After her father's tragic passing, Nora Davis is forced behind the scenes, nothing more than a stepping stone for others in their journey to stardom. When an opportunity presents itself, Nora, trapped under her stepmother's heel, takes it as her cha...
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The song stopped, and Eli poked his head out of the studio, "Nora?"
She needed to get out of here.
Grabbing her backpack, Nora flew on unsteady legs to the door. She struggled with the handle, her hands now shaking for an entirely different reason.
"Nora, wait!"
Her shoulder clipped the door frame as she rushed out. The girls in the hallway stopped and glanced up as she passed.
"Nora!" Eli grabbed her elbow. "Please. Stop for a second."
She stopped. But her brain didn't. Her mind flew a million miles a second—all the while joy, elation flew through her. Only to be followed by outright horror.
She should be able to enjoy this moment. This was life-altering. And yet, her brain already came to the conclusion her heart didn't want to hear.
She couldn't tell him. Oh, Creator, she couldn't. She would die before bringing anyone else into her world of lies and manipulation, and she would do anything not to put more on Eli's already full plate. Or into his life. Nor could she ever expect him to be her savior in a battle he'd never been meant to fight. He had his own battles.
Her soul screamed at the thought of leaving him in the dark.
But her heart, her mind told her she needed to at least try to find her way on her own.
If Felicity and Mallory found out, they would use her, and through her, him. She couldn't let that happen. Couldn't let their poison touch him too.
She would have to remove the poison, then come back to him.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have been in the studio during your session."
Eli had removed the tie of his uniform and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his white collared shirt, exposing the collar of the light blue tee he had underneath. Surprisingly, he did not have a hat on despite it being after school hours. A few strands of his dark hair dipped over his forehead in the front.
Eli glanced back at the girls by the studio who now stared at them. "Can we talk for a second?"
Reluctantly, Nora nodded. That was the whole reason she wanted to find Eli – to talk to him. But now she had his attention, she didn't want it. Not after what she just discovered.
Eli led them back up the hallway to one of the empty music classrooms. Despite being after school, the muted tones of singing and music drifted from one of the rooms further down.
His hand touched her arm as he guided her into the first empty one they came upon. The touch, something so simple, sent electricity shooting up her arm.
