The Bad Boy Bargain (Suttonville Sentinels #1)(48)

She backed up, spinning, and bumped into the cowboys, who took three menacing steps forward, forcing her toward Jud. Goose bumps rose on her arms, and real horror crept up her throat. She couldn’t disassociate herself from Laurey anymore.

Josh grabbed her around her waist and pulled her roughly against him. Faith went up on her toes and arched her back as he spun them in a circles. At the end of the third spin, he gave her a little shove, sending her twirling into the cowboys. They laughed and spun her right back. Faith bunched her muscles, took a step, and leaped into Josh’s arms.

He was supposed to catch her waist and lift her above his head—the easiest of their three lifts this scene. Just a quick up, then down. Instead he staggered back and dropped her.

Faith barely kept her balance and landed hard on her heels. Mr. Fisk yelled, “Cut!”

“What was that?” she asked.

Josh shrugged. “Sorry. You’re heavy.”

The two cancan girls rolled their eyes and one said, “She’s got muscle tone, but she’s not even close to heavy, you jackass.”

“Shut up, Alyssa.” He turned to glare at Faith. “Whose idea was it to put lifts in this thing, anyway?”

“Mine,” Mr. Fisk snapped. “And you told me you could do it. Can you?”

“I’m not sure.”

Mr. Fisk muttered under his breath before pointing at Josh. “Run it again. Anticipate the move. Faith’s giving you momentum with her jump. You just have to carry her the rest of the way up.” He sighed. “All the same, we probably should remove the fish lift. I’ll work out something else.”

Faith’s face burned. Heavy? Sure, she had muscle tone, like Alyssa said, but she’d never thought of herself as heavy. Was that what NYU saw when they watched her audition? A ballerina with a pretty voice, who couldn’t be lifted by a typical musical theater student? A girl who could jump, but couldn’t fly?

They went through the scene again and again. Josh managed to lift her twice, but he dropped her one other time, and fell over, carrying her with him on the last try.

“Cut,” Mr. Fisk called wearily. “That’s it for tonight. Go home, rest up. Josh, Faith, make sure you stretch and find some Icy Hot for those bruises.”

Everyone scattered. Rehearsal had been a disaster, and no one wanted to stick around. Faith lingered on the stage, trying to stop feeling defeated. “Mr. Fisk? Can I stay? I want to work out a few things to modify the scene for tomorrow.”

Lights were already being turned off around the theater. Mr. Fisk glanced back at Cade. “I wish I could say yes, but I’m late for something. Can it wait until tomorrow?”

Tears welled in her eyes, so she stared at her pointe shoes. “Okay.”

“Mr. Fisk? I can stay,” Cade called from his dark audio nook. “I have a key. If you’re okay with that, Faith?”

Mr. Fisk looked torn, but Faith jumped on it. “That would be great.”

“All right,” he said. “I’m trusting you two. Only one hour, got it? Then lock up and head home before your parents write me nasty emails for cutting into homework time.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

He walked out and Cade said, “You ready?”

She took her place center stage and he turned off most of the lights except for a spotlight right on her. The seats disappeared and she was alone in a sea of darkness.

“What song? I have all the recordings back here,” Cade called. “The nightmare sequence?”

She swallowed down the last of her tears. “‘People Will Say We’re in Love.’”





Chapter Thirty-Two


Kyle


Kyle headed to practice early, leaving most of the team joking around in the locker room. Seeing Faith in the hall this morning had rattled him more than he expected it to. He’d spent the rest of the day with his hood pulled up whenever he could get away with it, and his earbuds in. It didn’t stop him from hearing the rumors flying all around him, though, until he almost couldn’t take it anymore.

All he could think was, what have I done? He needed the green of the field to clear his head and set him straight.

On his way out of the locker room, a few guys were waiting outside the chain link fence surrounding the field. Cameron, flanked by two of his football buddies. The three of them were glaring right at Kyle, so they must be there for him. What a surprise.

Actually, it kind of was—the rest of the baseball team would be out any second. What did they think they could do to him on his turf? He decided to play it cool. “What’s up?”

Cameron leaned against the fence. “You need to stay away from Faith.”

Showed what he knew, but he wasn’t going to give Cameron a reason to think he pushed Faith away from him. “Yeah? And why’s that? Last I heard, she wasn’t taken.”

Out of nowhere, two more guys grabbed his arms from behind and slammed him into the fence. Cameron got in his face, glaring at him. “Because you’re not good enough for her. You know it, I know it. Leave her alone.”

Kyle struggled, pushing against the guys holding him, but they didn’t let up. The chain links from the fence ground against his face. “You don’t have a say. She’s her own person, *. She has the right to go out with anyone she wants. Or are you just mad she went after me?”