“Well, I guess that’s one less prodigy to worry about,” Andy Daugherty snorted. “What the hell’s the matter with him?”
Dylan turned to the smirking teenager and said, “Shut up, you asshole! You don’t know the hell he’s been through!”
“Well, if he’s going to freak out every time he has to perform, he’s not going last too long, now, is he?” Andy sneered.
Dante turned to him and said, “You really are a jerk, you know that?”
“So, does that mean you’re going to quit living off my family while you’re in New York?” the boy replied.
Dylan didn’t remain to hear the rest of the conversation. He made his way through the other guests, dancers and staff from the company and the academy and was hurrying toward the veranda and the doors to the atrium when he saw a movement above him. He turned his face upward and saw Jeremy climbing onto the balustrade of the balcony above at the same moment he heard Rafael’s terrified scream from within the house.
“Jeremy! No!” Dylan cried as he ran toward the boy.
Jeremy was sobbing uncontrollably as he stood on his knees on the concrete railing.
“I’ve ruined everything!” he cried. “Everything, Dylan!”
Jeremy was leaning over and was about to fall when Rafael appeared and grabbed him, yanking him back onto the floor of the balcony. Dylan closed his eyes in relief before running into the house. Conrad was running from the kitchen hallway and passed him going toward the stairs. Teddy was following behind him, tears running down his cheeks and a look of terror on his face.
When he reached their bedroom, Dylan found Rafael on the balcony, on his knees, arms wrapped around the younger boy, both sobbing with heartbreaking pain. Alistair and Conrad stood above them and Teddy pushed through before falling to his knees and taking both boys in his arms.
“I’ve ruined everything!” Jeremy wailed. “I’ve ruined everything!”
“No, you haven’t, sweetheart! It’s all right! It’s all right!” Rafael sobbed. “It’s all right!”
Alistair knelt before him and said, “You haven’t ruined anything, Jeremy. You just had a little nervous episode. That’s all. You’re fine, son. You’re fine.”
Jeremy looked up then, and they all saw his glassy eyes. “I’m sorry, Daddy!” he wailed. “I’ve tried as hard as I can! I really did! I’m sorry Daddy!”
Conrad looked over at Alistair and said, “He’s lapsed back to where he was before.”
Alistair nodded and reached over to the boys. “Come on, Rafael. Help us get him to the bed.”
Geoffrey appeared in the room just as Conrad and Alistair were carrying the crying figure of Jeremy into the bedroom. Teddy was helping the distraught Rafael, who climbed onto the bed and desperately held the younger boy.
“What can I do?” Geoffrey asked.
Alistair turned to him and said, “There’s a black address book on my desk in the study. Bring it up here. I need it now.”
Geoffrey nodded and ran out of the room.
Alistair knelt beside the bed as Conrad and Teddy stood beside him. He caressed Jeremy’s face and whispered, “It’s all right, Jeremy. Just relax and feel peaceful. Everything’s just fine. You are a good boy, Jeremy, and we all love you. You’re a wonderful boy and a wonderful dancer and you’re going to be a great success, Jeremy. You are and Rafael and Conrad and I are going to do everything we can to help you become the great dancer you’ll be. Your parents would be proud of you, Jeremy. They would; we’re all proud of you, Jeremy. Every one of us is proud of you, sweetheart. You haven’t spoiled anything.”
Jeremy continued to whimper, but he was no longer speaking to his father or wailing that he had ruined everything. Teddy handed his handkerchief to Alistair, who wiped the tears and snot from Jeremy’s face as he continued to caress him and whisper comforting words to him. Rafael tightly held him, his own tears falling onto Jeremy’s face.
After a long moment, the younger boy whimpered, “I’ve ruined everything. I’m a good dancer and I’ve ruined everything. I let everyone down. I’m so sorry, Rafael. I’m so sorry.”
Rafael began to cry again as he whispered into the boy’s ear, “You didn’t let me down, Jeremy. I let you down. It’s all my fault, Jeremy. You didn’t let any of us down.”
He looked over at Alistair and, tears still streaming down his face, said, “I should have known. The nightmares—its all my fault! I should have known!”
“It’s no one’s fault, Rafi,” Alistair said as he reached over and ran his fingers through the teenager’s curls. “Or it’s all our fault, for none of saw how deeply he was hurting, how troubled he was.”
“We brought him here too soon,” Teddy whispered. “I should have known that it was all too much change for him.”
“No,” Alistair said. “Let’s all concentrate on letting Jeremy know how much we all love him and care for him and how proud we are of him.”
Geoffrey came back into the room and said, “Here it is,” as Alistair looked up.
He took the book and rose to his feet. “I’m calling the doctor. Conrad, you and Teddy stay with him. Dylan, you and Geoffrey go out and let everyone know that everything’s all right and ask them all to relax and…well, do whatever. I’ll be down later to let them know what the situation is.”
He turned to Teddy, who had replaced him at Jeremy’s side, and said, “Watch over them, Teddy.”
“I will,” the man replied as he gently caressed Jeremy’s forehead.
All the while, Jeremy was whispering, “I let everyone down, Teddy. I let everyone down. Mommy and Daddy will never be proud of me now. I let everyone down.”
Alistair closed his eyes for several seconds, the pain of listening to the boy difficult to bear, before he turned and left the room.
—o-0-o—
Darkness had descended over the house. Alistair had gone outside to apologize to the guests and offer to let them stay and drink, eat, and socialize before he reentered the house and returned to the second floor.
When the doctor emerged from the room, Alistair led him to the study downstairs, along with Teddy and Conrad, leaving Rafael with the now sleeping Jeremy, holding him securely in his arms .
“The boy has had what a layman would call a nervous breakdown. The nightmares he has experienced combined with his obsessive insistence on practicing more than he needs to and the pressure to perform perfectly in front of you gentlemen are all causative. He has had a severe traumatic incident. There is no official term in the DSM for what’s happened, but it’s similar to what we see in some soldiers returning from Vietnam. Aside from the death of his parents and his uncle’s abusive treatment of the boy, have there been any long-term issues with the boy?”
Teddy leaned forward in his chair and said, “He has been obsessed with perfection for as long as he’s danced. He believes his parents permitted him to train as a dancer because they loved him, but he felt they would have preferred he go into sports instead. He has been obsessed with doing well to justify their letting him train. Apparently, he feels he would be letting them down if he wasn’t doing his absolute best.”
The doctor nodded and said, “That’s common in families with high achievers and high expectations.”
“He also has a problem with his older brother,” Teddy added. “His older brother got all the attention, though the boy is a failure in almost everything he does. Jeremy has always been the one who worked hard and achieved and since their parents died, Brian, the older brother, has simply drunk and smoked pot and partied. Jeremy has admitted that he never understood why Brian got all the attention when it was he who earned the good grades and worked his heart out at ballet.”
The doctor nodded and said, “That would make sense then. We see this sort of thing when there has been long-term trauma or similar issues. This has been brewing for a while. There is usually, however, something that triggers this kind of acute incident. You say he was performing on stage when it happened?”
“Yes,” Alistair replied, “and he was performing beautifully, excellently, with feeling and passion. It was magnificent…and then, in the middle of a leap, it seemed to falter.”
“Did something happen? For instance, perhaps did anyone in the audience say anything?”
The three men thought for a moment and then Conrad nodded.
“Yes. Andrew Daugherty, one of our students, said, ‘Wicked. Fucking wicked.’ He was using it as a compliment. He said it at a normal volume, so Jeremy could easily have heard it.”
The doctor nodded and Teddy quickly added, “That had to be it because Jeremy was looking directly at Andy when I saw his eyes change and he started speaking as if to his mother. He was directly addressing Andy. That has to be it. ‘Wicked’ must have been a word Jeremy’s mother used—and in the traditional sense, not the colloquial sense.”
The doctor nodded and Alistair asked, “Is this something that can be treated? Is he going to have similar incidents in the future?”
“I’m not a psychiatrist, Alistair, but I would think that if this is left untreated, he very well could experience episodes like this in the future. It is common after deeply traumatic incidents for subjects to have nightmares and to dissociate to the point that they think they are back in the traumatic incident. Many of the doctors who work with soldiers returning from Vietnam unofficially refer to this as a post-traumatic stress incident. He needs to see a psychiatrist.”
“Will he be able to train this fall?” Teddy asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how serious his emotional pain is. I don’t know how he’d handle the pressure of that sort of school. Only a specialist in that field could answer that question.”
He rose and said, “Here are some tranquilizers in case there is a recurrence before you can arrange for him to see a specialist. And, here is a card with the name of a very good man I recommend in Southampton. Of course, there are many in the city and I’m sure your staff physician can recommend one there.”
Alistair nodded and shook his hand as he replied, “Thank you. If anything further happens, I’ll call.”
The doctor nodded and said, “Let him get some sleep tonight.”
He turned, but stopped, adding, “It’s surprising to find this kind of thing in one so young as he. Children seem more resilient than adults at handling these kinds of issues.”
—o-0-o—
Rafael held the sleeping boy in his arms as he lay beside him, still wearing his leotard and tights. He had stared down at his face since the doctor left, unable to bring himself to leave Jeremy’s side. He gently brushed a strand of hair across the boy’s forehead and kissed his cheek as he watched Jeremy’s chest rise and fall with his breathing. The boy seemed to be deeply asleep. Outside, he could hear conversation at the gathering on the patio and he was surprised everyone hadn’t left. Wearily, he sat up and carefully crawled off the bed at the other side so as not to disturb the sleeping boy.
He undressed and then put on a pair of jeans and an Izod pullover before walking barefoot around the bed and gazing down with love and pain at the closed eyes. Jeremy’s lips were just barely moving. He wasn’t having another dream, was he? Rafael took a deep breath and turned, padding across the carpet to the door. He stopped and looked back a final time before quietly stepping out the door. Rafael didn’t really want to leave him alone, but the doctor had said Jeremy would sleep all night without waking.
The house was quiet as he walked down the hall toward the stairs. He could hear music outside and was surprised the party had gone on after what had happened. He paused at the top of the stairs, unsure that he wanted to see anyone, though he wanted to know what the doctor had said.
At the bottom of the stairs he turned and walked past the koi pool, but stopped when he saw Geoffrey emerge from the hallway leading to the kitchen.
“How is he?” the young man asked.
Rafael sighed and looked down before replying, “He’s asleep. The doctor gave him a pill.”
“Alistair and Conrad are in the study with Teddy. Alistair told everyone to go ahead and enjoy themselves outside and he’d be back out to play host a little later.”
He paused a moment and then asked, “Are you all right?”
“I could shoot myself for being so blind,” Rafael replied, “for not seeing what anyone should have been able to see.”
“No, no,” Geoffrey replied as he placed a hand on Rafael’s shoulder. “That won’t help at all, and isn’t even true. What’s important is, you love him. That’s what he needs now.”
Rafael nodded, but Geoffrey looked down and said, “You know, at first, I thought Alistair was going to…well, you know…”
Rafael nodded and said, “I thought so, too.”
“And, I even told him I’d help him set up the situation,” Geoffrey added. “But, he sees how special what you and Jeremy have is. And, I do, too. Alistair won’t try to be more than a father figure to him. You can relax about that, if you were worried.”
“I wasn’t. I was worried about Conrad, but I wasn’t worried about Alistair.”
He waited a moment and then added, “Much.”
Geoffrey grinned and said, “They’re in the study.”
“Thanks,” Rafael replied with a sincere smile.
Entering the room, he found the three sitting before each other, each with a glass of Scotch. They smiled as he entered and Teddy asked, “How is he?”
“Asleep,” Rafael replied. “I’ll go back up in a few minutes. I don’t want to leave him for too long. What did the doctor say?”
Alistair recounted their discussion with the doctor. Rafael sat down and listened with deep interest, nodding here and there, until Alistair had finished. Teddy sighed heavily and said, “I’m going to have to call his aunt tomorrow.”
“Oh, you can’t!” Rafael objected. “She’ll insist he go back to Greensburg! I know her and that’s the worst thing that could happen to him! To move back into that horrid house and to face everyone and feel that he’s a failure…that will kill him! Teddy, you can’t call her.”
“I have to, Rafael. I’m his temporary guardian here in New York, but I have a legal obligation to Jane to call her.”
“Can’t you wait, though, until he’s seen a shrink and we know for sure what’s going on?” Rafael begged. “The worst possible thing would be for him to go back home!”
“I know that, but I seriously doubt his aunt will see it that way. She is his legal guardian and I am required to notify her of any problems.”
Rafael’s shoulders sagged in despair before he looked up and asked, “Maybe you could call Grayson Harrison first.”
“The deviant lawyer who’s handling the Fenwick estate?” Teddy asked.
“He’s really a nice man,” Rafael replied. “He’s simply trapped in a city that doesn’t give him much opportunity to be himself.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Anyway, he’ll be able to tell us more about what to do and how he thinks Jane will react and if there’s any way we can avoid sending Jeremy back or…or even telling her until he’s recovered.”
Alistair nodded and said, “That might be a good idea. Is this lawyer someone we can trust?”
“Oh, yes,” Rafael replied. “He was a friend of my stepfather and…well…we first met at a party my stepfather threw when I was ten, if you know what I mean.”
A look of strong distaste came over Alistair’s face and Rafael quickly added, “He’s a good man. He hated what Stephen did to me and he’s a gentleman, but he will be on our side—or rather Jeremy’s side. He’ll be more interested in Jeremy’s interests than Jane’s and he’ll see that Jeremy needs to be here. It’ll help to have him on our side.”
“I think you’re right,” Teddy said with a nod. “I’ll call him in the morning. It’s a Saturday, though.”
“I’ve got his home number,” Rafael replied with a blush. “He, um, gave it to me last week.”
Teddy raised an eyebrow as Rafael reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet. “Hey, we had dinner. That was the night we decided what to do about Jeremy.”
Teddy nodded and smirked.
“Hey, I called you that night,” Rafael said defensively. “Remember?”
Teddy smiled teasingly and took the business card Rafael held out to him.
“I really think he’ll be okay,” the teenager said. “I really think that he just needs a few days to rest and relax and once he gets into the routine of training, everything will be just fine.”
Alistair shook his head and said, “Rafael, you know the pressure our trainees are under. Between school and Ballet Academy, it’s intense. We can’t take a chance that Jeremy will have more problems or that the stress will worsen the situation. We need to get this under control and taken care of and, Teddy’s right. We need to inform his aunt, though I would prefer we wait until we have a better handle on what’s going on and how to deal with it.”
Rafael nodded and sighed. He rose to his feet and Alistair extended a hand to him. He took it as the man asked, “How are you doing?”
Rafael shook his head and replied, “It’s all my fault. I should have seen that the nightmares were a sign something was wrong. I should have known how much his parents’ approval meant to him. Madame Pulchova tried to warn me last week and I thought it would be okay. I didn’t think it would be a problem, but I should have seen it. I could just kick myself.”
Alistair shook his head and replied, “You can’t blame yourself for this, Rafi. You’ve done more than anyone to help him. He’d be dead now if you hadn’t rescued him. He’d already tried once; he’d have tried again. We will take care of him and you will love him and everything will work out. It will, Rafi.”
The teenager nodded silently and then, after a long and thoughtful moment, he released Alistair’s hand and said, “I need to get back to him.”
He turned amidst wishes of good luck from the men and he returned to the bedroom.
Entering the room, he could hear Jeremy moaning softly in the dark. He approached and saw the boy’s head turn one way and then the other. Quickly, Rafael undressed and crawled back into bed beside him, wrapped his arms around him, and whispered into his ear, “It’s okay, Jeremy. It’s okay. You’re dreaming. You’re having a bad dream. I’m here, Jeremy, and you’re safe.”
Jeremy sniffed and whimpered, “Rafael.”
The older boy kissed Jeremy’s cheek and said, “I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here.”
Jeremy moaned and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart. Everything’s fine. Just relax and drift off to sleep and I will be here all night holding you and making sure you’re all right. So, don’t worry about a thing. Everything’s just fine. I love you, Jeremy.”
The boy sniffed and snuggled into Rafael and the teenager felt his tears return as he tightly held the boy. Jeremy drifted off to sleep again, but Rafael could only lie there, holding the boy and gazing into his face with love and concern.
—o-0-o—
“Is Jeremy coming down for lunch?”
Rafael was walking across the veranda toward the patio when Teddy looked up from his sandwich and spoke. The teenager simply sighed and shrugged as he dropped into his chair. Alistair looked at him with concern and asked, “Has he said anything this morning, gotten out of bed, done anything?”
Rafael shook his head and replied, “He ate a piece of toast with butter for breakfast and drank a small glass of tomato juice. He likes tomato juice. After that he just lay back down under the covers. He’s just staring out into space and won’t talk. He doesn’t even move when I speak to him. He just lies there like he can’t hear anything.”
Conrad shook his head and said, “It’s as if he’s just given up.”
Rafael looked down and said, “He has. He thinks he’s ruined everything and I just can’t get him to see that he hasn’t, that everyone still thinks he’s a fantastic dancer and that he’s going to do great at Ballet Academy. He’s embarrassed and he thinks he’s let everyone down and…”
Tears started flowing down his cheeks. Teddy leaned over and wrapped his arms around the teenager.
“It’s going to work out, Rafi. It will just take time, but Jeremy will be all right.”
Rafael sniffed and asked, “Did you call Grayson Harrison?”
Teddy nodded and said, “He’s flying up here this afternoon. He wants to see Jeremy for himself before we decide on notifying Jane McCoy. He thinks it might not be necessary and understands our reluctance.”
Rafael nodded despondently and looked around, asking, “Where is everybody?”
“Almost everyone has left,” Alistair replied. “It turned out to be not the most jovial weekend, so they’ve all gone home. Dylan is still here, of course. He’s in the studio practicing. Perhaps, Jeremy might practice with you. Perhaps dancing would help him.”
“I don’t know,” Rafael replied doubtfully. “I really think he’s just given up. He’s worked so hard all these years to make everyone proud and in that one incident last night, he thinks he’s ruined everything and I can’t get him to understand that he hasn’t.”
“Don’t say anything to Jeremy about Harrison coming up,” Teddy said. “We’ll give him another pill and let him sleep.
“Why don’t you swim for awhile with Dylan. You need to relax.”
Rafael shook his head and said, “I can’t leave Jeremy alone. I want him to know that I’m there and that he’s not alone.”
Rafael finished his small lunch and then returned upstairs. Jeremy was still lying on his side, gazing numbly at nothing. Rafael knelt down before him and as he caressed the boy’s face, he whispered, “I’m back, sweetheart. It’s time for another pill. Okay? Here it is and here’s some water.”
Numbly, Jeremy opened his mouth and took the pill and when Rafael held the glass up to his lips, he swallowed and then lay his head back down. Rafael found the stuffed bear lying above the pillow and smiled as he picked it up and playfully brought it in front of Jeremy’s face. Jeremy finally showed life as he reached out for it and held it tightly against his chest, clutching it desperately before he returned to his previous almost catatonic state. Rafael leaned over and kissed his forehead before climbing back into bed behind him and wrapping his arms around him.
—o-0-o—
It was mid-afternoon when Rafael ventured downstairs again. He could hear a piano and found Alistair and Jonathan in the lounge, Jonathan at the piano and Alistair standing thoughtfully beside him as the composer made notes on sheet music. Conrad was seated nearby, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Rafael stood in the doorway and asked, “Where’s Teddy?”
“In my study,” Alistair replied. “He’s working on the notes for a new book. At least, that was what he said. I have a feeling his pursuits are more liquid than literary.”
Rafael grimaced at the man and Alistair immediately looked down. “I’m sorry. I know this has been painful for everyone.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Conrad interjected. “It can’t be good for Jeremy just to lie there and think. Why don’t we go to the beach this afternoon. I know it sounds crazy, but he seemed so serene and happy there the other day and it might be a good way to get his mind working again on something other than the remorse and humiliation he must feel. Then, tonight Grayson Harrison can see him and help us decide on a course of action.
Alistair looked at Rafael with a raised eyebrow and asked, “What do you think, Rafi? Do you think he’s even capable of going to the beach.”
“Maybe,” the teenager replied. “He’s basically just a log right now, but I think we could get him into the car. It might be good to get him out of bed and out in the fresh air and sun.”
“I think that’s a marvelous idea,” Alistair added with a smile. “Conrad, why don’t you and Rafi go up and talk with him. Jonathan and I will get Teddy and Dylan ready.”
Conrad rose and walked toward Rafael. Leading him out the door and toward the atrium, he wrapped an arm around the teenager’s shoulders and said, “I’m proud of the way you’ve taken care of Jeremy and loved him. You’re a good person, Rafael. I have a lot of respect for you and I know this has been very painful for you.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever felt this way about anyone,” Rafael replied. “I mean, I love Alistair and I know I’m only fifteen and people think we don’t feel things that deeply, but…I love Jeremy more than life. I would die for him.”
“I think you would,” Conrad said as they started up the stairs. “Jeremy’s very fortunate to have you.”
“I don’t know about that,” Rafael replied. “If I’d been paying closer attention, I could have seen this coming and I could have done something. I should have known. I should have known.”
“It’s not your fault, Rafael,” Conrad said. “None of us saw it coming and there was no way for you to know how deep the pain was he was hiding inside.”
Making their way down the hallway, Rafael responded, “I knew. Madame Pulchova warned me last week. She said that Jeremy was motivated by shame about being a ballet dancer and that his motivation was to make his parents proud, that he had to be the best to justify his parents sacrifice.”
“What sacrifice?” Conrad asked contemptuously.
They stood outside the door to the bedroom as Rafael explained, “Their dream of Jeremy playing football at Vanderbilt like his dad had and of him becoming a lawyer and moving into the firm with his dad. That was their dream and it kills Jeremy to know he took that away from them. Now…he sees it was all a waste, that he’s nothing but a failure.”
Conrad shook his head and replied, “That’s too much for a twelve-year-old boy to bear.”
“Exactly,” Rafael replied.
He opened the door quietly and found Jeremy sitting up on the side of the bed, naked and staring off into space. He made no sign that he was aware of anyone entering the room. The two slowly approached him and Rafael said, “Hey, sweetheart. Conrad was thinking that maybe we could all go to the beach. That might help get your mind off everything and you can relax and maybe have some fun.”
Jeremy simply stared numbly ahead before lying back down and rolling onto his side with his back to the two. Rafael looked at the man, who nodded and sat down beside the younger boy. He placed a hand on Jeremy’s bare shoulder and gently caressed it.
“Jeremy, I think you need to get out in the sun and the fresh air.”
Jeremy inhaled and in a dead voice, replied, “I can’t face anyone. I…let everyone down. I failed. I failed.”
“You did nothing of the sort!” Conrad replied forcefully. “You’re a gifted and inspirational dancer, Jeremy. There may be only three or four other twelve-year-old boys in America who can dance as well as you. You simply had a nervous incident caused by the stress and pressure you’ve been under. You’re going to be just fine and no one, and I mean no one thinks you have let anyone down. We all love you, Jeremy. I love you, Jeremy.”
The boy held the cover over him and as Conrad tugged at it, the boy tightened his grip. The man refused to surrender, however. He reached over with his other hand and forced Jeremy’s fingers to release the blanket and sheet and then he pulled them down, revealing Jeremy’s body. He gently rolled the boy over and Jeremy seemed to give up. Conrad brought the boy to his feet as Rafael watched and Jeremy stood naked before him, his penis small and withdrawn. Rafael stepped to the dresser and pulled Jeremy’s swimsuit out. He dropped to his knees before the boy, half expecting Jeremy’s penis to rise to an erection, as it normally would with Rafael kneeling before him. However, it didn’t. The teenager and the man pulled his swimsuit up and then Rafael brought a yellow Izod knit to the boy and pulled it over his torso. He slipped the boy’s arms through the sleeves and then stood before him with a smile. Jeremy seemed completely unaware of what was happening. Conrad brought the boy’s Topsiders over and knelt before him.
Jeremy didn’t move. Conrad looked up to see a large rise in the front of his swimsuit at his eye level. He stared at it for a moment before looking up. Jeremy was looking down at the man with dead eyes. The man frowned and said, “Jeremy?”
The boy suddenly turned and climbed back into bed. He pulled the covers over and turned with his back to the others. Rafael leaned over and put his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, but the younger boy jerked away and whined, “Leave me alone! Go away. I don’t want to go to the beach. Just leave me alone. Please.”
“Jeremy!” Rafael declared impatiently, “You can’t just curl up in bed for the rest of your life! You have to get up and do something!”
“I want to go home,” the muffled voice declared from under the covers.”
Rafael sighed and said, “Alistair wants us to stay until at least Monday, when you’ve had a chance to see the psychiatrist.”
“No, I want to go home. I want to go back to Greensburg.”
“You can’t go back to Greensburg,” Rafael replied, regaining his patience. “You’re here and you just need to get used to Ballet Academy and everything’s going to be okay.”
“No! No!” Jeremy screamed under the cover. “It will never be okay! Never! Ever!”
He threw his covers off his head and yelled, “Go away! Please! Please! I’m begging you! Please, just leave me alone!”
He covered himself up again and Rafael sighed heavily. He looked at Conrad, who pressed his lips tightly together and nodded. Slowly, the two rose to their feet and silently walked out the door. With the click of the door as he closed it, Rafael’s strength seemed to give. He collapsed against Conrad and closed his eyes, his head lying on the powerful dancer’s shoulder.