For the hundredth time in the last few minutes she checked her appearance. Smoothing her pencil skirt and blouse. Her brown hair had been tied up in an intricate, loose updo, a few stray hairs framing her face.
Today was the day of her job interview. Thalia didn't tell many people, most of them judged. Her love for dancing and ballet was an odd one, she wasn't the most graceful, but putting on those pointe shoes always tuned her into this higher power that gave her the gift to be as angelic as ever.
She fell in love with dance from a young age, at the orphanage they never had much to do. Coloring books and other crafting supplies, but she was terrible at making things. Then there were the girls who snuck in their dance clothes, the ballet shoes and skirts.
Thalia looked up to them and after one girl was adopted she left her bag, leaving the shoes, the clothes, all she could ever need to become a dancer.
Every single day she would practice, she excelled in ballet and went on to join a dancing program but was forced to quit when she went into a foster home. It didn't last long though, she was a trouble maker and refused to go with anyone who wasn't her dad.
Her dad didn't want her though. Neither did her mom to be totally honest. Thalia's mother was a drug addict, met her dad from the great vine, and he disappeared when he found out she was pregnant. There wasn't a moment her mom wasn't high, weed, or substances much stronger it didn't matter.
She named her Thalia because it meant flourishing, she was her little flower. Her pride and joy. Until she overdosed and wasn't able to come back. Thalia was only twelve when that happened, placed in foster care shortly after.
At the age of eighteen she moved to Austin, to begin a new life. Just a few short years later she met Joel. Him and Sarah were the greatest things to happen to her, they showed her the true meaning of family, what it meant to be loved unconditionally.
There were a few knocks on the bathroom door, pulling her from the rabbit hole of thoughts, "Open up, Squash! You look great, quit overthinking it." She sighed and opened the door, "Are you sure?"
Sarah gave her a once over, taking in every last detail before smiling, "You look beautiful." Thalia couldn't help but grin at her sentiment, "Thank you... is your dad awake?"
"No... I thought you woke him up?" She rolled her eyes and lightly slipped past Sarah, "Bathrooms all yours." Thalia walked down the hall, her short heels clicking against the floor.
The brunette reached her and Joel's bedroom door, throwing it open and seeing her husband was still peacefully asleep. "Babe! You were supposed to be awake twenty minutes ago!"
He jolted up, sitting on his elbows with his eyelids covering half his brown eyes. "What...?" His lethargic, deep morning voice made her soften, walking up to him and rubbing her fingers through his bed head. "Wake up honey. We have to get Sarah to school and Tommy'll be here any minute. Not to mention I have my interview."
"Tell Tommy to wait." Her lips pressed into a tight line, staring at him as he finally bothered to open his eyes. Joel looked up at her with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, "What's got you lookin' all fancy?"
"My interview... oh no... I thought dementia didn't come until fifty, at least." He huffed and frowned at the insult, "Happy Birthday by the way, you grumpy old man." She pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, pulling away before he could get too carried away.
"I'm not grumpy..." Joel nestled his head back into his pillow, holding it close to his naked upper body. "Get up, Joel." Her hard tone made his eyebrow raise, "Bossy... I like it..."
Thalia fought the urge to smile, instead grabbing his bicep and pulling. He swatted her away, "Fine, fine. Jesus- I'll get up."
"Took you long enough." She stood from their bed and watched to be sure he was actually getting up and to her surprise he was, throwing the covers back and revealing himself in just a black pair of boxers.
Her mouth watered at the sight and his back turned to her as his legs swung over the bed. All the muscles, her hands curled into fists at the thought of him. Five years of being together and two years of marriage.
Yet just the sight of him doing something so simple had her getting all riled up.
Thalia shook her head and allowed her hands to flatten against her skirt. "I'm gonna go make pancakes with Sarah." He hummed to show he heard her and she left the room, shutting the door behind her before heading down the stairs.
Thalia looked into the kitchen and found Sarah cooking eggs, pushing them around in the pan. "I thought we were making your dad pancakes." She grumbled a bit, "We didn't have any pancake mix so... this will have to do."
"Huh..." She walked behind Sarah, rubbing her back as she peered into the pan. Noticing there were multiple little shells, she decided not to comment on it and let the matter go. Thalia left her side, grabbing the orange juice from the fridge then some glasses from the cupboard.
Joel came down the stairs in an old black shirt, buttoning his jeans up. "What's goin' on here?" Sarah sighed, "We were going to make you birthday pancakes."
"You know I don't really like pancakes." He grabbed himself a cup of coffee before giving his wife a quick peck on the lips. "I know you don't like them. It was for our benefit." Thalia smirked and leaned against the counter just beside Joel. "Smart kid."
"That's extortion. Using me at such an old age..." He tutted softly and took a sip of his coffee, the bitter taste sloshing around in his mouth and doing little to wake him. Sarah handed her dad a glass of orange juice, "Vitamin C. Both of you."
She handed Thalia another glass and she happily took it, taking a large sip of the juice. Joel grumbled and took the smallest sip of his, before setting it right back down and taking his mug back.
"You get your, uh, homework done?" Sarah turned and gave him a small glare, but smiling all the while. "Fractions?" Both girls chuckled and she reached over to give Joel a kiss on his cheek, "It's a good thing you're pretty. She got it done last night I made sure."
Thalia leaned over and as her husband wrapped an arm around her waist, she gave Sarah a fist bump. She plated the scrambled eggs, ushering the couple to the kitchen table. They all sat down and began eating, "So how old are you turning again?"
"Thirty six." His daughter hissed, "You're gonna have to start wearing diapers."
"Who says I don't already?" Thalia smiled, "It's true, I have proof." Sarah chuckled, "I'm gonna need that proof, for educational purposes of course." Joel went to take another bite of his eggs, but stopped and picked something out, "Shell."
"Calcium." Sarah grinned, flashing eggs through her teeth causing her stepmother to laugh, "Lovely, both of you." The sound of the garage door opening caused Joel's head to turn, "Is there enough left for Uncle Tommy?"
"There would have been..." The door opened and in walked none other than Joel's brother. "Ay! Still alive, you old fucker." Thalia giggled and had to suppress it when her husband shot her a small glare. "There's the pretty lady."
Tommy walked up to her and placed a kiss on her head, making her smile. "Aw, he loves you."
"He's dependent on me, it's not the same."
"I think it's the same." Tommy grabbed himself a plate and looked around, "I thought we was havin' pancakes." Joel grit his teeth before looking up at his brother, "We'll pick you somethin' up on the road. Concrete guys gonna be there?"
"Yeah, they said maybe." Thalia watched as her husband switched from home Joel, to work Joel, the two completely different people. "Maybe? We can't frame until we pour. We're not gettin' paid until we frame."
"Well we could bring someone else on, get the job done faster."
"No, no. I'm not splittin' this job, I barely wanna split it with you. We could work a double." Both of his girls picked their heads up, whining in protest. "Literally? Today?"
"I know. I'd be done by nine. By nine, right?" Tommy shut one of the cabinets, "Yeah." His response wasn't very convincing because Sarah turned to her father, "I'll bring back a cake. I promise."
Thalia sighed and looked at Joel, who gave her a small nod which relaxed her a bit. The radio crackled a bit and began talking news stories, "Continued disturbances in Jakarta but are advising U.S. citizens..."
"Jakarta... where is that, Middle East?" Tommy shrugged, "Doesn't ring a bell. It's definitely a country. Or maybe a part of Asia?"
"Jakarta isn't a country. Being a part of Asia isn't mutually exclusive with being a country, and in fact, it's the capitol of Indonesia."
"Shit... hope for us yet?" All the adults chuckled and Thalia sighed, "That's what we get for not going to college." Tommy pointed to his niece as the microwave began to beep, "She ain't even through high school yet."
"And look at how much smarter she is than us already." Joel went to look down at his watch but found it wasn't there, checking his phone clipped to his jeans and seeing the time. "Finish up quick, we'll drop you off."
"I'm still eating my egg shells." He stood up and went into the kitchen, "Seven minutes." A smirk spread across the young girls lips as she looked her dad up and down, "Your shirt is inside out."
Joel looked down and inspected that his shirt was indeed, on inside out, the seems sticking out. He set his mug down and began walking off, muttering a small shit.
***
"Other studios will tell you they strive for perfection, though we do strive to be close- perfection is impossible in an imperfect world. We want our girls to experience happiness through dance."
Thalia grinned as she walked through the studio, lead by one of their head instructors. She ran the establishment and from the way she spoke about it, she was very proud of what she'd built. Thalia couldn't blame her though, it was a beautiful studio and the girls all seemed so excited to be there.
They walked into another room, a large dance room. A floor to ceiling mirror covered one wall with the bar in front of it. Something caught her attention though, a crowd of girls were standing over something. "What is the matter?"
"It's Lyla!" Thalia couldn't help but rush in, her slightly maternal instincts kicking into gear. She slipped inside the crowd of girls and knelt next to a small girl. Her hair was platinum blonde and pulled into a tight, picture perfect bun.
She was sitting with her legs crossed, staring at the floor. The girl's face was pale, lifeless as she dazed into nothing. Thalia pressed a finger to her chin and lifted it up, "Sweetie are you alright?"
She just stared at her, looking into her eyes it sent a shiver down the brunette's spine. There was nothing behind those baby blue eyes. Not a thought, nothing, it was like staring into a calm pool of water, but you couldn't see the bottom. "D-did you have anything for breakfast?"
"Toast." She was shocked that she had answered, "Ok good. Why don't we get you a snack? What's your name honey?" The girl didn't respond, so one of the other ballerinas pipped up. "Lyla. Her name is Lyla."
"Why don't we stand up, ok Lyla?" The girl stared into her eyes and she felt something in her stomach, something about those eyes made her stomach churn. "Mrs.Miller I can attend to Lyla, why don't you go wait at the reception desk?"
She turned to the instructor, clearly shaken. "Ok..." Thalia stood and rushed away from the girls, light headed as she left the studio and stumbled down the hallway to the main lobby.
Several minutes passed and she expected the instructor to come out, instead sirens wailed outside. Thalia stood from her chair against the wall, lips parted in shock as an ambulance arrived to the front doors. EMT's rushed inside carrying a stretcher, bursting through the door and moving right past her.
Thalia waited and when they opened the doors to the studio she heard cries from some of the girls. After another few moments the EMT's came out but this time the stretcher held Lyla.
She was twitching, eyes rolled into the back of her skull and making the most god awful noises. They had strapped her to the gurney, she was screeching and thrashing against the restraints.
Thalia covered her mouth with her hand as she watched them load her into the ambulance. The instructor rushed into the lobby, she seemed frazzled which was a polar opposite to her cold and calm demeanor from earlier.
"You can go home Thalia... we can reschedule our interview for a later date. We're closing for the day." She left the brunette stunned as she rushed back into the dance studio, slamming the doors behind her. Thalia didn't waste another second, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
She was going to wait until Tommy's lunch, have him pick her up and take her home but she settled for walking. Something wasn't right. A pit nestled it's way into her stomach and refused to leave.
***
Opening the front door was like a giant wave of relief, finally in the comfort of her home. Everything about it was familiar, providing a sense of security with all that was happening today. Lyla, the military trucks she saw parked in front of various locations, ambulances constantly rushing past.
"Hey, Squash!" Thalia jumped at Sarah's voice, pressing a hand to her chest and shoving her back against the door. "Woah. What's gotten into you?" She swallowed thickly and looked up at her stepdaughter who was standing in the kitchen.
"I'm fine... a little jumpy, that's all..." The young girl didn't seem too convinced but she decided not to press any farther, "How'd the interview go?"
Thalia slowly walked into the kitchen, taking her hair from the updo that was slowly giving her a headache. "I'm not sure... it got cut short, it's why I'm home so early."
"You didn't kill anyone did you?" She tried not to chuckle, forcing a smile to relax her nerves, "No. Not that I know of." Sarah beamed up at her, writing down a few more words to her homework page. "Then I'm sure you'll get the job."
"Thanks, Squish." Thalia fluffed her hair, a bit chaotic from being up all day. She reached down to slip off her heels, sighing at the freeing feeling it provided her. Walking home in stilettos was not the move.
"What do you say, until grump gets home, we have a movie night? I could use a distraction." She checked the clock and saw it was a little past four, leaving them five hours until the birthday boy was back home. "Sure! Could you help me with this problem?I don't really get it."
"I can try, can't promise I'll be any help." Sarah giggled and pushed the paper over, Thalia took off her blouse, leaving her in a tank top and her pencil skirt. "Oh I remember this! I actually remember it! Can finally tell my high school math teacher to suck it. Here..."
She showed Sarah how to set up the problem, correcting the small mistakes she'd made along the way. After homework was done, Thalia made them dinner, making cheeseburgers without the buns because they'd forgotten to get some after their last grocery run. She'd made sure to have plenty of leftovers for Joel once he was home.
Sarah helped her clean up dinner and they snuggled up on the couch to watch Star Wars. Thalia explained to her stepdaughter that it was a series of movies and that everyone had to watch them at least once in their lifetime.
A New Hope had just ended when Joel walked in the door, it was a little past ten and he was clearly exhausted. Sarah was leaning on Thalia's shoulder and peered to look over at her dad, before settling back into her cozy spot.
He took his boots off and slowly shuffled over to his girls sitting on the couch. Joel plopped down next to his wife and wrapped an arm around them, "It's ten." Sarah said it so matter of factly he had no choice but to sigh, "I know. They... gave us the wrong size for the headers. That doesn't mean anything to the two of you."
"Where's the cake?" Joel stiffened and bowed his head, the realization hitting him, "Shit..."
"C'mon man." Sarah rolled her eyes and looked up at her stepmother, "He's lost his mind." Thalia smiled and nodded, "That he has."
"Hey... I'll get us one tomorrow." Sarah sat up to look at him, raising a brow, "Swear? Or you're not getting your present." Joel looked up at her with those big puppy dog eyes, ones his wife adored, "You got me a present?"
He looked down at Thalia, "Did you get me a present?" She gave a small shrug of her shoulder, "Yeah, but it's for later." As soon as the words left her mouth their daughter was gagging, faking an illness.
Thalia reached over and gripped her shoulder, giving a small shake, "Not like that, Squish! That's gross." Joel poked a finger into her side and gave her a look while Sarah wasn't paying any attention. "Really?"
His tone was no more than a whisper, "No. That's for later later." A smirk spread across his lips as he pressed a kiss to her temple, he couldn't really believe that this was his life. That this was his forever. Thalia blushed as he pulled away, lingering for just a moment until Sarah presented him with his gifts.
Joel pulled his arm away and grabbed the small grey box she'd handed to him. He made a face showing he was impressed, "Wow..." The top of the box was lifted and he peered inside to find his old watch, one that was broken and now in mint condition.
"Fixed it for you." He pulled it from the box, staring at it for a moment before pressing it to his ear, "Did you?" Sarah shifted in her seat, "What?"
"I don't hear anything." She shoved his hand and Thalia couldn't help but giggle, "That was lame. You're lame." He chuckled and looked down at it for another moment, "Yeah I know..."
"Where'd you get the money for this?"
"Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs."
"It's better than what I do." Thalia scoffed, "It's better than what all of us do."
"It was only twenty dollars which I stole from you." Both Joel and his wife turned their heads to look at her, eyebrows knitted in confusion, "I could've stolen sixty but I put the change back cause I'm an honest thief. Besides it's the thought that counts."
"Tommy was right, she's smarter than all of us." Joel hummed and nodded, securing the new watch to his wrist, "Thank you, baby."
"Oh and there's one more!" She reached back behind the couch cushion and handed her dad a DVD, his face immediately dropping with excitement. "Borrowed it from the Adlers."
"Oh, this is the one with the deleted scenes." Thalia shook her head upon seeing the movie, one he loved and one she could easily live without ever seeing again. "Yeah, imagine how bad those have to be. C'mon, pop it in. While it's still your birthday."
Joel stood and shuffled around the coffee table, Sarah snuggled back into her spot, curled into Thalia's side while the DVD was being set up. The father returned to his girls and settled right back into his original position next to his wife.
Everything was perfect. So sweet, so pure and lovely. Today had startled her but she thought nothing of it, because by the end of tonight their lives would change forever.