Before We Fall

Part 1, Chapter 28

T.W- Mention of self-induced vomiting

Alivia's POV

It was our first show in Miami, and I was in my dressing room, about halfway through my pin curls when my phone buzzed from where it was plugged in. I swiped at the screen to answer a FaceTime call from Cassie, who almost immediately started yelling. 

"Why didn't you tell me about Sky?!" 

"I- what?" 

"Allie, darling, I follow you on Instagram. Why didn't you tell me?" 

Shit.  

"I get that you're busy traveling the world without me," Cassie spat. "But why did you tell the rest of the world before me? I thought you were my best friend." 

"You are, I promise-" 

"Then why are you a million miles away? I don't mean why are you across the country, believe me, I get why. You're just too busy being too good for everyone else in the small town you grew up in. I get that. And I want to support you through it all, but you make it pretty damn hard. You don't even call me anymore. What's up with that?" 

"Neither do you! This is the first time you've reached out in private in three weeks." I rammed a bobby pin into my hair, wincing as it scraped my scalp. "Relationships aren't supposed to be one-sided."

"Yeah, like you know anything about relationships. You've barely made any new friends in years. Well, except for you Broadway celeb buddies and boyfriend."

Gotta say that stings. 

"You know just as well as I do why I've been so distant these past few years." 

"Oh, it's always about Jacob, isn't it? Dead brother absolving you from responsibility and consequences for your actions." 

I fell silent. This wasn't like her at all. I've known Cassie for thirteen years, and yeah, she can be sassy sometimes, but not like this. I had no idea what to say. 

"You're an asshole, Cassandra." I took just long enough to hang up for her shock and hurt to be imprinted on my screen.  

My phone screen fell dark as I stared into my mirror. How was I supposed to come back from this? I know something else was up, maybe her blood sugar was low or something she was composing wasn't going well. But I've seen her at her worst, and she wasn't like that. Yeah, I majorly screwed up, but was it bad enough to warrant that?

I swallowed the lump in my throat and parted my hair again, twisting a section to continue my pin curls. I had to be on stage in less than thirty minutes, and the show must go on, even if it hurts. 

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I managed to focus on the show when I was on stage, but the second I stepped off after each scene, my eyes welled up as I thought about what Cassie had said. What I had said. Nevertheless, I managed to finish the show.

In my dressing room, I had just started taking out my pin curls, still in costume, when Sky knocked and entered.

"Hey, Liv. How are you doing?"

I shrugged, not saying anything.

He came up behind me and lifted his hands to my partly undone pin curls, slowly taking out the bobby pins. "Talk to me."

I sighed. "Cassie and I got into a huge fight before the show."

He smirked, despite the sadness in his eyes. "I could tell something was off."