Page 7 of Tell No Lies

I turned my back to her with my hands on my hips and rolled my eyes. She might have choreographed this, but she wasn’t the one sweating like a beast and repeating the same steps over and over again. We had only made it through the full routine twice, and neither had met her approval.

I looked around at the other girls and saw they looked as tired as I was. Cassie’s curly hair had escaped her bun and was sticking to her face and neck. Despite her petite size, she looked ready to fight our willowy instructor.

Miss Amy stood at the front of the room, shaking her head. “It’s as if you all want to lose. I don’t see one ounce of determination or fight in any of you.”

I could feel the anger rolling off the entire group. This might be an effective method if we were doing an emotional contemporary dance, or maybe hip hop, but she was just throwing us all off. How could she expect us to be poised when we were shaking with rage?

“I will give you all one more chance. We will do it once more through counts, then with the music.”

Finally!

“If you can pull it together through that, I will let you go.”

I took a deep breath and held it as I walked back. Slowly, I released it as I rolled my shoulders, trying to relax. I wanted to encourage the girls, but I knew better than to speak in Miss Amy’s class. We would all be doing wall sits until the studio closed.

The run-through went without mistake, and we reassembled to do it again with the music. If only telepathy would work in this moment.

One more time, ladies! We can do this!

The classical music flowed through the speakers, and Miss Amy counted us in with a glare on her face.

I had to remind myself to breathe because I was so nervous. I just wanted to go home and soak in my tub for the rest of the night, and only three minutes of dancing separated me from that dream.

The music faded out, and I realized we had finished without being interrupted. Either we’d done it well enough, or it had been so bad she was speechless. I glanced around and saw the others anxiously waiting for the verdict.

“That was fine. You may leave.”

She said it completely devoid of emotion, but that was the most encouragement we could expect. We stood silent for a moment before cheers broke out. One girl collapsed to the ground, sobbing. I joined in one gross, sweaty group hug before breaking away. I grabbed my bag and didn’t bother with changing. I had my sights set on getting home, and not even putting on sweats could slow me down.

☼ ☼ ☼

I froze in the doorway of my home. I could hear someone shuffling through the kitchen. It was early evening. There was no way Brandon would be home already with the project he was working on. I dropped my bags outside of the door and slipped off my sandals. With my phone in one hand, I eased open the door with the other.

Making as little sound as possible, I snuck farther in. With my back against the wall at the end of the entry hall, I peeked around the corner. There wasn’t anyone in the kitchen, but a flash of movement caught my attention at the entrance of my room.

My heart pounded within my chest. I pushed my hand against it, trying to calm down. I took a deep breath and held it as I strode silently through the kitchen. Luckily, ballet had made me light on my feet and aware of the noise I made.

At the other end of the room, I paused, waiting to hear anything from my room. Nothing.

Was this the same person who’d left the note? Glancing around the kitchen, I spotted a large knife sticking out of the block. I grabbed it and pressed myself back against the counter. Looking down, I remembered the phone in my hand. I contemplated calling 911 but decided against it. You could only cry wolf so many times before you were deemed delusional. I knew that from experience.

Counting to three, I prepared myself to enter my room. On three, I turned and slipped in. I padded my way across the carpet, looking around. Nothing was out of place, and no one was there. I looked behind me and cursed myself for standing in the open.

I hurried back to the door and looked to my right. There were two more options: my bathroom or my closet. Squeezing the knife for courage, I reached out for the knob closest to me. Slowly, painfully slow, I turned it. There was one creak. I paused, looking around for any movement. When it proved quiet, I continued twisting ever so carefully.

Suddenly, there was a slam from the bathroom. I dropped the doorknob and brought the knife up with both hands, keeping it in front of my body.

I heard quiet footsteps coming from the bathroom. I turned toward the noise and froze. Panic flooded in. This was it. Silently, I crossed one leg over the other, moving closer to the door. Just when I was ready to turn into the room, a body slammed into me.

I fell back to the ground, landing hard. The knife flew from my hands, too far away for me to reach. Spots filled my vision from hitting my head. Dread filled me as I lay on the carpet, helpless.

Before I could scream, two hands grasped my arms.

“Aubrey!”

I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. I twisted, trying to escape my captor. Just as I brought my knee up, one of the hands dropped from my arm and wiped away the tears falling from my eyes. I looked up and saw concerned blue eyes. It was not the face of evil, or Morgan. It was Carter.

“Aubrey, calm down!”