The Grace In Darkness (2 page)

Time a funny thing.

Cars with bright flashing blue and red lights surrounded the building.

One second could change everything.

Armed police men ran up the stairs, hissing out hushed commands as they swarmed each floor.

The next two minutes could determine the outcome for the rest of your life.

Reaching the apartment door, they banged on it, issuing their standard threat.

If I had left thirty minutes earlier, she wouldn’t have left to find me and she never would have been there.

Counting to three, one officer forced the door open, sweeping through the apartment.

Five minutes could mean everything.

“You have the right to the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law

You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?”

It could mean the difference between life and death.

“
A
gain, Araya,
”
Madam Violet said.

Madame Violet was her official name. She snapped and clasped her hands together with a loud slap.

Placing my hands on my hips, I blew out a deep, frustrated breath. Dropping my head forward, I rolled it from side to side. If I never again had to hear the words
Again, Araya,
I would be an incredibly happy girl.

“
Araya!
”
Her voice was scolding as she demanded my attention.

Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I finally lifted my head, following the sound of her voice.

“
We
’
re going on four hours now. How much longer are you going to keep me prisoner to this dance floor?
”

“
Until you get it right.
”
She didn
’
t miss a beat.
“
Your first recital is in a couple of weeks. You don
’
t have much time to get this down.
”

“
Can I at least have some water? Even death row inmates get water, right?
”

“
At a price, I
’
m sure they do.
”

Groaning, I bit my lip to keep from using the blind card. I never did it. I didn
’
t want anyone in this school to think I needed special privileges. But I was on the verge of collapsing right here, right now, and the excuse was scorching my lips to get out.

“
Five minutes?
”
I pleaded.

I took a deep breath and that only reminded me that the room was hot and stuffy and my lungs burned from the lack of breathable air. The room was guarded with windows and even though the sun was setting low into the evening, it was still warm enough to bake the building. I could feel the beads of sweat sliding along my hairline and down the back of my neck.

My plain white leotard stuck to my body, and I knew there was probably going to be blood in my ballet shoes tonight. My feet hated me right now, as I was practically murdering my toes.

“
It
’
s your first recital since the accident, Araya. I want you to do your very best. You
’
re the new girl and everyone
’
s eyes will be on you. Some of school board isn
’
t exactly happy with the way you got into this school. So we need to prove to them that you have every right to be here.
”

“
But you
’
re on the board.
”

“
I said some.
”

My lips twitched with a smile, but I wouldn
’
t give her the satisfaction. My body still hurt and it was, after all, all her fault.

Sure, I was bitching and complaining now, but Violet, her unofficial name, was actually my favorite teacher here. She was the only one who hadn
’
t shunned me the moment I stepped into this school. I wasn
’
t used to being disliked for no apparent reason. Except for Nina. But in my defense, I hadn
’
t realized she hated me since birth.

Other than
Makayla and Pierce, everyone avoided me like the plague. When I
’
d asked Makayla why, her advice was to screw them all. That was easier said than done, but at least being blind made it easier to ignore.

“
Since when does this school not jump at the opportunity to take perfectly good blood money?
”

“
Blood money?
”
She smirked.

“
Might as well be.
”
I grumbled.             
“
This was practically a shotgun acceptance.
”

“
Well, it
’
s not the money, honey.
”
Her smooth southern accent dominated her words.
“
It
’
s that
you
don
’
t come
from
money. This school is as bad as a small town. It didn
’
t take long for word to get out of who you are and why you
’
re here.
”

I wanted to die.
“
So everyone knows about my aunt? What they... did? Or tried to do, anyway.
”

“
Everyone has skeletons, honey. You
’
re just not as good at hiding them.
”

“
I
’
ll take that as a compliment,
”
I grumbled.

How was I supposed to start a new life if I was going to be judged by my old one? There was no telling what people were saying about me. I winced at the thought. No wonder
Mak never wanted to talk about it. I loved her even more for the fact that she never asked and she didn
’
t care.

“
Don
’
t think all this talk has distracted me from what you
’
re supposed to be doing,
”
she announced.

“
You mean dying a very slow, very tortured death?
”

“
It
’
s been longer than five minutes.
”

“
I
’
m still waiting on my water! Besides, how can I practice anymore without Pierce here?
”

“
Fine! Get a drink. I don
’
t need another incident like the last time.
”

I frowned. I was only ninety-eight percent sure she was joking, but that didn
’
t stop me from scurrying past her toward the table to retrieve my water bottle.

The dance studio was huge and very well lit, not only by natural sunlight, but artificial as well. Not everyone at Madison Academy was one hundred percent blind so the light helped those of us who could distinguish light from dark shadows to figure out where we were going. There were only two girls in my dance class that were fully blind, and to say that I was somewhat mesmerized by them was an understatement. They were inspiring and one of the main reasons I was letting Violet run me into the ground.

“
Sorry I
’
m late!
”
Pierce said, filling the silence with his deep voice.

“
You should be!
”
Violet scolded. However, it was all for show because she thought Pierce walked on water.

“
Your disapproval kills me, Violet!
”
Pierce walked behind me, pulling on my skirt playfully.
“
Hey there, Araya.
”

“
You should be apologizing to me for being late,
”
I whispered under my breath so only he could hear.
“
I
’
m the one who isn
’
t going to have any toes left when we
’
re done here.
”

“
Let me make it up to you. Dinner. My treat.
”

I smiled politely at him. It was
always
his treat. Pierce was a nice guy. Who was I kidding? He was beyond nice. Next to Ryland, he was the sweetest, kindest guy I
’
d met, but he
wasn’t
Ryland. Not even close. He was always asking me to dinner or lunch and sometimes even breakfast. I wasn
’
t sure if he was interested in me or just really friendly and always hungry since he never wanted to do anything else. I still wasn
’
t any better at figuring guys out.

I stayed on the safe side of our friendship and always had an excuse for why I couldn
’
t go alone or at all. So Mak spent a lot of time playing Switzerland. If it bothered him, I was unaware of it all.

“
I
’
ll see what Mak
’
s doing.
”
It was my go-to line.

“
Sounds like a plan,
”
he responded cheerfully and was off to soothe Violet
’
s ruffled feathers.

Again, I had no idea if he was bothered or not, but I didn
’
t spend too much time dwelling on it. Pierce was easygoing. He split his time between being a physical aid for the newer students and dancing in Violet
’
s class. He was an amazing dancer and Violet said she
’
s never seen two people more fit to dance together in her entire career.

There were only a few seeing instructors at Madison Academy, Pierce and Violet being two of them.

Most of the students who attended Madison were graduates from Madison Academy
’
s sister school, Aurora Hall. Students who were newly blind or born blind attended there first. They learned everything there was to know about handling and living with their blindness, and when they were ready to move on and be on their own, they came to Madison.

Arriving at MA had been pretty intimidating, but Pierce made it easier for me. I was so far behind with my development compared to the rest of the student body here. I knew how to survive in that tiny apartment, but in a school the size of MA, it was a whole other world and I quickly realized how little I actually knew.

“
Time
’
s up, Araya,
”
Violet announced.

Lifting the bottle to my mouth, I squeezed out the remains of the water, nearly drowning myself. Then I made my way back to Violet and Pierce.

“
I
’
m all yours.
”

Pierce put his hands on his hips and Violet crossed her arms over her chest.

“
Dangerous words, Araya,
”
Pierce said mischievously.

It turns out that
’
s exactly what they ended up being. Violet kept Peirce and me prisoner there for two more hours. It was tough. Probably one of the hardest rehearsals I ever remembered having, but holy geez if I didn
’
t love every minute of it.

Losing myself in the moves and music was a sweet release of reality. It didn
’
t matter how tired I was, how sweaty I got, or how badly my feet ached; I danced my freaking heart out because I didn
’
t know how to do anything better than this.

When we were finished, Violet said her goodnight, but not before she reminded us we were back again the day after next and she would see me tomorrow for my regular class. I pretended to be sullen and sarcastically overjoyed. If she knew how much I loved my time with her, she
’
d probably make me regret it.

“
Come on, I
’
ll walk you back to your dorm,
”
Pierce beckoned, turning off the studio lights.

A deep darkness was all I could see as Pierce pulled me against him, leading us through the halls of the dance building. Everyone had gone for the day and the halls were empty and quiet.

Classes ended at five every day and final bell was at five fifteen. It
’
d been at least two hours since I remembered hearing the bell. They had bells for everything around here, including chimes that went off every hour inside every room and building.