"Hey, Aves! What's up?"
What's up?
WHAT'S UP?
" What the hell is going on Lydia? Why am I in a hotel room with a stranger? And what happened last night?"
I had so many questions and I did my best not to project any anger onto Lydia since I didn't know her side of the story.
"You don't remember? I came to your house and picked out the dress you wore, then I drove us to the party. Once we were there you talked to someone and James came up and defended you, practically breaking the guy's hand. Then someone sent you a glass of wine. After drinking from it you collapsed. You fell to the ground, your eyes rolled back into your head and no one got a reaction from you. James said he knew your parents, I called them to check and it was true, and..." Lydia stopped for a moment only adding to my already agitated mind.
"And what Lydia!?"
"They told me it was true, that they knew him and his family. They also said he was a decent man. That I should let him take you, Avery." Was it okay for him to take me? Even if that is true, if he knows my parents, how come I've never heard of him?
"Why haven't they called, Lil?" My voice sounded as broken as my soul felt.
"Who, Aves?"
"My parents." The line fell silent. How would she know...I just wanted someone to tell me that I'm not crazy for wanting my parents to be a bit worried about my well-being. However, maybe I was.
And then there was James. The mystery stranger whom I knew the name of and nothing else, invited me to dinner with his family who apparently knew my parents.
My gut told me to trust him, that he was an honest man and it seemed like he was. He hadn't done anything to prove otherwise, except maybe being a bit handsy, but who was I kidding? I liked it.
A knock on the door broke me from my thoughts and forced me to return to reality. I shook my head to get clear vision again as I yelled for whoever knocked to come in.
"Lil, I gotta go, I'll call you later. love ya."
"Okay babe, love you too, but be careful okay?"
"Always, bye." With that being said I hung up the phone and laid it aside, shaking off the self-pity party I was having and focusing on whoever knocked.
In the room walked a tall gorgeous young woman, not much older than myself, maybe twenty years old? Blonde hair that went all the way down to her belly button and shifted halfway down to lovely curls that fell perfectly. She had big blue eyes that captivated you immediately. She had long lean legs and was wearing a purple tight turtleneck dress with a slit at the bottom, showing off her legs perfectly. Around her waist was a belt with what looked like a thousand tiny diamonds on it.
"Hi, I'm Amber, James's sister."
She said holding out her hand with a big smile on her face showing her naturally white teeth. How the hell can a woman be so beautiful and kind at the same time? It seemed a bit unfair to this blabbing, tired, hungover sack of potatoes standing in front of her.
I shook her hand and told her my name.
"Well, Avery, it's nice to meet you. I heard you were coming to dinner. Don't worry we'll get you fixed up. Why don't you take a shower while I find a dress for you to wear?"
Dinner?
HOLY SHIT! DINNER!
I had completely forgotten that I had accepted James' invitation. I started putting my hand through my hair and pacing back and forth through the room when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Amber looked at me with concern and pity written all over her face.
"I am so sorry, I don't know why I said yes to this whole dinner thing. You seem really nice but I'm in no mood or in any type of decent shape to meet your family. I should just go home."
I started picking up all my things when Amber placed her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at her.
"Breath Avery, it's going to be alright. Get in the shower and wash up, leave the rest to me, and I'll fix you up real good. It's going to look like yesterday never happened. You will enjoy yourself, I promise."
Her gaze gave me a sense of comfort and I nodded, turning my head down and walking into the bathroom.
"I'll just go back to my room and find you a dress and I'll send someone over to do your makeup, sounds good?"
I turned where I stood, by the bathroom door, and threw her a smile and a quick nod before I walked in and closed the door behind me.
I reached over to the sink that had a big mirror over it and dragged my hand over my face. I was so tired, so damn tired. Who were these people and why couldn't I just say no? It's one fucking word, NO.
I had just gotten out of the shower and was wrapping myself in a towel. The water felt so calming against my skin. I must have been in here for at least thirty minutes. At one point I had to hold on to the wall so that I wouldn't fall asleep.
Once I got out of the bathroom I was greeted by a woman in her fifties. She had a big smile on her face and a long black dress. She pointed to a chair and I assumed she wanted me to sit.
I sat down on the chair and looked in the mirror placed in front of me.
"I'm Avery, what's your name?" I asked with a smile as I looked at her through the mirror.
Seeing as the women didn't seem to make an effort to start a conversation, I took it upon myself, instead of sitting in dead silence which was too awkward and not an option.
"I'm Marlene. It's nice to meet you, Avery. I've heard so much ab-"
She grew quiet and looked down and around as if she was about to say something she shouldn't have said. I heard what she was about to say, however. As she was drying my hair and brushing it I licked my lips and asked, "You heard about me?"
She froze and looked me in the eyes for about 3 seconds before shaking her head and forcing a smile. She then said "Oh dear, I'm sorry I shouldn't speak out of place. I've only heard about the events of last night but please do tell me some more about yourself."
As soon as I realized she had changed the subject, I was too tired to care. Furthermore, it was none of my business, and she appeared to be terrified of something happening if she misspoke.
"Well, I'm eighteen years old. I live with my parents and my younger sister. I was at a party last night where I met James. Now I am meeting his entire family..." I bowed my head not wanting to tell her about my miserable love life or the fact that this was pretty much all that my life was. She looked at me with a small grin on her face and pity in her eyes as she started to stroke through my hair using her hands.
"Not too excited about dinner, huh?" she asked. I looked up at her in shock as I huffed and grinned at her.
" I don't know why I agreed, it was like the moment his ha-" I stopped myself realizing what I was about to say to someone who worked for him. I pursed my lips together and bit my inner cheek, cursing myself.
" He is quite charming. It isn't often that he gets turned down. However, he sure is happy about having you here, Avery. He has been smiling all day." She said while giving me a big smile.
Hearing that made me smile as well. We mostly chatted about our lives after that while Marlene fixed my hair. She curled and took the upper half of my hair and pinned it back. She then proceeded ahead and started my makeup. I told her that I liked it natural and she smiled as she continued.
I learned that Marlene was fifty-three years old and she had a 20-year-old son who was in the army. She wouldn't get specific and I didn't prey. She joined James' family when she was twenty-three years old after running away. They took her in and offered her a job as their go-to person. She fixed things for the family. Why she ran away was also a mystery. Much about this woman was in fact a mystery, but I didn't mind. She was sweet and caring and I liked her.
By the time we were done, Marlene pointed to the bed where there lay a beautiful short white dress with an open back and lace around the belly. On the floor lay a pair of white and black high-heeled stilettos. I turned to Marlene in shock with my mouth wide open as I pointed to the shoes.
"I can't walk in those, I'm gonna fall and break my face!"
She started giggling as she walked to pick them up and held them out in front of me. I just looked at her and shook my head with a pout on my face. I was like a stubborn kid.
"Sweetheart, listen to me, you're going to be fine. The secret to walking in heels is to move like you own the place. This means you walk with a straight back, shoulders back, and head up. This way, you won't appear like you have a stick up your ass, and you won't wobble, I promise you."
My disapproving look made Marlene laugh loudly as he told me to get ready.
"I will be back in 15 minutes to take you to the dining hall."
"Thank you," I said with a forced smile as I waited for her to exit the room and close the door. I slid off the towel and placed it on the bed. I picked up the dress and slid it on. A bit of pull was needed seeing as I had a bit more curves than Amber, but I was careful so I didn't rip it.
Lastly, I put on the high-heeled stilettos and made my way to the mirror. I stood there in awe as I saw myself. I had my dark brown hair perfectly pulled back and flowing down my back, framing my face in an elegant way. The makeup made my hazelnut eyes stand out and the dress showed my curves like no other dress ever had.
After fifteen minutes Marlene came back as promised and told me I looked beautiful. She led me out of the room towards a staircase. I saw James and his entire family watching me from the floor beneath me. My eyes locked on James and I couldn't help but feel my heart stop racing for a second. I felt my cheeks getting warm and flustered, I tried to look away but to no avail, I couldn't take my eyes off him.
He was wearing a grey suit with a white shirt underneath and his hands clasped together in his front. His muscular body showed through the suit and I thought the suit was about to be ripped off. His face, his body, his stance, it was as if he was created by the gods themselves. I couldn't help but feel the tingles again as I moved closer to the final step.
As I was about to take my final step, to no surprise, my heel got caught in the carpeting on the stairs and I flew forward.
I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the pounding, wincing from the pain before it had been distributed.
But before I could wallow in pain, I felt two strong arms hold me up. I was certain that I was going to die of embarrassment. I looked up to see a grin on James' face as he leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"If you want, I can lie and tell you that no one saw?"
I quickly jerked back my arms and shook my head. I pulled down my dress and looked around at the worried faces of the James family. Amber quickly spoke up, saving me from more humiliating stares and the need to explain that I was fine.
"Perhaps we should just get to the dining hall and have dinner?" she said. Everyone agreed so we started walking towards the dining hall, me and James walking behind everyone. He still had that grin on his face and I just rolled my eyes at him.
Well, what is it they say about first impressions? I think I made mine pretty memorable.