Falling (Bits and Pieces, Book 1) (49 page)

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.” Patrick commented on my clear nervousness and excitement. I wasn’t able to sit still. My knee bounced and my hands kept fidgeting. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Oh yeah, it’s just how I get before performing. You know me, I can over think things. So, this is me doing that. Once it starts, instinct or muscle memory, whatever you want to call it, takes over. It’s the anticipation that makes my heart race. Then I can’t sit still.”

“I’m glad you didn’t eat much then.” He laughed.

“I told you.” I smiled.

* * *

We got to school and parked next to my car. We walked to the auditorium. I went backstage and he went to go save seats for the crew. The curtain was closed, so the audience couldn’t see us getting ready for the concert. I briefly peaked through the curtains and saw the entire auditorium setup for concert seating. I saw Patrick and Kraig in the front row counting off seats to save.

After checking in, I went through the warm-up exercises with my sopranos section. Mrs. Marshall moved on to warm-up with the altos and other sections.

I never realized how much the backstage was like the gym before a game. Besides the warm-ups, and various people trying to do their own ‘pre-game’ ritual, it was stuffy. All the movement back there, with the curtains closed, made the air heavy and claustrophobic. That explained why part of my ritual was to go outside after warming up to get some fresh air and focus. I had my own nervous energy to deal with, I didn’t want to see anyone else’s.

I opened the stage door to the outside and felt the cool night air rush in over my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Patrick outside talking with someone. But when I walked out the door and took a few steps outside, I didn’t see him anywhere. Great, now I’m seeing things. Maybe I should have eaten more.

I closed my eyes and focused on the concert. I went over my solo parts in my head. Then, without thinking, I started practicing out loud. At least, I didn’t do it at full volume or Mrs. Marshall would hear me and chastise me for not saving my voice. I was starting to calm down and feel centered. The noise from the audience turned into a soft hum in my ears. All I could hear was the music playing as the audience entered into the auditorium. I went back inside and was ready for the concert to start. Game time.

I was so lost in the music that before I knew it, the concert was over. I loved how singing made me feel. I felt so alive, every inch of my skin tingled. The applause sounded wonderful and made my heart pound. It was reassuring but I didn’t need it for validation. Singing was enough. But the applause didn’t hurt. The entire choir bowed in unison at the end of the performance. Mrs. Marshall had me and David, who had the male solo, step away from the choir to take our own bows. I humbly smiled as the applause roared and I heard the crew cheering.

Mrs. Marshall dismissed us backstage for the evening with praise for our performance. I walked around the edge of the curtain and saw the crew hanging out near their seats. Patrick saw me and walked over to the stage. He offered his hand to help me hop down from the stage to the floor. I took it and jumped down. When I hit the floor, I stumbled a bit, but he caught me so I didn’t fall on my face. It was a good thing he helped me, otherwise, I really would have lost my balance. That would not have been a good end to such a great night.

I had my eyes on the crew and was confused when Patrick walked me over just to the left of them. His parents and his sister were sitting there. Wow. I can’t believe his family was here.

His mom stood up and gave me a hug. “Liz, you were wonderful. Lindsey and Patrick weren’t exaggerating that you have a beautiful voice.”

Mr. Connor nodded in agreement with his wife. “You are very talented, Liz.”

“I told you she’d be great.” Patrick beamed.

I suddenly felt bashful, I wasn’t used to hearing praise, especially for my singing. “Thanks. You’re too nice.”

His mom took my hand, “I’m not just being nice, it’s true.”

I bit the corner of my mouth and nodded. “Thank you so much for coming. You don’t know how much it means to me that you guys are here.” My voice cracked a little and I had to clear my throat to regain composure.

Lindsey gave me a big hug, “You were awesome! I’m so glad I made it back in time.”

“Thanks. I didn’t think you’d be back until the weekend.” I hugged her back. It was good to see her.

The crew came over to us and bombarded me with hugs and comments that they enjoyed the concert.

“You were great! Wow! I wish I could sing like that!” Emily handed me a big bouquet of flowers. “This is from all of us.” It had different kinds of daisies, roses and other flowers in it. Daisies were my favorite. It smelled wonderful, peaceful and sweet.

“Thanks guys. This is so sweet of you.” I grinned from ear to ear. My cheeks were starting to hurt because my smile was so wide.

We all stood and talked with each other for a few minutes. Mr. and Mrs. Connor briefly chatted with each one of the crew, asking how they and their parents were doing. I think Patrick heard my stomach growl because he interrupted everyone’s conversations. “I think our star here deserves dessert! Who’s up for Nuts About Chocolate?”

The crew all nodded and grabbed their stuff. “Mr. and Mrs. Connor, come with us.” I asked his parents.

“Oh, no, dear. Thank you, though.” His mom replied.

“No, come on, Mom. You know you’re welcome to!” Patrick encouraged them.

“No, it’s okay. You kids have fun and enjoy yourselves. You don’t need us there. Maybe next time. It’s a little too late for me to eat sweets.” His mom was polite, but I really did believe that there would be a next time, the way she said it.

“Okay. Lindsey, you’re coming with, though, right?” I really wanted her to come.

“Oh, yeah. Chocolate?! I’m there!” She smiled. “Can I ride with you? Patrick, you don’t mind, do you?”

“No. That’s cool. Go ahead.” He shook his head. Not that Lindsey needed Patrick’s permission. Lindsey being the older sister, didn’t really give Patrick the ability to say no to her. I don’t think he ever would have tried.

We got into my car. The instant that Lindsey closed the door, she excitedly turned to me. “I can’t believe he
finally
broke up with Becca. What happened?!”

“Yeah.” I knew Patrick had spoken to Lindsey and that he had told her about him and Becca. What I wasn’t sure about was how much he said about why. I was not about to betray his confidence. “There’s not much to say. Besides, I thought he told you already.” I kept my eyes on the road.

“He did. But we didn’t get a chance to talk too much. I was studying for finals. All he said that he finally saw through Becca’s games and was tired of it. He didn’t like the way she treated people.” She looked at me with wide-eyes, waiting for more. When I didn’t say anything, she continued. “Is people… you?”

“Me? Do you think he broke up with Becca because of me?” I looked at her in amazement. “You know that’s not true. He really did finally see her for what she is.”

“Come on, Liz. Can’t you tell me more? I thought he’d confide in you.” She was disappointed.

I shrugged my shoulders and kept looking straight ahead, “He did. So, that’s why I won’t betray him. Even with his sister. Sorry. You’ll have to ask him.” I glanced over at her. I hope she understood, it wasn’t about my friendship with her, it was about my friendship with him.

“Fair enough. I’m glad he has someone like you.” She patted my arm. “Really, it’s fine. I understand.”

“Thanks.” I was really hoping for a change in topics.

“You didn’t call me to tell me how the dance went. How did it go? Did you have fun?” Lindsey changed the topic, it was better, but not by much.

That night seemed so long ago. But, it had only been five days. So much had happened since then. How much do I tell her? How much do I really want to go into it? It’s like the question, ‘How was your day?’ or ‘How are you doing?’ Sometimes it’s easier to just say ‘good’ or ‘okay’ than to really tell the truth. But this was Lindsey… “It winded up being okay. Kraig convinced me to dance a little. I did have fun.”

“And…?” She wanted more gossip.

“And? Nothing. We ate after with the crew. He drove me home. That’s it.” There wasn’t much else to tell. I tucked my hair behind my ear.

“That’s it? Hmmm… Okay.” I could feel her eyes on me. Her tone suddenly changed from thoughtful to shock, “Where did you get
that
?”

Crap. I had forgotten about the bruise and scratches I had hidden when my hair was down over my shoulders. There was no point in hiding the truth. She knew what Becca was like, she even told me to be careful around her. “Becca.” Her eyes bulged out of head. “Before you ask, no, it wasn’t the reason he broke up with her. It happened on Monday, after. She blamed me.”

“I can’t believe you guys had a fight.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d call it that. She blamed me. I told her if she wanted someone to blame, she should look in the mirror.”

Lindsey laughed, “How true.”

“Yeah, I know. She doesn’t like the truth, though. I forgot I was alone and she wasn’t. So, it wasn’t much of a fight when she kicked my ass.”

“Where was Patrick?” She demanded.

“At practice. I was heading there when Becca cornered me. He feels so guilty about it. But it wasn’t his fault.” I made the last turn to the Nuts About Chocolate Café. “I could use your advice on something.”

“What?”

I explained to her what’s been happening with Nikki and Jen the last two days. “I don’t think it’s over. Becca’s not going to let this go. I’m sure I pissed her off even more. Part of me is scared about how Patrick would feel if I did anything to Becca. I mean, he may have broken up with her, but she
was
his girlfriend and he still cares about her. He can’t just shut it off completely. But I also think that while she pulls this crap, she has power over him. ‘Cause on some level, he’s still thinking about her. It’s like she’s blackmailing him by torturing me and using his guilt about it to keep him close to her. She’s twisted. I need to push back, but not if it will hurt Patrick. After all he’s done for me, I can’t do anything to hurt him. What do I do?”

“You need to get her. Leave Patrick to me. I’ll talk to him. She
can’t
have any hold on him. She’ll just keep using him and he deserves so
much better than
her
.” She seemed as determined as I was to rid Becca from Patrick’s life.

I pulled into the Café and parked. “It’s not that I’m looking to pick a fight with her. It’s just that I’m ready to finish what she started. And I
know
she’s not done with me yet.”

Patrick pulled into the spot next to me. “Didn’t I warn you about her? I just didn’t realize how far she would actually go. You know, I’ll help you in any way I can.”

Patrick knocked on my window. I opened my door. He stepped between my car and the door and leaned in. “Great. My sister and my best friend, deep in conversation. Should I be worried?”

“No. Nothing for
you
to be worry about.” Lindsey answered innocently. “Everything’s fine.”

He looked from Lindsey to me to Lindsey again. He knew there wasn’t much chance he’d stand to find out what’s going on with both of us. Lindsey would talk to him soon enough. If he heard it from both of us separately, he might actually listen to us.

His eyes got tight and shook his head. He tapped the door, “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

Nuts About Chocolate Café serves the most delicious and amazing desserts. Of course, they specialize in chocolate desserts, but they had some of the best appetizers. Their menu only consisted of appetizers and desserts. This was fine for me, often times, it was the two best courses on the menu. Usually, I had the hardest time picking an entrée, there always seemed to be more things I liked in the appetizer and dessert section. I’ve always wanted to order my food in a different order: dessert, appetizer, then entrée – if I had room. I just never had the nerve to do it. Just like a bar would serve food to have something to go with drinks, this place had appetizers to absorb some of the sugar that you devoured with their desserts. I think it also allows you to eat more chocolate without feeling sick.