a light for God. Back then she wondered if maybe she wasn’t good enough.
Tonight she had her answer.
She wasn’t.
Fourteen
SLEEP DIDN’T COME EASY AFTER FRANCESCA’S WARNING AND Chrissy’s refusal to accept her help. But Bailey avoided talking to her parents or to Brandon. She was too embarrassed to know what to say. Anyway, that could come later. Now already she was back at the theater, ready for another show.
She walked toward the dressing room and stopped before she reached the door. Two of the actors from the show were talking, their tones sharp.
“I don’t care who she is.” The voice belonged to the girl who played Tracy, the show’s lead. “She’s only here because of her Brandon Paul connection. People loved Unlocked and now their curiosity brings them to New York to see if Bailey can perform on Broadway.”
“Which she can’t.” The other girl laughed. Bailey couldn’t make out her voice.
“Well,” the first girl chuckled. “Let’s just say there are a hundred Broadway dancers who could take her spot. People who could use the money.”
“Exactly.” The girl clucked her tongue. “I hate the trend in New York, producers bringing in actors with no Broadway experience just because they have a name. Let her work for it like everyone else.”
Bailey intentionally dropped her dance bag. At the sound, the conversation on the other side of the wall stopped. She grabbed her gear and hesitated before walking in. “Hey.” She smiled at them, determined that they wouldn’t see the way their remarks hurt her.
“Hey.” They answered her in unison and quickly fell quiet, turning their attention to preparing for that night’s performance.
Bailey couldn’t imagine how hard she’d have to work, how much better she’d have to become on stage before she had their respect. But combined with Francesca’s comments from last night and the whispers she’d heard since she started, she felt like a pariah.
The thoughts plagued her then and that Saturday morning as she headed to LaGuardia by herself, and even as she shared a happy reunion with her family at the Indianapolis airport.
Bailey figured she’d wait until the picnic to talk to her mom more in depth about the way things were falling apart back in New York. So far she hadn’t told anyone about the situation, and only Chrissy had noticed there was something wrong with her the last few days. Brandon was overseas for a week as part of the shoot for his current film. He planned to call when he could, but they hadn’t talked since Wednesday.
Now it was the morning of July Fourth, and as Bailey woke up in her old bed and stretched out her legs, she felt a peace that had eluded her most of the week. With all that was happening, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to go back. She sat up and stepped onto the thick cushion of carpet. Her room still looked just like she’d left it.
She walked to the window and looked out across their manicured front lawn, the winding drive, and the full trees that lined either side. She had a million happy memories from past July Fourths. She and her brothers chasing each other across the grass with squirt guns, or her parents hosting a barbecue for all their friends.
But the only memory that played in her mind, the one she woke up thinking about was last July Fourth. Her family had gone to Lake Monroe with the Baxters. Bailey had broken up with Tim Reed by then, but she hadn’t told Cody. When he showed up at the picnic, she wasn’t sure if they’d have a moment alone to talk, but they’d taken a walk around the lake and along the way everything changed.
They admitted feelings they’d had for years, and in a moment she could still remember in vivid detail, Cody had kissed her. When they returned from that walk, the pretending was over. Everything they felt about each other was out in the open and there would be no looking back. At least that’s the way Bailey felt about it. But only a few months later Cody was back to being distant, pulling his usual running act. The one that had finally and completely separated them.
Bailey sighed. Dear Lord, I can’t do this to myself … not every Fourth of July. Bailey let the prayer echo in her heart for a few seconds. A sad laugh came from her. It wasn’t only the Fourth of July. She thought about him every day. Or most days,