The hallway is quiet. Too quiet. The walls feel like they’re closing in, and the silence only amplifies the anxiety crawling up my spine. The soft scuff of my shoes against the tile, my breathing shallow and uneven, doing nothing to calm me.
I stop just short of the door.
The only barrier between me and what's inside. It’s just a plain rectangle of wood and metal, but it feels like it holds so much more. My palm hovers near the handle. I can already feel the chill of it radiating toward me, almost as if it knows I’m hesitating.
The air is warm but stale, heavy with anticipation, or nerves—mine, maybe hers. Nah, who am I kidding? It’s solely mine. Sheisn’t nervous about anything. I shift my weight, heart skittering, a nervous flutter deep in my chest suddenly turning sharp.
I can still walk away, a small voice inside my head says, but my feet stay firmly planted.
My hand closes around the handle.
I pause.
One breath. Two breaths. Deep and even.
And then I turn it—slow, almost reverent. The latch clicks open like a secret spilling loose, and the door gives way beneath my push. I take my first step into the room. My head low, not wanting to see who or what awaits me.
“It’s going to be okay, Bliss,” is whispered into my ear.
Roxy.
“I know.” The words leave my mouth without any thought. Almost as if I believe what I’m saying wholeheartedly.
“Then why aren't you moving?” It’s then I realize I took the step inside the room, then froze.
“Well, I need both of you to move so I can finish setting up.” Chad’s deep voice booms from behind us, sending us both into a fit of laughter.
“Sorry, Bossman.” Roxy’s joyful voice rings out as she takes me by the shoulder and urges me forward into the room. “Thought you’d have us all ready to go by now.”
“Har har, Roxy. I would’ve if I didn’t have to wait for Carla to get home,” Chad announces as he carries some tripod looking things into the room.
“What happened to Jackie?”
“She has the flu. Which sucks because she was our sitter tomorrow night. I had this whole night planned with Nic and Carla. Now it’s all gone to shit because our backup sitter is out of town.” I can tell he’s pissed, which I hope doesn’t carry over into our shoot. My nerves alone are enough to make it an awkward situation. Not only because of Roxy, but Chad is taking thepictures. He’s never seen me like this and I’ll have to look him in the eyes after we’re done.
“I’m sorry.”
A smile suddenly appears on his face as he places the tripods on the bed and begins to set them up.
“Hey, are you free tomorrow night?”
“Yes. Why?” I raise my head in confusion. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Roxy looking at me, confused, as the conversation is happening right in front of her.
“Could you watch the kids? They know you. And Carla trusts you with them since you’ve watched them before.” He clasps his hands together and lifts them to his chin, flashing me puppy dog eyes. “Pllleeeaaasssee!” He draws out.
“Yeah, I’d love to. Are you wanting me to watch them at your place or mine?” I ask, not sure how long this date is supposed to be.
“You pick. Whichever is easier for you, since you’re literally saving my ass.”
“I don’t care.” At home, at least I could work on some packing, which I’ve done none of since Mom’s been gone. I already know she’s going to give me an earful when she gets home and realizes.
“Alright.” He pauses for a minute. “It’ll be easy to drop them off to you on our way out. We should be done and ready to pick them up around midnight. Is that okay?” Midnight. Late. The thought of having to wake them up from sleeping in the middle of the night doesn’t sit well with me. I almost offer to watch them at their place, but then driving home that late to an empty house isn’t appealing either.
“Why don’t you just bring a change of clothes and their jammies and let them stay the night? Make a real date out of it.”
His eyes go wide. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” The air is knocked out of me when he wraps me up in a hug.
