A World of My Own

Chapter 24

She ushered me inside, bringing me into her living room and sitting across from me.

I had barely sat down before I started talking, wanting to get it out and off my chest. "Ever since Ethan and I..." another sob escaped as I said his name. "went to this concert, I've been having trouble with this guy. The lead singer of the band. Ethan got into a big fight with him, he showed up at the theater. The dance studio asked me to do a performance for them, and he was my partner, I couldn't get around it without giving up the job. I knew Ethan would be angry if he knew, so I lied to him when he asked, and tonight was the performance and..." My tears were really starting to fall now and it was getting somewhat difficult to understand me as I started to run out of air. "And once he realized what was going on, he told me...h-he told me not to even bother coming home!" I collapsed in tears, Lilli immediately coming to sit beside me and held me as I cried, smoothing my hair back.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry. You know you can stay with me as long as you need to." She said, holding me tighter with a bit of a squeeze. "But right now, I think you need some alcohol." She added, getting up and heading to the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with two glasses of wine, handing me one before sitting back down.

I took the glass, immediately taking a drink before relaxing back into the couch again.

While I was with Lilli, the evening performance of Spongebob Squarepants was getting underway. Ethan had stayed in his dressing room since he had gone in during the dance performance, locking the door and refusing to speak to anyone. The majority of the cast was surprised and somewhat confused at his response. The only one who really understood what was really going was Wes, who had grabbed Danny and headed towards Ethan's dressing room, knocking lightly on the door.

"Ethan? It's Wes and Danny...are you okay?"

The pair thought that they'd heard a few sniffles before the lock quietly turned.

Wes opened the door, and after laying eyes on Ethan, confirming his theory. His eyes were red and puffy, and his breathing was still pretty shaky. Danny and Wes looked at him, their hearts breaking for their friend.

"Did you know?" Ethan's voice was low and slightly raspy from crying.

Wes looked simultaneously surprised and confused, Danny not really understanding what he was asking. "Ethan I-"

Ethan's wet, hurt eyes locked onto Wes' when he began speaking. "Did you know?" He repeated, his voice hard now.

It took Wes a second to reply, surprised at the hardness in his friends voice. "No, I didn't know." He answered softly.

Ethan nodded slightly, turning around to slump back into his chair where he was supposed to be getting ready.

Danny glanced around at the two before speaking up. "I don't know..anything. What is going on between you and him?" He asked mainly Ethan but leaving open for whoever would answer.

Ethan sighed heavily and turned around to face Danny.  After catching Danny up so that he would understand, the trio sat in silence. After a few moments of tense silence, Ethan sighed heavily, sounding almost as heavy as his heart felt. "I'm not asking you guys, or anyone else, to stay away from her or saying that you have to take sides. It wouldn't be fair to you, and I know you love her too." He said quietly and the two nodded but said nothing.