Page 41 of A Dark Duet

He looks at me, trying to find the Giselle that left the other day, the one who felt an unrequited love. What he doesn’t know is that Giselle is dead and gone. The Giselle he is looking at, the one no one will want, is just a shell that can only dance to feel.

“If there is something wrong, you would tell me, right?”

“There is nothing to tell. Don’t worry about me, Nate. You worry about your fight, and I’ll teach the girls, as promised.”

“I want to repay you for the tuition for the girls, it’s a lot and…”

I hold a hand up, stopping him from speaking.

“Don’t worry about that, Nate. I can dance and make up the money. I wanted to pay for it, and I don’t expect you to repay me or give me anything. I’ll just dance like I did when I made the money.”

He gets up from the chair and startles me. “I don’t want you to dance for anyone like that!”

I smile sarcastically. “I guess I will work it off at the diner. Either way, I don’t want your money. I’m your friend, not your girlfriend, and I don’t belong to you or anyone.”

His face turned serious.“I told you, you’re mine.”

“Oh, Nate, I can’t ever be yours,” I scoff.

“You’re too good for me, is that it? The prima ballerina,” he snaps back.

I give him a murderous glare. “You know nothing about me!”

He rubs a hand over his face, taking a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry if I hurt you. I didn’t mean…” He trails off.

“There is nothing between us, Nate. I just want to be friends. I’m no good for you, and you’re right, I’m a prima ballerina. I’ll teach the girls ballet lessons, lessen the load on Lenora, and then I will leave. I will go back home in between the lessons because I don’t want to distract you from your fight. Jaden is right, you need no distractions.”

The last parting shot, I knew, would get him to back off. I know how much he cares about his career as a fighter, and I don’t blame him. I know how it feels to only have one way out, to sacrifice everything for what you have built.

“Okay, fine. But this isn’t over.”

I roll my eyes and grab my bag. I wait for him so we can head out.We arrive in the parking lot, and I walk toward the dance studio, leaving him there without a word. I open the dance studio door and let out the breath of air I was holding in.

Lenora gave me a key since I would be here early to practice some dance routines. It’s the first time I’ve been able to practice since what happened, and I decide it’s the perfect time when no one is watching me.

I play Evanescence’s “Breathe No More,” and I dance, shedding my pain, so no one can see what’s been taking me under every night. The tears slide down my face as my soul screams in pain.

Broken, lost, and undone.

I dance, remembering the free spirit I once was, allowing the tears to fall.

I breathe and when I’m done, I realize I’m not alone.

I look over to find Nate, Jaden, and his entire team standing there, silent. Nate walks up to me slowly and wipes the tears from my face gently with his thumb.

“Who hurt you, baby? You can tell me,” he whispers.

I stand back, looking over his shoulder at his team, knowing he would do anything to protect them. The same as I have done for my best friend. They did this to her, and she lived with it, a secret she never shared, even with me.

I know why now, the shame and pity. I can’t ever tell him what happened to me. I look at Jaden, remembering his words about pain.

If he only knew Brie has been living in pain. A pain that I felt all at once, a sacrifice I would make again, if it meant that she wouldn’t have to go through it, even though she witnessed it happening to me.

Jaden stares right back and he knows pain, seeing it in my eyes, and looks away. Nate stares at me as I look down, not wanting him to see.

“When you’re ready, I’m here,” he whispers.

I nod, turning to dance to the next song, “My Immortal.”

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