Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” I shook my head. No one knew me well enough to love me—except my sisters. “Vasily doesn’t do nepotism. He didn’t hire Lina that first season, remember? He’d made her work for it, develop another year before trying out again, just like you. Stop playing the pity card, Eva.”
“Right.” Eva drew the word out sarcastically. “Because Maxim’s last name has nothing to do with his role as a choreographer.” She rolled her eyes. “Drop the humble facade and admit it for once. You’re the queen—”
“Stop it!” Anne put herself between us, throwing out her arms and flaring her hands. “You will stop it right now! We’re never out here together, and you two will not do this.” Her gaze jumped between us. “This isn’t what Mom had in mind when she wanted us to spend more time together—”
“Let’s call up Mom and ask her.” Eva reached for her pocket, then looked at me. “Or are you only getting one-word answers? She’s still ashamed of you, isn’t she?”
My fingernails dug into the banister.
“Enough!” Anne snapped. “You know damn well Dad wouldn’t stand for you talking about her like that, and Lina would have—” She snapped her mouth shut and took a deep breath.
Guilt slammed into me with the force of a semitruck, and Eva looked away, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“We’re all that’s left, guys,” Anne said softly. “It’s just the three of us. No one has had an easy year, but we have to do better, be better for each other. We just do.”
I deflated. We were the only three pylons left on the pier. We wouldn’t make it through another storm if we didn’t lean on each other. If it made Eva feel better to post an already public video of my injury, then fine. It was a small price to pay for my sister to get whatever she needed from that stupid app.
“I’m sorry,” Eva whispered, slowly raising her eyes toward mine. “I’ll take it down.”
“Thank you. And I’m truly sorry. I should have gone last night.” I glanced at Anne and sighed at the desperation in her pleading eyes. Out of the three of us, she was the one whose world was in upheaval, and she deserved better than this. The least I could do was help smooth things over. “I’ll help you,” I told Eva. “I have two days before I leave with Hudson, and I’ll teach you what I know about the soloist parts for Equinox.”
“Thank you!” Eva lit up, but it was the relief in Anne’s eyes that made it worth it.
Metal clinked above me, and I looked up the stairs to see Sadie trotting down, freshly awake from her nap. “Hey, girl.”
“Holy shit, you have a dog?” Eva exclaimed. “What the hell is going on around here?”
“Just go with it,” Anne lectured. “That’s our new motto.”
We worked all weekend, taking breaks only to ice our feet, and by the time Eva left Monday morning she had a good grip on most of the choreography. She’d left her room a mess, and ransacked Lina’s closet when she needed an extra sweater, but at least she’d felt more confident when she left for the airport.
My motivation for working myself to the bone had been Charlotte. Like hell was she taking the role that had been created for me. But while the days in the studio had invigorated Eva, they’d shown me how far I still had to go in my recovery. I’d fallen more times than I cared to admit, mostly due to being out of shape for pointe, lack of confidence, and fear of reinjuring my ankle. Out of the three, the fear was a real career killer. If I couldn’t get past it, I may as well retire.
“You’ve been quiet the whole drive,” Hudson said as we pulled into the gravel parking lot near the lake. “Should I worry?”
“No. Just preoccupied.” We got out of the truck, and I stared up at the thick canopy of beautiful foliage from the trees. It was peaceful out here. “I forgot to tell you. I called Jacob a few days ago—you met him at the gala—”
“Harvey. Principal dancer. I remember.” Hudson reached into the jam-packed truck bed and tossed me my backpack, a framed little number Anne had insisted I buy for the trip.
“Thanks.” I slung it over my shoulders as I took stock of whose cars were already in the parking lot. Everyone’s. “He said he remembers Lina getting injured in January and taking a leave of absence to heal. Apparently, it was why he hadn’t questioned why I don’t rehab at the Company. He figured it was just the way our family recovered.”
“He didn’t know she was pregnant,” Hudson guessed, grabbing his bag.
“Nope.” I clipped the strap across my chest. “Back to the drawing board.”