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  “I just…can’t believe Lydia would do this. You’re her sister.”

  “Yeah, well, that doesn’t seem to matter to her,” Trihn said. She wiped at her eyes. “Will you do something for me, Ian?”

  “You know I will, but why do I feel like I’m not going to like this?” he asked. His hand was gently rubbing her back, trying to soothe her. Yet she couldn’t be soothed, not after what had happened.

  “Take me into the city?”

  “This again?” he asked. “Maybe you should sleep on this. Try to talk to Lydia again in the morning.”

  “And what? Wait for her to get firmly planted in her beliefs? Lydia is staunch in her opinions.”

  “Like someone else I know.”

  Her gaze was as hard as steel, and she shot out of his lap. “She won’t believe me! I’m not going to pretend any longer to be okay with what’s going on. Are you going to help me or not?”

  He nodded his head. “Of course, I’ll help you.”

  Trihn hurried back to her house, purposely going in through the rear door to avoid her family. She did not want to have a run-in with anyone after the catastrophe of a conversation with Lydia and Preston. She listened intently at the stairway until she knew the coast was clear. Then, she dashed up the stairs and entered her room. It was exactly how she had left it this morning before she had run to Ian’s after hearing Lydia and Preston having sex.

  With a huff, Trihn threw a bunch of clothes along with her headphones into a backpack. Then, she snatched up her purse and traded out her sandals for her sneakers. The rest would just have to stay. She threw the backpack over her shoulder and then inched out of her room.

  Lydia’s door was closed, and Trihn could hear her shuffling around inside. There was no chance of Trihn seeing her at least. She darted down the stairs and to the door. She had almost made it outside when she heard someone behind her.

  “I have a feeling your mother isn’t going to like this,” Gabriel said, stopping her in her tracks.

  She dropped her hand and turned to face her dad. He was seated on the darkened deck with an iPad in his hand.

  “Hey, Dad,” she said softly.

  He sighed, put the iPad on the side table next to him, and stood. “Want to tell me what’s going on with you and Lydia?”

  Trihn bit her lip. “Nothing is going on.”

  “You have a backpack hanging off your shoulder and tennis shoes on your feet, and you’re sneaking out the back door. You always act like this when you and Lydia fight, ever since you were this high,” he said, holding his hand up to his knee. “Now, you don’t have to tell me the problem, but you do have to be held accountable for the fact that it looks like you’re running away.”

  Trihn dropped her bag. Busted. There was no way she was going to get away now. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “I really don’t want to get your mother involved. Work has been extra stressful lately, and she needs this time to relax.” Gabriel walked over to Trihn and picked up the pack. “Is this something that you can resolve with Lydia without your mother knowing anything was wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No way.”

  He sighed. “I had a feeling you would say that. Am I right in assuming Ian is involved in the escape route?”

  “Well, I’m not leaving now.”

  Her dad smiled. “I know this is hard to believe, but I’ve known you your whole life.”

  Trihn snorted.

  “It has to be serious for you to resort to drastic measures. The last time this happened, you were in the fifth grade and Lydia punched you in the face the day before picture day. You ran away, and we couldn’t find you for three hours.”

  Trihn laughed at the memory. “I completely forgot about that.”

  “I’m still not sure why she hit you, but you got over it after you had your space.” He pulled a set of car keys out of his pocket and offered them to Trihn.

  “What…”

  “I saw you come in earlier. I think I know my kids.” He dropped them in her open hand. “Make Ian drive.”

  Her jaw hit the floor. “Thank you so much,” she said, throwing her arms around her dad. “You’re the best.”

  “Just be safe, and don’t worry about your mother. I’ll take care of it.”

  “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you too. Just promise to try to make up with your sister once you start to feel better.”

  Trihn nodded. “I will.”

  If I ever feel better…

  She shouldered her backpack again and texted Ian to tell him to meet her in her garage.

  He showed up a couple of minutes later. “Trihn?” he called softly. “What are we doing in here?”

  “Over here,” she said. “Dad caught me.”

  “Shit!”

  She tossed him the keys, and he snatched them out of the air with his left hand.

  He looked at her in confusion. “What are these for?”

  “Dad said you should drive.”

  “He’s letting you go?” he asked in disbelief.

  “Yep. Said he had seen this coming all along and then handed me the keys. Said he would handle Mom and everything.”

  “Whoa! That was unexpected. I was going to try to sneak the keys to the Beamer and suffer my father’s wrath, but this is way better.”

  Trihn laughed. “Way better.”

  They jumped into her parents’ silver Mercedes SUV, and Ian maneuvered it out of the garage. Trihn rolled down the window and let the evening air whip her hair around her face. She plugged her iPhone into the system. Ian looked over at her with worry in his eyes. They didn’t see eye to eye on music. While she could appreciate almost anything and she could dance to even more than that, her heart belonged to rock music.

  Fall Out Boy blasted through the speakers, and Ian just shook his head. “I knew this was coming.”

  “That’s what she said,” Trihn said.

  She relaxed back in the passenger seat and let the tunes relax her. Driving away from everyone and everything might not be the most mature choice, but being miles, rather than feet, away from Preston was good for her psyche. She was already feeling more like herself.

  But after three hours of on and off traffic, even the music couldn’t chill her nerves or her desire to be out of the car. She pulled her mane of hair back into a ponytail and tapped her foot. She could see the skyline from the distance, which only made her more anxious to be there.

  “Just remind me of the turn for your place. It’s been a while since I’ve been there,” Ian told her.

  Trihn shot up in her seat. “Wait.”

  “What?” he asked, his eyes widening with concern.

  “Take me into Manhattan.”

  Ian deflated. “Why? It’s late. I’m tired. I’ve ignored about a hundred phone calls from my mom. I just want to get somewhere and relax before being demolished tomorrow.”

  “I know for a fact that your parents are not going to demolish you. Anyway, I think my dad will smooth the whole thing over,” she told him. “But still…into Manhattan we go.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “Do you have a reason?”

  “I need to do something,” she said conspiratorially.

  “Is that supposed to reassure me?”

  “Probably not.”

  Ian shook his head. He had just driven her three hours back into the city on a whim, so he wasn’t exactly going to question her next move even if he probably should.

  “We’ll have to find parking somewhere close. It’s probably going to be a fortune.” She groaned, directing him down another side street through the maze. “There!”

  He pulled up beside another car and then expertly parallel parked the SUV.

  “Whoa. For a kid from the suburbs, you’re good at that.”

  “I actually passed my driver’s test, Trihn.”

  “Yeah, well, I passed.”

  “The third time,” he mumbled.

 
; “Who needs to drive in New York City?” she demanded, stepping out of the car.

  Ian just laughed at her and followed her down the street. “Where are we headed anyway?”

  She rounded the corner and stopped in front of the familiar building. Her heart wrenched as she remembered the last time she had been here—Preston’s insistence before they had gotten to the show, the way he’d looked at her when she brought him to her underground world, the waves of desire when he’d watched her dance, the hungry glint in his eye and the casual way he’d offered her a threesome, as if it were her idea to begin with. She should have seen the signs. But she didn’t and hadn’t wanted to.

  “Where is here?” Ian asked. He cast his gaze around the dark, stopping at the seemingly empty location.

  “Slipper.”

  “WHAT IS SLIPPER?” IAN ASKED CAUTIOUSLY.

  “It’s an underground prostitution ring I’ve been a part of for the past couple of years,” she deadpanned.

  She watched Ian’s face go from horror to confusion to embarrassment.

  Then, she started laughing. “I can’t see right now, but how red are your cheeks?”

  “You’re not really a part of an…”

  “Underground prostitution ring,” she filled in for him.

  “Yeah.”

  “No, I’m not. It’s a burlesque club. They dance and have acrobatic routines at night.”

  “Okay,” he said skeptically. “Why are we here?”

  “Because I dance here.”

  “Here? At a burlesque club.”

  She nodded.

  “I never knew you did that kind of thing,” he said. “I thought it was all ballet.”

  “Well, I never told anyone.”

  Here was something she had painstakingly tried to hide from the outside world. She’d tried to keep this hidden in an attempt to be the right person at the right time.

  She compartmentalized parts of herself for the various people that she was around. With Renée, she was the strict ballerina with her rocker edge. With Ian, she was the yuppie heiress to a fashion legacy. With Lydia, she was the baby who idolized her older sister. With Francesca, she was a fun-loving model party girl who was into high fashion. With Cassidy, she was the lithe pole dancer willing to try almost anything. With Preston…she had thought she had allowed him to see all the parts of her, but that didn’t mean that he’d fit the pieces together. It just meant that he had seen the puzzle and scattered the pieces.

  Maybe if she started here, she could knit those fragments back together and try to be all of herself at once. In time, she wouldn’t have to hide the different sides of her personality. She could just be Trihn.

  “You can stay out here if you want,” she told Ian before marching down the steps.

  The woman at the front door clapped her hands together when she saw Trihn approaching. “Oh my God, are you performing tonight, lovey dove?” She was dressed even more radical tonight in a lingerie corset set and high heels. Her bob had been replaced by a crazy wig with long flowing gray curls.

  “No, not tonight. I just need to talk to Cassidy. Is she performing tonight?”

  “She’s back there, but I don’t know how much talking you’ll get done. Chick is a little emotional.”

  “What do you mean?” Trihn scrunched her eyebrows together.

  “Haven’t you heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  “Oh, dear,” she said, putting her hand to her chest. “I’ll have to let her break the news to you.”

  Trihn frowned. “Is it serious? Is she okay?”

  “I’ll let you in at the end of this set, and you can go talk to her.” The girl’s eyes moved high above Trihn, and she smiled devilishly. “And who do we have here?”

  Trihn whipped around and saw Ian coming down the steps. “What are you doing?”

  “Not leaving you alone in a place like this,” Ian said. He hurried to her side.

  Trihn laughed. “No need to protect me. I’m probably going to need to protect you.”

  The applause rang out through the rusty black door, and the woman jumped. “Time for you two to head on inside. Good seeing you again, Trihn.”

  She nodded at the girl and then dragged Ian inside Slipper before he could protest. His eyes were as big as saucers as he took in the giant room that looked like a real court amid a fairy tale. It was brilliant, and she always marveled at it every time she was inside. But she knew for a fact that Ian had never seen anything like it.

  “Come on. We’re going backstage.” She took his arm and pulled him through the room and to a side curtain.

  Someone recognized her and pointed in the direction of where they had last seen Cassidy.

  They stopped in front of the women’s changing room, and she left Ian at the door. “This won’t take long.”

  He nervously eyed his surroundings. “Please don’t.”

  She laughed and then went in through the door. It was easy to find Cassidy. She stood out even in a crowded room. Besides her bright red pixie cut, there was just something about her.

  As if feeling eyes on her, Cassidy whipped around. She was in a studded red outfit to match her hair and spiked black boots. She normally performed barefoot, but Trihn had seen her in the boots, too, and it was insane.

  “Trihn!” Cassidy barreled through the other performers to get to Trihn’s side. “Come to dance tonight?”

  “Not tonight,” Trihn said. She took a deep breath. She could do this. “For good. I’m in. I accept the offer.”

  Cassidy’s face fell. “Oh, Trihn…”

  “What?”

  Trihn hadn’t really thought this through when she realized they were near the city. She had just decided that she wasn’t going to be afraid to show the real her anymore. She enjoyed dancing and performing. She loved the thrill of it, and maybe her family would hate it, but they would get over it.

  “I’m so glad that you decided to accept the position, but I was actually offered an opportunity that I just couldn’t refuse.”

  “What kind of opportunity?” Trihn asked.

  A smile spread across Cassidy’s beautiful face. “Dancing in Las Vegas! As a main event at a new Cirque show they’re opening up next year. I never thought I’d be selected for something like that. I got the call just this morning, and I was going to call you this weekend after I told the Slipper crew.”

  Trihn’s mouthed dropped open. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, Cass! It’s a dream come true. I know you’ve been auditioning for that kind of thing but haven’t heard back.”

  “I never thought it would happen in a million years!”

  “You should have. You’re brilliant,” Trihn said, seeing her plan disintegrate.

  “Look, this is going to sound crazy, but hear me out.” Cassidy said. She grabbed Trihn’s hands. “Come with me!”

  Trihn laughed. “What?”

  “Come with me to Vegas! I’ll have my own place. You can get a job dancing or teaching even! Didn’t you say they have a fashion school out there, too? You could go to school while we dance! Think about how awesome it would be!” Cassidy said enthusiastically.

  “I don’t know,” Trihn said reluctantly. “I’m supposed to attend NYU in a few weeks.”

  “NYU will always be there! How often will you be young and wild and free to do whatever you want in your life? Just this once!” Cassidy said. “I know it’s crazy to just up and leave your life. I can’t believe I’m doing it, but at the same time…I can’t wait.”

  “Cass, it was a stretch for me to take this dancing job in the city. I can’t imagine moving across the country to do it. Everyone that I know is here in New York.”

  “Well, that won’t be true in a couple of days.” Cassidy reminded her, “I’ll be gone.”

  Trihn shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean…wow! Thank you for inviting me. I just…I have never, ever thought about leaving here.”

  “That’s why it’s the time to do it. Everyone dreams their whole lives about
living in New York City for just a short while, but we grew up here. Let’s go somewhere else, and if we’re meant to come back to the city, we will.” Cassidy winked at her. “NYC Dance House created beautiful dancers out of us. It would be a shame to waste that talent so young!”

  “Renée is still dancing,” Trihn admitted.

  “See?” Cassidy grabbed Trihn’s hand and twirled her in a circle. “Sin City awaits the dancing duo!”

  “I…I’ll have to think about it. I have a lot going on right now.”

  “That creep you were with?” Cassidy asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “You thought he was a creep?” Trihn asked in surprise.

  “Uh…yeah. He had slimeball written all over him. I would have warned you, but you were in way over your head.”

  “Yeah, I guess I was,” she said softly.

  “Cassidy!” the stage manager called. “You’re up on deck, honey.”

  “That’s my cue, love. Think about it. Either way, I’ll be in Vegas by Saturday, and if you don’t come with, I’m going to miss you.”

  Cassidy pulled her into a fierce hug, and then they walked out together. Cassidy rushed over to stand by the stage entrance, and Trihn found Ian standing amid a cloud of women. She laughed, but her head was elsewhere.

  What would it be like to take Cassidy’s advice? Could I leave everything I’d ever known behind to go to Las Vegas on a whim?

  Sure, she had applied to Las Vegas State’s Teena Hart School of Design as a backup. Her mother had discovered Teena Hart out of the LV State fashion school before it had been anything. Her designs now were on runways around the world, and she had spent a small fortune building the school into something that competed with the top-tier fashion programs. It still wasn’t NYU or Parsons, but it wasn’t looked down upon either.