Page 73 of Becoming Cinderella

I can’t think about Liam though, otherwise I will spiral for the rest of the evening. That chapter of my life is closed. Instead, I paint on a smile and dance with Jared before I hurry back to my table in a back corner.

A few people stop by to chat, and I even dance a few more songs, but now I’m back hiding at my table as I glance at the clock on the wall. I’ve been here for a little over an hour, hopefully that’s long enough to leave soon without too much pushback from Penn.

“Carter, may I have this dance?” Jared’s best friend, Matt, asks with a bow, pulling my attention from the clock.

“It’s a fast song, Matt.” I say loudly to be heard over the music.

Matt grabs my hands, pulling me to my feet. “So?” He leads me onto the dance floor where he starts jumping around me, trying to get me to join him.

One more song and then I’m going to go call my parents to pick me up. I don’t even care how embarrassing it is to be a Senior and have my parents pick me up.

Matt grabs my hands and starts to wave them around, forcing me to start to dance. I can’t help it, I let out a laugh and start to dance with him.

We end up dancing for a couple of songs. We do interpretive dance moves, we jump up and down, we spin each other around. I find myself finally laughing and enjoying myself. It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this and it’s nice.

“Ready for the grand finale?” Matt practically yells as the song nears the end.

“We’re not doing the Dirty Dancing lift.” I point at him with a warning, which makes him laugh.

Matt grabs my hand, holding me close, before he spins me out. The song ends and he lets go of my hand while I’m still spinning.

A slow song starts to play as I crash into someone. They quickly put their hands around me to keep me from losing my balance.

“I’m so sor-” I look up at who I accidentally pummeled into and the rest of my apology gets stuck in my throat.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Liam is staring down at me and I must be hallucinating. I blink a couple of times as I take a step back.

“What are you…you’re really…but…” I can’t string together an actual sentence.

Liam steps forward, closing the space I just created. “I need your right hand.” He holds out his left for me.

I stare at it, trying to get over my shock that he’s here. He should be in LA by now.

“Carter?”

I glance around at the crowd that’s stopped dancing to watch us. Liam seems unbothered by the attention, his eyes never wavering from my face.

I want to take his hand. I want to take his hand and dance with him and pretend we’re the same people we were before everything blew up.

But with him standing here, finally here, I realize how hurt I am by the way he turned his back on me. The way he dropped me and went back to LA without a word. With believing the worst in me.

So I don’t take his hand. Instead, I pick up the hem of my dress and start to run.

“Wait!” I hear him call behind me as I weave myself through couples on the dance floor and push on the door that leads into the hallway.

“Slow down.” A chaperone outside the gym who has been collecting tickets calls after me in a bored voice. I ignore them as I run past a row of lockers. I have no idea where I’m going, just that I need to get away from here.

Air. I need air.

I run through the commons, a wide-open area near the school offices, my heels clicking loudly on the vinyl flooring. I push open a door that leads to the back of the school where the football field is located.

“Carter, please stop!” Liam pleads behind me and he sounds close. I run through an opening in a chain-link fence that circles the football field. I cross the lanes of the dark red track and make it to the grassy field.

I risk a look back and see Liam has just made it through the gate. I hurry and slip out of my shoes, knowing I’ll be able to run better outside of my heels. I don’t stop to get them; I don’t have time.

I race to the other end of the football field to where another gate leading onto the field is located. I run right into it, expecting it to be unlocked, except it’s not. I curse under my breath as I slowly turn around, placing my hands on my hips to help catch my breath as Liam slows his speed before stopping a few feet away.

---