Falling Slowly

Pt.1|Ch.4

"I don't see why you're still bitter about it." Josh said innocently, spreading his legs apart and falling into his splits.

Sky scowled at him. "You dragged me, by my wrists, into my apartment, before lifting me up, and literally throwing me on the couch."

"Hey, don't blame me." Josh raised his hands in surrender. "Aiden helped too."

Sky scoffed. "It's not like I'm gonna get angry with her for anything. She'd kill me."

"I could kill you."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You'd never kill a man."

Josh turned his eyes to me with a steady gaze. "You don't know what happened in 2011."

"What happened in 2011?" Sky asked hesitantly.

Josh shook his head, looking down at the floor. "We don't talk about 2011."

"O-okay," Sky shrugged it off and turned to me. "So, what did I miss last night?"

I looked up from my stretching routine. "Huh?"

"At dinner. I was asleep the entire time." He sat on the ground in front of me. "What'd I miss?"

"You didn't miss anything." I replied.

"Anything?" He pressed.

"Anything." I said, glancing at Josh. He smirked but kept quiet.

"Alright, maybe Aiden can fill me in later." He stood up. "I'm gonna get a water bottle from the vending machine down the hall. Do either of you want anything?"

"I'll just come with you." Josh said, standing up as well.

I shrugged. "I'll go too."

"Family field trip." Sky grinned. "But you're paying for your own stuff."

"But mom," Josh whined.

"No." Sky answered, walking out of the dressing room.

We followed him down the hallway, until we reached the corner.

I didn't watch where I was going when we turned that corner, which usually wouldn't have been a big deal, but it was when I slammed into somebody going the opposite direction.

"Sorry," she spread her hands ever so slightly to steady herself. "Oh, hey." She said when she met my eyes.

"Hey," I replied, offering a small grin.

Austyn's chocolate curls were pulled back in a pony tail rather than a bun, giving me a startling realization of how curly her hair really was, and her green eyes were dancing.

"I was just looking for you, actually." She gave me a small, nervous smile. "I decided to audition."

My grin deepened in excitement. "That's great! When?"

She shrugged. "That's kind of why I was looking for you. I have no idea how any of this works."

I turned to Josh and Sky, who were watching me with wide eyes. "Do you think the director'll have a minute?"

Josh nodded. "We have two hours before showtime."

"And I got all my chores done," Austyn laughed. "So I'm free."

"Do you think you could audition now?" I asked.

She nodded slowly, biting her lip. "I think so."

"Great." I glanced at the others once more. "Gimme a second, boys."

I placed my hand behind Austyn's shoulder and nudged her forward, leading her down toward the director's office.