Page 52 of Ask No Questions

The contemporary dance went as smoothly as the first, but I realized the order was done strategically. Ballet was hard enough when you were fresh and energized, but after a grueling hour of practice, my muscles were sore, and my energy level was way down. Staying up late last night and not practicing this morning were horrible ideas. I was so mad at myself for not only forgetting about the tryouts, but for being the biggest dork and falling asleep on Carter. Way to impress the older guy!

I tried to push past my thoughts and the pain in my body and focus on my arms, feet, and positions as we worked through the routine. I knew I had done well with the first two, but I had to give it my all to impress the coaches. Before the performances started, I ran to my bag and gulped down my water, wishing it was caffeinated.

My group was called up, and I walked to my position and prayed I would make it through. The dance was a blur. I couldn’t tell if I had done well or not, and the coaches’ faces revealed nothing.

Miss Amy came back to the front of the class with the other two. “Thank you all for your hard work. We could tell how hard each of you were trying, but unfortunately, there are only a limited number of spots available. You may go change, and we will post the results in the window in a few minutes.”

There was a collective sigh as girls stood to retrieve their bags. I tried to run through each of my performances looking for mistakes, but I was too fatigued. I grabbed my bag on the way out of the room to go switch out of my leotard.

True to their word, the list was posted a few minutes after I changed. I pushed against the other girls to catch a glimpse of the paper and moved forward as other girls squealed or burst into tears. Yikes, hopefully my reaction wouldn’t be that dramatic. I finally got close enough and saw my name! I breathed a huge sigh of relief and turned to walk out. I pulled my cell phone out of my bag as I reached my car and sent a text to Cassie. I couldn’t stop smiling, and I figured I would be even more excited after a nap so I headed back home.

As I pulled into the parking garage, I remembered Brandon was mad at me. I parked and considered my options. I could always go over to Mckayla’s, but my bed was calling to me. I pulled myself together and grabbed my bag before heading up to my home.

I opened the door and saw him sitting at the island in the kitchen waiting for me. He looked like he could be our father with the strict, concerned look on his face. Timidly, I walked in and set my bag down next to the door.

"Hi, Brandon..."

"Sit down, Aubrey. We need to talk." I thought for a moment about turning around and running through the door, as if I could be that brave... or dumb.

"What do you want to talk about?" I was embarrassed at how small my voice sounded. I wasn't used to him being mad at me.

"I want to apologize about how I behaved before. I need to trust you. You're more of an adult than I was at your age." This was definitely not what I was expecting, and before I could react, he continued. "I'm just very protective of you. I don't want to see you get hurt. Carter is like a brother to me and I trust him completely, but I was just freaked out last night. I probably would have realized that in the moment if I wasn't so exhausted and stressed. I'm sorry, sis."

"I'm sorry too, Brandon. I should have called or sent you a text. I don't think either of us planned on me staying over. I'm actually embarrassed I fell asleep."

"Let's just forget about it, deal?"

"Deal." Living with him was turning out to be so much easier than living with Mom and Neil.

"So how were tryouts?"

I tried to fake disappointment, but I couldn't hide my smile.

"You made it?"

I nodded, and he jumped up and hugged me.

"Congrats! That's awesome! I knew you would do great."

"Thanks, I'm really excited about it."

"Let’s go out and celebrate tonight."

"I actually already agreed to a sleepover over at Mckayla's, if it’s alright with you."

"Yeah of course! I might even call Liv and see if she is free." He winked as he walked to the fridge and got out a water bottle before turning and handing it to me.

"You should! She definitely likes you."

"We'll see. Now go shower. You stink!" I stuck my tongue out at him as I marched across the room.

By the time I showered and got my things together to leave for Mckayla’s, I was a half hour late. I parked behind Talia’s Jeep and grabbed my overnight bag. I let myself in and saw Matt sitting on the sofa. At first glance, I thought he was playing a video game. It would be a miracle for him to allow himself to ‘waste time’ on something other kids his age loved. I sat next to him and tried to get his attention.

“Hey, Matt, what are you playing?”

“I’m not playing, I’m studying.” I looked at the screen and saw he was in fact studying. The game seemed to break down the body and quizzed him on the medical names of bones and muscles.

“All right, I will let you get back to that. Are the girls in Mac’s room?” He refused to take his eyes off the screen but nodded as I stood up.