Find My Way Back [Eddie Munson x OFC]

Chapter Nineteen

It was as if the weather outside was mirroring Priscilla's life. There was a storm outside that night just like how there was a storm raging inside her brain. She was hyper focused on the way Steve had responded when she asked him if he still had feelings for Nancy. It wasn't a strong or firm response. His voice quivered. It wasn't enough for the average person to pick up on but Priscilla had known Steve well enough to pick up on the hesitation in his tone.

She watched through the curtain covered windows; the lightning outside flashing every few moments. Each time the thunder grumbled, she pulled her covers up to her chin tighter until she felt like she may suffocate. All she wanted was for Eddie to be there, caressing her body with his, holding her close to him and feeling like she was safe from any of the dangers outside her rain pelted window. And then she realized that she had thought of Eddie being the one to comfort her, not Steve.

She shut her eyes tightly as another burst of thunder sounded from outside. This one sounded like it was right over her head. She almost thought she felt the bed shake. She heard heavy footsteps running down the hallway and then her bedroom door being flung open as Robin appeared, running up to the bed and jumping in it, almost right on top of her.

"Shit, did you hear that?" Robin exclaimed, quickly settling herself under the covers next to Priscilla. "I can't sleep alone right now." She admitted.

Priscilla nodded in agreement and allowed Robin to snuggle up close to her. It reminded her a lot of the sleepovers they used to have when they were kids. She found it funny that a lot of things were starting to remind her of her childhood. Was it that she had lost touch with her own self so much that she was being reminded of the person she used to be? But the person she used to be was not the person she was now, and she knew it never would be.

Another loud rumble of thunder passed by as another shock of lightning flashed through the covered windows. Priscilla felt Robin's body jolt at the sound. She put her hand on Robin's upper arm to try and comfort her. It really was a bad storm outside. Neither of them could remember a time when the thunder had been so loud that it felt like they were in the middle of a war zone.

Eventually, as the thunder passed and the rain was all that was left, Robin drifted off to sleep next to Priscilla's side but Priscilla remained awake, grappling with her thoughts, her feelings, and her now misunderstood identity.

                                                             ~~~~~~~

"Alright, I need 3 people to be line leaders!" Priscilla called out to her class of seven year old little girls in noisy tap shoes. The sound of them scurrying over to surround her with their hands eagerly in the air rang through her ears. Children and tap shoes were not always a good mix. "Okay... Sarah, Amanda," She pointed to each of them. "And, Andrea" She pointed to the last little girl who, compared to the rest of her rambunctious class, always remained quiet and looked at her with wide doe eyes that just stared into her soul. Priscilla sometimes wondered if there was truly anything going on inside that little brain of hers.

Priscilla instructed the rest of the class to line up behind one of their three line leaders as she went to the stereo at the back of the room to get the music ready. She quickly glanced back as she hunched over the stereo system and smiled. Even with all the problems surrounding her situation with Eddie and Steve, walking into that dance studio made all those troubles melt away onto the pavement outside. And even though sometimes seven year olds didn't love to listen to you, the feeling Priscilla got from seeing each of their bright little smiles made her feel happy. It made her feel fulfilled. She even still had the little paper card that one of them had made for her one day. It read 'I LOVE DANCE' on the outside of the card and on the inside, the little girl had written "thank you Miss Priscilla, I love you". Her name was spelled incorrectly but Priscilla understood what her student meant. It was moments like that that made everything worth it.