“He said you and Dad agreed I wasn’t ready,” she whispered. “That you didn’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me yourselves.”
I felt sick.
“But I kept asking you about class,” I said. “I even offered to buy you new shoes.”
“I know.” Audrey looked down. “Derek said you felt guilty and were pretending everything was normal until I gave up on my own.”
I felt sick.
“He knew you’d trust him,” I said.
Audrey nodded. “He said you’d get angry if I confronted you. I thought you’d stop letting me come here altogether.”
I called Ms. Alvarez over. She told Audrey directly that I’d never requested her withdrawal.
“He said practicing would only make me look desperate.”
Audrey began crying.
“I thought you were ashamed of me.”
I hugged her.
“Never. Not for one second.”
On the drive home, she told me about the evenings she’d spent sitting in the studio lobby or at a nearby café with her homework instead of attending class.
