Endure

T W E N T Y - F O U R

Was I supposed to be here?

. . . No.

I wasn't necessarily here to see if he was okay or anything . . .

It's not like I couldn't sleep last night because I was worrying about him or anything . . .

I did try to sleep. But when I did, all I dreamt about was the worst happening if the pictures were discovered in his car.

And when I woke up, the nightmare continued in my thoughts.

Everywhere I looked all I could see was Sasha blankly thumbing through her photos or the look of fear etched on Daniel's face beneath the dim streetlights. Fears of the worst haunted my mind as I packed my dance bag and raced out the door. I tried my best to distract my mind by counting all the cute dogs I saw on the way over here, running through the new choreography Charlie and I were doing a thousand times in my mind, even turning up the radio . . . but I could hardly think straight at all.

What haunted me the most was . . . there was absolutely nothing I could do.

Now the sign stared back at me. His name lit up, almost taunting me as if he could be the exact reason I was here.

But I was just here to get cinnamon rolls for us at the studio today.

If he was here, fine.

I was here for cinnamon rolls.

. . . No harm in that, right?

. . . Right?

Before I could even give my more rational side anytime to speak up, I yanked the door opened and headed toward the bakery.

The heavenly scent of butter and sugar instantly greeted me with the bell chimes as the door closed behind me.

Soft chatter filled the air as it seemed everyone else decided to stop for pastries and coffee before work this morning too.

Everyone else, including him.

But I wasn't here for him.

I was here for cinnamon rolls.

Just cinnamon rolls.

I took a deep breath as I forced myself to keep my eyes on the menu hanging above the counter and stepped in line.

"Maddie."

I immediately looked up, spotting Sasha standing on the other side at the counter by the window . . .

And next to her was Daniel.

Relief suddenly washed over me as soon as I saw Daniel before confusion settled in. I hardly had anytime to question it however as my feet were already making my way over to them.

I clutched the strap of my bag tight as I reached them. "Hi."

Daniel cleared his throat. "Hi."

I looked over at Sasha.

Her eyes were already on me. "Are you okay?"

I looked at her, confused for a moment. "I'm fine . . . I'm just scared about your pictures."

She quickly shook her head. "It was dumb. Don't worry about it."

I knitted my eyebrows at her. "What?"

"I'm sorry for dragging you into it. That was never supposed to happen."

I glanced at Daniel before looking back at Sasha. "Sasha, what are you talking about?"

"I'm the one that set Tom up," she stated firmly, brushing her long blonde hair away from her face. "I set the whole thing up."

My mind now whirled as I looked at her. "What??"