Chapter 18

Echo

       "Again," Mom said sharply, even though it was obvious how tired I was from all the pirouettes I had been doing. To make things worse, the homecoming dance was going to start in half an hour and I still had to get ready.

       Well, I had to find a place to get ready because there was no way Mom was going to let me go to a school dance when I could be doing 'better things' with my time.

       "Can I stop now?" I asked, feeling very out of breath. "I probably did over one hundred pirouettes."

       "That's because you're not doing them correctly," Mom said. "Again."

       "Seriously, I promised I'd meet my duet partner at the studio for an extra rehearsal," I said. "The state competition is coming soon and I don't want to be the reason we don't make it pass the duet round."

       Mom stared at me for a bit, her eyes narrowing before saying, "Fine, go. We'll continue this tomorrow until you get them correctly."

       I didn't even say anything as I walked out of the yoga room and headed upstairs to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I didn't even have enough time to shower, so I was probably going to have to use a lot of perfume.

       I grabbed my red dress and matching heels and shoved them in my dance bag, as well as a bottle of perfume before grabbing my car keys and putting on shoes, then heading downstairs to leave.

       "What time will you be back?" Mom asked me, now in the kitchen.

       "I don't know," I said. "We'll probably take a long time because we really want to perfect the dance."

       "Okay, good," Mom said. "Isn't your duet partner that Zayden guy? It looked like him, just with glasses. That's actually a perfect match, since he's the strongest dancer in the studio and you need to be the strongest."

       "Actually, it's Zayden's brother," I said. "He was the one that danced with me at the qualifier."

       "Hmm....Okay," Mom said. "Well, you should be going if you don't want to waste anytime."

       I nodded and put my shoes on before heading out of the door and to my car. Once I got into my car and started it up, I drove out of the driveway and headed to the school. I guessed I was going to have to get changed in one of the washrooms there.

       When I got to the school, I headed to the closest washroom, and there were already quite a few girls there touching up their hair and make-up. I went in one of the stalls before changing into my dress. My hair was already in a high ponytail from dancing, so I guessed that would have to do.

       After I was changed, I headed to my locker and put my bag in there before heading to the gymnasium where the dance was taking place. After being let in, I looked around for Rhys, but I didn't see him here. He offered to pick me up, but I told him to just meet me at the dance.

       I did spot Zayden, however, who was with Eleanor at the moment. I walked over to them. "Hey, is Rhys here yet?" I asked.

       "No, he's catching a ride with Kingsley since I had to pick up Eleanor," Zayden said. "He should be here soon."

       "Okay, thanks," I said before sitting down on one of the benches. I was going to text Rhys to see where he was, but I realized I left it at home. So I just had to wait here for him to show up.

       The dance had already started twenty minutes ago and Rhys still hasn't shown up, so Zayden walked over with Eleanor following. "He still hasn't shown up yet?" he asked.

       I shook my head. "No, he hasn't. I would have texted him, but I left my phone at home."

       "He's probably still waiting for Kingsley because all that boy cares about it his looks," Zayden said as he pulled out his cell phone. "I'll see if he's on his way."

       Right as he was about to text Rhys, he got a call so he answered it. "Why, hello, dear father? Question, is Rhys still waiting for Kingsley? Can you tell Kingsley to, like, hurry up because Echo is here waiting....Wait, what?....Are they okay?....Yeah, we'll head over there right now." After he hung up, Zayden looked at me. "They were in a car crash."

       "They? As in...."

       "Rhys, Kingsley, and one of Kingsley's dads," Zayden said. "Nolan, to be exact. They're in the hospital right now."

       "Are they okay?" I asked.

       "We don't know yet," Zayden said. "My dad just said they got a call that they're in the hospital, but not how they're doing. You want to head there?"

       "Yeah, of course," I said. "I'll meet you there."

       Zayden asked Eleanor if she wanted to come, but she said she was going to stay at the dance. I told Zayden I was going to meet him at the hospital, so we both left the gym. I went to my locker first to grab my bag before heading out to my car.

       I really hoped they were all okay, especially Rhys. I really hoped Rhys was okay.

       When I got to the hospital, Zayden was waiting for me in the front so he could show me where his family was, though I did have a pretty good idea what his family looked like since his dad was the head of the studio and his mom came a lot to help with the choreography.

       We got to the waiting room on the second floor where Ryder and Mae were, as well as Rhys's younger sister, I'm assuming.

       "Are they okay?" Zayden asked. "Please tell me they're okay?"

       "We don't know yet," Mae said. "They refuse to tell us, which sucks because I'm a nurse here. But I think they'll be okay. The only thing we know is that the car crash wasn't too severe."

       "I really hope they're okay," Ryder said. "Nolan has been through enough with car crashes and I don't want to see him go through any more pain."

       Mae gently rubbed Ryder's back. "He'll be okay, Ryder. I promise."

       We then had to wait for the news on them. In the meantime, Kingsley's sisters and other dad showed up. 

       It was getting really hard on me waiting to see if Rhys was okay. I didn't really have the best home, and right now, Rhys was the only light in my life. He always knew how to make me laugh and smile, he was the sweetest and most generous person ever, and he never pushed me into telling him things he was curious about. I knew he was wondering why I was always saying I was busy, and he knew something was up, but he never questioned me. 

       I couldn't even stay seated. I was too antsy, so I had to walk around the waiting area. Eventually, Mae walked up to me. "Hey," she said. "You doing okay?"

       I shook my head and I could feel tears escaping. "I really need Rhys to be okay. I don't know what I would do without him."

       Mae then pulled me into a comforting hug, one that I really needed. "He'll be okay," she said, though her voice was strained and it sounded like she was holding back tears. Then Ryder had to join in on the hug since his wife was about to start crying.

       "Rhys!" I heard his sister suddenly say. The three of us pulled away to look over to see a doctor leading Rhys over to us, and his sister giving him a hug. He didn't look injured at all, so I guessed most of the damage to the car was done where he wasn't sitting.

       After his sister was done hugging him, I was next to hurry over to him and wrap my arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay," I said. "I was so worried. You are okay, right?"

       "Yeah, I'm okay," he said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry for missing Homecoming."

       "Don't be," I said. "It's overrated anyway. I'm just really happy you're okay."

       The rest of his family hugged him as well, feeling thankful that he was okay. 

       Shortly after, a doctor lead Kingsley to everyone. Kingsley looked around before looking back at the doctor. "Where's my dad?" he asked.

       "The doctors are doing everything they can," the doctor said.

       "That doesn't answer my question," Kingsley said. "I need to see him. Please."

       "You're going to have to be patient," the doctor said.

       "You don't understand, I...I have to make sure he's okay," Kingsley said, his eyes now tearing up. "Please, I need to see him."

       Jerome got up from his seat and walked over to Kingsley. "Come on, have a seat," he said.

       "No, not until I get to see Dad," Kingsley said, the tears coming even faster. "I need to see if he's okay and I....I really need him."

       Jerome had to pull Kingsley into a hug to calm him down, but that only made Kingsley actually start crying.

       Ryder looked over at Rhys. "What happened, anyway? How did the car crash?"

       "Uncle Nolan was going to take us to the school since he was going to go to the grocery store after," Rhys said. "But Kingsley wanted to drive so Uncle Nolan let him, but on the way, he ended up having a panic attack."

       "Nolan did?" Jerome asked.

       Rhys nodded. "Yeah, and that freaked Kingsley out because he didn't know what to do, so he ended up crashing. We don't even know what caused the panic attack...."

       "Probably nothing," Jerome said. "It happens all the time, with nothing being the sole factor." Jerome then looked down at Kingsley. "Don't go blaming yourself, okay? It wasn't your fault, and he's going to be fine."

       "It was my fault," Kingsley said. "I should have just pulled over and...."

       "Kingsley, you're only sixteen," Jerome said. "You're not used to dealing with his panic attacks. You didn't know how to react and that's fine. He'll be okay, trust me."

       Nolan really was okay. The only reason why they were taking so long was because of his panic attack and they had to make sure he was able to breathe properly again.

       While most people went to go visit Nolan, Rhys and I sat down on the chairs. "Rhys, there's something I really want to tell you, but I'm not sure if now is the best time," I said. 

       "Hey, we're all fine," Rhys said. "If you really want to tell me, you can, or you can wait until you feel it's a better time. Whatever works for you."

       That was another reason I liked Rhys so much. He always put others in front of himself, no matter what the situation was.

       And that was why I really needed to tell him what was going on in my life, especially when I felt like I had no one when I really needed to turn to someone.

       "No, I think I can tell you now," I said. "You won't tell anyone, right?"

       "Of course not," Rhys said.

       I took a deep breath before I started talking. "My older sister, Naomi, is a professional dancer. That's why I started dancing, because I grew up watching her and she always seemed to have so much fun. I love dancing, a whole lot, but....My parents expect me to be another Naomi. They want me to be the best and they train me brutally at home."

       "How brutal?" Rhys asked.

       "My mom kept making me do pirouettes over and over again until I get them perfect," I said. "I probably did over one hundred before heading to the dance."

       Rhys furrowed his eyebrows. "But....You're the best turner in the studio. Everyone agrees."

       I smiled softly. "Thank you, but that's not how my mom sees it. That's not all. There's a lot of things they don't like me doing. Like going to school events, hanging out with friends....having a boyfriend. They think it's all a waste of time."

       "Even if your boyfriend is also a dancer?" Rhys asked.

       "Yeah," I said. "So....I haven't told them about you. All they know is that you're my duet partner, which they don't agree with at all, by the way. Me being in a duet, that is. They think I'll be relying too much on my partner and not myself, and how I won't let myself shine. So I'm under a lot of pressure."

       "Wow," Rhys said. "I'm sorry."

       "Don't be," I said. "I got used to it. It just sucks now that I have a boyfriend because I feel like I can't spend anytime with you."

       "Which was why you didn't want me to pick you up for Homecoming," Rhys said.

       "That, and they didn't want me going to it in the first place," I said. "I had to get changed at the school."

       "Which reminds me, you look very beautiful in that dress," Rhys said.

      See? He always knew what to say to make me smile. "Thank you," I said. "I just thought I'd tell you, just so you think I wasn't blowing you off or anything if you ever wanted to hang out."

       "I would never think that," Rhys said. "I had a feeling something was going on, but I didn't want to ask."

       "Because you are a very sweet person," I said. "And as much as I want to hang out with you, I should...."

       "Head home before your mom thinks you're out somewhere you're not supposed to?" Rhys finished.

        "Huh, so that's what it feels like to have sentences finished before I say it," I said.

        "I've been practicing."

       "I can see that," I said. "We can hang out tomorrow after rehearsals. I'll just tell my mom it ran a little longer than usual. That's....if you'll be okay to dance."

       "Oh, yeah," Rhys said. "The doctor already cleared me. The injuries wasn't bad at all."

       "Okay, good," I said. "So....I'll see you tomorrow?"

       "Yeah, see you," Rhys said.

________________

What's up with me and car crashes? Idk....Idk. (lol karma came because my dad crashed into a curb with me in the passenger seat today because he missed his turn)

But they're all okay and Kingsley wanting to see Nolan is my new life. <3 BUT NOT AS MUCH LIFE AS THAT GIF MHMM MHMM YAS.

I'm sorry I'm really tired right now. This took longer than I thought it would to write.