I Won't Let You Close Enough to Hurt Me

Chapter 22

     Brooke deleted the message right away and looked back up at Paige. She had a concerned look on her face, but Brooke really didn't want to explain the text.

     "When did you sleep on Brandon?" Paige asked curiously.

     "How many times have I told you not to read my messages?" Brooke said harshly.

     Tears formed in Paige's eyes as she turned and walked away. Brooke immediately felt guilty for hurting her little sister, so she grabbed Paige's arm and pulled her into the hall. "Look, it's no big deal. I just fell asleep on the plane ride here, and happened to lean on Brandon for a few hours."

     Paige's eyes grew wide. "Was Nick mad?"

     Brooke hesitated. "No, he was asleep and didn't see. But I'm not telling him, so you can't tell anyone else. Got it?"

     Paige nodded. A few seconds later, Kelly walked out of the hotel room. "Ready for rehearsal?" she asked as she made her way over to the elevator. The girls sighed and followed her. What they really wanted was to go to the beach with their friends, but obviously that wouldn't happen.

     Once all of the dancers were at AMP Studios, they began to stretch. "Okay everyone, listen up. The competition is tomorrow, so everyone has to work their butts off today. First we will run the group dance, then the duets, and the solos last," Abby instructed. "Oh, and one last thing. I have a huge surprise for all of you. I'll tell you tomorrow after the competition; I don't want this to distract you."

     The kids looked back and forth at each other excitedly. No one knew what the surprise was, but they were anxious to find out.

     When the group rehearsal started, Nick stayed in to play the music, but Brandon went to sit out by the parents. The group routine was flawless. Even though it wasn't an extremely deep number, it had more technique than any other dance that they had ever done. The girls had been working very hard all week, and it showed.

     "Beautiful, girls. Just beautiful. Do that tomorrow and you'll win for sure. Alright, Nick, go get Brandon. I'm going to work with you three on the duet," Abby said.

     Within seconds, all the girls except Brooke were in the lobby, and Brandon was in the studio. "This is the most mature number of the weekend, so it has to be the best. What worries me is that you guys have been inconsistent all week. I won't be deciding between Brandon and Nick until I see you all running the routine tomorrow, so there's still a chance to prove yourselves. Now lets get to work," Abby said while she motioned the the center of the dance floor.

     Abby had Brooke run the dance with Brandon first. Since they were both amazing technical dancers, the choreography was perfect. But no matter what lift or partner trick that they did, Brooke refused to even look in his general direction. The last lift in the routine was one where Brooke had to lay stomach down on Brandon's shoulder with her legs and arms bending her into a C-shape as he spun in a circle. Instead of turning carefully, Brandon whipped around so fast that she lost her balance.

     When Brooke hit the floor, she fell right on her knee. The thud was so loud that all of the girls rushed into the studio to see what happened. As everyone knelt down next to her, tears began to stream down her face. The pain was almost unbearable, and she could already see a nasty bruise forming.

     "Brandon!" Abby barked. "Why on earth would you spin that fast? It's the day before the competition! If she can't dance tomorrow, you might be facing a suspension from my company."

     "Brooke wouldn't even look at me!" Brandon protested. "She won't even try to connect with me. I have no chance of getting the duet if she keeps acting like this."