Page 21 of Broken

Astrid

Astrid had done my hair earlier in the day. After a wash and a blow dry, my dark tresses had been flat ironed as though I'd went to the salon. She'd fawned over me and then Capone, who made my skin grow cold, had come home. It was something about this man that I didn't like.

Thanking my friend for doing my hair, I had left to go and pick Des and Yara up from school. They were outside of the fence waiting in their usual spot but hushed as I neared.

"Oh my God," Des said.

"Yeah, you look....beautiful." Yara smiled.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder and struck a couple of poses. "Really? Don't gas me up too hard, you haven't even seen me in the dress and heels I bought."

Once we were back to the motel, the twins turned on a movie, relishing in the fact that it was a Friday night. In a matter of hours, it was time to get myself dressed and head out to the school.

"Hopefully this won't take too long," I told them.

I applied some blush red lipstick and thought about what my mom would say. I could hear her voice clear as day."Red is your color, baby."

"We're just gonna chill out while you're gone," Des said. "Should we get you some dinner?"

I slightly tapped my lip, careful not to remove any lipstick. "What you guys gonna order?"

"We eat out a lot for poor people." Yara quirked an eyebrow, getting sassy.

"You can make a sandwich." Des rolled his eyes. "I want some Dominos."

"Yeah, Ms. Sassy Pants." I directed my eyes to Yara. "You can make a sandwich."

Yara gave a toss of her golden curls, curls that I was jealous of. "No, pizza sounds good Dessy."

He was already placing the order. "You two come right back up once it's delivered. I won't be long at this dance. Love you both."

"Love you too," they replied in the freaky unison that they did sometimes.

Honestly, they gave me the creeps when they did that shit some days. When they had first been born, my mom hadn't been able to rest and so I had taken to checking on them while she slept. They had opened their eyes in unison after screaming their heads off once I had come home. It was as if they had recognized my presence and calmed right down, all while staring into my eyes. That was the moment I knew, I loved them more than myself.

As I exited the motel, on what I was hoping would be one of my final nights here because we were still waiting on the paperwork to go through, I surveyed my surroundings. I couldn't describe it, but lately, I just felt as though I were being watched by someone.

Shaking it off, I turned left and headed up the sidewalk. I passed a few people who were out and got some stares. The suede black dress dipped a little lower in the front than I liked but was long-sleeved. The fabric hugged every single inch of my body, revealing my shape that I hardly ever showed.

Attention could be bad for me. I wanted to blend into my surroundings as much as possible, but for Yara and Des, I would be visible just this one time. They needed me to show up for them and I would.

A security guard dressed in gray button-up shirt and black slacks was standing outside of the doors when I reached the school gymnasium that was separated from the school by a breezeway. He spoke with a slight lisp and asked for my name and the students that attended the school. Once he verified my info, he waved me in with a friendly smile.

Music began to rumble up my body with each step of my high heels until I reached the door. The handle of the door felt cool under my hand from the fall air, and I pulled on it to let myself inside. Having only toured the school a month ago, I still remembered exactly where to go. The gym was located to my right and the cafeteria to my left. I entered the gym and came face to face with black and gold star-shaped decorations and the teachers already getting wild inside. A smile broke out across my face. I had been nervous that I wouldn't fit in, but I quickly realized they might not have a clue if I even dipped out.

"Hey!" Came a friendly male voice and I turned to see Yara and Des' geeky math teacher dressed in a nice suit and leaned back against a wall.

"Hi," I replied a little louder because of the music.

"We're glad you could make it," he said.

"Are you on the welcoming committee?"

He chuckled and held up a glass of what I assumed to be alcohol. "Something like that."

"This isn't very parent student conference friendly," I said and side-stepped other parents that were coming in.

I was still new to the private school atmosphere, so I had no idea how they were able to have alcohol at a school function. Someone had to have connections with someone. As if reading my mind, the geeky math teacher said, "The governor is an alum of the school, he helped pulls some strings to make the last three years successful. Go grab some wine and dance."