Breakeven

Chapter 51

           

As all the other families left, Danny and I walked hand in hand over to Sharon to thank her for all the work she has done with Danny.

"I'm just doing my job, he did all the hard work" Sharon said to me.

"No thank you, I will never be able to explain how much you have done for us" I insisted, wishing I could find words that could come close to explaining the level of gratitude I had for her.

"I'm glad you two worked things out" she said as she glanced at our hands.

"Well I couldn't let her slip through my fingers" Danny said as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Just make sure you keep talking, that's the key" Sharon said with a smile.

"Oh, we will" I said before Sharon left.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sean coming into the centre and realised it was time for us to make our exit strategy.

Danny and I went and sat with the others to see what the plan was.

"Right, so what we thought was that Danny, you need to make a short statement to the press" Sean started as he handed Danny a draft of the statement he should make.  "Kay it would be good if you went out to the gates with Danny while he makes this statement, you know, show the united front."

I nodded.

"And I don't know what you want to do about the fans outside" he said as he glanced between the 3 lads.

"Meet them, I guess" Glen said tentatively.

"What do you want to do Danny?" Mark asked making it clear that today would stick within the limits of where Danny felt comfortable.

"Yeah, we'll meet them" Danny agreed.

"So, after the statement do you want to give the press a chance to ask questions?" Sean asked.

"No" I interjected immediately.

Danny glanced up from reading the draft statement.  "Danny, you've got enough to deal with here, just read the statement and don't accept questions when you have no idea what they will ask." I said, clarifying why I had been so quick to answer.

"Ok" Danny nodded "Just the statement."

"Right, I'm going to go and set everything up then and let everyone know what we expect if you are going to do this.  Be ready to go in half an hour" Sean instructed before getting up and leaving the room.

"We don't really need to be here so do you want me and Sophie to take the kids home?" Rina asked

"Do you want to go home with Auntie Rina and Sophie?" I asked the kids.

"I thought we were going home with Daddy?" Alleysha questioned.

"Daddy is coming home honey, he just has a few things to do here first, you can wait here if you want to?" I told her.

"Dad I'd rather go" Jessica said

Danny nodded as she hugged him "Its just that.." She started to explain.

"... The press aren't as bad when I'm not there." Danny finished her sentence knowing exactly why she wanted to get away.

"Do you mind?" She asked him

"No, I think the four of you should go with Auntie Rina and me and Mum will be home in a couple of hours."

The kids all said goodbye to Danny and I and then went with Rina and Sophie back home.

I sat with Danny, Glen and Mark just waiting for Sean to come back.  I felt really nervous about going out to the waiting press but also felt unable to express my fears because I didn't actually have to say anything, meanwhile Danny was sat trying to memorise the statement he had to make.

Glen got up and went to get us all tea, his answer to everything, but it kind of does work and after we had our teas a conversation started to flow.  Danny managed to basically recite the statement, almost word for word just before Sean came back.

"They're ready for you" he said with no emotion on his face.

We all stood up and prepared to leave, Danny took my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek, checking without words that I was OK.

"Just don't walk too fast" I said as I took a deep breath and prepare to go to the waiting press.  Danny laughed, I always complain about how fast Danny walks, I know he can't help it because his legs are so long, but it can be really difficult to keep up with him.

We started to walk down the driveway of the centre and towards the gates.  The press were all gathered at the gates and as we approached Mark, Glen and Sean all stopped, allowing Danny and I to go on our own to the press.

"First of all, I want to thank everybody who has stood by me throughout my time in rehab, it hasn't been easy but today I am coming out of the other side, clean, and ready to rebuild my life.  There will always be those who feel like addiction is something that will never affect them, but I want you to understand that addiction can affect anybody, from any walk of life, and there's no shame in admitting that you have a problem and seeking out the help that you need to recover.  Throughout my recovery, I have been lucky enough to have a family that have stood by me and now I would ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you" Danny delivered his speech to the press perfectly, he came across calm throughout, but I could feel his hand trembling in mine.

"What's next for you then Danny?" one of the press shouted.

"No questions" Sean yelled as he came from behind us and whispered for us to head back inside.

Danny and I turned and walked back into the grounds of the centre, just out of sight of the press.

"Well done mate" Mark said as he hugged Danny, closely followed by Glen who also threw his arms around Dan.

Sean came back up to where we were standing, "If you want to meet the fans then we're going to have to bring them in here because I don't think the press will give up if you go back out there. We'll bring them up and just do group photos, no autographs."

The lads agreed to this, I started to feel a bit like a spare part as they got themselves into a line ready to meet their fans.  I walked away from them, not wanting to get caught up in this part of the day and giving them their space to be The Script again.

A few minutes later Sean came back leading a group of about 25 fans up the driveway, they all looked really excited and I watched as one by one they walked along hugging the lads and getting photos with them.  Each fan got less than a minute with the lads but as they were leaving they all looked overcome with joy at having spend those few moments in the company of their idols.  I felt a sense of pride a relief that Danny and the lads had built a fanbase so loyal that even after all the time they have had away, they are still ready to welcome them back, and I knew how much that would mean to Danny.

As the last few fans left the grounds and we were once again alone I walked over to Danny.  He wrapped his arms around my waist and with a smile he said "Let's go home"