Page 134 of Healing Eleanor

Without another word, he turns toward the door, pausing with his hand on the frame. He doesn’t look back. “Everyone needs a savior… but I can’t be yours.”

And then he’s gone, leaving the room silent except for the echo of my own heart.

He told me he loves me. He told me… he loves me.

The dressing room is quiet, but my mind is deafening with guilt and regret. One of the few people who truly cares for me… who has been gentle, patient, and someone I need… has just confessed his love.

Fresh tears streak my cheeks. He doesn’t know my feelings for him. The way I wish I could be his, but I’ll likely never get the chance now.

A commotion erupts outside the dressing room.

“Where is my daughter?” My mother’s voice fractures the silence.

“The dressing room. You need to go back to the seating area—” I hear Nik say.

My mother cuts him off. “Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

I freeze, rigid as a statue. The last thing I need is my mother barging in to tear me down even further.

“You’re not going in there,” Nik replies, firmly.

“That is my daughter! I can see her if I please,” she scoffs.

Footsteps rustle as if she tries to push forward.

Nik’s voice grows sharp, edged with anger. “Listen to me. You are not going in there to yell at or berate a dancer who’s already injured. It’s not happening. Leave now, or I have no problem escorting you out myself.”

I press my face into my hands, trying to disappear, my body shaking from the tension, my chest tight with both fear and helplessness.

The click of my mother’s heels fade down the corridor. “This won’t be the last you hear from me,” she calls out, full of fury.

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Nik answers, confident and composed.

Her footsteps recede. Through the thin dressing-room wall, I hear Nik sigh and the dull thud of his shoes as he walks away. Everything in me wants to fling the door open, run after him, tell him the truth, and beg him to forgive me. But I have no choice but to stay. I have only his last words and the hollow ache of what might have been.

I sit with that ache until it shifts into something else. If I want him to see me as more than this damaged version of myself, I have to change. Not for anyone else’s approval, but because the idea of losing him pushes me past excuses and into action.

Getting help has always seemed impossible. Admitting I need it feels like defeat. But after tonight, it no longer feels like surrender. It feels like the only honest thing I can do for myself, and maybe—if I’m brave—for the man who’s shown me a life with color in it. I will try. For Nik… for me.

The dressing room door bursts open followed by paramedics in dark blue uniforms maneuvering a stretcher. Russell and Kasper trail behind them, their faces set and grave.

A woman with brunette hair swept into a neat low bun approaches me first, lowering herself onto the stool Nik left behind.

“Hi,” she greets gently. “I’m Savannah. This is Lukas, Sam, and Ezra.” She nods toward the men waiting just behind her. “We’re going to take you to the hospital and get that ankle checked out, alright?”

I manage a shaky nod. “Okay.” The word falls barely above a whisper.

Sam rolls the stretcher closer while Lukas and Ezra take their places on either side of me. Savannah carefully lifts my leg, sliding the foam roller out from under it with painstaking care. It doesn’t matter though, because at this point even breathing sends pain shooting down my ankle.

“May we lift you?” Ezra asks softly.

I nod again and lift my arms, the scratchy tulle dragging against my legs and sending a shiver down my spine.

Lukas and Ezra lift me in one fluid motion while Savannah steadies my ankle. Once I’m settled on the stretcher, they prop the foam roller beneath my leg again, and Sam angles us toward the exit.

A hush falls over the room. Lily, Gabriel, and Dillon stand with the other dancers against the wall, watching my downfall unfold in real time. Lily’s tears spill down her cheeks in steady rivulets, Gabriel holding her tight against his side. Even Dillon’s throat bobs like he’s holding something back.

The sight of them cracks me open further. These people have shown me kindness in a world where kindness is rarely given without strings attached. They’ve accepted me without hesitation, welcomed me like family, loved me as if I’ve always belonged. They didn’t betray me like Sofia had. And I, so careless, stubborn, and blind, have shattered it.