Girl meets the sick|| GMW

Winter Meets an Official Breakup

The next morning, Winter awoke to Shawn's whining. His back hurt from sleeping on the coach, and while Winter was grateful for his sacrifice, she could do without his cries. She stayed silent during breakfast, only asking about the party.

"Um, it was cool. Nice. Jack came, and uh, he's leaving today, so I thought we could have lunch together. Like..." He drifted off searching for the word.

"Like a family? Sounds nice." She told him, shuffling her eggs around.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to." He offered, watching her cautiously.

"You don't have to walk on eggs shells Shawn. I'm sad, not fragile." Winter snapped, looking at him. She let out a sigh, feeling disappointed in herself for lashing out. "I'm sorry."

"We've all been there. You get emotional, you're a teenager, and it's normal." Shawn explained, putting his fork down. "Do you want to share anything?"

"He told me we either come clean about our relationship, or we... we break up. And when I hesitated, he... he got upset." She clenched her fists, holding back her tears.

"Why did you hesitate?"

"I can't... I can't lose Maya. She was my first friend after I moved to New York. I had no one else, Shawn." She confessed. "Betraying her like that would crush our friendship."

"Friends understand. She may be upset at first, but I don't think she would've stopped being friends with you." Shawn explained. "If she did, then that friendship wasn't good in the first place."

"Thanks, dad." She mumbled tiredly. "I'm not the hungry. I think I'm just gonna shower." She stood up, leaving the room with a small shuffle. Shawn watched with dismay. He didn't know how to help his daughter. It felt awkward giving her relationship advice, especially being in the position of her father. Perhaps he should call someone, specifically a female.

And Veronica sounded like a good choice.

-

The rest of the morning, Winter stayed in her room. Classical music filled the air as she practiced her ballet. She hadn't done much dancing outside of her class, and she had begun to miss it. The new ballet shoes Maria had gifted her for Christmas served as an excuse to dance in her room. She could tell her itself. She had to break in the shoes  before class so they wouldn't hurt. But the truth is that she was attempting to distract herself from the breakup. The pain in her feet covered the emotional pain she was going through.

She didn't stop, even when there was a knock on the door. "Win?" Shawn's voice called out. She stayed quiet. She wasn't in the mood to see anyone.

The door opened, and Shawn stood there awkwardly. He was worried. Jonathan had informed him of Winter's attempts on her own life, and when she stayed quiet, he feared the worst. However, barging into a teenage girl's room was a bad idea, too. He was relieved to see her only dancing around. "Hi, Shawn." She greeted, shifting her weight to do a pirouette.

"Hey." He said, watching her move gracefully in amazement.

"Can I help you?" She stayed in one spot in her room, doing En Pointe movements.

"It's almost time to go." Shawn responded, leaning against the door frame. "You're really good at that."

"You haven't seen a lot of ballet, have you?" She asked.

"No, but I would love to see you dance more." Shawn admitted shyly. "If that's okay with you?"

"Our studio holds banquets, talent shows, and fundraisers. We're having a performance soon. I'll save you a seat." Winter offered, stopping her movements to look at him. "If you want?"