Double Dare // Sky Flaherty

Chapter Eleven

One Week Later

As I'm tidying up the kitchen in my apartment, I get a phone call from Indiana. After turning off the faucet, I dry my hands and accept the call. "Hey, Indy. What's up?"

"Hey! I was just calling to see if you'd talked to Sky recently," she says.

"Yeah, he called me last week, but we haven't talked much since then. I assumed he's been busy. Why do you ask?"

"I was just following through on what I had asked him to do. Did he tell you about the party?"

I tilt my head slightly to the side. "What party? He didn't mention one."

Indiana gives a heavy sigh. "He had one job. Just the one. I gave him a short list of people to talk to while I was busy with other preparations."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't follow. What party are you talking about? Is it someone's birthday?" I go to find my calendar in case I have to write something down.

"Right, I'm sorry. My brain is somewhere else today and I forgot that we decided not to post about it on social media until after the party. Yeah, so, uh, Josh and I are engaged."

I drop the calendar on the floor in shock. "What? When did this happen?"

"About a week and a half ago. We're planning a small party to celebrate, and Sky was supposed to tell you about it." She sighs again. "I guess I'll do it. The party is in two weeks at our apartment in New York. I can text you the details once we hang up, but you should probably book a flight."

"O-okay. I'll let you know if I can make it."

"Oh, yeah. And your boyfriend is invited, too," Indy adds. I hear some muffled talking coming from the other end. "Hang on." Indy replies softly, repeating herself several times. Finally she says, "I have to go help move some furniture, apparently. As if I don't have enough to do with planning this party. I'll text you later."

"Sure." I nod. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks." I hear some more muffled talking, a loud bang, and someone yelping in pain come from her end. "Oh my-" Indiana groans. "I gotta go. Hopefully you'll be able to make it. Bye!"

~ * ~ * ~

I thank the waitress at the pizzeria as she leaves the table. River takes a sip of his drink. "I'm starving," he says with a small smile.

I nod. "I'm taking another trip," I say quickly. "And then I think I'm leaving Florida. For a while."

"Leaving? What do you mean?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I decided that I really want to do something with theater. The trip to California to see Newsies was really eye-opening. I haven't done theater in years, but I think with some practice, I can make it work," I explain. "So, in two weeks, I'm going to New York for a party. Two of my friends got engaged. After that, I'm staying in New York for a while." I take a deep breath once I finish my little speech, purposefully leaving out the part about Indiana inviting River to the party.

"Wow," River says finally. "Are you sure you can make it in New York? It's really competitive, and you said so yourself: you haven't done theater in years. Do you think you have what it takes?"

I nod. "Yeah. I think I can do it. Plus, I've had some of my friends from Newsies agree to help me out with some auditions."

"Where are you going to be living? It's expensive, and actors don't make that much money."

"Olivia offered for me to stay with her until I can get my own place."

"She doesn't mind?"

I shake my head. "Not at all. I'm really looking forward to living together. We haven't had much time together, and now we can finally catch up on all the sister stuff we missed." I pause. "Aren't you happy for me?"

"Happy for you? Jack, are you even thinking? New York? Theater, of all things? I'm just worried that you're going to regret this," he says, crossing his arms.

"I'm not. I'll be fine," I state. "I'm leaving next Saturday morning, and it would be great if you could help me pack everything up."

"We'll talk about it later," River says, effectively cutting the conversation short.

~~~~~
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