Meant to Be

25 - Done

After the show I had a sudden energy boost, and I went around taking pictures and talking to people. It all became a blur though really. A real blur. I could see Destiny somewhere across hallway, and she was all I could see. People seemed to blur into the background. Talking seemed to blur too. It was as if the entire hall was contaminated by a thick fog of questions and excitement, and she was the light shining through it.

"Well, well, well Michael what a steamy hot performance." Tito and Jermaine were practically climbing over each other to get to me once they finally found me in the crowd. 

"I see you have a thing with Destiny again, huh?" Tito follows, and laughs with Jermaine.

"Hey, hey guys. That's not what it is. I'm an actor."

The rest of my family files in from the theater. They all seemed to make it. I could tell because they were all sitting together, taking up the entire front row with woots, hollers, ooh's, aw's and laughter. My mom comes to hug me, and while she does I look past her to see that my dad has yet again to never come to any of my events.

"Oh and you act so well!" 

My mom hugs me so tight that it almost cuts off my blood circulation.

"How'd you remember all those lines?" 

Before I can answer LaToya and Jackie run and hug me tight, while Janet pulls my leg. They seem to be the only ones who show me any affection. I spot Destiny out of the corner of my eye talking to her family. I haven't so formally met her family, nor has she met mine. But I don't think now is the time for that. I decide that I should talk to her. The hall starts to clear up and most of the actors go backstage to get their things. Destiny's family leaves and she stands there for a couple more seconds before she spots me staring at her. My sisters are still congratulating me, along with Jackie, and my other brothers are still making fun of me.

"Hey, guys. Uh, I gotta go take care of something."

"Ooooh, Michael's gotta take care of something." Tito coos, and Jackie- thankfully- elbows him.

I roll my eyes and start towards Destiny who's already walking back into the theater.

"Hey."

"Hey."

She shoots me a warm smile, but it doesn't hit me like it should. It misses by a long shot, and we both stay cold. There is a dark moment of silence between us as we walk up the stairs to the alcove, and backstage to our dressing rooms. My feet are heavy, and they carry some sort of guilt from my gut down to my toes.

"Good job up there by the way." I say to her before she gets a chance to hide in her dressing room. There are visible hickeys on her lower neck, though the now flipped up collar of her dress hides them pretty well.

"Thanks, Michael. You too. We seem to have a great connection for some reason."

Her words seemed to have hit me almost as hard as her smile did, and I wonder if she doesn't mean what she says, or even even if she does literally.

"Yeah." 

Another one of those horrid silences. Then she turns again.

"Destiny..."

"No Michael!" Destiny snaps at me when I try to grab her hand. Her chocolate eyes are pooling with tears, and her face is scrunched up in something I used to be scared of.

"We can't just keep doing this! You can't just come back from whatever rock you were under, kiss me a couple times, call me baby,  and suddenly think it'll all be peachy again! Thinking it will all go back to normal... because it wont, Michael. It just won't. I don't even know what normal is anymore. At first it as just like everyone else when I moved here, having tons of friends, having the crush on the cool guy in school, and listening to the trend music, wearing the trendy clothes, that was normal." Her voice starts to quiet down, but still keeps the same tinted tone in it, and I can see she's got something lodged in her soul. She just can't get the words out right.

"And soon I met you. Or maybe it was before that. Before that you were my normal. You were mine, and you were my normal. I felt myself around you, and I you helped me learn more about myself and you. I felt me for once." Her hand travels down to her side from the cocked position it was in when she pulled it away from me. She closes her eyes for a minute, and lets the emotion sink into her eyelids.

"But then you left. Weather it was your fault of not, you left me all alone, with three girls who had no idea who they were, or who I was. They lead me in the wrong direction, and I started hoeing and partying, and I just wasn't myself. I was alone for too long, and now I just don't know who I am. And to be honest, you know... I really thought I had it all figured out. But I guess not without you."

"Destiny, I-"

"Don't mention it, Michael."

I look at her with such sorrow as she stared at me, her pupils penetrating me more harshly than ever before. I don't know what to feel, or what to say to her. I have no words.

"Good night, Michael. I hope you get home safe. Wherever that may be without me. Because I'm not doing this. I'm done."

And so I stand there as she takes her last breath of looking back at me, as things slow down to half time, and she walks away in slow motion. I really want to say something, or do something. At least say good bye. But before I know it I am met with her name on the door.

DRESSING ROOM B

Destiny - McKenzie

I take another second to stand at the door, and bow my head. I really should have said something. I turn around to walk away and take it one foot at a time, while my feet still feel like their covered in cement.

Suddenly I hear a loud scream, that almost sounds like a groan. I run back to Destiny's room at the speed of lightning and burst the door open without asking. I don't care what just happened, she's clearly in trouble and I need to help her. It doesn't matter if she never even talks to me again.

There she is, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. She looks up at me with terrible fear in her eyes.

***

TWowww. his book is almost finished!