15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

~ Tiffany ~

N o, no, no, no !

He couldn't find out this way.

When he texted earlier, I still hadn't come up with a lie good enough to keep me off-tour. Work wasn't even an option because I had no doubt that Heath was going to come back with something. So, when the message came in about coming to the show, I was walking down the hallway with Charlene and she, not so nicely but at least slightly quieter, told me I was fucked. That I created this mess and now I had to get out of it.

I just had no idea how.

Now it was too late, way too fucking late.

"I'll ask the question again, what the fuck is going on?"

I licked my lips and glanced at Charlene who lifted her hands and walked away.

"I…"I started, not sure how to go on.

"I'm fucking waiting Tiff, if that's even your name."

I glanced around, seeing a few people stop to stare but I refused to let people see this. I knew I was going to hurt Heath by explaining how I lied to him, and I didn't need other people to see that pain. I knew the look in his eyes was going to haunt me forever once everything came out. So, I took his arm and shoved him back into his dressing room.

"Don't you fucking touch me," he sneered, yanking his arm away and moving to the furthest corner of the room. "I have the right to know what the hell is going on.Why are you dressed just like my dancer?"

"That's because I am."

His eyes narrowed as he regarded me and I took a deep breath, yet it felt like no air was getting in my lungs.

"Bullshit. Her face is different."

"It's makeup. The same makeup you bitched at me over about a month and a half ago when Jameson, you, had to stop practice."

That had him coming up short. No one would have known that unless they were there.

"You're my backup dancer? I thought you were a stripper!"

"I never said yes or no to that. Heath, please-"

I never got to finish as he shook his head, effectively shutting me up.

"You don't get to call me that. Only the people who are fucking close to me call me Heath. To everyone else, it's Jameson. And to you, it's boss."

That hurt more than a slap could. He was labeling me in the pile of people he didn't know and didn't trust. An outsider.

"But we are close-"

"Shut the fuck up!" he shouted, cutting me off once more. "Haven't you fucking figured it out that I have had enough liars in my lifetime? I didn't need more. I didn't need fake. Goddamn, Tiff, I wanted real. You were the closest thing, but even that was all fake.

"I'm so tired of the bullshit, and I confided in you like I hadn't before. You tossed all of that out the window like it was nothing. Now I'm fucking tossing you like that. I can't kick you off the show tonight, but I know well enough that you can switch partners with the other lady, so you will. You are not allowed to dance anywhere near me. Now get the hell out before I have you removed."

I swallowed hard as I stared at him for a moment.I knew the blame lay at my feet; I didn't deny that. I couldn't fight it either. But it would have been nice if I could have talked. Could have explained. Instead, he didn't let me. He shut me down at every turn.

I didn't blame him. I couldn't.

"Get the fuck out!" he roared, pointing at the door.I jumped, tears streaming down my face.I was glad I hadn't put on my makeup yet. With one more glance behind me, I yanked the door open, and walked out, slamming it behind me.

I groaned the following morning as I felt my phone vibrate in my lap and rubbed my red, puffy eyes. I didn't want to see any messages or check anything. I had already seen some headlines about the show last night, and they weren't pretty. They claimed that Jameson sounded raw, rough, as if he was losing his vocal cords.That wasn't the case, but no one cared.

Then they said the show looked awkward, that us dancers shouldn't be on stage if we didn't know what we were doing. Which was true. Charlene was so frazzled after the switch-upthat half the time she didn't remember the steps. After the show, she was pissed off at me and I didn't blame her. This all was on my head.

With another groan, I finally checked my phone, frowning at my email icon.I opened it, seeing it was from my dance company, and skimmed through it, my jaw dropping.

Heath wanted me off the tour! But it couldn't be done as there was no backup and no notice. So, at the end of this leg, I was officially off of the tour, and officially out of the company. They also said they were sorry to have to state that, as they were unsure what happened, but Jameson was a huge account, and they didn't want him upset.

Sure, I understood that. But that also left me jobless after three months. What the hell was I going to do after that? No one would want me; of that I was certain. And my life as a dancer was done.

"Shit, just, fucking shit!" I screamed, tossing my phone on the couch.Maybe when we loaded the buses today, I could talk Jameson into not getting me fired.

Six hours later, with my bag on my shoulder, I walked to the lot the buses were at. The air was charged, I could feel it, and it sure didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. I knew this was coming, I had seen it but did nothing to stop it. Now all I could do was beg for some grain of mercy from the man.

"Heath," I whispered, as I walked up to him. No one would dare approach him, so it wasn't odd for me to be getting looks.He looked up, rolling his eyes at me.

"What the fuck? I told you it's boss. I also told you to leave me alone. Are you dense?"

Okay, that stung. Name-calling was never a good thing, even if I had called him an asshole plenty of times in my head.

"No, but I wanted to talk to you. I know I have no right to ask this, but I'm begging you to reconsider telling my company to fire me. I need the job."

"Not. My.Fucking. Problem. Should have thought about that before lying to me."

"Look, I know I was in the wrong, but you're taking away my livelihood!Punish me all you want, I deserve it, I won't dispute that. Hell, I'll dance for someone else, but please don't let them fire me."

"Your goddamn problems aren't my problems to worry about, sweetheart." I wasn't sure I had ever heard an endearment be dropped with so much hate and malice. And I knew for as long as I lived, I would hate that word. And I fought to keep the tears from falling."Don't come near me again, Tiffany.I have a restraining order on my ex, I'll get one on you. And again, let me be clear. You're no better than any of them. Lying and using to get what they want.

"I told you I didn't want fake, that I was tired of it. But you played me better than they had. So, I'll stick to fucking groupies and one-night stands, because if you're what real looks like, this world is a lot more fucked up than I thought. Last warning I will give you. Stay.The. Fuck. Away."