I look at the clock, seeing it's seven forty-five. Only fifteen minutes left until my shift is over, but I’m hoping I can leave a few minutes early so I can be there on time. Luna's audition is the first one today. Nine o’clock. Traffic is hell in the city during the morning, but I'll fucking sprint there if I have to.
I watch the second hand tick by, ready to bust out of here at any second. I grab my things from the desk and stomp to my locker to hang my uniform up. Another slow night. One phone call for an elderly lady who smelled an odor in her apartment. Come to find out the neighbors were just smoking a bit too much weed below her, and the scent was making its way through the vents and upstairs. Other than that, it was quiet, not a call.
I shut my locker, ready to bust out of here a few minutes early.
Footsteps pound my way. Multiple footsteps. I turn around, seeing my chief rushing toward me with a ton of my crew behind him. "We've got to move."
My eyes widen, looking at the clock. "Right now?"
"Yes, now." He rushes to his locker, grabbing his hat and jacket. "Move."
"Sir, Luna's audition…" I can't miss it. I can't miss it.I can't miss it.
He shakes his head, an urgency in his tone. "We need you for this, man. I'm sorry."
I feel the panic radiating off him. Opening my locker, I take my things back out, sliding my coat onto my arms. "Do you know what it is?"
The other guys are outside, and I hear the firetruck sirens starting up, the alarms loud and urgent.
"Not much was said. Just that we need to go. Now." He doesn't spare me another glance, running out of the station and toward his truck.
I follow him, seeing Dylan already strapped up in the back.
He frowns when he sees me. "Luna?"
I shake my head. "I'm going to miss it."
He slaps my back, a worry in his eyes. "We’ll get you back soon. Maybe you can make it to the end of her audition."
The firetruck jolts forward, the sirens loud in my ears as we fly down the road. My hair blows in the wind, and an instant sweat breaks out from the heavy clothes, even in the cool fall air. I bring a hand up, wiping my forehead. "Yeah, maybe."
"Sorry, man." His voice can barely be heard over the blaring in my ears.
"Yeah, me too," I mumble to myself.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
LUNA
It's dark.
I peak around the edge of the stage, seeing the judges sitting behind their booth. So intimidating.
The stage is grand.
So many seats, all black and encased in a rich fabric. Four different sections surround the stage, all of them filled with rows upon rows upon rows. It’s dark throughout the auditorium, the only light cast upon the stage. The dark gray, smooth floor that's waiting for me.
There are a few other people out there, a few of the other people that are auditioning today. My eyes scan every seat, every row, every section.
Where is he?
I look up at the clock above me, seeing it’s a few minutes before nine. I know he was going to try and sneak out a few minutes early. He didn't want to miss a moment of my performance.
I take a shaky breath, running my hands down my black leotard. The black tutu is beautiful, shifting with every step I take. My hair is so tightly slicked behind my head, my temples hurt, but not a hair is out of place.
I'm perfect. I'm ready to go. But how can I go without Roman? This dance is just as much for him as it is for me. We're in this together, we have been since day one. I don't know if I can go out on that stage without him. I don't.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and spin on my heels, hoping for one thing but coming face to face with another.