Freakshow

Chapter Sixteen

The massive main stage canvas tent was packed elbow to elbow with excited people. I kept peeking out the curtains at the audience, imagining them naked to calm my nerves.

It wasn't working. Stupid advice, I thought, whoever came up with that wasn't facing this many people at a fucking circus.

Orion was the ringmaster of the entire show. I'd never really thought of him as able to command the attention of so many people, but I'd been wrong. He was brilliantly charming and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. They laughed when he told jokes, gasped when he dramatically swept his hand to display one of the performers, and held their breath when he explained the danger involved in some of the acts.

I was in his thrall when he was on stage, gone was his singular dark intensity, his feral predatory presence. He shone in front of a crowd.

I wasn't so sure how I was going to handle the performance. I wanted to believe I'd be a natural at it, but now that I was faced with the crowd, I wasn't so sure.

The act was the final performance of the evening, the grand finale in which I was going to be injured, by accident according to the crowd. They would be ushered out and left wondering if the girl on the stage would be okay.

It would create the drama that Orion so desperately needed.

"You'll be fine," Cairo said from behind me. I jumped, turned and faced him. "You'll be better than fine," he added.

"I know," I replied. I was playing it cool, keeping my nerves calm by pretending I had no feelings for him. I wasn't doing a very good job at it, my stomach clenched and I felt a creeping warmth rising through my body. "Your father has taught me a lot in the few days we've had together. For example, how your mother's dying wish was for you to marry some girl from another circus family?"

"Let's not do this now," he said and grabbed my arm. "Can we talk afterwards? I need to explain what's going on. I'll tell you everything."

"I think you're beyond explaining," I spat, "all I need to know is yes, you have a fiancée. That's it, case closed. I won't be the other woman, I won't be like Becs."

"Who?" he asked, confused. I forgot that I hadn't told him anything about Becs and Jason. It was strange, we hadn't known one another for long, but I felt as though I'd shared so much with him. Like we should automatically know about each other's lives.

"My best friend, fucked my boyfriend, you know...oldest tale in the book. I won't be her, the other woman. I won't break your fiancée's heart. I can't do it."

"You keep saying fiancée like it means something," he said, "it means nothing. It's a stupid arrangement; you know it's just about the money. My father owes a lot of it to the wrong people and he's counting on her family's money to dig him out of the hole he's in. I'm done with it though, I'm sick of rescuing the fucking family and not living the life I want."

"Then walk away," I said, "I dare you! You know you can't do it. You tried it once already."

The stage manager motioned for me to get ready, I took one last peek at the audience, there would have had to be almost a thousand people crammed in there.

"I won't take no for an answer," he said. "We need to talk about this. Promise me you'll meet me later."

"I can't promise anything," I said, "and thanks for fucking up my first performance. Now I feel sick to my stomach."

He gripped my arm tighter and the stage manager was getting restless with my lack of movement into place. She gestured again and mouthed the words, "Get over here."