laid on the bed looking at the photos of her and Matthew, she turned away from them as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Connie came home, slightly later than normal, she had a broke down at Charlie, unsure how she would support her daughter tomorrow, he offered to take Grace so she could spend the evening with Millie by themselves, Connie placed her keys down after locking the door behind her, 'Millie' she called as she took off her shoes and hung her coat up, she walked into the living room, seeing Millie's phone there, she looked at it,

15 missed calls Matthew
3 text messages Matthew
1 text message Kai
1 text message Hollie

Connie put the phone in her pocket and walked upstairs, she walked into Millie room and saw her fast asleep, she could tell she'd been crying, Connie went and changed into some pjs then climbed on the bed next to Millie.

Millie stirred but knew it was Connie without opening her eyes, Connie pulled her closer, her voice full of sadness and hurt 'he not coming' Connie closed her eyes knowing Millie meant Matthew, she felt gutted for Millie, knowing Jacob couldn't be there next to her from the start, she'd hoped having Matthew there beside her would help her.

Connie run her fingers through her hair 'I'm sure he tried' Millie shook her head 'some girl was in the background, saying he'd spent the night before holding her' Millie sighed 'I don't know why I'm so bothered, I don't even know what we are' Connie pulled her closer 'I think you like him more than a friend' Millie closed her eyes 'I dunno, I just want this over so I can move on' Connie squeezed Millie tight 'it will be over soon'.

The next morning Millie was stood outside the court, fear running through her, Jacob took one hand and squeezed it, he pulled her into his arms 'I'll be waiting outside, I'm not going anywhere okay' she nodded, Connie joined them 'and I'll be sat right with you and so will Charlie' Millie nodded, she hadn't spoken a word all morning, 'I've got your phone want to see it' she shook her head 'Matthew texted you this morning' she shook her head.

Matthew was in his dance class, he was distracted he walked over to his bag and pulled out his back, he found her name, he wrote out a text "I'm so sorry I can't be there, but believe me this hurts me more not being able to be there for you, knowing that right now you hate me for not keeping my promise, Millie you are my best friend, the one person I want to be with, please don't hate me, ILY M xx' he sighed as he watched it send, she hadn't replied to any of his messages, he his teacher looked over at him 'come on Matthew put your phone away and get your head out the clouds, I know you know this' he sighed he placed his phone back in his bag and doing the move his teacher wanted.

Millie stood outside the room where she'd have to face Alex again, her hands shaking, her body not moving, people around her moving into the room, Charlie moved into the room to get their seats, Connie stood one side of Millie, Jacob stood the other, both holding her hand, Connie lifted Millie chin making her look at her 'Millie I've got you, I'll always be here' Millie nodded.

Jacob squeeze her hand 'I'll be right next to you as soon as I can be' tears filling her eyes, he watched as she closed her eyes trying to hold back her emotions, he grabbed her and held her tight, her voice barely a whisper 'dad' she turned to her, giving her a warm smile, cupping her face, he pulled out one of Grace's teddies from his coat pocket, he whispered in her ear 'She would want you to cuddle her when your upset, this is the next best thing' Millie gave him a sad tight lipped smile, she cuddled into his chest 'I need you in there' her voice just loud enough for him to hear, he ran his hands up and down her sides, 'you've got your mum in there and Charlie, I'll be in their as soon as I can okay, cuddle this when you need to' she nodded, Connie held out her hand 'we need to get in there' Millie nodded, Millie took Connie hand squeezing it tightly as they walked in and took their seats.

Millie kept hold of Connie's hand, squeezing it tighter, when the door to allow the prisoner to come through, her breath seemed to leave her lungs, Charlie took hold of Connie hand trying to support her, Millie held Grace's teddy close to her, wishing Jacob or Matthew was here to, Connie stood up, smiling warmly at Millie, helping Millie to stand, never letting go of Millie's hand.

The judge entered and Millie kept looking down at hers and Connie hand, Connie squeezed it, Connie eyes meet his, he smirked at her, her blood rising, Charlie could sense Connie was struggling, he took her free hand, she turned to him, he gave her a reassuring smile, he leant closer to her 'Millie needs you to be strong' she nodded, the judge turned to everyone 'you may sit' the judge turned to Alex, Alex eyes boring into Millie, she looked up and their eyes meet, he smirked wiggling his eyebrows at her, she felt sick, he licked his lips at her, she thought she was going to be sick, she squeezed hard on to Connie's hand, Connie turned her attention to Millie, she caught sight of what Alex was doing to me, she placed an arm around her and pulled her into her, 'it's okay baby, mummy's here'.

'right this case is against Alex Smith for sexually assaulting a minor in his care, how do you plead?' Alex stood up 'not guilty'.