Phil wasn't joking when he said we wouldn't be seeing much of him or Daniel when we move in. I've only spoken to Phil a few times since we came, and I only saw Daniel twice, both times in passing. They tend to come home late, when Nina and I are already in bed, so all we end up hearing is the occasional shower running, opening and closing of bedroom doors and sometimes their quiet voices. In the mornings, both Nina and I leave. We're usually out for most of the day.
Right now, I'm all alone. Nina spent the night at George's place, he lives about three hours from us. Phil left this morning, I saw him through my window. And I don't think Daniel even came home last night. I stretch, feeling great. The morning is nice and warm, I have class starting in an hour. Since no one else is home, I find a tune on my phone and turn it on. I place the phone on the kitchen counter and dance my way to the bathroom.
I love music. It makes me feel alive. After a quick shower, I get dressed, comb my long brown hair into a French braid and walk out, still in a dancey mood I swirl my way to the kitchen. I gasp loudly when I almost run straight into Daniel, who's standing in the kitchen with a large glass of water in his hand, he's watching me with a playful smile on his lips. I take a surprised step back,
"Always this happy in the morning?" he asks,
"I'm so sorry! I had no idea you were home!" I say, then quickly grab my phone off the counter and fumble to turn the music off,
"Nothing to be sorry about,"
"Oh god!" I gasp, "that's embarrassing! And the music was so loud, you should have turned it off!"
"Relax, I'm not some old grandpa that can't stand loud music" he turns his back to me to place his glass in the sink. My eyes roam over his broad back, he's wearing a white hoodie with black trackies,
"Did I wake you up?" I ask, he shakes his head,
"No, I just came in"
"You were out all night?"
"I was" he says, turning back around,
I thought the crazy effect he had on me would wine down once we moved in, but nope, it's still there. I don't want him to know how he makes me feel by keeping my distance, so I square my shoulders and walk into the kitchen, grabbing some fruit from the pantry. He turns slightly to face me, I pretend not to notice even though my whole body feels the heat of his eyes.
"Don't see you around much" he says. Now that he's standing so close to me, I feel the vibration of his voice in my veins,
"I could say the same for you" I say, opening the overhead cupboard I grab a plate and knife. Usually, I'd cut the fruit up in the kitchen, but I can't do that with him standing so close. I go to the dining table to make my fruit salad,
"You said you were a dancer?" he asks,
"I dance, yeah... but I promise, what you saw this morning wasn't a reflection of my skill"
"I liked what I saw this morning" he protests, I look down at my fruit to hide a rising blush,
"Then you're not hard to please" I mumble,
"Maybe not" he responds cryptically. The front door opens and Nina walks in,
"Morning!" she chirps at me, when she sees Daniel leaning against a kitchen counter, her eyes jump from him to me and back to him. Like she's trying to decipher what we're doing there together,
"Hi Daniel," she says, he nods his greeting, she walks over to me and leans over the chair to give me a hug and kiss on the cheek, "what are you two up to?" she asks and picks a piece of apple from my plate dropping it into her mouth,
"Just chatting" I say, Daniel pushes himself off the cabinet and walks behind me to get to his room, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Why am I so aware of him all the time?
"What about?" she wiggles her eyebrows once he's gone,
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I tease, quietlyenough so he can't hear. Only now that he's out of the room has my breathingresumed to normal.
"Ooh, aren't we hiding something?" she jokes, I shake my head in mock exasperation.
"When does your class start?" she asks,
"At nine, I have to leave now" I get up off the chair, take my plate to the kitchen,
"Mine starts at ten, but we'll go together. Let me change quickly" she runs to her room to change.
University has been great so far. I'm loving my course and enjoying life away from home. The freedom of doing whatever you want, whenever you want.
After classes, I make my way straight to the theatre. I was very lucky; they gave me a job to teach dance to a bunch of six-to-ten-year old's three times a week. I always thought my part time job would be something like waitressing or working as a cashier, but nope, my part time job is doing something I love more than anything in the world. Dancing.
After spending two hours teaching kids to dance, I head off to the stage. I'm dancing tonight as part of a performance. I go to the changing room and my phone pings, I check the message
Lara: I'm on my way
Lara is my friend. Her and Nina are the closest two friends I have. I met Lara when I started dancing, back when I was seven years old. We danced together for four years then her parents decided to move to a different city. We stopped seeing each other, but we never stopped talking.
Fate would have it that we reunite again in this theatre. Well, fate, and a bit of manipulation from both of us. She lives on the other end of the city, though, so we don't really see each other unless we're dancing.
I have two hours before the performance starts. I love these times because generally I'm alone in the theatre. I head to the stage, turn the music on and give myself up to freestyle dancing. Whenever I dance, I let my body follow the rhythm and my mind roam free. Right now, it takes me to Alfred, my first and only relationship. If you can even call it that. Alfred and I were together for less than two months when I walked in on him kissing a friend from school. I threw a half-eaten apple at him and ran out, teary eyed and heart broken. Weeks passed before I agreed to talk to him again to hear his apology. But I never forgave him. The whole ordeal was enough to steer me away from relationships. I don't even know why I'm thinking about them right now...
Time passes quickly, and soon enough my dancing group is gathering one by one on the stage. I see Reymond at the entrance, he runs up to me as soon as he sees me, pulls me in for a hug. His blue eyes look over me with approval,
"Forever smiling!" he says to me, "your happiness lights up the stage!"
Raymond is my dance partner. Not all performances are done in pairs, but this particular one is.
"Ready for tonight?" I ask,
"Always ready to dance with you. You look absolutely stunning!"
Our instructor goes through a few things and we head out to get dressed. I'm surprised Lara hasn't arrived yet, I pull my phone out to text her,
Me: Where are you?
No reply. I don't think much of it, she must have missed a bus or something. I only start to worry once we're all dressed and ready to start. I check my phone again, no reply. I leave my phone in the basket,
"Where's Lara?" Sarah, our choreographer, asks
"Not sure, she's not replying"
"We'll just have to start without her" she says, unsatisfied.
My dancing group gets onto the stage, the theatre is already full of people. I look back once more in search of Lara, but she's not there. I tell myself she must have missed the bus. Maybe her phone died so she can't reply.
Once the music starts, I put all my focus on the performance. The atmosphere's calming tonight, we move in unison. At the end, there's cheer. I smile, heart beating fast.
The music stops, the curtains close. The performance was flawless. I love the satisfied feeling I get after a dance like that. Breathing hard, I go straight for my phone. I have a message,
Lara: Come to the back room. Hurry.
The back room is a small space where they keep props for larger performances. Lara and I discovered the place the other night, it was perfect for private talks. I'm confused she's calling me there; I don't even get changed, I head straight for the back room. I open the door, it's dark,
"Lara?" I switch the lights on, she's sitting on the ground, her arms hugging her knees, her head down. She's crying.
"Lara! What's wrong?" I kneel next to her, "what happened?"
Instead of responding she hugs me and starts crying even harder. I comfort her, try to get her to calm down,
"What happened?" I whisper,
"Someone-" she sniffles, "attacked me"
"Who? When? Are you okay?"
"A man, Sofia"
"A ma- did he hurt you? Did he-" I look her over in panic,
"N-no," she mutters, "he wanted to, but a car came, and he ran off"
"When?"
"On my way here" she sniffles, "I got off the train, and was walking to the bus when a big guy pulled my arm and pulled me behind a building. I didn't even get a chance to scream, he enclosed his hand around my mouth. I- I felt so helpless, Sofia, so helpless!" she cries,
"But he didn't get to hurt you? You said he didn't?" I ask again,
"No, he- he didn't" her terrified green eyes are filled with tears, "but I was so scared, Sofia! I thought he'd hurt me! I got so scared!" I hug her, wait for her to calm again, gently patting her back,
"What happened then?" I ask quietly,
"He said he's been watching me, he said he knows where I live"
"Did you see what he looks like?"
"It was dark, he was wearing a black hoodie. But he was big, like really tall, strong, and his eyes were dark"
"Did you see his face?"
"No, but at one point a car drove past, I screamed, scratched him across his face. I scratched him really hard, I had blood on my fingers, I still do" I look down at her hand, I can't see the blood but I'm pretty sure police can use this for DNA,
"And then the car started to slow, he got worried, he pushed me away and ran. I ran too, straight for the theatre. When I got here the performance had already started. Then I texted you"
"We need to go to the police" I say,
"Can you come with me?" she asks,
"I'm not leaving you alone" I promise her.
We catch a cab to the police station and she retells the whole story to them. They take close to two hours to write up a report and gather everything they need. I go with her all the way to her apartment. She lives with her brother, we wait there together until he returns then I head home.
.