“When you told me about your dancing, I was picturing you in a tutu, skipping around the stage with too much makeup on, and maybe spinning in circles ‘til you fell on your ass,” he chuckled, “But this?” He took several, slow steps down towards the stage, stopping when a ray of sunlight finally fell over him. Keenan Mathers stared down at me as the sun illuminated his golden hair, his icy blue eyes sparkling with mischief, and the corner of his mouth lifted that beautiful smirk I remembered so well. “This is some hard-core dance shit.”
I couldn’t help the bubble of excitement that exploded inside of me. Seeing him standing there, I thought I was going to pass out for a second, until I realized I was holding my breath, and I gasped. “Key!”
I jumped off the stage and ran up the steps to him. Though it had been some time since I last saw him, having the close correspondence since then, made it feel as though it was just yesterday. I threw my arms around his stomach and hugged him tight. He let out a little, “Oof!” and stumbled back slightly, before he chuckled and gave me a small hug in return. “Hey there, Cutie.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, excitedly as I pulled back to look up into his face. Wow, he was so hot. What girl could look into those blue eyes and not swoon? For the first time ever, I felt overcome with shyness when I met his intense gaze straight on.
“I just so happened to spot you walking along the old rail line out of town. I was intrigued, so I decided to follow you and make sure you didn’t get carried off by a bear or something.” He winked at me and brought his cigarette back to his mouth again. I watched as he sucked on the end and then slowly exhaled, letting the smoke creep out from between his lips. My heart fluttered as I watched, especially when he didn’t take his eyes off me.
I released him and giggled nervously. “So you were watching me?” I asked, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen loose from my bun behind my ear.
He nodded. “I’ve heard you talk about dancing for years, Sunshine. I wanted to check it out for myself, once I realized what you were up to.”
I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, embarrassed that he’d witnessed my fumble. “I have a long way to go, still. I can’t seem to jump high enough… I suck,” I laugh, but even I can hear how fake it sounds.
Keenan’s brow furrowed and his smile disappeared. “Good things take time and practice. The fact that you’re here, in this shitty, stinking-”
“It doesn’t smell!” I protest.
“Stinking, condemned barn-”
“It’s actually a theatre, dummy.” I cock a brow at him and grin.
“Says so much about you. You’re going to get there one day, Mina.” He reaches up and squeezes my shoulders, his gentle smile much less mischievous now. Instead, it holds warmth, sincerity, and credence. He fully believes in me. I can see it in that smile and it makes my heart soar.
“Now, get your butt back on that stage and try again.”
“What are you going to do?”
He shrugs off his cut and leads the way down the steps to the front row. He curls his upper lip in distaste as he eyes the old, crinkled and torn leather seats, before cautiously placing his jacket over the back. “I’m going to yell insults and words of encouragement, just to keep you on your toes at all times, pardon the pun.” He makes a face as he sits in the seat and the thing lets out a long, groaning creak that has both of us tensing up, waiting to see if the thing will crumble apart. It doesn’t. “And, I’m going to pray to God that I don’t catch some sort of rabid disease just breathing the air in this shithole.”
“You’re-you’re going to stay?”
“Sure, why not?” He kicks his legs forward, crossing them at the ankles and places his hands behind his head, looking remarkably like a beautiful, lazy prince.
“It’s probably going to be boring. I’m just practicing.”
“I don’t mind.”
“But you don’t like ballet.”
“I like you, sunshine. And I’m assigning myself as your personal cheerleader.” He smirks at me. “Unless you don’t want to see me?”
“No!” I say much too fast and turn red. I quickly move away so he can’t see my face. “It’s nice seeing you again. I just don’t want you to go out of your way to-”
“Mina. No offense, but shut up. Don’t even finish that sentence.” I glance back at him to see he’s lost his playful grin, his face absolutely serious. “I’m not leaving you to dance here for a crackhead or some teenage wannabe gangster to find while looking for someplace to shoot up. You’re a vulnerable, thirteen year old girl, alone, easy prey.” His expression becomes incredibly stony and he narrows his eyes at me, “I won’t let you be alone here.”
“Really, Key… I-”
“And my hand has been cramping up writing those notes to you. I’d much rather talk in person. This makes things easier, yeah?” He lounges back even more in the seat, as though to cement the fact that he’s not going anywhere.
“Well, if you’re sure?” I won’t lie… having him here with me fills my stomach with butterflies. I’ve been lonely lately, and having Keenan in my life feels like I have a secret, special guardian, or bodyguard who is always silently standing in the wings, watching over me, a safety line extended should I ever feel that I need it. To go from passing notes to actually spending time in person with him is a step up that I wanted so badly. But, he’s nineteen. Surely, he’d rather be elsewhere?
“I’m one hundred percent positive, Cutie. Now, get your butt on that stage and start rehearsing. If you stumble like that again, I’ll make you run laps up and down these stairs ten times.”
“I’m training for ballet, you nutjob,” I scorn at him as I bite the inside of my cheek, hiding my smile. “Not football.” I think about the senior boys at the high school who run into the stands to improve their cardio.
“Either way, chop chop, Sunshine!” he tells me, loudly clapping his hands together, the sound echoing in the space.
Rolling my eyes, I turn away and take my first position. If he thinks he can make me do anything, he’s crazy.
From downstairs, there was an enormous crash, followed by the sound of something that sounded like glass shattering. I pulled free from my mum’s arms and ran out into the hall that overlooked the floor below. Shay had flipped the kitchen table over, the veins in his neck popping and his face red, and turned to scream back in his father’s face. The vase of flowers that had been the centerpiece was in pieces, the daisies littering the floor, and the chairs were thrown back. He and James had been at it for nearly twenty minutes now while Mum and I had been holed up in her room on the second floor. As the men continue to shout at each other, I retreat back to the bedroom and sit on the edge of the mattress where my mother was laying down, my heart thundering and my hands shaking. It’d been an awful morning.
Mum had walked into my room, exactly a week after my birthday, wanting to wake me up so we could go on a quick trip into Ashland to visit my only living grandparent, my dad’s mother. We’d talked about it last night, and I was excited to have an excuse to see Gran. I was also hoping to maybe take a quick trip to the mall downtown and spend some of my birthday money. But I’d forgotten to set my alarm, so she had come in to check on me, froze, and started screaming. I snapped out of my deep sleep, and had almost fallen out of bed, but Shay’s large body at my side blocked me.