STUCK IN 2 WORLDS: Cloak & Dagger

STUCK IN 2 WORLDS: Cloak & Dagger Chapter 4

Chapter 4

     I was getting ready for Jake and Ericka’s engagement party when Ester came to check in on me. I had not seen her since the incident the day before. I had been hoping to talk to her before the party, which I didn’t feel I could skip, even though I wanted to, because I wanted to make sure that everything was okay. I took a quick glance at her to see if she was as nervous as the day before, but she looked happy, as if nothing had happened.

     “Are you okay?” I asked, thinking that she might be putting on a happy face for me.

     “Yes, of course,” she said, still smiling.

     “Did I do something wrong yesterday?” I asked, staring directly at her.

     “No, it was only my fault—don’t worry about it,” she said quickly and turned away.

     “Why does he hate me so much?” I blurted out.

     “Who, William?”

     I sighed. “Yes, William.”

     “He doesn’t hate you—he’s just protective of you,” she said in a serious tone, the smile gone from her face.

     “Protective of me?” I asked, confused.

     “He is the one who found you on the day of your accident. He doesn’t want anything to happen to you until…” She paused, clearly not wanting to finish.

     “Until what?” I asked impatiently.

     She shook her head. “I guess until you remember who you are.”

     This was getting ridiculous. I decided one thing for sure right then: I was not going to wait even a day after Christmas. I was going to leave for good, even if they asked me to stay longer.

     I put on my own happy face and told Ester I needed to finish getting ready. It was my turn to lie—I was clearly fully dressed and made up.

     She excused herself, and I stepped to the mirror. The image in front of me was of the girl I’d always pictured myself as. This, not the way I had been for the past seventeen years, was the way I was supposed to dress. I had wondered if I was going to be embarrassed and ashamed at showing my hair and so much skin, the way I had when I wore the miniskirt, but it was not like that at all. I was feeling confident and relaxed. The miniskirt must have been a good way to break me out of my shell. Since Ester hadn’t allowed me to try the dress on, this was the first time I was really seeing it. It looked as if it had been sewed on me, it fit so perfectly. It was floor-length with a low-cut back, tying in a halter top. A diamond-shaped stone, which matched the detail on my shoes, sparkled just under my breasts. My hair cascaded down, curling at the bottom.

     Staring at myself, I thought about what my father would do if he saw me dressed like this. Well, first he would order me to take the dress off, then he would ask me to hand it to him, and then he would either cut it into pieces or burn it. After that, he would send his servants to search my room to see if there were any more clothes like it so he could destroy them too. Then, after doing all of that, he would order me to stay in my room for weeks until he cooled off. He had done that to one of my sisters, Ranya. She once got a present from one of her school friends, who was from the United States. My sister tried the clothes on in the privacy of her room out of curiosity. My father’s first wife walked in on her without knocking and caught her dressed in the “outsider clothes.” She called my father, and he punished Ranya just as I described.

     I met Ester at the top of the stairs. I was glad she thought of waiting for me so we could enter the party together. I could hear lots of voices coming from downstairs. Ester must have heard me inhale deeply because she took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. As we neared the bottom of the stairs, I saw the living room was filled with people—but the first person who caught my eye was William. He was standing by the fireplace dressed all in black. His shirt’s top button was unbuttoned, and I could see the black necklace that he always seemed to wear. I wondered what that necklace meant—it was very unique, the beads square rather than rounded. Shifting my eyes quickly so I would not catch William’s gaze, I focused on the crowd. And I panicked. A few people were staring in our direction; then the room got quieter and quieter. I wanted to turn and go back to my room. What if someone among these strangers recognized me?