Also by Melissa Andrea
The Flutter Series
Flutter – Rereleasing December 2013
Shatter – Coming Soon
The Darkness Trinity Series
The Edge of Darkness
The Grace in Darkness
Allure, an Infinity novel – Coming Soon
Melissa Andrea
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author ’ ’ s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
The Grace in Darkness Copyright © 2013 MELISSA ANDREA
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Published by:
Melissa Andrea
Copyright © 2013 by Melissa Andrea
Dare to be DIFFERENT
Dare to be UNIQUE
Dare to be YOU
I believe everything happens for a reason.
Things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they ’ ’ re right.
And sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.
—Marilyn Monroe
Three months, six days, fifteen hours, and forty-three minutes. That’s how long it’d been since I last saw Araya.
One month, four days, ten hours, and twenty-nine minutes was how long it took for me to find out where she was.
One month, nine days, eight hours, and fifty-nine minutes was the amount of time it had taken me to actually work up the nerve to come see Araya.
As I walked through the grounds of Madison Academy, my heart pounded against my chest and I was sure everyone could hear the sound echo off the fancy stone walls of the upscale prep school for the blind vision impaired.
The main hall smelled of high society upbringing, greed, and dirty money. It left a bad taste in my mouth and made me wonder how Araya was surviving in a place like this. She was nothing like the people who inhabited this school. I knew that for a fact.
I bypassed the administrator’s office because I was sure they would have my pictures and clear instructions to escort me off the premises. Working with J.D. for the past three months was teaching me how to stay one step ahead of him. It also left me wandering the halls aimlessly.
I figured I could stop someone who looked less official and ask them if they knew of Araya and where she might be.
Just then a girl rounded the corner. She didn’t make eye contact as she got closer to me, and for some reason I lost my nerve to get her attention as she closed in on me.
She surprised me when she suddenly looked at me as if just noticing I was there.
“You lost?” she asked, smiling flirtatiously.
“Uh…” I hesitated, rubbing the back of my neck.
“It’s not a trick question.” She teased.
“I’m looking for someone,” I blurted before I lost my nerve.
I don’t know why I was so nervous. This is what I wanted, what I’d been waiting for, but that still didn’t stop my stomach from knotting.
“This someone have a name?”
“Araya?”
“Are you asking me?” She smiled, clearly enjoying giving me a hard time. I laughed, instantly feeling stupid.
“Her name is Araya Noelle.”
She nodded once, slowly, eyeing me cautiously before she turned on her heel, going in the direction she’d just come. Her chestnut hair swirled around her as she took off. I frowned and looked around. Was I supposed to follow her?
“Yes,” she called out behind her.
“I’m sorry, what?” I called, sticking my head out to hear her better.
She looked at me over her shoulder. “Yes, you follow me.”
I caught up with her, walking fast because she was obviously not going to wait for me. I could see her looking in my direction and I cocked my head slightly to peek at her from the corner of my eye to make sure I wasn’t just thinking she was looking at me. When it was confirmed, I looked at her too
“What?”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “Before I go through all the effort of sashaying my hips, batting my lashes, and drawing you in with my witty personality, are you and Araya more than just friends?”
I frowned and then laughed loudly. “Yeah, we’re definitely more.”
“I thought so. You look completely smitten,” she said with a pout.
We turned down another hall and then she stopped so suddenly I had to backtrack a few steps to even out with her.
“Why’d we stop?”
She pointed to our left and my gaze immediately fell on Araya’s reflection in the ceiling-to-floor mirrored walls. My breath caught. My memory hadn’t been doing her beauty justice.
“Exactly what I thought…” the brunette said. “Smitten.” I vaguely heard her, and when I went to tell her thanks, she was gone.
Araya was sitting on the floor, her legs wide as she stretched to touch her toes. Her head was low, but her attention was on the girl next to her. Her long red hair was pulled back in a tightly secured knot. She stood up, stretching from side to side. Her black leotard clung to her shapely curves.
She lifted up on to the tips of her toes, once and then twice. She was dancing again and she looked happy. I watched her for a few more minutes and the more I watched her, the more I knew I was going to turn around and walk away from her.
My hand pressed to the window and I leaned my weight into my arm. I watched her as she spun perfectly on the point of her feet and then stopped, smiling proudly. It didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she was glowing.
She looked up, and for a brief moment we just stared at each other. I’d give my next breath for her to know I was there. Part of me had secretly, selfishly hoped she was going to be unhappy here and relieved that I’d finally found her. Part of me really wanted to be the Prince Charming she’d labeled me once before. That time seemed so long ago.
I pressed my hand harder into the glass, wanting her to sense me. To know I was there for her. There was a slight frown that haunted her brows, but she looked away and I was left there standing with a void too big to fit in my chest.
She was happy and I wouldn’t destroy that by making her choose. Mostly because I was scared to death it wouldn’t be me that she chose in the end.
The instructor clapped her hands and everyone turned to greet her with their attention, including Araya.
Watching her turn away from me made me want to put my fist through the glass, and I knew I needed to get out of here. Fast. Backing away, I let my hand slide away from the window. I walked away from the one person who could end this all, and I walked away before I saw her turn to look over her shoulder in my direction. Like I said, timing is a funny thing.
I erupted through the heavy doors at the entrance of the building and an angry sound ripped through the misty air as I growled toward the sky. I breathed in the fresh air, pushing out all the pain and heartache I was feeling. My chest felt constricted and my heart was beating so fast with no room to expand.
Something inside me snapped and I could feel darkness as thick as tar flowing through my veins. Suddenly, the sun’s light was swallowed and I looked up toward the sky to see the grey clouds covering the last bits of baby blue.
I would wait. I would give her what she asked for, what she needed, but when she was ready, all bets were off.
Time a funny thing.
Cars with bright flashing blue and red lights surrounded the building.
One second could change everything.
Armed po
lice men ran up the stairs, hissing out hushed commands as they swarmed each floor.
The next two minutes could determine the outcome for the rest of your life.
Reaching the apartment door, they banged on it, issuing their standard threat.
If I had left thirty minutes earlier, she wouldn’t have left to find me and she never would have been there.
Counting to three, one officer forced the door open, sweeping through the apartment.
Five minutes could mean everything.
“You have the right to the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law
You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?”
It could mean the difference between life and death.
“Again, Araya,” Madam Violet said.
Madame Violet was her official name. She snapped and clasped her hands together with a loud slap.
Placing my hands on my hips, I blew out a deep, frustrated breath. Dropping my head forward, I rolled it from side to side. If I never again had to hear the words Again, Araya, I would be an incredibly happy girl.
“Araya!” Her voice was scolding as she demanded my attention.
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I finally lifted my head, following the sound of her voice.
“We’re going on four hours now. How much longer are you going to keep me prisoner to this dance floor?”
“Until you get it right.” She didn’t miss a beat. “Your first recital is in a couple of weeks. You don’t have much time to get this down.”
“Can I at least have some water? Even death row inmates get water, right?”
“At a price, I’m sure they do.”
Groaning, I bit my lip to keep from using the blind card. I never did it. I didn’t want anyone in this school to think I needed special privileges. But I was on the verge of collapsing right here, right now, and the excuse was scorching my lips to get out.
“Five minutes?” I pleaded.
I took a deep breath and that only reminded me that the room was hot and stuffy and my lungs burned from the lack of breathable air. The room was guarded with windows and even though the sun was setting low into the evening, it was still warm enough to bake the building. I could feel the beads of sweat sliding along my hairline and down the back of my neck.
My plain white leotard stuck to my body, and I knew there was probably going to be blood in my ballet shoes tonight. My feet hated me right now, as I was practically murdering my toes.
“It’s your first recital since the accident, Araya. I want you to do your very best. You’re the new girl and everyone’s eyes will be on you. Some of school board isn’t exactly happy with the way you got into this school. So we need to prove to them that you have every right to be here.”
“But you’re on the board.”
“I said some.”
My lips twitched with a smile, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. My body still hurt and it was, after all, all her fault.
Sure, I was bitching and complaining now, but Violet, her unofficial name, was actually my favorite teacher here. She was the only one who hadn’t shunned me the moment I stepped into this school. I wasn’t used to being disliked for no apparent reason. Except for Nina. But in my defense, I hadn’t realized she hated me since birth.
Other than Makayla and Pierce, everyone avoided me like the plague. When I’d asked Makayla why, her advice was to screw them all. That was easier said than done, but at least being blind made it easier to ignore.
“Since when does this school not jump at the opportunity to take perfectly good blood money?”
“Blood money?” She smirked.
“Might as well be.” I grumbled. “This was practically a shotgun acceptance.”
“Well, it’s not the money, honey.” Her smooth southern accent dominated her words. “It’s that you don’t come from money. This school is as bad as a small town. It didn’t take long for word to get out of who you are and why you’re here.”
I wanted to die. “So everyone knows about my aunt? What they... did? Or tried to do, anyway.”
“Everyone has skeletons, honey. You’re just not as good at hiding them.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I grumbled.
How was I supposed to start a new life if I was going to be judged by my old one? There was no telling what people were saying about me. I winced at the thought. No wonder Mak never wanted to talk about it. I loved her even more for the fact that she never asked and she didn’t care.
“Don’t think all this talk has distracted me from what you’re supposed to be doing,” she announced.
“You mean dying a very slow, very tortured death?”
“It’s been longer than five minutes.”
“I’m still waiting on my water! Besides, how can I practice anymore without Pierce here?”
“Fine! Get a drink. I don’t need another incident like the last time.”
I frowned. I was only ninety-eight percent sure she was joking, but that didn’t stop me from scurrying past her toward the table to retrieve my water bottle.
The dance studio was huge and very well lit, not only by natural sunlight, but artificial as well. Not everyone at Madison Academy was one hundred percent blind so the light helped those of us who could distinguish light from dark shadows to figure out where we were going. There were only two girls in my dance class that were fully blind, and to say that I was somewhat mesmerized by them was an understatement. They were inspiring and one of the main reasons I was letting Violet run me into the ground.
“Sorry I’m late!” Pierce said, filling the silence with his deep voice.
“You should be!” Violet scolded. However, it was all for show because she thought Pierce walked on water.
“Your disapproval kills me, Violet!” Pierce walked behind me, pulling on my skirt playfully. “Hey there, Araya.”
“You should be apologizing to me for being late,” I whispered under my breath so only he could hear. “I’m the one who isn’t going to have any toes left when we’re done here.”
“Let me make it up to you. Dinner. My treat.”
I smiled politely at him. It was always his treat. Pierce was a nice guy. Who was I kidding? He was beyond nice. Next to Ryland, he was the sweetest, kindest guy I’d met, but he wasn’t Ryland. Not even close. He was always asking me to dinner or lunch and sometimes even breakfast. I wasn’t sure if he was interested in me or just really friendly and always hungry since he never wanted to do anything else. I still wasn’t any better at figuring guys out.
I stayed on the safe side of our friendship and always had an excuse for why I couldn’t go alone or at all. So Mak spent a lot of time playing Switzerland. If it bothered him, I was unaware of it all.
“I’ll see what Mak’s doing.” It was my go-to line.
“Sounds like a plan,” he responded cheerfully and was off to soothe Violet’s ruffled feathers.
Again, I had no idea if he was bothered or not, but I didn’t spend too much time dwelling on it. Pierce was easygoing. He split his time between being a physical aid for the newer students and dancing in Violet’s class. He was an amazing dancer and Violet said she’s never seen two people more fit to dance together in her entire career.
There were only a few seeing instructors at Madison Academy, Pierce and Violet being two of them.
Most of the students who attended Madison were graduates from Madison Academy’s sister school, Aurora Hall. Students who were newly blind or born blind attended there first. They learned everything there was to know about handling and living with their blindness, and when they were ready to move on and be on their own, they came to Madison.
Arriving at MA had been pretty intimidating, but Pierce made it easier for me. I was so far behind with my development compared to the rest of the student body here. I knew how to survive in that tiny
apartment, but in a school the size of MA, it was a whole other world and I quickly realized how little I actually knew.
“Time’s up, Araya,” Violet announced.
Lifting the bottle to my mouth, I squeezed out the remains of the water, nearly drowning myself. Then I made my way back to Violet and Pierce.
“I’m all yours.”
Pierce put his hands on his hips and Violet crossed her arms over her chest.
“Dangerous words, Araya,” Pierce said mischievously.
It turns out that’s exactly what they ended up being. Violet kept Peirce and me prisoner there for two more hours. It was tough. Probably one of the hardest rehearsals I ever remembered having, but holy geez if I didn’t love every minute of it.
Losing myself in the moves and music was a sweet release of reality. It didn’t matter how tired I was, how sweaty I got, or how badly my feet ached; I danced my freaking heart out because I didn’t know how to do anything better than this.
When we were finished, Violet said her goodnight, but not before she reminded us we were back again the day after next and she would see me tomorrow for my regular class. I pretended to be sullen and sarcastically overjoyed. If she knew how much I loved my time with her, she’d probably make me regret it.
“Come on, I’ll walk you back to your dorm,” Pierce beckoned, turning off the studio lights.
A deep darkness was all I could see as Pierce pulled me against him, leading us through the halls of the dance building. Everyone had gone for the day and the halls were empty and quiet.
Classes ended at five every day and final bell was at five fifteen. It’d been at least two hours since I remembered hearing the bell. They had bells for everything around here, including chimes that went off every hour inside every room and building.
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