Page 22 of Becoming Cinderella

“Yeah, 4:00 AM. Can’t wait.” He says sarcastically.

“I wish I would have known.” Now I feel guilty for keeping him out late. You can’t have one of your stars showing up to set exhausted.

“I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do.” He says it so sincerely that it erases the building guilt.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Right, dance lessons.” He gives me a slightly forced smile, one that says he’s not looking forward to it, but knows it’s something he needs to do.

I wait until he gets in his car before closing the front door, trying to prolong the conversation I’m no doubt about to have with my mom. I take a few deep breaths, like I’m readying myself for battle, before turning around. I’m not surprised to see my mom standing in the hallway waiting for me.

“Mom, I’m sorry about the mess. It just happened and-” I start to defend myself when she puts her hand up to stop me.

“You’re spending time with him now?” She tilts her head towards the door to indicate she’s talking about Liam. So her icy demeanor isn’t about the mess we created?

I can only nod. It’s not like we’re best friends or even constantly messaging each other, but I don’t think my mom cares about the details.

“He’s a celebrity Carter. He’s from a world you want nothing to do with.”

“You know nothing about his world, Mom.” I try to keep my temper in check, but I can feel my defenses starting to kick in.

“Of course I do! Everyone does! That world is constantly on display in magazines, the internet, and even on TV. It’s full of drugs, drinking, partying, sex-”

“Mom!” I nearly shout, cutting her off. “Stop. Liam isn’t like that.”

And I believe it. I have no idea what parties he attends, if he participated in underage drinking, or even if he’s broken his pledge to the British DARE program. But over the years I’ve followed Liam, he hasn’t once been caught up in any scandals or even been known as a wild partier.

My mom won’t see it this way though. All she sees is a celebrity boy, and all celebrities are the same to her; bad news.

I move past my mom to the cookie dough, wishing I could just put it in the fridge and bake them tomorrow.

“Carter, I think you need to consider who you’re spending your time with.”

I bite my tongue. I don’t want to have this argument with her anymore. It will just end in us going in circles. I am seventeen, I am old enough to make my own decisions. Besides, she hasn’t had a problem with my friends thus far. It’s not fair to judge Liam based on his line of work.

I move quickly to fill up the rest of the tray with dough, aware of my mom still standing there, waiting for me to continue the conversation. I place the sheet in the oven and set the timer.

“I’m going to go get ready for bed.” I don’t look at her as I leave the kitchen and head up the stairs towards my bedroom.

The conversation is over for now, but I don’t think this is the last I’ll hear of it.

Chapter Six

I teach a Hip-Hop dance class to thirteen, seven and eight-year-olds. I teach once a week after school and there aren’t any dance classes after mine, meaning Liam can meet me at the studio after the class for his own lesson.

Just as I’m finishing up for the day, Liam pokes his head in the back door. I see his reflection in one of the wall mirrors and motion him to come in. He stays in the back room though, stepping into the shadows when the parents start arriving to pick up their kids. Once the last student leaves I lock the front door and turn towards where Liam has disappeared.

“You can come out of hiding. I didn’t realize seven-year-olds were in your fan demographic.” I go to check my phone on a side table.

“Them not so much. Their parents are a different story.” He sets his phone on the table I’m checking mine at. “You wouldn’t believe how fan-crazy moms can be.”

I set my phone down and walk out to the middle of the dance floor. It is hard to believe, because all I can think about is my own mom and her obvious dislike of him.

Like he can read my mind, he comes up behind me, talking to me through our reflections in the mirror. “Sorry about last night. Did you get in trouble after I left?”

I don’t want to tell him that my mom didn’t so much get after me for the mess, but because of the company I was with.

“It’s okay. She didn’t ground me, so that’s a win.” I force a smile on my face. “Thanks for coming over. I was sad and you helped me forget that.” I don’t want to talk about last night anymore, so I let out a small exhale before putting my hands on my hips. “Well, let’s get started, shall we?”

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