“I gotta get going now, baby,” I tell her, kissing her one last time. “Come on, let me walk you down.”
“Okay, let’s go,” she smiles, taking my hand in hers.
I counted down the hours until I could see her again.
CHAPTER 13
History Repeats Itself.
Raine Williams - November 11th, 2025
“Get it together, Raine,” I tell myself after yawning for the fourth time in the span of three minutes. “Just get through these last few songs, and then you can catch up on your sleep.”
I nodded to myself as I rubbed my temples. These past few days, I could feel a cold creeping up until it hit me all at once yesterday morning. Luckily, we had the day off, so I spent the whole day wrapped up in covers, trying to sweat it all out. Dawn was sweet enough to stop by and check on me throughout the day, bringing me medicine, soup, and other things she thought I’d need to feel better.
When I woke up this morning, I felt way more energized, but as the day went on, I realized that I still wasn’t 100%. Unfortunately, the fatigue was still trying to take me out, but I decided the best thing to do was to tough it out because I wasnotabout to miss a show. I knew that my dancers could do it without me, but a part of me was anxious about not being able to do every show. I didn’t want to give anyone the idea that I wasn’t capable of honoring my contract.
Especially not Dawn’s aunt.
I wasn’t sure what her problem was with me, but I knew that she didn’t really like me. Whenever she was around, she always singled me out and tried to talk to me in a way that said I was a newbie who was lucky to be here, so I'd better always give it 110%. She scrutinized every little thing I did, and I was convinced that, given the chance, she’d find a way to get rid of me in a heartbeat. It was tiring, but I couldn’t let her see me sweat. I bet she’d love that just as much as Trelyn’s annoying ass.
I sighed, shaking my head as I pulled out the pill bottle from my bag. It was nothing more than some aspirin for my headaches. I popped two of them and chased them with a few swigs of water. I gagged at the bitter taste as I capped the bottle.
My head quickly turned at the sound of the door closing. I hadn’t heard anyone come in, so I briskly walked over to see if someone needed something. When I opened the door, I didn’t see anyone in the hall. Maybe I was hearing things. I shrugged and got ready for the show that started back up soon.
Not even a full minute later, I heard footsteps frantically moving down the hall. I stopped what I was doing and walked towards the door to see what all of the commotion was. As soon as I placed my hand on the knob, the door flew open, and I stumbled back, my heart pounding wildly against my chest.
Standing before me was Dawn’sveryangry aunt, along with two beefy security guards who’d been hired to work the show. I was so confused as they entered and closed the door behind them, but before they did, I caught a glimpse of Trelyn standing in the hallway with a smug look on her face. My stomach dropped. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but I knew that it had everything to do with her. What now?!
“Check everything,” Dawn’s aunt says, and the two men nod before moving towards my stuff. They immediately started pulling everything out of my bag, and my eyebrows shot up as I tried to get my things back from them. Dawn’s aunt grabbed meby the arm and moved me out of the way. I yanked my arm out of her grasp and stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Raine, please stand back so they can do their job.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?!” I yelled, frustrated as hell. “They’re going through my shit without my damn permission! Can you explain to me why that is?”
“We got a tip from a concerned friend that you were in here taking illegal substances,” she informed me, and my heart dropped. “Hey, it’s best if you cooperate. You’re lucky I didn’t call the cops.”
“Call the co-ARE YOU DRUNK?” I ask her. “I’ve never done any illegal substance in mylife.Not even weed before it was legalized. Hell, I didn’t even drink until I was 21 because I was afraid of getting in trouble for underage drinking. What in the world makes you think I’d jeopardize the best job of my life for a quick fix?”
“Listen, Raine, nothing against you, but I’m just doing my job,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “The last thing I need is for word to get out that Dawn’spreciouslead dancer is popping pills just to get through the tour. See, Iknewyou weren’t cut out for this.” She shakes her head, and I feel my blood boiling. “You’re nothing but a distraction for my niece anyway, and the sooner you’re up out of here, the better.”
“You know what? Fuck you,” I say, and she gasps, instantly frowning at me. “Dawn is a grown ass woman, and she doesn’t need you interfering with people in her life like this. I amnotpopping pills other than aspirin for the headaches I’ve been dealing with since yesterday. Ask your niece! I was in bed all day because I wassick. Shewas literally the one taking care of me.”
“Ma’am, we didn’t find anything,” one of the men says, and I shake my head at the mess they’ve made. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch someone. He holds up a small bottle and nodstowards me. “As she stated, the only thing here was a bottle of aspirin. Extra strength, but still just aspirin.”
“Sorry about that, ma’am,” the other man apologizes, and they proceed to start fixing stuff.
“Just leave it!” I shout. They throw their hands up in surrender before heading for the door, handing Dawn’s aunt the bottle. She stands there, shocked, and I can see the color leave her face. “See? Itoldyou this, but noooo. You’d rather believe a bitch who has had it out for me foryears. I bet she didn’t tell you that, huh? How she’d go through hell and high water to see me fail.”
“I…I was just doing my job,” she said, suddenly fixing her face and handing me back the bottle. “Sorry for the honest mistake.”
She doesn’t even give me a chance to reply before she’s out of the room. My head was spinning, and my anger was on ten. I couldn’t believe that I’d almost lost my job over a lie and a woman who hated that her niece liked me. It was too much, and before I could control myself, I was storming out of the room and heading straight to confront her face-to-face.
Dawn Anderson - November 11th, 2025
My adrenaline was pumping, but so were my nerves. Both feelings I always got right before it was time to go back on stage. Because of this, I had a ritual in place where I meditated for five minutes, clearing my mind of all negativity, and then I joined the dancers for words of affirmation and for manifesting a good rest of the show with no injuries. Doing these things, and in that order, was a definite way to keep me from stress-
“Dawn, we have a problem!” my stage manager stated as he burst through my stressed room door. “You need to come quickly!”
“Wait, what happened?” I asked, scrambling to follow him down the hall. The closer we got to the room where craft services were held, the louder the arguing got. However, I was not prepared to see the dancers trying to hold Raine and Trelyn apart. “What the hell…”
