Page 1 of Dancing on Air

Prologue

Eight-year-old Cora held her position until she felt her toes go numb and her insides shake. Only when Madame Celine tapped her cane twice did she finally lower her feet slowly and, most importantly, gracefully to the ground.

“Bien,” Madame Celine said in a low voice. “We are done.”

Cora knew that meant the older woman no longer wanted to work with her. Part of her was happy that she could go sit with the other girls, and part of her was upset at herself for not pleasing the woman who could decide the fate of her dancing career.

When she sat next to her friend Megan, she glanced out the window and held in a groan when she saw her mother standing just outside, watching her. Pam Thomas was… well, not all there.

Her mother had struggled with bipolar disorder her entire life. The first time that she had been admitted into Twin Valley, a state-run facility almost an hour from their home in Columbus, her mother had only been nine years old. One year older than Cora was now.

Every single day of her young life, Cora thought about what she would do if she became like her mother. She supposed it was why she focused so hard on her dancing. It kept her thoughts off what she would do if she started to lose her own mind.

Each time her mother had an episode, as her aunt Patty called them, Cora would be shuffled off to her aunt’s much nicer home. To be honest, she didn’t know why she ever returned to the run-down place her mother called home. No one took care of the place when her mother was gone.

Since her father had never been around, her aunt had always stepped in and taken Cora so that she wouldn’t be taken away by the state and put into foster care. At least she had her aunt, the only person in her life who acted like she cared at all.

It was actually her aunt who had first encouraged Cora to signed up for dance classes back when she was around four.

She wished she could just stay at her aunt Patty’s forever and ever. But her aunt always encouraged her to return home to her mother whenever she got out of the facility. Her mother had been in and out of the facility so many times over Cora’s life that she’d lost count. She would be gone for months at a time. Sometimes, even when she wasn’t locked away, her mother would go off and leave Cora with her aunt.

A few days ago, her mother had once more returned home from somewhere. Cora didn’t know if she’d been locked up this time or had just taken off. At this point, her mother was practically a complete stranger.

At least one thing was going right for Cora now. She had been accepted into a new dance school and had spent most of the past year living in a dorm room with other girls her age. The school was more than an hour away from her mother’s home, which was a huge relief because she knew it was a hassle for her mother to drive all the way up there each week to see her.

If all went well and she impressed Madame Celine, she’d be heading to New York soon, escaping her mother’s hold on her altogether.

It took almost half an hour for Madame Celine to call an end to the session. Afterward, she called three names, Cora’s being one of them.

She and the other two girls approached Madame Celine.

“The three of you have been chosen to follow me to New York to the Broadway Art Center later this year,” Madame Celine said. Cora held in a squeal. “Of course you’ll need your legal guardian’s permission.” Cora’s gut twisted as her heart dropped. Her eyes darted to the glass where her mother still stood like a statue, watching her with huge eyes. Tears threatened to surface in Cora’s matching eyes.

If it was up to her aunt Patty, Cora would definitely be heading to New York. But her mother was still her legal guardian, and there was no way her mother would sign off on her leaving the state.

Her mother was… clingy.

Madame Celine tapped her cane again, and the three of them rushed away to gather their things.

When Cora stepped out into the cold after changing into her sweats and jacket, her mother was waiting. It was snowing, and she was thankful her aunt had purchased a warmer coat for her.

“What are you doing here?” Cora asked, tossing her bag over her shoulder.

She was only eight, but Cora was a very mature eight. She often walked between the dance studio and her dorm all by herself.

“I’m here to take you home. Your father will be returning soon,” her mother said in a booming voice, as if she wanted the entire world to hear her. “I’ve fixed everything. We’re finally going to be a family.” Her mother’s smile spread, reminding Cora of the villain from a movie she’d watched with her friends recently.

Cora’s insides twisted and vibrated with fear as the thought that someday she might end up as unstable as her mother. It was why she never let anyone get too close to her. She’d seen firsthand what her mother’s illness had done to her and her aunt Patty. She was determined not to hurt anyone that much. Ever.

Chapter One

Hold it together, Cora told herself as her body froze in the position while she held her breath. This was the most important moment of her life. What happened now would either make her or send her down a totally different path once more.

She was just a few months past her eighteenth birthday, at her prime as far as dancers went. Nothing could hold her back now that she was officially an adult.

Focus, Cora told herself.

Then she noticed the woman standing just inside the studio doors.