Chapter Two
318 Words
The Reunion
At exactly 6:43 PM, I stood in front of my mirror wondering if it was too late to fake my own death.
The red dress hugged my waist softly before falling around my thighs in smooth satin folds. It wasn’t revealing. Not really, but it still made me feel overly perceived.
Like people would look at me too long.
My brown hair fell in loose waves around my shoulders, slightly messy no matter how much effort I put into fixing it. My eyes looked bigger tonight because of the eyeliner Mika forced me to wear during one of our “self-care interventions.” And my mouth
I leaned closer to the mirror.
Pouty.
That was the word people always used.
Even when I was younger.
“You always look annoyed,” my cousin used to tell me.
I wasn’t annoyed.
My face just naturally looked like I was judging everyone.
I grabbed my perfume from the dresser and sprayed once at my wrists and neck.
The girl staring back at me looked pretty enough.
That was the strange thing.
People always told me I was pretty.
But insecurity didn’t care about beauty.
You could look fine on the outside and still feel completely lost underneath.
The doorbell rang.
I nearly screamed.
“Coming!” I yelled.
Mika took one look at me when I opened the door and grabbed my shoulders dramatically.
“Oh, thank God,” she breathed. “You actually listened.”
“I still might throw up.”
“You look hot. Relax.”
Pat peeked from behind her and gasped loudly. “HELLO?”
“Stop,” I muttered immediately.
“No seriously,” Pat said. “If I looked like you, I’d become evil.”
“I already regret coming.”
Mika looped her arm through mine before I could retreat back into my apartment.
“No escape now.”
Unfortunately.
- Writer
