Chapter 21 Maia
Chapter twenty-one
Maia
“Isee you’re back from your getaway… You know, if Brielle’s job is taking up her time and my other choreographer takes trips on short notice, I can only wonder how my dancers will fare.
” Madam Alexandrova spoke by the entrance of the dressing room, and I could only give her a small smile as I finished lacing my pointe shoes.
We were back in the States, and despite the black card in my wallet, which was calling me to go on another fit of online shopping to calm my racing mind, dancing has always been my first escape. Spending my allowance can wait.
“Sorry again for the late notice, Madam A… and besides, Brielle and I fared well enough with you as our teacher.” I shrugged.
She scoffed. “Of course you did. But traditional methods of correction won’t work as well with the new generation of dancers.”
“Using a broomstick to correct us shouldn’t have been a method of correcting at all…”
“Oh, hush…” she snapped. “You have five minutes to finish; the girls are already waiting.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured, watching her back as she retreated. Immediately after, I heard a fit of giggles down the hall before Delilah ran in, pigtails swinging with her smile bright as the sun.
“Hi, Maia!” she all but screamed, and I let out a soft laugh, accepting the hug as Brielle sauntered in with her heels and business attire, serving polish and poise.
“What did I say about inside voices, little girl?” she scolded gently.
I could only hug the little girl tighter in my arms as she attempted to hide from her aunt.
Eventually, I inevitably let her go to get ready before I finished up myself for class.
My phone buzzed beside me, and I looked over to see a text from “Sugar Daddy B”… My face flamed as I picked up the phone. I really need to change his contact info.
Blaine
Still thinking about how you looked in that dress.
And how you looked out of it.
Let me know if you’re still ignoring me or just planning to make me suffer.
I chewed on my lip, typing and deleting before finally sending:
I’m at the studio. I’ll call you after rehearsal, Mr. Porter.
Planning to make me suffer, I see…
Try not to miss me too much.
His response was instant.
Impossible. I started missing you the second you got out of bed this morning. Blaine Jr. and I have been thinking about you in every meeting.
It's a miracle Killian hasn’t noticed me struggling to keep it together here.
I had the sudden urge to melt, swoon, and roll my eyes all at the same time. Only Blaine Porter could make a girl fall and ruin the moment in the same sentence.
Before I had a chance to respond, however, my screen lit up with an incoming call. Uncle Wes.
My stomach dropped to the floor. Brielle must’ve seen my face shift, because she stilled whilst fixing Delilah’s hair. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said automatically, standing. “Just my uncle.”
She glanced down at the preoccupied little girl fixing her dance bag before speaking softly. “I thought he was still at—”
“He is.” I cut her off unintentionally, stepping out into the hallway to answer as my hands shook.
My voice stayed tight as I swiped to accept.
“Uncle Wes?”
His voice came low. Nervous almost. “He stopped by.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
He let out a defeated sigh. “You know who, honey.”
I pressed my back against the cold hallway wall, running my shaky hand over my scalp to ground myself. “What did he want?” I all but seethed.
“He didn’t say much. Just told me he just wanted to ‘check in.’”
“Felix never just wants to check in on us,” I murmured, and Uncle Wes let out a light chuckle, one that calmed my racing heart for just a split second.
“I thought the same thing when I saw him…”
Then there was a pause, a hesitation in his voice that led me to believe that Felix didn’t just visit to say hi.
“Uncle Wes…” I whispered, already bracing myself.
“He left something,” he finally said. “An envelope. Didn’t open it yet—”
“Don’t.” My voice cracked. I didn’t even know what was in it, for God’s sake. But the fact that it was alone with him, the fact that anything or everything could have been in it, was sending me over the edge. “Don’t open it. Don’t touch it. Don’t—”
“Maia, honey,” he cut me off gently. “I’m not going to open it.” My useless tears were already falling. “You okay, kid?”
I wasn’t. But I nodded anyway, like he could see me. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Maia…”
“I’m handling it,” I said. “I promise.”
We both knew it was a lie, but he didn’t say anything, and neither did I. The silence between us was thick as the words hung between us.
“You coming by later?” he asked, like he didn’t already know I’d drop everything if he asked me to.
“I’ll stop by after class,” I murmured.
He let out a tired sigh. “Yeah. I figured you would.”
Stepping into my apartment, I threw my dance bag onto the couch, setting the envelope down on the kitchen counter. I couldn’t even look at it. I wanted to burn it, set it on fire, pretend it was Felix, and maybe strangle it—but that would do me no good.
Instead, I showered, washed my hair, and got dressed in a little ditsy pajama set before I inevitably walked over to the envelope. It was large, heavy, filled with something I probably didn’t need to see but was going to anyway.
Opening it slowly, the first thing I pulled out was a paper. Actually, a receipt showing the thousands of dollars paid off and a small mocking Congratulations printed at the bottom.
Inside, however, was… another envelope? One with the meat of it all, as the weight was mostly within it. Pulling it out, I read the writing on the front of it silently.
Old habits never die, Wes. This one's on me.
My fingers trembled as I opened the second envelope, and tears came to my eyes at what was inside.
Cash.
Neatly stacked. Bound by a thin rubber band. By the looks of it, it was probably around five grand. I just stared at it. Stared until the words started to blur. Until the walls of my apartment felt like they were folding in on themselves.
He knew. Knew exactly how to pull me back. Not with the threats or the blackmail. But with the one thing he knew I’d never stop protecting.
My Uncle Wes.
I didn’t know what to even do with the money. The obvious thing to do would be to return to sender. And I would… soon enough. Besides, it was just another thing Felix had dangling over our heads, but this was also… safety.
Who knew when my sugar baby days would run out; who knew if my uncle would relapse again, and I would have no way to pull him out of his gambling habits again; who knew when I’d stop being blacklisted from every job to have a living wage.
I should have thrown the money into the trash.
But instead… I reached for the cabinet under the sink.
Pushed it to the very back behind a busted blender and a box of expired pasta…
and shut the door like it was nothing. I couldn’t stop the tears that fell as I sat on the floor in the middle of my kitchen.
The tile was cold beneath my thighs. The walls closed in, trapping me in my head. God, I just want to go to bed.
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, already angry at myself for crying. For hiding the money instead of burning it. For letting him win.
Again.
My phone buzzed on the counter, and for one wild second I thought it might be him… Felix.
It could be a follow-up message. A taunt. A confirmation that I’d done exactly what he wanted.
But it wasn’t. Reaching for the phone, I rubbed my shaky fingers down my thigh as the phone silently hummed in my hand.
Answering the call, I held it up to my ear. “Hi,” I said gently.
“Sunshine.” His voice always sounded smoother at night. “I was wondering when you’d remember to call me back. Started thinking I needed to call in a wellness check.”
I smiled through my tears as I toyed with the hem of my pajama shorts. “I said after rehearsal.” I tried to sound normal. Like I hadn’t cried in the middle of my apartment with five grand and a nervous breakdown. Hopefully, it was working.
“Mhm. That was three hours ago. You usually call on the car ride home while you pretend not to miss me. And tonight, you didn’t even entertain me convincing you to stay the night at my place.” He paused. “Which tells me something’s wrong.”
I swallowed hard. “Nothing’s wrong. Just tired.”
“Sunshine, you and I both know we can’t lie…” I rolled my eyes at him, another smile coming to my face. Then, he spoke softer. “Do I need to come over?”
“No,” I answered too quickly, mentally scolding myself afterward.
“Because I will,” he responded without hesitation. “I know your building, your floor, your door code—”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “I never told you my code.”
“Not the point here. If I think you’re not okay, you know I will be there in a heartbeat. Don’t forget who you’re dealing with here, baby.”
“Oh, please, I don’t need another reminder.”
“You think I won’t threaten you with a good time, baby?”
“You always do.” I tried to laugh, but it came out weak. I’m sure he caught it since there was another short pause.
“…You didn’t eat after class, did you?”
“Is food the only thing on your mind, Mr. Porter?”
“The only thing other than you. And you didn’t answer the question.”
Standing up, I leaned against the counter with a sigh. “I’m in my kitchen now.”
“Still not an answer.”
“You need help.”
“Probably,” he muttered. “Give me something I can work with, Sunshine.”
“Fine… I’ll make a sandwich,” I mumbled, opening the fridge just to stare blankly at the sad shelves.
“On second thought, open your door.”