Puzzle

John Leblanc

If regret could kill, I believe I would be ten meters under the ground by now, because honestly, what a hell! The week went by so slowly that if I watched Grey's Anatomy, I would certainly finish it faster.

When I fractured my ankle, I don't know what went through my head, because I thought it was the best thing in my life. But man, it sucks! You can't do anything but sit or lie down. I have marathoned most of the movies on Netflix and I just can't face the ceiling of my room anymore. Any more minutes stuck here, I'm out of here.

I haven't heard anything either. Not even Matt has texted to ask how I'm doing or just to let me know about the progress of the championship rehearsals, and it's getting on my nerves. I can't wait! I really need to know if they are done killing each other or just getting along as best they can.

And it was with this thought that I had an idea.

I stretched out my arm to the little table beside the bed and pressed the little control to call my nanny, commonly called Olga. Unfortunately I have an overprotective mother, and when she heard about the incident, she hired someone to take care of me. Yes, to take care of a twenty-three year old grown man. The upside is that she is very considerate and keeps bringing me goodies - I don't even like to think when I take this boot off, because I won't have it around anymore.

I awoke from my reverie as the gray-haired lady appeared at my bedroom door, drying her hands on the apron tied to her body.

“Do you need anything?” She said with that cute smile on her face that is contagious.

“Yes, I do.” I nodded, pushing the covers off my body. “If my mother calls…” I said, taking the crutches from beside the bed. “Tell her I've taken pain medication and I'm sleeping.” I leaned on them and stood up.

“W-Where are you going?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“I'm going to see my friend.” I laughed nasally, walking to the door. I stopped walking and pointed with my crutch. “In the first drawer of this desk is an address book. The first five numbers are for the people who’ll be with me.” I smiled and continued my walk.

“And how will you be?” She came up behind me, visibly worried. “Are you sure you can manage, walking around on this crutch?”

“I'll call a cab.” I said, and grabbed my wallet and keys from the cupboard beside the door. “And before you ask…” I stared at her. “One of my friends will bring me back.” I guaranteed.

Those assholes will bring me back. Even if it's on a threatening basis.

To avoid further questioning, I opened the door of the house and stepped out, feeling the cool morning breeze on my face. I know this sounds crazy, but I need to know how things are going over there.

The cab, which I called by app, soon pulled up in front of my door, and soon I was already in it, on my way to Rachel's. It is a short drive, but in the current circumstance, I would get tired three times as fast.

After about fifteen minutes, to my relief, the car stopped in front of the black-fronted townhouse. I pulled some bills from my wallet and handed them to the driver, then got out of the car. With some difficulty, I walked with the help of my crutches to the glass door and pushed it open, to be greeted by a nice silence.

My heart stopped immediately.

Where is everybody? Didn't they come to rehearsal? Or maybe… I don't believe it. Did they really give up the championship? Was it so impossible to unite to make it work? My head started to hurt thinking about the great opportunity that was left aside. But my suspicious side spoke louder. If they had given up, the door wouldn’t be open, right?

Then I looked at the door at the end of the corridor, which was also open. Well, whether they had given up or not, I would only find out by checking. So I walked determinedly to that room, feeling my heart beating fast in anticipation. When I stopped in front of the door, to my disappointment, I saw nothing but darkness. The lights were off and…

Surprising me, a melody began to play.

It was similar to the sound of a spoon hitting glasses, very slow and high-pitched, which made my senses go into a state of alert. Suddenly, a spotlight came on in the middle of the room and a female silhouette made itself present, moving gracefully around the place.

When she subtly turned her face to the side, allowing me to see her profile, I was certain it was Anastasia. I barely had time to appreciate this and another flash of light appeared, at the same time as a heavy beat echoed through the place, causing a small group to move.

A shiver spread through my body at the difference in the rhythms, but it was in a positive sense. It was as if they were in a battle.

The one leading the group was Matt. It was impossible not to recognize him. His movements were heavy and gave off such a strong energy that I could feel my heart beating with the same intensity inside my chest. The best thing was that, in the middle of all this, Anastasia was acting. She acted as if she was frightened and relatively confused by their presence.

The heavy rhythm disappeared, leaving only a light beat, which blended with the sound of the glasses at first. Anastasia began to bounce, I believe in some ballet step, since her arms were in front of her body, in that position that every ballerina gets, as if she were hugging a big ball. With each tinkle of the music, a jump was made, and her arms changed position. She turned on her own foot, approached Matt, looked him in the eye, and smiled, finishing with a pose.

Matt moistened his lips and, standing right in front of Anastasia, began to move to the sound of the heavy beat, which echoed again through the speakers. They were face to face and the spotlight was only one. The melody was a mixture of the two beats, so Anastasia also joined in the dance, as if responding to Matthew's challenges.

The sound of flutes and clarinets accompanied the melody, and while they reminded me of classical music, they also gave me a sense of being in a cartoon. Exactly as if the melody corresponded to his movements. The rhythm of the steps increased, and with them, the music also gained more speed. My body shivered every second, anxious to know what was coming next, and my eyes wouldn't let go of them, so as not to miss a single step.

The music picked up speed to the maximum and suddenly, in a big burst, it stopped, with Matthew and Anastasia staring at each other. Both were breathing heavily, their chests rising and falling in short pauses.

“Sensational!” Kaleb broke the silence and began clapping his hands. “This looks incredible.”

The lights were turned on, revealing everyone sitting in the corners of the room, just watching the two of them. Steph was the first to notice me, followed by Matt, who was the precursor to everyone else noticing me as well.

“Johnny?” Anastasia's eyes widened in surprise.

I smiled and walked into the room, leaning on my crutches to walk.

“What are you doing here?” Steph, who was sitting on the floor, hurried over to me, worried about me.

“Just…” I say, looking directly at Matt, who smiled in response. “I decided to see for myself.”

“I told you that you didn't have to worry about anything.” He laughed nasally. “I took care of everything!”

“You did!?” Anastasia laughed breathlessly. “Funny that three days ago, when the lights stopped working, who was the first to despair?”

“In my defense, only Johnny and I know how old this place is. Any short circuit is enough to set the whole place on fire!” He snorted, crossing his arms.

“I'll pretend I believe that just so I don't reveal your fear of the dark, okay?” Anastasia smiled mischievously, causing Matt to roll his eyes.

“Okay, Mrs. Know Everything about me.”

Anastasia smiled.

What is this here? Am I seeing this right? Anastasia and Matthew are exchanging pleasantries with each other? Wow. I’m literally speechless. At first, when I asked Matt to fill in for me, I thought they would just go out of their way to avoid confrontation, not that they would get to the point of playing with each other….

“Ana, can you help me close those steps with the girls?” Steph asked, taking her by the hand.

“Of course!” She nodded and looked at me. “Talk to you soon, Johnny!” She said, and was dragged to the other side of the room.

I stared at Matt and noticed that he had his eyes on Anastasia. I couldn't help but smile. When he met my eyes, he even frowned, confused, so I gave a long sigh and looked away.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” He questioned.

“For taking care of everything.” I nodded. “And especially for not giving up.”

“I'll go to the moon for you, man.” He slapped my arm lightly, making me laugh nasally.

“Yeah, now I believe.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to hold back a smile. “You have put your pride aside and are getting along very well with Anastasia.”

“I know where you're going with this, and you're not making it up.” Matt rolled his eyes. “We just decided to come together to try to make this work.”

“Uhm.” I nodded. “And you succeeded.”

“Yeah.” Matt agreed, looking away from me to the guys. “And the cast?” He turned abruptly to me, changing the subject. “Did the doctor say anything?”

“No.” I shook my head.” He just said that I’m doing well and should be able to put my foot down soon.”

“That's great!” He sighed. “As soon as that happens, you'll be back in your position, see?”

“Are you quitting already?” I raised my eyebrows.

“You have no idea how many times I've had to repeat this shit choreography because Anastasia couldn't find the “perfect ballet step.” He made quotation marks with his fingers and forced his voice, making me laugh out loud. “I can't stand it anymore!”

“All right, all right…” I moistened my lips, controlling my laughter. “I promise to come back as soon as I get better, okay?”

“Thank you.” He thanked me and then laughed.

“Matt, could you come here, please?” Anastasia turned to us, with a wide smile on her face.

“I'll be right back.” Matt said and ran to her.

You know, my grandmother used to say that nobody can help us to be happy, that it has to come from ourselves, because to be happy without reasons is the most authentic form of happiness. But sometimes it is hard. Being alone in the middle of a storm, not seeing an inch in front of you, you feel like giving up.

Matthew's deep laugh, coming straight from his throat, warmed my heart in an inexplicable way. He was laughing at Anastasia, for she began to slap his arm several times. It's been a long time since I've seen him like this: calm, relaxed, happy?

Upon reflection, I disagree with my grandmother. Sometimes what you need most is someone… Especially if it’s someone who knows exactly what you are facing.