Save Room For Us (18+)

Chapter 28: This Feeling of Happiness

Chapter 28: This Feeling of Happiness
Damon

The Night of the Show

I was giving Teresa until tonight to tell Nevaeh. If she did not, I would have to tell her myself. I wanted to be fully honest with Nevaeh and I could destroy us with how long I kept this. But this truth could not continue to be concealed.

I glanced in the ballroom and saw how well decorated it was. Glittery lights and cutouts that resembled the moon and stars. Some of the dancers were here and others were just people working to put everything together. All of them were well dressed. I scanned my eyes looking for Nevaeh, but she wasn't here. I looked down at my watch and saw it was a quarter before eight. The show was going to start in fifteen minutes. She had to be somewhere.

I went around to look at several different rooms that they changed into dressing rooms for the dancers for the night. After failed attempts, I finally found her alone in one of the dressing rooms. She wore a shimmering dress that exposed her back. Her hair was in its natural state.

There was something off about her and I could pinpoint what it was. She looked out of it and her eyes seemed like she had been crying before getting ready. I could have been mistaken but it looked as if fear, stark and vivid, glittered in her eyes.

I approached closer until she saw me in the mirror in front of her. She looked at my reflection and blinked a few times like she was trying to prevent tears from falling.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked as she took up and twirled towards my direction. Her eyes never fully reached mine as if she was avoiding them. "You're not allowed back here."

"I know I just didn't see you out there and was getting worried," I said as she still avoided my gaze. "Hey, look at me, look at me," I spoke softly. I gently grabbed her face and had her fully look at me. Her eyes were glossy and slightly red. "Baby, what's wrong? You don't seem your normal self."

She bit her lips and her eyebrows twitched. "I just think how I cannot do this. I didn't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have tried out for the competition, I shouldn't have come back." She looked down, breaking eye contact with me. This felt so sounded. She practiced nearly everyday until it was this moment. Possibly just nerves but Nevaeh didn't get nervous about dance. If she did, she never showed it and was able to pursue anyways.

This felt odd.

I lifted her face again, so she could look at me. "Hey, where is this all coming from?"

"I'm just scared of what's going to happen next. That's all," she said, looking back at me. "Maybe all of this wasn't meant to be."

If I was going to be honest, I would say I was scared too. I was scared of what would happen when Nevaeh found out the truth and I was scared of what she would think of me and everyone that she cared about who knew. I was scared of what would happen to Nevaeh. I knew that no matter how she found it, it would destroy her. I knew the truth would change her. But how she found out could determine if the damage would be unrepairable. I didn't mention how scared I was. I could not.

Instead, I brushed my fingertips gently across her face. She closed her eyes as if she was taking in my touch. "Damon," she whispered.

"I know you will do great. And no matter how hard something might be, you will get through it. You always do."

She looked like she was about to say something. But I spoke before she could utter a word. "I know things have been rough these past few years. But I believe in you. I believe you can do anything if you set your mind to it. If you can't, I might start thinking that you didn't try. I know you and your amazing capability. You are the woman I love. You are going to amaze everyone. You are going to win. And you will have everything you ever wanted."