Page 129 of My Favorite Secret
Then the laughter starts, hidden behind hands.
My palms turn clammy. I tell myself people aren’t laughing at me and keep walking with my bag slung over my shoulder. I should be thinking about my warm-ups and the segment ofSwan Lakewe’re rehearsing today.
But I can’t. Not with the way voices hush when I get too close. They’re whispering about me. I know it. But why, I can’t tell.
I move faster, heading toward the main studio. Right before I make it inside, someone speaks to me. A ballerina I barely know.
“Hey, Harper. Who’s the father?”
My heart stops. My chest is so tight I can’t breathe.
The girl is surrounded by a group of friends, each one of them laughing at me.
They all know.
Howdo they know?
My fingers tighten around my bag strap. The ground feels unsteady beneath me, but I force my feet to move, scanning the studio as I enter, searching for Cindy.
She’s standing near the barre with one hip popped, laughing with a few girls I’ve never seen her show interest in. Cindy is the only person here I’ve told about the pregnancy. She wouldn’t have shared the information with anyone. She took me to the doctor on Friday. She helped me come up with a plan. Cindy held me as I cried and told me everything would be all right.
She wouldn’t gossip about me.
But I can’t think of any other explanation for how news of this pregnancy has spread.
I grab Cindy by the wrist and pull her to the side of the studio for privacy. “People know,” I whisper, feeling bile crawl up my throat. “Did you tell them?”
She releases her hand from my grip, all wide-eyed and innocent. “Oh, Harper. You can’t seriously think I’d do something like that. Maybe your dad called in.”
There’s no way. Dad is humiliated by this pregnancy. He doesn’t want a soul to know. The only other people who know are Tyler and Josh, and neither one of them have anything to do with the academy.
Before I can ask Cindy any further questions, a student walks past with a bright smile. “Congrats, Cindy. You deserve the lead.”
My stomach drops. “What is she talking about?” I whisper in disbelief. “Ihave the lead.”
Cindy smiles. “I only found out this morning. I suppose the director sees you as unfit for the role, given your… situation.”
I swallow hard, realization dawning on me when I see the amusement in Cindy’s smile. Felix warned me Cindy was a jealous friend, but I never wanted to believe it. I’m seeing it now, the way she’s thriving due to my downfalls and isn’t showing one bit of remorse.
Another realization hits me. Cindy told her little sister about Tyler and Felix, but I was too loyal and believed her lies when she got caught. Now, she has the nerve to lie to me again, claiming she never told the academy about my pregnancy. They found out somehow. She’s the only one who benefits from them knowing.
What hurts more than losing the role I’ve worked so hard for and the humiliation of everyone knowing about the pregnancy is that my best friend has deceived me.
I trusted her. I thought I could rely on my judgment of character, but I can’t even trust in myself anymore. Everyone I believed in has hurt me. The only person who hasn’t is Tyler.
Cindy shrugs, shifting her weight onto one foot. “Come on, Harper. Don’t be upset. Someone had to take your role.Swan Lakedoesn’t stop just because you made a few bad choices. I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did share my concerns a few months back that you were taking things too far with Tyler and Felix. Maybe you should’ve been more careful with how much sex you were having.”
Cindy’s comment slaps me harder than any fall I’ve ever taken in rehearsal.
Her last words weren’t spoken quietly, and a bunch ofgirls laugh, overhearing. Cindy glances over her shoulder at them. When she turns back to me, she composes herself a little too late, and the remnants of a laugh remain on her lips.
I look at her—reallylook at her. The smug twist of her mouth. The victorious way she’s standing. It’s like she’s been waiting for this very moment.
Cindy planned this and now she’s gotten everything she wants.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
FELIX
