Page 80 of Surviving the Merge
“Be patient, Justin. It’s not going to be fixed overnight,” she’d said.
* * *
Days later,I showed up at the center a little early. Pete was already there running through the routine. He appeared metaphorically lighter every time I saw him, and I searched around the empty floor space, asking, “Hey, are you missing something? Where’s your load?”
I got an eye roll full of teenage angst for that. “I left it outside.”
“Did you bringanythingin with you?” I asked in mock outrage.
“Only me.” His lips twitched.
“Who’s ‘only me?’” I feigned confusion.
He let his smile off its leash, blinding me in its magnificence. “Pete. Just Pete,” he said.
I opened my arms wide, and he stepped into them. “And that’s more than enough for me.”
“Are you ready for today’s auditions?” I asked.
“Born ready.” He went into Plié for what I assumed would be just a 540 jump but ended up being a Revoltade. His long, lanky body twisted gracefully in the air, landing in Plié and transitioning smoothly to one knee.
“Dear God, I’ve created a monster.” We laughed at my horror.
“Ah, Mr. Justin?” His voice timid.
“What’s up?”
“I don’t know if you know this, but Mr. Max has been paying for my treatments. My hormone therapy,” he clarified.
“No, I didn’t know that.” I could tell he was relieved that his trust in Max wasn’t misplaced.
“Yeah, I figured he wasn’t the type to tell anyone. Debbie and I have different dads. He loves her, dotes on her. Me, he tolerates—barely. Anyway, I ran away a few years ago when he convinced Mom to stop paying for dance. Said it was messing with my head. I would come here every day and watch them build this place. I thought I was hiding out, but then I’d show up to find food and other items waiting for me.”
“Max,” I said.
“Yeah, Max. After a while I stopped hiding—obviously doing a poor job of it. Eventually, I opened up to him. He got my mom to take me back in, and she allowed him to find me the right doctors and pay the medical bills. Takes me to all my appointments. He told my mom that if it ever became too much for her, he’d be willing to take guardianship over me. I think that made her feel like shit. Her pride and all, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
The other kids started pouring in, and before Pete walked off, I said, “Thanks for sharing that with me, Pete. I know it wasn’t easy.”
“Talking to you is actually one of the easiest things I’ve ever had to do.”
“Are you trying to make a grown man cry, Pete?”
He chuckled and called me a dork.
The conversation left me inspired, and I promised myself I’d get Damon to agree to start Julie’s assignment. If Pete could be brave, then so could I.
* * *
Maxand I sat chatting in the kitchen at the Chadwick house about my plans to speak with the chancellor at The OBH about Pete. I was in the middle of filling him in on their apprenticeship program when Damon strolled in. He wore a suit, again. I eyed him up and down, my brows lowered.
“I’m Damon,” he confirmed through a clenched jaw.
“Hey, Damon,” Max said.
Damon offered him a grunt and then said to me, “Can I see you upstairs?” He spoke without inflection.
