Page 19 of Tell Me Everything
“She has no spine,” Audrey exclaimed.
“I can't decide whether I'm disgusted or impressed,” Alex added.
***
“Can you teach me a choreography?”
Before I had the time to reply, Alex was already reprimanding his sister. His gaze was stern. Being a big brother suited him like a glove. It made him endearing and even more attractive.
“Audrey, leave her alone. You know she's still recovering from her surgery.”
“I don't mind,” I reassured him, shrugging. It gave me a good excuse to dance, and it allowed me to make a fourteen-year-old happy.
The look on his face told me that he wanted to contradict me. Instead, Alex sighed but nodded. “Don't force it. Okay?”
“Okay!” Audrey gushed. “Teach me something badass!”
If only I could be as carefree as she was. My life had taken awrong turn when I was her age. Everything that had happened before seemed like fragments of another life. Another me.
“What do you think ofThe Feelsfrom Twice? It's not that complicated, but it's fun.”
She nodded with so much enthusiasm that I feared she might lose her head.
God, it felt so good to be dancing again. My movements were not as precise as they used to be, but for the first time in months, I was dancing. Even if I could only do part of the steps, it was already more than I'd hoped for. Audrey and I spent over an hour going over the steps of the first verse and chorus.
Just as I was about to go on, Alex put his hand on my shoulder. “That’s enough.”
“But we aren’t done yet!”
“You have all the time in the world to teach her the rest. You've done enough for today.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, standing as straight as I could. I know I said the big brother image was great on him, but not when it was directed at me. “It's not for you to decide.”
Alex and I stared at each other for a few seconds. His gaze was too strong, too intense. I lowered my eyes after a few interminable seconds. I really needed to learn to hold his gaze.
“True, but you know I'm right.”
I wanted to fight back, just because I could, but Alex was right. Now that I was standing still, my knee was a little sore. Still, it was nothing to worry about. I nodded.
At suppertime, Lexi invited me to eat with them. I tried to back out, but when Alex and Audrey started to insist, I couldn't refuse. It was nice to eat with someone other than your reflection in the kitchen window. Lexi placed a large dish of pasta carbonara on the table, and it smelled divine. She grabbed my plate.
“Tell me when.”
She began to fill the plate. Several times, she looked up at me until I signalled it was enough. Alex’s brows went up.
“Are you going to eat all that?”
“You didn't really think I survived forty hours of dance a week by eating salad, did you?”
Alex laughed, and Audrey helped herself to more pasta. When the meal was over, I followed Alex upstairs. Once we were in his bedroom, Alex closed the door. I took the opportunity to look around, but noticed how sober it was. Even Mick's room seemed livelier, while no one had gone in there in years. The double bed was made without any crinkles like the ones made in the army. The room was perfectly tidy and had almost nothing that made it personal. The walls were a bland taupe colour, and a TV hung against the wall. Alex's room looked more like a guest room than the bedroom of a lively young man. The only thing that showed there was anyone living here was the PS4 plugged into the TV and an iPhone charger on one of the bedside tables. I sat on the edge of the bed, afraid to undo it.
“I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn’t this,” I confessed.
I'd expected a room like my big brother's: an unmade bed, dirty socks lying on the floor, and maybe a box of tissues on the nightstand. There was none of that here.
Alex sat next to me, smiling awkwardly. His cheeks had turned a pretty pink. “I know. My room's kind of lacklustre.
The silence in the room made me uncomfortable. Now that I was here, I didn't know what to say. How had an eighteen-year-old guy come to this?
