Sparks Fly

Chapter Seventeen

Natalie

Since they had gotten back from camp, Natalie had been doing all that she could to avoid Luke. By extension, that resulted in her also avoiding Josh, and hiding out in her room or studio a lot, but it was worth it if it meant that she didn't have to be anywhere near Luke.

How, exactly, she ended up standing in front of him and Josh while Josh blocked her way into the garage was still a small mystery.

"Where are you going?" Josh asked.

She gestured to her outfit- a leotard and tights- and then to the garage door. "Take a wild guess."

"Didn't you already practice for two hours this morning?"

She stifled a sigh. "It's still summer break. I can practice as much as I want on weekends and school holidays, as long as my homework is done and I take breaks."

"And you eat." He reminded her."

"Oh my god." She groaned. "I ate, okay? It's bad enough that I have to video with dad for meals, but now you want in on it, too? That's weird, Josh."

"So I'm concerned. Sue me."

"You have to video with your dad for meals?" Luke asked at the same time.

"Only on days when we don't eat at least two meals together and I have dance, or want to dance more than two hours on my own." She narrowed her eyes at Josh instead of looking at Luke. "Move."

He stayed directly in front of the door. "And you didn't throw it up?"

Her cheeks burned with anger and embarrassment. "I was never bulimic, bro." She shoved past him into the garage and swung the door shut behind her.

Idiots. She started her music and laced on her shoes before she started her usual warm up routine. She finished that and made it halfway through one of her new routines when she noticed Luke hovering just inside the door. She froze. She hadn't even heard him come in.

"Sorry," he said as he took another step in. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't." She paused the music and glared at him. "What do you need?"

His hands flew up defensively. "I just wanted to talk. Is that okay?"

"You have two minutes."

"I'm so sorry for what I said at camp. It was awful and wrong and out of line. I know we weren't exactly close, but I thought we had at least gotten to be friends by then, and what I said was cruel to say about anyone, let alone you."

She started going through the basic positions again to distract herself from how much even thinking the words again stung.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

She tried to focus on adjusting her feet. "Don't be. Like you said, it's not like we were ever close."

"I didn't mean-"

"I get it. You can go."

"Can you just listen to me?" He replied. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made that crack about your eating disorder. It-"

"It's fine." She interrupted. "It's not like you were wrong. There, all settled. You can go now."

"Just let me get this out!" He exclaimed. "I should never have said that, but I just saw how you used your anorexia against your dad, and then you weren't eating, and I was- I was scared, okay? I thought that you were better, but you were so ready to use food as a weapon, and I realized how sick you still are and it scared me. So I made a terrible joke out of it because that's... I don't know. I can't excuse it."

"Okay, first of all, I'm not still sick. Not how everyone thinks I am, anyway. Secondly, what goes on with me and my dad is none of your business. Finally, I already told you, I have more than enough people who are scared for me. You are the absolute last person I want hanging around worrying about me."

"Right." Luke glanced down and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Sorry for wasting your time. I'll see you around, I guess."

She turned back towards the mirror and waited until the door closed to turn her music back on and try to distract herself with practice. After ten minutes of failing, and losing her place after every few steps, she decided to call it quits.

Josh was waiting in her room, sitting on her bed, and flipping through her sketchbook Apparently he had decided to do his best to be the most annoying, stereotypical brother.

She pulled her book out of his hand and set it back on her nightstand. "Please, make yourself at home."

"Thanks," he kicked his feet up onto her bed

She promptly pushed them off. "Where's your friend?"

"Luke? He went home." He replied. "You really laid into him, huh?"

"Can you really blame me?" She tugged a sundress over her dance clothes.

He studied her for a second, then shook his head. "He didn't tell you. That dumbass."

"Yeah, I can't disagree with that assessment." She sat next to him. "What didn't he tell me?"

"David told you about the phone call, right?"

She frowned. "No. What phone call?"

"Okay, so you know nothing about this. Cool." He paused, then started to explain. "So, at least part of the reason that David is okay with your dancing- especially enough to build you a home dance studio- might have something to do with this call I made to him about how great you'd been eating all summer, and how much better you seemed."

She sank back into her pillows. "Oh."

"And Luke suggested the idea, and convinced me to call since, to be honest, I wasn't totally on board. You know, since it was while you were in your depressive funk, you were currently not leaving your bed and only eating what Rylee forced you to."

"Right." She could barely hear herself. "Can you- can you go? Please? I need some time to process."

"Sure." He hopped off her bed. "For the record, Luke really was trying to make things better, however he could."

"Okay."

As the door closed, she leaned back. She should feel grateful to Luke and Josh and her dad. She knew that. So why was she so angry?