Dance, Even When No One Is Watching

Chapter 11

~Carter~

I glanced around, bored. I had been here numerous times, eaten everything on the menu and off the menu (recipes that didn’t quite make the cut). I knew every inch of this place. It wasn’t anything special, I had decided to take Vi to a classic restaurant. Nothing special.

I looked over at her, and almost burst out laughing. Her eyes we open wide, looking around her like she was in a palace. Her hands were wrapped around her, smoothing out her dress. I gave her a grin as she glanced at me. I shook my head, chuckling quietly.

“Calm down, you look fine.”

Vi ignored me, continuing to rub her arms up and down her sides anxiously. Her eyes didn’t meet mine, still taking in the whole restaurant.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this big! I feel so out of place!”

I chuckled again, trying to hide it with a cough. She glared at me, and I tried to straighten my face. She looked so scared and shy. I felt instantly bad and reached a hand over.

“Alright calm down, no one is looking at you and you look great. Just pick up your menu and order anything you want, I’m paying.”

Vi nodded slowly, pulling her arms away from her side. She kept her head down low, hiding her face with her hair. She picked up her menu and ducked beneath it. I shook my head, smiling to myself. I picked up my own menu and looked over the options. My favorite meal had always been the Chicken Parmesan. I had a weakness for chicken. I decided I wasn’t in the mood for chicken and looked up at Vi, wondering what she was getting.

“What looks good?”

Vi looked up, looking slightly more relaxed. She narrowed her eyes, thinking.

“I’m deciding between the creamy pesto or the Fettuccini Alfredo. What do you think?”

I thought about it, trying to remember the last time I got either of those. I remember them both as being reasonably good.

“How about we each order each of those, get some garlic knots to share and we can split our meals? Sound good?”

Vi smiled hesitantly, thinking it over before nodding enthusiastically. She dropped her menu, leaning back into her chair. She looked around the room again, this time curious.

“So when did your parents buy this restaurant?”

I sat back, crossing my arms over my chest. I put on a thoughtful face, thinking back to the days when everything was different.

“Well about 6 or 7 years ago, my family wasn’t as rich as we are today, and we all acted more like a family then we do today. We all had a tradition that we would all go out for dinner together every Sunday night. Our family favorite was here and we all loved it. Once my family became rich, my dad thought it was a good idea to buy it. But ever since then, we haven’t really been here. At least not together.”

I stopped, my mind still stuck back  in memories of a happy family sitting around a table, all laughing together, no grief hanging suspended above us, suffocating our conversation. I shook myself, bring myself back to the presence.

Vi had a sympathetic expression on her face, her eyes soft. I hated pity and I didn’t want that look in her eyes.

“It’s ok, I still come here a lot and its not like I want to spend too much time with my family anymore.”

Vi nodded, still looking sympathetic, but letting it go.

Silence overtook us, each one trying not to meet the others eyes. I cleared my throat, taking a sip of my water just as a waiter came by. I sighed inwardly, relieved that something came to break the awkwardness.

We ordered quickly, and the waiter left, leaving us to each other once more.

“So what are we going to do about your foot?”

I sighed, looking down at my plate. I know I couldn’t avoid this subject any latter. I took a deep breath and started talking, Vi listening silently.

“There is something that I could try. Right after we had the accident, the doctors knew that my case was severe. They tried their hardest to fix me completely, and I was lucky, but they warned me. They told me not everything was going to be exactly the way it used to be. But I didn’t listen. I swore to myself I wouldn’t dance anymore anyways so I didn’t care.”

I paused, looking up at Vi. Her eyes were attentive, grasping every word that came out of my mouth. She nodded, signaling for me to go on. I looked down again, away from her eyes and continued talking.

“But then I met you, and I just couldn’t help it. I was ignorant, I didn’t think I would be affected this way. I was happy at first when I didn’t feel anything and I kept going. Then, about 2 weeks after I met you, my doctor called my house. He said they had been working on new surgery to fix once unfixable limbs and that I could get the surgery if I wanted.”

Vi gasped, her eyes wide. I looked at her, watched her emotions run through her face.

“Why didn’t you do it?”

“They warned me. They said that it was a recent procedure and that there was a chance that I could be paralyzed for life. I didn’t think I needed it, I thought I was fine so I refused. But then I got hurt. And here we are now. And I don’t know what to do.”

I stopped there, Vi and I staring at each other. We sat there silently for a minute, just letting the words sink in. Finally Vi sat back in her chair, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Well I don’t know what we are going to do.”

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Hey guys!

So I finally came up with a step forward for Carter, kind of took me a while to think of one, but now theres a new problem! You know, to add on to the fact that they don't even know if they've gotten into the play or not. And what carters parents are going to do about him. Yeah so a few problems going on but don't worry, I'll make it interesting! And hopefully not predictable! =)

So yeaaaa and heres a peek at Carters world. Yupp he's pretty rich. O and a peek at his past. Just a tiny peek. More like a glance. A sliver of a glance. Yeah I know I'll shut up now =)

Thanks for reading! Vote and comment!