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“Is that any way to treat the girl?” Dad questioned, a little upset with his wife.

Mom smiled, a cruel, sarcastic smile.

“I'm not going to bother answering you, Nick.” She replied and looked at me. “Want a salt bath, Kendra?”

I considered denying it, but the truth was that it would be good. I ended up accepting and my mother disappeared into our house, saying she would arrange it.

“What's up with her?” I complained, without patience.

Dad shrugged.

“Your mother is always grumpy, you know.” I nodded. Dad placed a kiss on my forehead and then faced the inside of the house. “Well, I need a glass of whiskey before she starts bothering about getting ready for dinner, but, Kenny, I'm glad you're home.”

I wanted to say that I was happy too, but that would be a lie and I simply couldn't verbalize something so further from the truth.

“I’ll head for my bath.” I announced and entered the house, heading for the stairs.

The dress my mother had found for the occasion was too small. That damn thing wouldn't fit on me even with a lot of effort. I snorted once again, looking at myself in the mirror as I gave up on that rag for good. I threw the dress on my bed again and went to my closet, looking for an old dress that would fit me, which was a difficult task. After all, in addition to my naturallylarge size, I was still being forced to train more than I was used to, so my muscles were growing and taking up a lot of space.

I snorted, irritated, as I took item after item from the closet. I was about to give up when I found a pair of dark blue linen pants and I knew which shirt would look impeccable with them. I threw the clothes in the bed and smiled, very satisfied with the solution to my problems.

I got dressed, put on some bright red lipstick and picked up my bag, telling myself that I had already bothered enough with that party and I hadn't even made it to the event.

I left the room towards the main room of our house, where I could already hear a conversation that bordered on an argument between my parents.

“Can you forget about this shit just for today, Mackenzie?”

“Forget? You didn't even bother to go with me to pick up your daughter at the airport. You're so selfish, Nick! She's your daughter too, you know?”

“I know! And I love our daughter, but today is not the day for you to be a prick. Just smile and be the fucking wife of the director of that hospital, how about that? It's enough for me that your incompetent brother almost put us in a crisis, I don't need to fight with you at the party.”

Tempers were high, but when they both noticed my presence, it was as if the matter had immediately disappeared. I wasn't sure why they were like that, but I really hoped there wasn't some kind of financial crisis around the corner.

“Kendra, where is the dress I left for you?” That was the first question my mother asked me.

“It didn't fit, so I had to resort to a plan B.”

Dad, with his glass of whiskey in hand, smiled at me, but it was clear that he was a little displeased.

“And plan B couldn't be a dress?” My father asked in a loving tone. “Kenny, we need to be impeccable today.”

“Am I ugly in these clothes by any chance?” I shot, dividing the attention between the two.

“Don't be dramatic.” My mother scolded me. “Don't you have any other dresses that fit in your closet?”

I took a deep breath. I knew they would tease me about wanting to go out with pants and a shirt, but there was no other option. Besides, I looked flawless. The shirt even had some pretty ruffles, which made the whole outfit different and stylish.

“No, mother. Either I go like this, or I don't go. The choice is yours.” I declared, giving up on finding any praise coming from them.

Dad stared at me for another half second, then finished his glass of whiskey and ordered us to get to the car. I wasn't throwing a tantrum, I was just putting on clothes that I felt comfortable in. And even then, it wasn't enough for them.

I got into the car quietly and remained that way for the rest of the journey.

That would be a long and torturous night.

The sound of the radio dominated the entire journey while my parents seemed mad as they listened to the news. I ended up taking my cell phone out of the small bag of silver stones that I had with me and saw a message from Veronica that I hadn't yet responded to.

VERONICA:I hope you arrived safely. Enjoy our hometown!