Toe to Toe (On Pointe Book 1) by Penelope Freed (read with me TXT) 📕

rice and beans. Occasionally she or Tyler shares a profound piece of commentary on their food, but mostly they just eat. At one point there is a serious debate between them on the proper way to assemble a fajita. Exhaustion and boredom creep over me as I pick at my food. I rest my chin on my hand and take slow bites of my salad while the conversation swirls around me.

Finally, everyone is finished stuffing their faces and we head out to the door to our respective cars. I walk with Tyler to his car while the adults are still talking. “Thanks for coming tonight, I really appreciate it. It was really nice to have someone here just for me.” I rise up on my toes to kiss the tip of his nose.

“It was kind of fun being your cheerleader this time, babe.” He smiles that sweet, vulnerable smile that only I get to see and my heart melts. I may not have pursued Tyler with the most noble of intentions, but he’s turned out to be way sweeter and more fun than I ever could have dreamed.

“Are you going to be okay driving home?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll text you when I get home, okay?” I nod and press one more kiss to his lips before settling myself against his chest, my arms wrapped around his waist. Tyler’s arms hold me tight to him, his contented sigh tickling the top of my head. I steal a moment to let myself just rest against him, the stress and emotion of the day falling from me. We stay like this for a minute, until I see the O’Brian’s walking towards their car.

“Drive safe, text me when you get home.” I squeeze him once more before heading to Mrs. O’Brian’s car. I hop into the backseat, eyeing Hannah. “You girls must be exhausted,” Mr. O’Brian says from the front seat, buckling her seatbelt.

“Yeah,” Hannah says, barely audible, her head down, scrolling through her phone. Is she texting Trevor? Why would she look so sad if she was? Irritation at her pathetic face creeps through my gut. Her dad is still turned in his seat, watching us expectantly. He must not have heard her mousy response.

I nod my head at him. “Yeah. It’s been a long day.” He smiles at me and turns to face the front. The rest of the drive to the hotel is quiet. The O’Brian’s chat quietly to each other in the front seat, while Hannah and I stare out our windows, lost in our own thoughts.

“You girls have the room to yourselves tonight, make sure you don’t stay up late,” Mrs. O’Brian says as we pull our bags and costumes out of the trunk of her car. “You have your room keys, right?”

“Yup,” I answer when Hannah just stands there, digging mine out of a pocket in my bag.

“Okay, we’re just down the hall if you need anything. We’ll meet you for breakfast at 7:30, alright?”

“Okay Mom,” Hannah finally speaks up. I’m so annoyed at her ‘woe-is-me’ act and her tiny little squeak of a voice. I swallow it down and smile as we say goodnight and walk down the hall to our room.

Hannah stalks through the door and goes straight into the bathroom. “I need to take a shower,” she says flatly, closing the door in my face. Rude. What if I had to pee or something? I mean, I don’t, but still. I knock on the door as soon as it closes. It opens a crack and Hannah’s annoyed face peeks through.

“Can I least wash my face before you take your shower? I’ll take a shower in the morning,” I add.

“Fine, just give me a minute.” Hannah sighs and closes the door again. I pull a pair of shorts and a tank top out of my overnight bag and change while she does whatever it is she’s doing in there. Just as I finish she stalks out of the bathroom. “All yours,” she says, waving a hand towards the bathroom door. “Just like everything else,” she mutters under her breath.

“Excuse me?” I blurt out, annoyance and irritation exploding out of me as I whirl around to face her. “What fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Hannah says, turning away from me to flop down on her bed.

Oh no, nope, she’s not going to get away with that. “It obviously meant something or else you wouldn’t have said it,” I fire back.

“I don’t want to fight, just drop it Olivia.” she says to the ceiling. But I can’t let it go, I’ve been spoiling for a fight with Hannah for weeks. Who am I kidding, this fight has been brewing for years.

“You can’t seriously think I get everything?” I ask, incredulous. “Excuse me, who is the better dancer in this room?” I pause, waiting for her to speak up, when she doesn’t, the words start tumbling out of my mouth. I couldn’t stop them even if I wanted to. “Which one of us has the perfect family, the perfect feet, the perfect life? It sure as hell isn’t me!”

At my outburst, Hannah shoots up on the bed, eyes flashing. “Whatever. Who got a new car for the sixteenth birthday?” When I don’t respond she plows ahead, counting off on her fingers.

“You get new clothes all the time. You have perfect blonde hair. You even got onto the varsity cheer squad on your first try. Everyone at school wants to be your friend.” Hannah clenches her fist, breathing hard. “You dropped us. Dropped me, the second you got popular at school. I don’t even know you anymore.”

I sit down hard on my bed, facing Hannah over the space between the beds.

“‘You’re mad at me for making new friends?” I fire back. “Newsflash Hannah, my life doesn’t revolve around you. Not anymore. I’m so fucking sick of being Olivia—Hannah’s best friend, or Olivia—the silly one, or Olivia—the one with the dead mom.” My voice cracks on that last one.

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