The Ballerina

Acelynn took a deep breath. In. And. Out. Sigh. In. And. Out. Sigh.

It was just a date, right? No harm could come out of it. And she loved both Cheyenne Luke. She had hurt Luke so bad; he deserved someone who truly loved him in that way.

Acelynn was the one who set them up – she should be happy that Luke was so willing to give Cheyenne a chance. But she was anxious as to what was going on, she had to keep herself from hyperventilating. It was the first time Luke had been away from her, just as well.

But this was good. It was about time the shady boy had begun to socialize. He was so anti-social and awkward around other people; it was time for that to change. He should get out into the world. He should date. There was no way Acelynn was going to let him fall off the face of the earth.

Being with Luke, meeting him and spending time with him, made the girl realize that she didn’t want to hurt herself anymore. It was like an awakening. Luke gave her a reason to survive. To make something of herself. He had shown her love and affection. He had given her a purpose.

Now she just needed Luke to realize that he was important to the world.

A bark from the door of her room interrupted Acelynn’s thoughts. Doug? It had to have been ages since Acelynn saw the aging Rottweiler. The drooping jowls and white hairs around her muzzle. But even beside that Doug had mustered up a deep, intimidating bark.
Acelynn sat up from her previously laid down body to directly look at Doug. She was sitting directly under the doorway simply watching the girl. Her long tail – which had not been cut off like most Rottweilers’ – occasionally moved side to side.

“What is it, girl?” Acelynn asked quietly.

Doug gave an airy woof before turning around and disappearing. Without anything else to do, Acelynn followed.

Tuck, who was hoarded away in his room, still kept a slight distance between him and Acelynn. It was natural, of course, not to want to be around the same person constantly. It wasn’t an hour ago that Tuck and Acelynn were engaged in a heated kiss – when Tuck’s phone rang. After that Acelynn hadn’t seen him that entire night.

It was so unusual to be alone in the Spencer household. She was usually with one of the brothers or even both. It was the first time she was solitary – she didn’t have any idea of what to do.

So she followed the dog.

Doug occasionally looked back at Acelynn, with humanly features, to check if she was following. It was odd; Doug was just an odd dog. The Rottweiler led the girl down the flight of stairs to the middle floor. Doug had trotted much faster than Acelynn could slowly pace. She took her sweet time in doing anything at all, because it would be a few hours before Luke was going to be home and Tuck didn’t seem to be interested in interacting with her.

So she would entertain herself. How? She didn’t know. Exploring with Doug was first on her list, though.

“Slow down, girl.” Acelynn spoke to the old dog as she strolled down the stairs.
Doug brought her to the basement door and began to scratch at the bottom of it. She was leaving small, white indents in the fine painted wood. Acelynn hadn’t seen any scratch marks on any other door in the house, so she assumed this was out of character for the dog. “Doug, stop it.” She chastised.

But the massive dog didn’t listen; she continued to claw at the door until Acelynn opened it. The cherry oak door swung open at the girl’s gesture and Doug dove down the stairs. Acelynn couldn’t see any further than the light from the front door would allow. All she saw was darkness and all she heard was the ‘click-clack’ of Doug’s nails on the wood floors.

Acelynn slowly followed the dog down the stairs, careful not to trip because she had to wait until she got to the last step to turn the light on. She would be a liar if she said she wasn’t scared of things that go bump in the night. Her heart beat fast and hard in her chest as she descended closer to the ground. There were nine steps to the floor.

She rubbed her hand on the smooth wall trying to find the light switch. She touched a cold flaw in the wall and flipped the switch revealing the basement it a clear light.

And did it reveal the basement.

The basement was no longer a basement. Rather, it was replaced with a dance studio. Acelynn’s dance studio. She put her hand on her heart and let out a gasp as she viewed the beautiful room.

The floors were polished to perfection; Acelynn thought she might be able to see herself in the wood. The east wall was no longer a wall, but a line of mirrors for her to watch herself in. The west wall had a large stereo system and an enormous collection of CDs next to it. And a barre… A barre for her to practice on next to the mirrors.

How long had it been since she had seen a real dance studio? Too long. Most of the time she practiced in a second rate studio because her parents couldn’t afford any better. The floors in the old ballet class had cuts and were dull from use. The mirrors were rusting in the corners and one even had a giant crack in it. But this… this was entirely new.

Oh Luke… Luke had made this for her. When, she didn’t know. But Acelynn was eternally grateful for this gesture. How long ago had it been since she had danced? Too long. Months at least. She wasn’t in shape anymore, at least, not as well as she used to be.

Acelynn remembered the first time she had come down to the ratty basement with Luke. They had pushed a couch around and Luke told her his plans. She had been so happy she cried and thanked Luke a hundred times. It was the first time she felt free. Free to talk to her best friend in a friend way – not just an emotional outlet. It was the first time she felt at home.

“Acelynn? Acelynn what’s wrong?” Tuck asked from behind her.

It was only then that she realized she was crying. Tears fell down her cheeks and she was sobbing loudly. How did she not realize she was doing that? Acelynn was so caught up in the nostalgia of the room she didn’t even realize the present time.

“Oh, Tuck, sorry.” She laughed and wiped her eyes. “I just… the room…”

Tuck looked around, surprised at the studio. “Oh. Wow, when did that happen?”

Acelynn shrugged. “I don’t know. I just found it right now… Luke must have built it up for me. For me to dance in again.”

The older boy returned his gaze back down to the brunette with soft eyes. “That Luke…” he whispered affectionately.

“That Luke.” Acelynn repeated softly.

Tuck took his thumb and rubbed it on Acelynn’s cheeks to wipe away more of the tears. It was calloused and rough, but warm and comforting at the same time. Acelynn leaned into him. “Dance for me.”

Acelynn looked up at Tuck when he made his request. His soft but piercing green eyes bore into hers, compelling her to dance. And Acelynn wanted to, so badly. This was her life. Her cocaine. Her very essence.

“Okay.” She smiled softy and parted from Tuck to the stereo system. She put in a CD of Bach and pushed play.

The first song was for her to warm up and to stretch. As Acelynn did so, Tuck took a seat on the red couch that sat next to the south wall. It took awhile for Acelynn’s muscles to loosen and for her to get limber. But once she did, she felt alive.

When the third song on the CD began, the moves that she thought were gone along with her old life came right back. It was like just yesterday and she hadn’t missed a day of practice. The arabescue and other French verbs came so easily to her. The music was connected to an old routine she did years ago, but she remembered that as well.

And so Acelynn danced.

Every move she made was as smooth as butter and came naturally. She was in a different world where everything was perfect and she was in complete bliss.

“You’re beautiful, Acelynn.” Tuck said quietly when she finished.

Acelynn’s cheeks became rosy with embarrassment when he said that, but she had a smile on her face. If only Luke was there watching her do ballet, then this moment would truly be perfect. “Well you’re not too bad yourself.”

Tuck grinned and stood up from the couch to hold her. He wrapped his large arms around her ballerina’s waist and kissed her on the mouth. It was a small, sweet, tender kiss and it made Acelynn’s heart race. She kissed him back and ran her fingers through his dark hair.

It didn’t take long for the engagement to get especially heated and end up on the couch. It was usual for Tuck to push Acelynn’s limits. To pull her out of her comfort zone. Quickly, every since their first hook up, they had gone farther and farther in their physical relationship.

But this time, Tuck took it too far.

“Tuck, stop.” Acelynn demanded and tried to push him away. He didn’t at first – he just ignored her request. “Tuck, seriously. Knock it off.”

At that, Tuck jerked away like Acelynn was a hot stove. He had an angry fear look in his eyes when he did.

Tuck didn’t even speak – he just got up and left. Confusion overtook Acelynn’s mind. In teenage drama’s and on soapnet had she ever seen something like that happen before. Tuck was seriously going to be mad at her because she wasn’t going to fool around with him?

Well then, fine. Let Tuck be the asshole. Acelynn would stay strong and they would talk about it later. Of course, that’s not how it turned out to be. Tuck left Acelynn in a teary mess on the couch.

There were more tear stains on her face than when she was sobbing with joy for her new studio. Her face was drenched and as hard as she tried to wipe away all of the tears, more came and soon enough she just gave up all together.

She was that girl. The girl who totally broke down when something went wrong with Boyfriend. When she realized this, she cried even harder. Acelynn tried so hard to stop, but she just couldn’t. She was a complete mess at this point.

“Ace? Acey, what’s wrong?” Luke’s voice asked.

Acelynn turned around to face her friend. He had a bat in his hand. His whole body stance looked defensive, but when she saw his face she saw compassion and worry. “Luke.” She wailed.

Luke immediately held Acelynn in his arms and rocked her back and forth. “What happened? Do you not like your new studio?”

“No I love it. But…”

“What happened, Acelynn?” Luke asked softly. His warm breath brushed against her ear.

With Luke’s touch, the tears seemed to disappear and Acelynn’s breathing got smoother. But she couldn’t answer him. It was too humiliating. She just shook her head.
“Just tell me. Let me fix it; what’s wrong?” He pleaded.

But Luke couldn’t fix this, Acelynn knew. Luke couldn’t fix problems between Tuck and Acelynn – she wouldn’t let him.

A few minutes passed and Luke got the idea that Acelynn wasn’t going to talk about it. At least not then. Maybe the wound was still too fresh to be poked at yet. Luke would have to be content with just hushing Acelynn and holding her.

He didn’t even realize that that was exactly what Acelynn needed. Someone to hold her.