Amalia Romano is sixteen years old now. Still a dancing prodigy, she lands herself a photoshoot for a magazine that'll help her get to where she wants to be.
It seems like everything's going perfectly fine. Her grades are booming, she has a nic...
My two oldest brothers take me to a nail salon. It's not very busy, so I'm able to go in one of the chairs immediately.
I ask for acrylics. Since it's only two and a half weeks until Christmas, I ask for a festive design. Within an hour, she's finished, and she takes a picture of the design to put up on their social media.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I thank her, and Elijah gives her the money before they lead me out of the nail salon, down the road to a small restaurant.
"Is there anything you want to do after we eat?" Elijah asks as we sit down in the booth.
I ponder. Then I say, "can we go ice skating?"
"Since when do you know how to ice skate?" Xander asks me.
"I don't." I reply. "But I'm a fast learner. It's only gliding on ice."
"Hm. Sure, we'll go."
A waitress comes over and takes our orders, and twenty minutes later we're being served our food.
Xander takes a few bites and leans back. "My food is better."
I smile. "Yeah."
He smiles too.
•
We walk into the ice skating place, but the woman at the front desk tells us we won't be able to go today because there's a figure skating competition going on. Apparently it's one of the most important ones for people under eighteen.
I hear the announcements over the loudspeakers. A feminine voice says: "Celine Monet, with Me and the Devil."
I can hear the shattering applause even when we step outside. Elijah sets a hand on my shoulder. "What else would you like to do?"
"Yeah. Anything you want." Xander encourages.
I shrug. "C-can we go back to the house? I'm tired."
"Okay, sure." Xander smiles, but it's sad. I look away, feeling guilty as I wrap my arms around myself.
We get back into Elijah's car, and then drive back.
• LORENZO •
It's eleven a.m. when I decide to check on Heidi. She's been asleep for a while, and I need to make sure that she's okay.
I walk upstairs, then down the hallway. I open her door after knocking without a response, and my heart squeezes when I see her fast asleep on the bed. I look at her for a moment before going to leave. But just as I'm about to turn out the door, she says my name.
