Changed me

Last Puppy Cake

Author's Note at the End. Please Read!

The sound of soft crying filled my ears and woke me up. Looking down at the dark head of hair that was resting against my chest. Last night after Nile left Aria asked me to stay with her. She couldn't fall asleep so here we were asleep in the guest bed, which Nile had occupied. Throughout the night Aria alternated between kicking me in the back and squeezing my waist tightly. She talked in her sleep as well. So it is easy to say that last night was not the most restful for me. Rubbing her back lightly I held her tightly to me assuming she was simply having a bad dream. This was about the third time that she let out a whimper in her sleep. Soon she was back to sleep still holding on to me tightly.

Checking my phone I longed for there to be a text from Nile letting me know he was okay. Honestly the way we ended things last night both calmed me and put me on edge as well. I just wanted him to know that he was okay. He promised me he would be by no later than 10 am. There were only text from Marissa and Lex. So I quickly shot them responses and wiggled out of Aria's grasp gently. My body was stiff from the rough nights sleep and it was probably only going to get worst. Marissa's text said that she moved rehearsal to 9 instead of noon. Everything about this morning was already stressing me out. I want to know who the hell she expects to be up this early on the weekend. It was already 8 o clock and I still needed to shower. Making sure Aria was still asleep I raced upstairs to shower and get dressed.

"Hey kid, why are you up so early," Dad asked as he poured himself a big cup of coffee. He was already shoving a thermos full of coffee towards me. I silently thanked him because I needed the coffee. " Lots of cream and sugar just like you like it. Don't worry your coffee is as pale as your boyfriend." Dad said laughing in between sips of coffee.

"Aren't you quite the comedian? I have practice for the winter show. It is our second to last rehearsal."

"Oh okay. Good luck! Is Aria still asleep?"

" Yea she is. She was crying this morning and so hopefully she'll sleep a little longer." I said checking my bag to make sure I had my ballet shoes as well as my leotard. My mind was honestly just a jumbled mess and for some reason I couldn't shake the feeling that something was not quite right. However, I needed to push pass it because I needed to focus on the winter show and the parts that I had.

"I'll make her chocolate chip banana pancakes like I used to make for you when you were younger."

"Ohhh." I said bouncing on my toes getting a little to excited. "Shaped like puppies?"

"Of course." Dad responded looking just as excited as I was. Puppy pancakes were one of the ways my dad cheered me up when I was sad. I've always loved dogs and so the pancakes would make me smile. There was something a little creepy about puppy pancakes, but they were delicious and that was all that mattered. Walking around the counter I wrapped my arms around my dad and let his warmth comfort the unsettling feeling in my gut. I felt the shock radiate in his body, but he quickly wrapped his arms around me and tightened his hold. Using one hand he cradled my head and kissed my forehead.

"Are you okay panda?" He asked.

Hiding my face so he couldn't see that I was lying I nodded my head. Besides the feeling in my gut I was fine. Everything around me was fine and the only thing that was wrong was the fact that I had rehearsal. Giving dad one final hug I raced out the door. If I was late to rehearsal, again, Marissa was going to kill me. Speeding down the road I raced to community center where practice was held. We often alternated between the community center and the school gym. Marissa's mom ran the community center so Marissa had access to it whenever she wanted. That gave her even more reign to make our lives hell. For instance, a couple of weeks ago she called a six am practice on a Saturday. When Courtney, the co-captain, said the school would not be open on a Saturday, Marissa simply smiled and dangled the keys. It was like giving the devil more power.