Staged: (Oliana Mercer series Book 2)

The Reunion

Thursday 7:59 p.m.

My life sucks. That's what seeped into mind as I stared at the woman in front of me as my cast mates exited the stage.

The play was done, now it was time for me to step back into the real world and face Linda Durning. The woman who haunted my past.

Linda adjusted the shoulder strap holding her oxygen tank and tucked the clear tubes behind her ears. Her brown blouse and jeans were several sizes too large. Her eyes seemed bigger than normal as they peered out from her frail face.

Even with all the anger boiling inside me, my heart ached for her. "You're Linda."

"Hi, Oliana. I'm your grandmother. Your real grandmother."

"What do you want?"

"Is there somewhere we can talk?"

I glanced up at the auditorium doors, wondering where my parents went. They must be waiting in the hall. Did they know this woman was here? There's no way. They didn't want me to know anything about my past. And for a good reason.

I'd wished for the days when I didn't know anything about my bio family. Except that wasn't my reality. I knew more than what I wanted.

"We can talk here," I said, my voice dripping with anger.

Linda's head reared back. "It's obvious your adopted mother didn't raise you to have respect for your elders."

"My mother and father raised me to have respect for those who deserved it. I know what you did."

"There's two sides to a story."

"There's three sides. Mine counts." I hurried towards the exit.

"If you just hear me out."

"Did you hear my mother out when she came to you for help?"

"I'm dying, and I wanted to make peace with you."

I halted in my tracks and looked back at Linda. "You're not going to use me to clear your conscience."

I pushed open the door, stepped into the hall and waited for it to close.

Click.

A sound that I hope meant my past was behind me. No more secrets. No more lies. No more Linda.

For the rest of the evening, my fear of Linda showing up again, pounded in my head. I wasn't interested in hearing anything else negative about my parents. The pounding continued as I helped clean up backstage. And my headache remained during the cast party, as I said my goodbyes to the friends and teachers I was going to miss. As the party came to an end, my boyfriend, Austin, rescued me from the sadness when he showed up and took me to dinner. I wish he'd told me that James was going to be there.

I would've said no.

Tony's Greasy Spoon was more of a truck stop than a restaurant. It was owned by Tony, one of Dad's patients who'd suffered a brain aneurysm a year ago. Whenever Tony was there, he'd stop by the table and offer advice.

"You kids don't be in a rush to get married." Tony took off his dirty apron and tucked it under his arm. "Me and my old lady, we've been together seventeen years. Never married and we're still going strong."

"We're taking it slow." I took a bite of my grilled cheese, letting the salty tomato blanket my tongue.

"That's good. Cause when I saw your order, I figured I'd better see you before you left for that fancy acting school."

"I still have three months."

"Well, safe travels," said Tony, backing away from the table. "Oh, and say hi to your Dad for me."

"Thanks. And I will."

James used to date Devin, my best friend. Until she died.

He leaned toward me and adjusted his white sunglasses that failed to hide the dark circles under his eyes. Worn scratches covered the faded gold along the rims. He was dressed in all black and wearing biker boots. His presence as a superstar on the varsity basketball team had diminished after Devin's death. "Let me use your eye drops."

"Nope."

"It's like that? You always carry a bottle."

"For allergies. Not to hide that I'm high as a kite." I shoved the final bite of my sandwich in my mouth and grabbed my backpack. "I have to leave. Austin?"

"Text me later, man." Austin gathered his things.

I'm on it." James retrieved his earbuds from his pocket, removed himself from reality and slouched down in his seat.

"Guess, I'm paying the bill, again. Except, this time, I'm only paying for two." I counted out twenty-seven dollars, plus tip and paid up front.

After I left the restaurant, Austin grabbed my arm as I reached my car. "Why are you salty towards James? He's like, dealing with a lot of stuff. He lost his girlfriend and their baby. His ex's in jail. I mean can't you give him a break?"

"James didn't even want the baby. And never once did he step up to defend Devin against his ex's neurotic obsession over the relationship. So, no, I won't give him a break."

A car honked in the distance.

I snatched my arm out of Austin's grasp. This was crazy. Austin and I have been dating for a year, but he and James had been like brothers before I came into the picture. Since Devin's death, everything was about James. I often felt as if there were three of us in the relationship. Maybe I was selfish. Or maybe it was time to accept that we were coming to an end. "You're so wrapped up in James's problems. We didn't talk about our plans for school." I tossed my backpack on the passenger seat.

"James knows he messed up."

I slammed the door. "What about spring break? We can get together then."

Austin played with his ring. "Something came up. My parents want me to stay behind and help with the restaurant. While I'm here, I'll take up media and creative arts. That way I can still practice my music."

"What happened to the university?"

"I've decided that I could save my money and attend a tech school. It'd cost less, and I'd only be wasting two years of my life instead of four. After two years, I'll transfer my credits to the university and finish that way. The back way in sucks, but at least I can still go to school. I was hoping you'd be willing to wait for me."

"When were you going to tell me this?" Anxiety burned in my chest. "Everything's all set for me to attend Reyersen."

"So you want a long distance relationship?"

"For now."

"I can't believe you won't wait."

"I can't believe you're asking me to stay."

"Well? Will you? Stay?"

"You're a part of my heart. But you're not the only thing in my heart."

Within minutes, I was in my car headed towards the highway. I turned up the radio and let the dubstep music blare from my speakers. Just what I needed to keep me from thinking about the ache forming in my throat.

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