Page 68 of Falling With a Spin

Why does she look so familiar? I rack through my brain on how I know her, but my mind comes up blank.

“Alright, sorry about that, darling,” She walks back around the desk and sits down. “Emma, this is Aubrey. She is going to show you around the studio. It’s pretty big, and you can get lost easily.” A small laugh leaves her and Aubrey squints her eyes at me as if she is trying to figure out who I am. “Aubrey, this is Emma. A lovely friend of hers signed her up with us last week. Isn’t that exciting!” She brings both of her hands together and starts bouncing in her chair as if she were a little kid on Christmas morning. A gasp comes from Aubrey, and I glance towards her as she tries to cover it up with a cough.

“Yeah, that's something.” Aubrey looks at me, a wide, shit-eating grin on her face. I shuffle my feet uncomfortably under her stare, throwing her a meek smile.

“Oh my lanta, I'm so terribly sorry, but I never introduced myself.” Her eyes go wide, and she abruptly stands up, holding out her hand. “I’m Lilian Castro, one of the receptionists here and instructors.” I take her hand, shaking it. “Now you two have fun, and if you need anything, Emma, don’t hesitate to ask. Also, Aubrey, can you show her the room that she has? It's room thirteen.”

“Of course, Ms. Castro,” Aubrey says.

I mumble thank you and run to catch up with Aubrey as she starts walking down a hallway. There are wooden doors on each side with numbers and the instructor's name on them., showing what each class is, starting with beginning ballet and going up to advanced tap. A few of the classes have a combination of ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, and tap.

Aubrey takes me all over the studio. Showing me the locker room where I can change into my clothes before and after classes. Also, there are showers in there as well so I can come here before work. She shows me a few of the classes I can take, where they are, and how to sign up.

“Now you’ll be able to sign up for them before you leave today,” Aubrey mentions as we pass a few that pique my interest.

I keep quiet for most of the tour, taking in everything as we walk the hallways. This will be good.

Getting back into dancing will distract me from Hunter, my fear of Chad, and my friendship with Caleb. It will consume my life again.

Getting lost in my thoughts, I didn’t see that Aubrey stopped walking, and I bumped right into her. I step back, cheeks flushing red as I mumble an apology. She shakes her head, laughing at my clumsiness. The sound is so familiar I can’t quite pinpoint it.

“Alright, so this is your room.” She opens the door, and the lights turn on as we walk in.

It was the same room as the one that Hunter brought me to. The last time I stood in this room, I was too overwhelmed. Taking my time, I look around the room, the walls are pink with white polka-dots, posters hanging on the walls from The Black Swan, The Nutcracker, and Beauty and the Beast. I turn around in a slow circle as my heart races.

Closing my eyes taking a shaky breath in and letting it out. Memories from the hospital come back from what the doctor told me. What he didn’t know is that nothing would compare to the pain I felt when I heard his words.

Breath Emma. You’re not there anymore. You’re here. In a dance studio, you are going to try this. Try it for yourself.

Opening my eyes, I see Aubrey still standing in the room with me, and I quickly look away, embarrassed that she saw me break down. I walk over to one corner of the room, set my bag down, and grab my phone for some music.

“There's Bluetooth that you can connect your phone to.” Aubrey's voice echoes.

“Thank you.” I scroll through my playlist, connecting it to the Bluetooth.

I have stuck with the same playlist for when I practice since middle school, adding songs to it over the years. It has a variety of music, starting with New Romantics by Taylor Swift and flowing off to Harry Styles, One Direction, Bad Omens, and Jason Aldean.

As I’m about to press shuffle, Aubrey walks towards me. Turning my head, I look towards her, and her blue eyes sparkle in the studio light. They remind me of Hunter, and how anytime the light hits just right, there’s a tiny sparkle in them. It’s my favorite feature of his, along with those dimples.

An ache goes through me at the thought of him. I miss him more than I try to let on, but I can’t forget what he did, even if his intentions were good.

Aubrey sits down in front of me, crossing her legs and playing with the fabric of her tights. Her gaze doesn’t move as she says, “I know who you are.” She whispers it so softly I almost don’t quite hear her.

My breath hitches, and my eyes go wide.

“W-What did you just say?” I ask, my heart beating violently in my chest, hands sweating to where my phone almost slips to the floor.

“When my brother called asking if we had any openings for people to join the studio, I didn’t quite believe him. Then Ms. Castro introduced you, and I immediately knew it was you.” She shakes her head, laughing, a wide smile on her face.

When she looks up at me, I see the resemblance. They have the same black colored hair and big, bright blue eyes, but that's where it ends. Where she has freckles that dot her face, Hunter is clear of them. When he smiles, those dimples peek out, but hers don’t show.

“I'm going to go with the fact that he hasn’t mentioned the family much to you?” She gives me a questioning look as my silence fills the room.

“Yeah,” I whisper, “all he told me was that he has a sister and two older brothers who followed his parent's footsteps. Other than that, nothing. Not a single thing.” I leave out where he told me about the issues he has with his parents.

Aubrey sighs and shakes her head. “I swear he can be so smart but also so stupid.”

A laugh tears right through me and it’s the first genuine laugh in a long time. Feels good to do this, even if it’s with someone I just met.

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