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

the mom comment, I see Hannah start to give in, guilt flitting over her features. Then, shocking me, I see her take a deep breath and fortify herself. If I wasn’t steaming mad, I’d be impressed, that is, until she starts talking again.

“Don’t even get me started on Tyler.” She chokes on his name. Good. “You have the perfect boyfriend and you knew I liked him and you invited him to come this weekend anyway!”

I can’t help snorting at that. “Oh my fucking God, Hannah. You never listen. I invited him for me. You were never part of the decision. My dad and Martha didn’t want to come, do you know how shitty that feels? No, you don’t. Your perfect mom comes to everything. Every audition, competition or performance. I’m lucky if my dad comes to one thing a year. I just wanted Tyler here for me.”

“It sure feels like you were trying to sabotage me. You knew I’d be upset. You know how important this weekend is for me. What if seeing Tyler ruined my concentration and I totally screwed everything up tonight? That’s not just messing with my weekend Olivia, that’s messing with my whole future!”

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” I snap back. “You didn’t even know he was there.” Hannah opens her mouth to interrupt, but I plow on. “Did you really think I sat at home and plotted how to ruin your weekend? News flash—my world does not revolve around the great and wonderful Hannah O’Brian and her ballet career.”

“Felt pretty deliberate to me.” Her arms are hugging her knees to her chest as she sits on the bed. If I wasn’t so mad I would care that she looks fragile and small. But I know her better than that. Hannah may be anxious, shy, and self-conscious, but she is far from fragile. I’ve seen her steel core and how she doesn’t let anything or anyone get in the way of her goals. But right now, I don’t admire that trait at all, right now I want to strip away her perfect facade and make her see that she’s not as blameless as she thinks she is.

“That’s because you’re so self-centered you assume everything is always about you. No one gives a shit. The world does not revolve around Hannah O’Brian.”

“I do not think that,” Hannah protests, swinging her legs down to face me fully. Finally, she’s ready for a fight, instead of sitting there like a kicked puppy. This just got interesting.

“Yeah, actually you do. Did you even notice anyone else from the studio today? Did you see MacKenzie, Haley, and Anna? They talk about you all the time and I bet you didn’t even know they were competing tonight. MacKenzie idolizes you and you never even acknowledged her presence today, even though she was standing three feet from you.”

“When you went off to sulk with Lisa and Katy? They were doing their trio on stage. Would it have killed you to wish them good luck? Do you know who was there to support them? Me. Flakey, irresponsible me.”

I watch Hannah’s mouth open and close several times, trying to figure out what she’s going to say. I wait, I want to see how she’s going to defend herself, because she knows I’m right. “You left to hang out with your boyfriend when I was doing my contemporary solo.” Hannah points out accusingly. Interesting that she doesn’t deny my point.

“I bet you didn’t even notice until you needed someone to hold your jacket when you went on stage,” I counter, feeling smug. “Admit it, you only stayed with me because I was before you.”

“I would have stayed. I thought we were friends.” I can’t help but laugh. She’s so full of bullshit it’s unbelievable.

“Like how you would have ditched Lisa backstage after your Aurora solo unless Ms. Parker specifically told you not to? Yeah, you’re a real good friend.” I add, sarcasm dripping from every word. “You want to know a secret? I told Ms. Parker she should tell you to stay. I know you well enough to know that you would have left Lisa on her own, without a second thought, if she hadn’t. ‘Cause you don’t want to admit it, but you can be just as self-centered a bitch as me.”

Hannah just glares at me from her bed. Her spine so stiff one good shove would snap her in half. I lean back on my hands, smug and confident I’ve made my point.

“It’s not just this weekend. And you know it,” Hannah manages to get out. “You know I’ve had a crush on Tyler forever.” Tears are pooling in her eyes but I’m too mad to care. Let her cry, I’m not done with this conversation. It feels so good to finally tell her what I think, the more I say, the more I realize I’ve been holding onto this anger for years. All the times I’ve watched her and her mom together, grief for my own mom clawing its way through my gut. How many times I’ve seen her dad show up at events, even though he travels all the time. He always makes the time to come support her, while my dad chooses Aiden and Marie over me time after time. I push all that aside and focus on the issue with Tyler. It’s time to finish this fight.

“Yeah, and you’ve been too chicken-shit to even say hi to him for years. You know he didn’t even know who you were until January? How can you expect someone to like you back if they don’t even know your name? God, you’re such a baby.” I huff, blocking her words and firing right back.

“I—” Hannah starts to say but I’m not done.

“No, you listen to me. You don’t get to call dibs on someone when we’re twelve, do nothing about it, and then expect him to magically know he’s not supposed to like me back four fucking years later. Life doesn’t work