Chapter 27 Kaia
Kaia
“No sucking in your stomach!” Gus, the elderly costumer, reminds me for the sixth time.
I scrunch up my face. “Sorry, Gus.”
He tuts and goes back to fidgeting with something very close to my butt.
I pull myself upright, so I look grand standing on a three foot tall step stool, trying hard to keep my body shape the same.
No sucking my stomach in, no letting my back and ab muscles relax either.
It’s a special kind of torture, I’m pretty sure.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I cock my head.
The woman standing before me seems so slender beside the portly Gus.
I’m dressed head to toe in shimmering fabric.
My tutu is a dark purplish red, the bodice of it stark white.
Trailing down and crossing my whole body are the most delicate, intricate lilac flowers I’ve ever seen.
That part makes me smile. I am the Lilac fairy, after all. I’m dancing the part of the fairy that saves Sleeping Beauty — or gets as close as she can, anyway.
I bite my lip, unable to suppress a little grin. I’m content.
No, more than that.
I’m happy.
Rehearsals start soon. I’ve told Calum about H’s threats and he has promised to deal with them. And on top of all that, I think Calum will finally seal the deal soon.
This could be my last week as a virgin. And I honestly cannot fucking wait.
“Too much belly!” Gus snaps.
“Oh, sorry, sorry!” I try to suck it in just enough. “Is that okay?”
Gus doesn’t answer, he just hmmphs. As I stand perfectly still, staring at myself, I start to imagine people in the mirror. Specifically I see my father heading down the hall, his face set in a stoic pout. I wrinkle my nose at that.
Of all the people to conjure, I chose him? I close my eyes and try to keep myself perfectly still.
It’s not until my father actually growls at me that I realize that he’s really here, in the fitting room with me.
“Kaia!” he barks.
My eyelids snap open. I take a half step back, only to be reprimanded by Gus.
“What are you doing!?” he hisses.
I can’t take my eyes off of my father. He is glaring at me, his fists clenched, his jaw locked.
“Do you want to have this conversation here?” my dad asks.
I swallow and shake my head. We are on my turf, so I feel safe enough talking to him… and there is the fact that I don’t want anyone to know just how little my own father thinks of me.
“We’re going to have to finish this fitting later, Gus,” I say.
Gus shoots me a glare. “You cannot leave right now.”
I step down, only vaguely even aware of Gus’s presence. “I’ll be back.”
Behind me, Gus throws up his hands in a baffled gesture. “You have pins all along your back! Don’t even think of sitting down!” Gus yells at my back.
Eyeing my dad, I head out of the costume room and take a right into a long backstage passage. Leaving behind the bright light and airy space of the costume room, I advance down the dimly lit, cramped hallway.
My father is right on my heels, grabbing my arm and jerking my body around to face him. His fingers dig into the flesh of my upper arm. “I’ve been calling you,” he says.
I swallow, my gaze raking his face. All my life, I’ve been conditioned to say yes, to give away what little I have to make my father happy.
But no more. Lifting my chin, I try to keep my tone even. “I haven’t been picking up because the last time I saw you, you tried to sell me.”
My father bares his teeth. “And if you had just been reasonable then, this whole situation would be resolved right now. But as it stands, things are so, so much worse.”
I try to wrest my arm from his grip. “Let go of me. You are hurting me.”
He squeezes my arm even tighter, his touch brutal. “Good. You need to listen this time instead of running away like a little girl.”
I pull back, affronted. “I am your little girl!”
His face contorts with rage. He gives me a hard shake. “Shut the fuck up and listen to me, you stupid, worthless whore. You and I are going to leave right now and go back to Tony. And we are going to beg for him to take you.”
I shake my head, my face heating. “No! Why would I do that? Why would I do anything for you when you treat me like this?”
My father grits his teeth and pulls me in close, talking low.
“Because, Kaia. I owe a lot of money to some very bad people. And either I make good on their investment, or they start looking for ways they can take their money back. They have made that crystal clear. And I don’t think your mother would make it very long as a hooker. ”
My jaw drops. “What?!”
My head spins. My dad is talking about my mom as if she’s just another of his possessions. I can’t wrap my head around the idea that my dad owes so much money that he’s lining up me and my mom to sell off like we’re cattle.
Of course, there is no mention of my dad working off the debt or my sister being involved in any way.
My dad takes a step forward, pushing me back against the wall.
“If I don’t come up with three hundred thousand dollars in the next two days, I will have no choice but to sell your mother and your sister to the mafia.
With you, I’ve worked out a sweet deal. But your mom and your sister are not worth nearly as much.
Do you want to know what kind of life you’re consigning them to, Kaia? ”
“That is such bullshit!” I yell, pushing him back a step. “This is your mess! You should have to clean it up, not me and not your family!”
My dad’s eyes go black. He flings me against the wall, pressing the pins in my garment into the skin of my back. Then he puts both his hands around my throat and starts choking me.
I flail, my eyes going wide, my airway suddenly obstructed. I try to swat at my dad’s hands, my fingernails finding the flesh of his forearms.
But that only makes him more angry. “If you won’t come with me, you will be punished. I paid for everything for you growing up. And I will be repaid for it all or I will kill you.”
My vision starts to swim. I try to call out, try to kick at my dad’s legs. But I am powerless against him, struggling mindlessly.
“Kaia!” comes a familiar shout. “What are you doing—“
Calum steps into the passage, looking aggravated. It only takes him a second to register that I’m in danger.
“What the fuck?” he shouts, rushing at my father and me headlong.
My dad takes his hands from my throat, throwing them up in self-defense. “Mind your own business!”
Calum doesn’t even hesitate or flinch. He just barrels straight into my dad, tackling him to the ground. “Go get some help, Kaia!”
My dad starts to fight back. I put my fingers on my throbbing throat, still in shock.
Calum grits his teeth. “Kaia! Now!”
Tears begin to fill my eyes and I turn, stumbling down the passageway. I turn toward the costume room, my mind racing.
Luckily Basil comes down the brightly lit hallway, looking up with alarm at my disheveled state.
“Help!” I shout. It comes out sounding strangled but it’s enough to get Basil to rush over to me.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
“Calum has tackled… an intruder,” I gasp out.
Basil looks confused for a moment, pushing past me. A couple of dancers appear from the costume room, trying to see what the fuss is about. Bas reaches the passage and sees the two men fighting.
“Fuck! Call 911,” he calls, rushing to help Calum.
One of the dancers whips out a cell phone, calling the police. I back up as she rushes past me, trying to tell why she’s calling the cops.
I lightly touch my neck, feeling my father’s hands still choking me.
“He’s getting away out the side exit!” someone yells. “Someone stop him!”
I lean down, feeling dizzy.
“Kaia? Are you okay?”
I nod even as I burst into tears, my face going red.
“Someone get the nurse!”
I hear Calum’s voice again. “He ran outside. I’m not going to give chase.”
I look up tearfully and my gaze connects with Calum’s deep blue eyes.
“Shit,” he says. He heads over to me, kneeling next to me. “Kaia, are you okay?”
I want nothing more than to collapse into his arms, a weak, broken thing. But I can’t do that.
Even now, I’m aware of that.
So I just nod, ashamed at how fragile I feel right now. Calum licks his lips, not touching me, and tries to calm me down.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says, his voice soothing. “He won’t get away.”
I look at him, my expression pleading, although I don’t know what exactly I’m asking him to do. “He’s… my father…”
Calum’s eyes widen. He glances back over his shoulder, his mouth thinning. “Okay. It’s… it’s going to be okay.”
He clenches his fists, looking over his shoulder again. “Can we get her a blanket or something?”
As I stand there, shivering, I look at the man in front of me. And I realize how much more it would mean if only he could hold me when he assures me it’s going to be okay…
“Kaia!” Ella shouts, jostling through the suddenly crowded hallway.
I turn my head. She opens her arms to me and I am drawn to hug her like a magnet finding its mate. I bury my head in her shoulder, my tears falling.
She rocks me back and forth, making soothing noises. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay…”
When I glance to find Calum again, he has vanished, leaving me aching in a way I cannot explain.