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I finish my performance along with wolf whistles and applause, but I can’t care less about the attention.
Putting on my robe, I walk to my dressing room and frown when I notice the door is open.
I turn on the light.
“Long time no see,” I hear a voice behind me.
Gasping, I turn around.
“Hello, Nikki… or should I say, Sage?”
I can’t utter a word as my eyes sink to the vision in front of me. He’s changed so much, but he’s also the same boy who has shared his chocolate with me, who has left me notes under my window.
I look at his eyes, the same blue I remember; but now those blues have mystery and darkness in them. He’s taller, bigger, looking dangerous in black clothes from head to toe, but he’s still grinding his toe to the ground; the quirk that doesn’t seem to leave him. His jaw is stronger, his cheekbones are sharper, and his eyes are meaner, but I can still see the ghost of dimples.
“Nick,” I finally breathe out. My heart beats faster, my hands become sweaty, and I feel a strange tension wrap around my body by calling his name out loud.
He smirks. It’s not the warm smile he gave me when we were kids, it’s sinister. “Good. You remember me, at least.”
I swallow and straighten my back. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see you.”
Questions are running wild in my mind. It’s been twenty fucking years. Why does a man shows up after that much time? How could he even find me or why did he trouble himself to find me? What do we have in common now that he ends up in my dressing room?
Finally, I summarize all my questions with one general one, “Why?”
“I have something to give you,” he says, pulling out an envelope from his leather jacket’s pocket.
I hesitate before taking it from him and before I find something to say he heads toward the door. Just before he leaves the room, I hear his voice:
“Once upon a time, I was too bright for you. Now, I’m just as dark.”
Chapter 10
Past
Age 10
It’s 4th of July. There is a firework show outside. I can hear them. Their colors are reflecting in my room even though my curtains are tightly closed.
Walking on my tiptoes, I check if my mom is still sleeping. She is. I saw her taking her sleeping pill before going to bed tonight. I know she won’t awake anytime soon. And I want to watch the fireworks so much.
Going back to my room I open the window and climb out of the house into the garden. As soon as my feet touch the overgrown grass, a firework brightens the sky. I look up, how the darkness turns into the colors. I smile, it looks magical.
I lay on the ground and watch the show with a smile on my face.
“Ouch,” I cry out when something hits me on the face. I quickly cover my mouth, looking back at the house and hoping my mom didn’t hear me.
“Nikki. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there,” Nick says, running toward me.
Grabbing the ball next to me, I throw it back at him. “Don’t worry.”
He smiles at me. “What are you doing here alone? Wanna come and watch the show with my family?”
“No. You know my mom. She doesn’t know I’m out.”
“Can I sit with you, then? We can watch the show together, so you don’t get scared in the darkness alone.” He’s grinding his foot again. It makes him cute.
