The Space In Between(44)

I let out a breath.
In.
As I opened the door, the room filled with laughter came to a screeching halt. It wasn’t long until the heartrending, poignant glances towards me arrived. They saw me as a sad, abandoned puppy. The air was filled with an overwhelming amount of whispering. At least in my mind that is what I heard. They were questioning how I looked, how skinny I was, how alone and depressed I must have been. They were judging me. They didn’t say it, and I doubt they meant to, but I could feel it.
I took off my coat and tossed it on a chair in a corner. Cooper was wrong—the dancing didn’t start soon enough. As I turned from dropping off my coat, I stood before Steve. Not only was he Derrick’s best friend, but he was a best friend of mine too. I hadn’t spoken to him since the accident, and I’m not sure if I’d even glanced his way at the funeral, yet there we were. Face to face.
Don’t cry.
I opened my mouth to speak but choked on the air. What did you say to your dead fiancé’s best friend? He gave me his gracious smile and ran his hands through his sandy brown hair. I smirked back towards him and tilted my head. He lowered his eyebrows and held a hand out to me. “Wanna dance?”
I grabbed his hand and moved to the dance floor. The lightness of the room returned as everyone realized I wasn’t dead. I was just going through the motions of dealing with death. The laughter came back, which was so much more pleasant than the utter silence. Before I knew it, the dance lessons had began and everything wasn’t as bad as my mind was making it up to be.
So what did you say to your dead fiancé’s best friend?
Absolutely Nothing.
You just looked at each other and came to the realization that words couldn’t bring much comfort, but the touch from an old friend could.
As the night continued, I grew comfortable. These people were still my friends, and it felt good to be around them. During a break, I slid down the wall and sat on the floor. Rachel walked up to me and handed me a water bottle. Cooper was standing across the room, laughing with Eric and Steve. I thanked her for the water and she sat down next to me. Her eyes wandered over to Cooper. “He’s pretty sexy, eh? Do you know if he’s single? I heard rumors about him and his wife, but that’s all I know…”
I rolled my eyes. Rachel thought everyone was sexy. I wanted to tell her he was off limits, but I couldn’t.
Her head lowered and she took a long gulp from her water. “I never got to talk to you at the funeral and…” She grew serious. Much more serious than I was interested in her being. I glanced around the room for an escape, but everyone else was enwrapped in mindless conversations. Crap. She continued, “I mean, I know we were never really close but I wanted to say, I mean. I just wanted to…” She started to stutter. It was as if she were searching for the right words.
“What is it, Rachel?” Something was bothering her—no,—something was eating away at her mind.
“I just. I mean. You’re a good person.” She became teary-eyed. I remained silent. “And what happened to Derrick...”
“What are you two ladies chatting about?” Steve appeared seemingly out of nowhere and joined us on the floor.
Rachel’s eyes locked with his. “Andrea and I were having a talk.” She narrowed her eyes towards him and gave him the ‘get the hell out of here’ look. He returned a stern look and I was confused out of my mind.
“What’s going on?”
Their look broke and they both smiled at me. Before Rachel could speak, Steve opened his mouth. “Nothing. Rachel, that Cooper guy over there was asking about you. Maybe you should go say hi.”
That perked her right up. And pissed me right off. She excused herself to go chat with him and my eyes followed her the whole way.
“What’s her deal? She was acting all weird,” I asked Steve. Steve smiled and stood up.
“You know Rachel.” He tapped the side of his head. “She’s not all there at times.”
I chuckled, took the hand he extended to me, and stood up, ready to continue dance rehearsal.


Chapter Twenty-Eight

THE MOMENT I stepped onto the dance floor, I forgot everything Ladasha had taught me the night prior. I tried my best not to gawk, but Andrea looked so stunning that I couldn’t help it. Her blue eyes really pierced me with her latest hairdo. My eyes traveled down her body, studying every inch of her being. She had a loose cream sweater hanging over her black dress. The dress hugged her in every place I have embraced before. It was a perfect fit. She appeared taller today—she was wearing heels. Nothing too high, but she was almost my height, so I noticed.
“Ouch!” I broke from my trance as I turned towards my cousin and apologized for stepping on her toes. My mind was clearly somewhere else.
“It’s fine. Perhaps we should call it a night, everyone. I have waters and some snacks in the back room if anyone wants to grab some before we head out.” Michelle skipped over to the stereo system and turned off the music.
“You weren’t half bad for a beginner.” I turned to be greeted by a cheerful girl who was nudging me in the side. Rachel was quite a sight to look at. Her long brown locks of hair had been curled prior to her arrival, and they bounced against her shoulders.
I smirked. “I was terrible.”
She stepped closer to me and leaned against the bar attached to the wall full of mirrors. She informed me that the ‘bar’ was actually called a barre and she had taken ballet since the age of three. I guess she wanted me to be aware of how flexible she was. Hell, I really didn’t care. I glanced through the mirror and saw Andrea in the back corner. She was sipping on a water bottle and staring at me and Rachel. If I didn’t know any better…