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“Never. It’s my gift. And you can’t refuse a gift.”
“Says who? There are always gift receipts and a thing called re-gifting. I’m pretty sure I could refuse to take it, too.”
“No. Look, you have been through some stuff here. And had to deal with things that I don’t even know how it didn’t break you. You deserve this. You deserve a chance at being happy for a day or so.”
“Just for a day, huh?”
“Well, baby steps.” She throws her head back and laughs.
Liz found out that the guys wanted to take me to homecoming. Okay, so not so much found out but rather, I told her and swore her to secrecy. She then insisted that there was no way I was wearing one of my cutup dresses to the dance. That I needed a dress fit for a queen.
I, of course, laughed in her face. I’m far from a queen.
And in true Liz excitement, she went out and got me one. And I’m not going to lie, it’s beautiful. This is a classy dress and one I probably would’ve picked out myself. It’s not my usual style, but it’s a dance.
The dress is a long ballroom cut with black satin and a mix of lace appliqués and beadwork patches. Most of the lace and beadwork is up top as it fades down the rest of the dress, showcasing the satin. The neckline is a scoop with thin beaded straps, and the back is semi open. Oh, and there’s pockets.
I smile. “Well, it’s beautiful. And you did pick my favorite color.”
“I did want to go for the green, but I figured if there was any chance to actually get you in it, I would have to opt for black.” She winks at me, then turns to head back into the bathroom to finish with her hair so that we can make our way over to the hotel for our dance.
It’s been a weird week that I’m not even sure how to deal with. First, Dr. Parker didn’t show for my session this week. I never got a call or a message that he needed to cancel. I sent him an email to make sure we were still on for next week, but I haven’t heard back.
I tried calling my aunt to see if she could get a hold of him. Or if he called her to tell her he wasn’t doing a session this week, but she never picked up.
The bitch can go rot in hell.
How do you ignore your niece, who has lost both her parents? Treat her like she’s less of a person? She shipped me off to this place and washed her hands of me. Thank God she doesn’t have her own crotch goblins. I would actually feel bad for them.
But whatever.
Then there’s the guys. And that’s been a whole other strange world I stepped into this past week.
They’ve been distant. A couple times they missed classes, but when they were there, they just weren’t. They would look at me, smile, and maybe even say a few things. But that was it. I felt like there were walls being erected between us. And I had no idea why.
I tried texting them on the group chat, but the answers I got were vague and short. And since I don’t want to be “that girl”, I just let it go.
Even the bullying around school has died down. This week has actually been a nice week. I felt like a normal student at a normal school but still in ugly ass uniforms.
Still, something in me has me worried. There’s something I can’t put my finger on. Something is very off.
I grab hold of my locket and close my eyes. Their touch, the way they felt inside of me, I know whatever it is, it’ll be all right. The way they held me, kissed me, it felt real. That they wanted me. Whatever is going on, they will get through it and then everything will be fine.
With everything that’s happened this week, there’s a small part of me that’s ashamed that I did what I did with them. It’s unconventional. Three? Three of them? And the lack of communication has not helped those feelings. Doubt creeps in my mind, embarrassment. I now regret not having them pick me up for the dance.
Closing my eyes, I push those thoughts to the back of mind.
I curl my hair behind my ears and put on a pair of earrings that Liz let me borrow. They are beautiful floating diamond stud earrings. I refused them at first, and then I asked how much I would need to give her if I lost one. She brushed me off and pushed them in my hand.
There’s no way these things are cubic zirconias. These are definitely diamonds. I’m wearing fucking diamonds on my ears. I know I’ll be nervous the entire night and constantly checking to make sure I don’t lose one. Or both. Shit. I probably have thousands of dollars in my ears right now.
“Stop thinking about it. You’re wearing the earrings!” Liz calls from the bathroom.
My eyes widen in surprise, and my head turns towards her direction. “How—”
“I can hear your breathing pick up. If you lose it, it’s not a big deal. I have like thirty pairs of diamond studs, and I couldn’t tell you where I got half of them.” She laughs and sighs.
I stand there with my mouth wide open. Fucking rich people. They literally have diamonds coming out their asses.