Chapter 12
danielle
I woke up with a start. Where am I? Why is my leg throbbing?
When it all came rushing back to me, my head began to throb too. Aris appeared through the door before I could rub all the sleep from my eyes.
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
My whole body was stiff. Like I’d gotten hit by a car.
Well, I did get hit by a bike—not quite as bad as a car, but still hard on the body. Just the slightest move made me ache. “Do you think you could help me up?”
My cast felt like a lead weight as Aris went about helping me out of bed. With me being such a big girl, it was probably going to be a workout on par with whatever he did at the gym. I assumed he went often because he had massive muscles and seemed very fit. I supposed someone who looks like a Greek god hitting me with a bike was better than someone who was rail-thin and puny.
Silver linings, Dani.
“Bathroom?” Aris questioned once I was upright and a foot or two away from the futon.
“Yes, please.”
He helped me down the hall to the bathroom that he and Noah used. I peeked into their bedroom, and the sheets and comforter were rumpled on the bed, but no one was in it. And the bathroom was vacant. “Where’s Noah?”
Aris shrugged. “I guess he already went to work. I tried to catch him before he left, but—” He shook his head as his frown flipped into a smile. “I’ll just talk to him at work.”
“I can’t believe how bad I hurt today.” I winced as I limped into the bathroom.
“Do you think you’ll be able to clean yourself up okay?” Aris asked.
“I don’t know. I am hurting so bad.” I sucked in a breath. How was I going to act in a play like this? A musical, no less. Musicals required dancing. I could barely walk down the hall.
Fuck my life.
Damn, that silver linings thing sure didn’t last long.
“What can I do for you?” The expression Aris’s face was earnest. “Please, I want to help.”
“I’m going to pee first, okay? Then maybe meds and coffee before I attempt anything else.”
He grinned. “On it.”
An hour later, I was sitting in the living room with my foot propped up on the ottoman. Aris had made me breakfast, served me coffee, made sure I took my meds, and helped me shower and dress. This man was amazing.
Then he went to work. So I was home alone.
Or so I thought.
At about ten-thirty, I was a half-hour into The Price is Right when the back door burst open. Every nerve in my body was on high alert until I heard Cynda’s voice talking to the cat. “Yes, yes, I’ll get you some more food, you whiny little piggy!”
Oh, good. I hadn’t just become the victim of a home invasion. That would be a seriously bad twist of fate for someone who already had a broken leg.
“Good morning!” Cynda’s cheery voice echoed through the mostly empty house as she found her way into the living room. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore,” I admitted. “Aris hooked me up before he left though.”
“Good, good. Can I get you anything?” The cat ran into the room and rubbed up against her legs, probably hoping for a treat.
“Not at the moment. Can I help you with anything?” I offered—out of habit more than ability to actually follow through.
She laughed. “Goodness gracious, no, girl! I don’t expect to see you off that couch unless you need the ladies’ room today, do you hear me? I just picked up some groceries, and I’m going to be in here putting them away before I do my yoga and meditation. I usually do that in the living room since there’s more space. Will that be an issue?”
“Oh, no, of course not,” I assured her. “It’s your house. I can turn off the television and read a book or something.”
She flashed a bright smile. “Thank you. Let me get these groceries taken care of. And let me know if I can bring you anything.”
“Actually, now that you mention it, some more coffee would be spectacular,” I said.
She smiled and went back into the kitchen just as my phone rang. With the 812 area code, I knew it was local. My heart pounded as I pressed answer.
“Is Danielle available please?” came a clear and pleasant-sounding female voice.
“This is she.” I was afraid of not being able to hear her voice over the sound of my heart thumping in my ears. I swallowed hard.
“Hi, Danielle, this is Eve Wilson, the director of The Music Man. You auditioned yesterday morning?”
“Yes, of course.” I barely squeezed the words past the lump in my throat.
“We were blown away by your audition. So I’m calling to offer you the part of Marian the Librarian!” she rushed out, like she couldn’t contain her excitement.
My heart leaped into the stratosphere.
And then it came crashing back down to earth. Mighta even been on fire.
“Danielle, is everything okay? You still there?” Eve sounded concerned. And was probably already second-guessing her offer.
I closed my eyes. This wasn’t fucking happening. What do I tell her?
“Hi, sorry, I’m just…wow. Thank you!”
“Practices start tomorrow at four p.m. in the auditorium. You’ll need to bring some soft-soled shoes and wear something comfortable to dance in. We’ll mainly be working on the songs this first week, plus some blocking, but our choreographer might drop by to start on the big ensemble numbers.” She sounded like she was reading from a script. She continued to ramble on about a few more things, but I had stopped listening somewhere along the line.
There was no way in hell I was going to be able to take this part.
At some point in time, she said, “See you tomorrow” and hung up, leaving me sitting on the sofa sobbing. Tears were streaming down my face when Cynda returned holding two mugs of coffee.
Her smile fell as soon as she saw me sitting there blubbering, holding my phone in my hand. She set the mugs down on the coffee table and plopped down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. At the same time, Sushi jumped up on the cushion on my other side as though she wanted to comfort me too.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Cynda squeezed me to her body. She smelled like fresh laundry and sunshine.
“I got the part,” was all I could manage between sobs. Then a loud wail came out of nowhere as it sank in that I’d have to call whoever that was back and let them know that, in fact, they wouldn’t see me tomorrow.
Fuck. How am I going to do that?
I was still shaking when Cynda pulled back to examine my tear-streaked face. “I guess that would be a good thing if not for your injury?”
I nodded. I tried to catch my breath, but it was one of those hiccuppy-shuddering ones you do when you’re crying. I started stroking the cat’s fur, which helped a little. And she seemed to be enjoying it.
Cynda leaned over to the end table on her side of the sofa, retrieved a tissue and handed it to me. “Do you want to talk about it, or would you rather I leave you alone?”
“I don’t know…” I admitted as I wiped my eyes, followed by the snot starting to form in my nostrils. I sat back against the sofa feeling even more depleted, like I’d just run a marathon. Between the physical and emotional upheaval I’d experienced in the past few days, it was probably more stressful than running a marathon.
“Oh, sweetheart, I know we just met, but a lot of people tell me I’m a great listener. You’ve had a pretty rough week, haven’t you?”
I looked up at her, the tears welling up fresh again. She had such a soft, caring look in her eyes. My mother was the least maternal person I knew. Not that Cynda was old enough to be my mom—she wasn’t—I didn’t think, anyway. But she had that mothering vibe about her, a nurturing, empathetic but tough love-type attitude.
“It’s been a little crazy. I’m supposed to be finishing up my master’s this May and moving to New York this summer to try for my big break on Broadway,” I explained. “But now—now I don’t see how I can write my thesis because it was all based on the role I was going to get in this show. I hoped to get the lead—that would be my crowning achievement as a graduate student, but my throat has been giving me so much trouble. That’s why I went to see Noah.”
“I see.” She smiled past me at the cat, who had now curled up against my hip. “So I guess your audition went well, then?”
“My voice actually cooperated better than it has in weeks. I think whatever Noah gave me helped—but he said I need surgery to fix a deviated septum. Honestly, I haven’t even been able to deal with that because of the bike wreck. I almost forgot he even told me I need surgery! My appointment with him was just minutes before Aris crashed into me.” I let out a humorless chuckle. Well, it would be funny—if it wasn’t so terrible.
Cynda cracked a smile and gestured toward the coffee. I nodded, and she handed me mine so I wouldn’t have to reach over my leg to get it or disturb the cat. We both took a sip from our respective mugs.
“So things aren’t going the way you planned,” she summarized, still holding her mug that had a pride flag in the shape of a heart on it.
“Nope,” I popped the “P” on the end of the word. “Nothing is going to plan.”
“What about Aris? How does he fit into your plans?” She took another sip of coffee.
“Well…he’s a sweet guy. And he’s so handsome and caring. But I think we all know this is just a fun fling before I move away. And besides, he has Noah. It’s not like he wants to get serious.”
Cynda sighed and put her mug back down. She folded her hands together in her lap, then lifted her dark eyes to me. I didn’t notice before, but she had very short, thin eyelashes. It made her eyes look so open—like she had nothing to hide.
“How much do you know about polyamory?” she asked, absolutely zero judgment in her tone.
“I know what it is, and I know Noah and Aris are poly. But what does that have to do with me? I’m not poly.”
“Does Aris know that? Have you talked about your feelings at all?” Again, no judgment. Just smiles and concern.
I chuckled. “No, we’ve pretty much only snuggled and jumped each other’s bones.” As soon as it came out of my mouth, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It felt like I’d just confessed that to my mom.
Cynda laughed along with me. “Nothing to be ashamed of, girl. Sex is a natural human activity. Our species would have died out long ago without it, and acting upon sexual desires is something we were designed to do.”
“Oh, I know…but what I mean is that Aris and I haven’t talked about feelings. I know he is in a relationship with Noah.”
“But that’s what poly means,” Cynda explained. “The word literally means ‘many loves.’ Aris is a man who develops strong feelings quickly?—”
I remembered him saying something about that, but I had brushed it off. He couldn’t have meant “those kinds of feelings.”
“Oh, well…I’m sure he knows this is temporary. We’re just having fun. As soon as my leg heals, I’m…” I looked at her as it started to sink in.
With the broken leg, I might not be graduating in a couple months like I thought.
I really didn’t know what my future held.
“Just make sure you’re honest with him,” Cynda advised. “Aris has a very tender heart. That’s one of the things I told Noah when I first set them up. Noah is a very straightforward person though, thankfully. I just don’t want to see Aris get hurt, that’s all.”
I swallowed hard. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here then…” Now I was the one feeling guilty.
She gave me a soft smile. “From what I understand, you don’t have a good alternative while you heal.”
I looked down at my cast, those tears starting to sting again. I thought I’d gotten rid of those fuckers. “No, I suppose I don’t…”
“It’s fine to have fun and enjoy each other’s company,” she said. “As long as you’re both on the same page. That’s all I’m saying. With you staying here, I know you’ll be spending a lot of time together. Just be honest with him. That’s all I ask.”
I nodded as I finished the last dregs of my coffee. “I will be. I promise.”