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I headed over to meet her. “Looks like you two had a good night.”
“It was a great night, wasn’t it, Anja?” Sheila pulled Anja closer to her and I noticed a crimson tint on both their cheeks.
“Okay, so you two are adorable and don’t make me jealous at all,” I said.
“So she didn’t hook up with Alec,” Anja said.
I scoffed. “Sheila! I told you that was not going to happen.”
Sheila shrugged. “You just keep fighting it.”
Nope.No way. I was not going to let Sheila’s taunting get to me after everything Greta just told me. Figuring out my shit had nothing to do with Alec. Was he hot as fuck? Yes. Was I attracted to him? Yes. But I wasn’t interested in a one-night-stand with him or anyone else.
“Did you see Greta yet?” Sheila asked.
“Yes. I have to figure out what I want out of life, I guess.” My shoulders slumped. “Does anyone know what they want out of life when they’re nineteen?”
“I do,” Anja said.
“You do?” I lifted my eyebrows.
“I’m not going to stay here forever,” she said. “I needed a place to recover and get my head together. In the fall, I’ll head to the city and I’m going to audition for the Ballet Company.”
Anja did have the tall, slender build of a ballerina. “Were you a dancer before you came here?”
“I was, but it wasn’t my choice. I got burned out and thought it was dancing I hated. Turns out, I hated having controlling parents who forced me into it while never allowing a break,” she said. “Did you know the first time I ever had a cupcake was when I arrived here? Even my diet was monitored to the very last crumb.”
“That sounds awful,” I said.
“I know dancing professionally won’t be easy. I have the discipline and the drive, but it needs to be mine,” she said.
“I get that.” It was as if Greta had freaking planned this conversation. Good for Anja, she had a plan. What the fuck was mine?
“If you ever get the opportunity to hook up with a dancer…” Sheila said.
Anja elbowed her in the side. “Hey.”
Sheila laughed. “I’m sorry but it’s true.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’m good here,” Sheila said. “I get to help protect people like me who have nowhere else to go. But I’m twenty, so maybe that’s why I have my shit together.”
I smiled. “I thought I had my shit together.”
“You know what helped me the most?” Anja asked.
“What?”
“Living. Not obsessing or thinking or worrying. Just living. Maybe you need to do something fun, take your mind off things,” she suggested. “When I arrived here, it was the first time in my life I didn’t have every minute of my day planned. I did whatever I felt compelled to do. The rest seemed to work itself out in the background while I was busy enjoying my life.”
“I’m not great at doing nothing,” I admitted.
“So find something to fix or help with,” Sheila offered.
“Alright, I will.” I turned and headed toward the male who was fixing the car.
“Good luck,” Sheila called after me.
“Can I help you with that?” I asked.
An older male with gray hair and a lined face looked up from the hood of the car. “You want to help me fix my car? You a mechanic or something?”
“Not at all. I want to learn. And I need a distraction, if I’m being honest,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at me for a moment. Then he handed me a wrench. “Alright. Might as well put you to work.”
