Forbidden

Chapter 36

36

 

I dressed slowly, trying to prolong my stay at home for more than I should.

Tonight was the celebration to announce my Binding to Randel. My mom had made Tegan pretty me up all day, and even had the gall to pick out a dress for me to wear. I didn’t want to go, but I had to.

Everything had gone in a downward spiral since last week, and I’d had not much say in anything. Not that I minded. I preferred being sour to anything else.

Now I stood in front of the mirror while Tegan adjusted the straps on my dress and played around with my hair, feeling like more of a mannequin than a living creature. They had me dressed in a tight knee length deep purple dress, made of nothing but silk, with a halter neck that did wonders for my bust.

Tegan had done wonders with my hair, pulling the curls with heat so they weren’t as coiled as they were before and pinned  the top part of my hair up discreetly so it fell in natural alignment to the rest of the curls. I barely had on makeup, and wore an out of the way pair of matching purple shoes, but even though I looked admittedly better, I didn’t feel comfortable at all.

And it wasn’t just not wanting to go to the party, but dressing up for Randel, who I couldn’t stand. Tegan finished fixing the straps on my dress and stepped back to take a look at me.

“You look gorgeous,” she grinned.

I frowned at myself in the mirror, smoothing imaginary wrinkles on my thighs. “You too.”

She did look gorgeous, with her pink hair faded slightly so it looked like a gradient, curled softly about her face and the metallic layered fabric of the dress she wore highlighting her pale skin.

Tegan sighed. “Misha, everything will be over soon. Don’t be so glum.”

I sighed and obliged.

She handed me my purse and we exited the room, going down the stairs at snail’s pace for fear of falling in the high shoes we wore.

We came down the stairs just in time to meet my mom coming out of the living room, fastening a pearl earring into her ear.

“Don’t you girls look lovely?” she cooed appreciatively, brandishing a big smile.

She was wearing a simple, cream colored dress with ivory hued pearls sewn into the bodice to look like buttons. It was a nice contrast to her caramel hued skin tone. Arguably she looked lovely, but I didn’t acknowledge her. My mom was not one of my favorite people at present. Instead of grinning thankfully at her for the comment, as Tegan was doing, I looked away.

I watched out the corner of my eye as the brilliant smile she’d been wearing only seconds ago tightened, until it wasn’t a smile, but a forced baring of teeth as she tried to calm herself down.