Page 5 of Hooked on a Demon
Brushing her hands along her tights, she attempts to wipe the nerves away. So when she gets these few spare minutes every now and again, she likes to run through old sequences, reminding her body of what it was once capable of. She’ll likely pay for the leaps later, but for now, she’ll allow her heart to continue to sing, relishing the exhilaration that comes with flying through the air.
After a few passes and breathing heavily from lack of regular practice, her concentration is broken when a series of little hands begin clapping behind her. Blushing, she turns and faces her tiny audience. “Thank you, friends. Are you ready for today’s ballet lesson?” The children cheer, running to the side wall where they keep their bags.
Quickly falling into the rhythm of teaching, Eliana finds the class soars by. But there is no time for rest as her next class comes in right on the heels of her little toddlers. Soon enough, the morning passes with barely enough time for her to eat lunch before her afternoon sessions begin. The natural rhythm of the day continues as she works with each group.
With the day finally done, she collects her belongings from her locker and makes her way toward the door. Bellamy calls to her before she can step out. “Oh, Ellie, your brother called earlier. You were in class, and I didn’t want to bother you.”
“No worries. Did he say what he wanted?”
“No. He only asked if I could tell you to stop by on your way home.”
Sighing internally, she forces a smile. “Thanks.” It’s not Bellamy’s fault that Everest couldn’t bother to text her. He knows she’d have her phone in the studio. She waves goodbye to Bellamy and rolls her eyes to herself as she exits the studio.
“He likely wanted to talk to Bels anyway. The fool keeps trying to ask her out and won’t take no for an answer,” she mumbles to herself.
Tossing her bag in the back seat, she climbs into her car, puts the key in the ignition, and turns it, but the blasted thing doesn’t start.
“Fuck me,” she groans, leaning forward and resting her head on the steering wheel in frustration.
Taking out her phone, she brings up her brother’s number and presses the dial button, saying, “Hi, Everest,” when he answers.
CHAPTER4
Eliana
After jump-starting her car, Everest told her she’d need a new battery sooner rather than later. She thanked him for his help, but she doesn’t have the money for that right now. This means she’s driving back to the studio today on nothing but the wings of hope that she can make it another couple weeks. But those wings are looking pretty bare about now.
“Not again. Come on,” Eliana says with frustration, banging her hands on the steering wheel. Pushing her foot down on the brake, she turns the key in the ignition, only to be answered with an annoying whirring noise and then deafening silence.
“Fuck.”
She rests her head on the steering wheel, tears building in her eyes. Wiping the tears away with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, she leans back and rests her head on the headrest. She’s always hated that she cries when she’s angry, frustrated, or stressed. She hates it even more that she’s going to have to pay to have the car towed to a nearby shop and pay a mountain of money she can’t afford to get it fixed.
Digging her phone out of her bag on the passenger seat, she unlocks it and opens up a search engine to look for a towing company. After calling and giving her information, they inform her that a driver would be there in the next forty minutes. She then searches for a nearby shop and finds Hellbent Motors. The name sounds familiar, but she can’t figure out why. Either way, it’s only a few miles away, so it will have to do. She gives the number a quick call and checks to make sure it’s okay to bring her car in. With the go-ahead from the young guy on the other end of the line, Eliana makes her final call to her boss at Strike a Pose.
“Thank you for calling Strike a Pose; how may I direct your call?” Bellamy answers.
“Hey, Bels, it’s Ellie. Can you get June for me?”
“Sure, one sec,” Bellamy answers, placing the call on hold and starting the calm hold music. The softness of the tune challenges her current mood, and rather than being peaceful, it ignites further anger in her. She needs this money and can’t afford to miss teaching a class, but now she’s going to be stuck for at least an hour dealing with her stupid fucking car.
“Hi, Ellie.”
“Hi, June. I’m sorry for the short notice. My car broke down on the way to the studio, and I’m not going to be able to make my two ballerina tots classes this morning. Would you or Sienna be able to cover for me while I get this disaster heap towed and taken care of?” Eliana tries to sound apologetic rather than angry, but she’s not sure it comes through. If it sounds angry, June doesn’t let on.
June pauses before answering, likely running through the schedule for the day to make sure the changes work. After a moment, she replies, “Yes. Yes, that should work. Sienna can take your first class, and I can do the second. Are you okay?”
The question is simple, but it deflates her. Tears build quickly again, and she fights against it, not wanting to unleash everything on her boss, who is asking out of necessity. “Yes. I’m okay. Thanks for asking,” she replies, meaning every word of it. “I’m waiting for the tow truck. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”
“No worries. Thank you for letting me know, hun.”
“Thanks for your understanding, June. See you in a bit.” Eliana hangs up and sighs. She’s parked on the side of the road, so she’s safe. But now she’s also hungry. With time to kill, she goes to the coffee shop across the street.
With food and tea in hand, she settles back into the car and waits for this stupid tow truck. The driver arrives right at the forty-minute mark. He hooks up her junker with ease and instructs her to get into the cab. After she awkwardly climbs in, he asks, “Where are we headed?”
Eliana double-checks her phone before replying, “Hellbent Motors. It’s over on Roundtree.”
He nods. “Yep. You sure you want to go there?”
