“We’re rehearsing,” I said. I hoped my tone conveyed ‘end of story, now leave us alone.’ If it did, Bianca didn’t get the hint.
“Rehearsing?” Her brow was furrowed in confusion as she looked from me to Collette and then back again. Her eyes took me in from head to toe and her confusion morphed into amusement.
“Wait a second, don’t tell me you’re going to audition for Juilliard’sdance department?”
She was talking to me, but Collette misunderstood and started to answer. “No, of course not,” she said.
But Bianca ignored her, all of her focus on me. “Ms. Boucher said you wanted an audition slot for music, not dance.”
Oh no.
I felt Collette’s stare on the side of my face as Bianca’s words registered.
Oh crap.
Collette turned to face me. I could see her reflection in the mirror but I couldn’t quitebring myself to look at her. “What is she talking about?” Collette’s voice was barely a whisper. I hated how she sounded so betrayed.
Crap, crap, crap! This was so not how she was supposed to find out. I had a plan. It involved a speech—a good one. One that explained in detail how I’d gotten her an audition slot and would be by her side the whole time.
I would tell her how talented she was, and how I believed in her, and?—
“He didn’t tell you?” Bianca asked Collette. “Ethan here begged your mom for a slot, and of course she said yes to the mayor’s son.”
She rolled her eyes as she said it, but I was too busy trying to think of a way to explain.
“Ethan?” Collette said. “What is she talking about?”
I turned to face her. “I can explain.”
Her cheeks were turning pink, a sure sign she was getting angry. “Explain what, exactly?”
“Uh…” I darted a look over to Bianca. A silent appeal for some privacy.
She leaned against the door frame with a little smile like this was the best entertainment she’d seen all day. “So wait, Collette doesn’t know that you’re asking for favors from her mom? That you’re touting your leverage as the Mayor’s son to get ahead?”
I looked back to Collette, hating the fact that her happiness was gone now, replaced by suspicion and anger and…fear. That fear was back. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“What? No!” I took a step toward her but stoppedwhen she backed away. “I got that audition slot for you. I wasn’t going to get into Juilliard over you. It was never about me.”
Bianca laughed and I hated her for it.
Collette’s blush deepened. “Don’t you see why this was all about you? You never asked me. You just acted.” Her arms wrapped around her stomach as she turned away from me. She was slipping from my grasp and I was desperate to hold onto her.
“But you deserve to be seen,” I said. “Your talent deserves to be seen.”
Collette was blinking rapidly, her breath was coming out in shallow gasps that had me worried. “But that’s just it. It’s my decision. Not yours.”
“I know, but I thought…” Oh crap, all of my reasoning flew out the window. My epic grand plan was looking more and more like an epic fail. “I wanted to be by your side,” I said. “I thought we could both perform. Together.”
By the confused way Collette was staring at me, one would think I’d just starting babbling in Chinese. “But don’t you realize why this is even more insulting? My own mother was more willing to say yes to a guitarist instead of a dancer. It wasn’t my merit that got me an audition. It was you and your…connections.”
I hated the way she spoke about me and my family. Even though there was truth to it, the way she framed it made me feel slimy. Dirty.Like I was no better than my own father. “That wasn’t my intention. I just knew you wouldn’t stand up for yourself so I?—”
“Go.” Her voice was cold and harsh. I barely recognized it, but the one word seemed to ricochet off the walls and reverberate in the air around us.
No one spoke, no one moved. Not even Bianca.
“Collette, please,” I started.
