Page 97 of Ms Perfectly Fine
It wasn’t Heather who came forward, but Nina. Autumn relaxed and started reapplying her lipstick.
“You frightened me! I was wondering where you went after your solo,” she said, watching her friend in the mirror.
Nina didn’t say anything. She merely stared at Autumn until she capped the nude lipstick and turned to face her.
“Did you enjoy your standing ovation? I don’t know how you can stomach it. Or do you think you actually deserve it?”
Autumn stared at her, dumbstruck. Even though it was Nina talking, it sounded nothing like the friend she had known for the last six years. “Are you okay? You…don’t sound like yourself.”
Nina laughed in a way that made the hairs on Autumn’s arms stand up.
“You know they just pity you, right? Poor Autumn Adler, making her comeback after such tragedy. You’re like an animal in the zoo to them,” she said, stepping closer.
Autumn recoiled, clutching her phone in her hand. “Why are you talking like this? This isn’t you!”
“Me? For the first time in a long time, thisisme,” Nina said, stabbing her finger hard into her own chest.
Autumn felt as though all the warmth had left the room.
“It was you this whole time. You sent the roses. Heather was telling the truth.” Autumn’s words were so low she barely heard herself; she thought her throat would close up as the betrayal ripped through her.
Nina clapped slowly. “Finally! I was beginning to think you weren’t going to catch on.”
Autumn didn’t want to hear another word, let alone be in the same room with her, but when she tried to push past her, Nina shoved her back with such force she hit the dressing table. She swallowed, realising Nina had another idea of how this conversation was going to end.
Her thoughts raced. If she couldn’t leave, then she had to buy time and keep Nina talking until Elijah or the officers realised she was missing.
“Caught on? Forgive me for never considering that my best friend would want to hurt me when I’ve done nothing to deserve it.” Autumn tried to keep her voice calm. If she didn’t know Nina at all, she had no idea what she was capable of.
Nina scoffed, blocking the door. “Always the victim. Do you think you’re innocent in this? Think again! I would never have had to go so far if you had just stayed in the background. When you first joined us, you were so fragile; no one thought you would last long. You even collapsed on stage after one performance! I figured I had nothing to worry about.”
Autumn tried not to react to the pain her words inflicted. “If you hated my arrival so much, why did you come with me to the hospital?”
Nina sighed, seemingly bored of her questions.
“Know thine enemy, keep your friends close and enemies closer—take your pick. We’re in a very competitive line of work, and I had to figure out how much your injury affected you. I figured it was easier to go to the source since you never talked about it. There wasn’t much online.”
Autumn couldn’t believe the moment that had solidified their friendship for her had been nothing but a scheme for Nina’s benefit. Pushing down her terror and agony, she had an idea. Carefully, she held a button on the side of her phone so it would record their conversation. She usually used the short-cut to record her practice sessions; she’d never thought she would need it to record a confession.
“But why wait three years?” she asked, watching Nina pace. “If you hated me so much, why not make my life a misery from the start?”
If she had a confession, she could get Heather released immediately. She dropped the phone on the chair and stood up to protect it from view and so she wouldn’t be caught with it in her hands.
Nina rolled her eyes as if the answer were obvious. “Because you were attracting people to our shows, which meant more eyes on me. But you were getting stronger, and when Sasaki mentioned a comeback, I knew he would offer you the next solo. I had to do something. I thought once I started sending the roses, you would be put off, and with some slight influencing about ‘not being ready,’ you always declined his offer.”
“You still opened the show. What exactly have you lost? I took nothing from you!”
Nina walked over to the wall and tore down their latest poster, shoving it in Autumn’s face.
“It’syoustanding before all of us. It’syourname highlighted. You took my place! I’ve been discarded—as though I haven’t sacrificed everything for this place,” she barked, tearing the poster in two.
“The sad truth is that you never had to do any of this. I would have stepped out of the show if you had just asked, but Sasaki would have just replaced me with another headliner like he did today. I’ve already lost one best friend; I never would have wanted to lose another,” Autumn said quietly. It was the truth. She had to fight enough with her own body every day, she didn’t want to have to battle for a position she’d never thought would cause strife in the first place.
Nina’s grimace faltered, and Autumn thought she might have got through to her for a moment, but as she stepped towards her, Nina’s gaze hardened once again.
“This is why you don’t deserve to lead our theatre. You’re pathetic. I would never give up my seat. It’s who I am,” Nina said. “Lerou was an oversight on my end, but he won’t stay. He’ll leave, and I’ll be the only named headliner again.”
Autumn shook her head. She’d never known this was how Nina felt, how far she was willing to go to make a name for herself. “Pretending to be my friend for so many years…wasn’t it exhausting? All the lies, the sneaking around?”
