Torn: En Pointe, Book One by Mickie B. Ashling

Author:Mickie B. Ashling [Ashling, Mickie B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mickie B. Ashling
Published: 2022-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Misha

I must have looked dreadful when I walked into the office and begged for Henri’s new phone number because one of the secretaries caved and scribbled it on a piece of paper. She slid it across the desk wordlessly, and I raced to my room to text him in private. Belatedly, I realized we were eight hours ahead and the odds of him being awake at three o’clock in the morning were pretty slim.

All the same, I had too much to say to wait until the right time, so I spewed my guts in a disorganized barrage of words. I told him I’d come out to Talia and she’d gone crazy, exposing our secret to Onu. She’s insisting on a new partner. Onu showed up and we had words. After a lot of name-calling, he and I have made peace. Talia and I are finished. DONE. Onu is livid over Talia’s behavior. I wish you were here, but I’m glad you’re out of harm’s way. There’s no telling what’ll happen next. I’ll keep you posted. Have you met anyone exciting? I hope not. I have no right to ask, but will you give me another chance? I need to figure out my life. Take charge instead of being led around like a goat. I should have listened to you long ago. Call me if you can. Text me if you don’t want to hear my voice. I miss you so much. I added a sad emoji and a broken heart.

I reread the rambling message and my finger hovered over the delete button, but I hit send instead. Fuck it. He had the right to know what the hell was going on.

Eight hours later, he hadn’t replied.

The next day, Talia didn’t show up for practice. She never returned to the dorm after a night out with friends. No one could recall who she was with or if she had mentioned where she was going. We had a performance that evening and this breach in protocol was disturbing. Management insisted I try to find her. I didn’t have the first clue where to begin looking.

None of the girls offered to help me find her. They couldn’t have cared less if Talia had fallen off the face of the earth. She had three understudies who were dying to step into her toe shoes. Her roommate was dismissive, convinced Talia would turn up before it was too late. The entire corps proved to be a bunch of fair-weather friends. As I tried to gather more information, the universal stonewalling served as a painful reminder of the tenuous nature of friendships in this competitive world. Always a loner, but for me and Henri, Talia’s stage presence had waned since her vicious attack on Ilya. The vultures were already flying overhead, intent on picking her bones before she’d been declared dead. And even though she didn’t deserve it, I was outraged on her behalf. She’d worked too damned hard to be so casually dismissed, and since I started this mess, I felt obligated to repair the damage.

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