Abby

CHAPTER TWENTY

"I can't get high right now." She giggled as he pulled her down on top of him, refusing to let her leave. "I have dance in an hour."

"Noooo!" He said in jest. "Stay here with me." He said kissing her. She was a sucker for his kisses. He put his hands up her shirt and slipped it off over her head. "Please stay here with me." He whispered. And then he kissed her breasts.

"Stop." She said in a whisper and with her eyes closed. He didn't.

"If you won't get high, at least let me taste you." He bargained. His voice, the headiness of it made her powerless to stop him. He laid her on her back and pulled her dance shorts and tights off. He kissed down her torso as she ran her fingers through his hair. Her back arched as his lips met her skin. And then his tongue.

...

She woke with a start. She looked at the clock.

"Shit!" She whimpered. Dance would start in fifteen minutes, and she was easily twenty-five minutes away. She dressed quickly as Jace stirred. He looked up, sleepy-eyed.

"We feel asleep." He said.

"No shit we fell asleep." She said annoyed. She stormed out of the room, leaving the house in a huff. She knew she was in danger of being kicked off the team. And she wasn't sure she'd really mind that much as she couldn't keep up anyway. Her legs ached, she could barely breathe, and she couldn't remember choreography anymore. She started to cry and then cut it off. She took a few deep breaths and drank some water. She was making good time and would get there before warm-ups were over. It wouldn't be so bad. She pulled in and parked like an idiot. She grabbed her shoes and ran in. She tripped over the rug and literally fell into the studio. Everyone stopped and stared.

"Abby. Nice of you to join your team." The director wasn't happy. Abby's head throbbed. She didn't know if it was from the unexpected nap or because she hadn't gotten high. She lost no matter what she did.

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep." She tied her shoes and jumped in line with the other girls. They were all friends or had been at least. But lately, they were distant. They were mad at her for sucking. The director stared at her, waiting for something. Abby looked down at her clothes and her shoes. Her hair fell over her shoulder. Her hair. Studio policy- black fitted clothing, tan colored tights, black tap shoes, and hair pulled back from the face. She looked at her wrists, no elastic. The girl in front of her handed her one. "Thank you." She whispered. The director turned the music back on.

"You smell disgusting. Like week old cigarettes and weed." The girl next to her sneered. Abby smelled her shirt. She couldn't tell, but it was probably true. Everyone smoked all day in that house. And Jace had been smoking up when she got there after school.

Jennie had come early to watch rehearsals. Abby had been hanging in there despite her drug use. She looked exhausted, barely able to keep up with the class, sometimes tripping over her own feet. She didn't have the muscle tone to move her legs with speed. She didn't have the energy for the constant motion of it all. She didn't have the concentration to remember choreography or learn any new combinations. The director had called Jennie a few weeks ago. She questioned what was going on. Jennie was vague. Tap competition was all Abby had left.

"Abby!" The director screamed. Everyone stopped. Abby bent over heaving for air. The music was cut. It was dead silent except for the sound of Abby's gasps for air. "What is going on?!" The director continued. "I can't stop the music during competition."

"I'm sorry." She said, trying to control her breath. "Long week. That's all."

"It's only Tuesday, Abby." She said disapprovingly.