Chapter 42
Dafne
After meeting Theo’s grandparents at the designated restaurant, who shower me in kisses and compliments–my family only gets there in time for dessert, because apparently, my dad got into a fistfight with his sat-nav on their way there–the reality of our last days at APDAS finally hits.
The rooms need to be cleaned, luggages need to be packed, goodbyes need to be said. Thankfully, a couple of days after our play, it’s time for Phoebe’s final showcase. I’m so excited for my Fantine. Her part in APDAS’ version of Les Misérables is going to bring the house down.
I’m supposed to wait for Theo to pick me up, then meet with everyone else outside the theatre. I nearly stab my eye with my mascara’s wand when there are a few raps on the door. I snort to myself and grab a spoolie from my makeup bag to get the excess mascara off as soon as it dries, and zigzag through the various piles of clothes and shoes Phoebe and I have yet to pack. When I open the door, I’m met with my favorite jean jacket draped over a well-known shoulder.
“The good thing about you moving out of here is that you might finally get yourself a proper weapon,” Theo says, eyeing the spoolie in my hand. I ended up telling him that the night of our first real kiss, I thought there was a murderer outside my room, hence the plastic Academy Award.
“I could very well crush an eyeball with this, you know,” I chuckle, “and there’s always the classic knee to the lower regions.” He nods and laughs as I open the door wider for him to come in.
He plants a kiss on my cheek and says, “I see packing is going … somewhere,” as he scratches his head and takes in the mess that is currently my room.
“I told you,” I say, plopping on my bed, stray mascara on my lid seeming not so urgent anymore. “It’s hard to put everything away and pretend nothing major is happening.”
He sits next to me and places a steady hand on my ready-to-bounce knee. I never knew that was something I wanted someone to do for me until Theodore did it.
“You know this is just the beginning, though, right?”
“Yeah,” I agree, and when I look at him, his top button undone, no trace of guard up on his handsome face, I can all but lean into him and let him wrap an arm around me.
“Oh, by the way! You need to tell me about the appointment,” I tell him, referring to his first meeting with a psychologist he had today.
“She was nice. She did ask about my family’s history, how I see myself, a lot of things I’d been trying to avoid thinking about at all, but … it was time. Baby steps, right?” he says with a small smile.
“Baby steps,” I confirm.
“Also,” he starts after a few moments of comfortable silence, “I got an interesting call from a certain Theatre about a half-hour ago.”
My head immediately snaps up, my eyes growing wide. “You mean–”
“They saw me in the play, and they want me in the National’s new Tempest production.”
“Yes they bloody do!” I launch myself at him and we fall backwards on the bed as I pepper his face with kisses. I’m so proud I could burst.
“Say you deserve it,” I grin at him.
He takes a deep breath, “I bloody deserve it.”
“We have so much to celebrate,” I say.
“We do, but come on now. Phoebe will murder me if she thinks I’m responsible for your tardiness,” he chuckles as he stands straight, and pulls me up with him.
As I grab my bag to leave, I think that the sadness I’d been feeling over leaving APDAS for good can turn into something hopeful. Something better.