Shards of Red Glass (A Ghost Adventures Story)

Redwood

6 weeks later...

Saira's POV

"I seriously hate you, Ash," I mutter as I turn around, modeling a dress for Ashley, who sits back, admiring the dress with a keen eye.

"Well, a lot of people do. No, that one doesn't suit you. Try the next one," Ashley says. I moan, and she laughs. I duck behind the curtain, and take off the dress, throwing it on the pile of no dresses.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't even wear a dress to the date Zak asked me to. Yes, for the first time in the seven to eight months that I've known him-along with the seven months we've been dating-Zak has finally asked me to a public date. Without friends. Just us. In public. With me wearing a dress.

Kill. Me. Now.

I change into the next one, which is a cute rosy-colored one with blue designs done on the hem and along the sleeves. Yes, a fact that Ashley enforced: it has to have sleeves to hide my scars. She said that normally people don't display their scars to the wide open public. Well, most people also don't try to kill themselves over four hundred times. She got pissy at me when I pointed that out.

I step out from behind the curtain, and turn my back to my friend so that way she can zip me up. She does so, then frowns when I turn back around. "Put your hair over your shoulder," she orders. I do so, but with an eye roll. She frowns at me, her eyes tracing the dress. I swear, if she had her camera with her, she'd have taken up a whole roll of film just for a single dress I've tried on.

Suddenly, she claps, startling me. She smiles at me, and I feel my lips pull upward in response. "This is gorgeous on you, Saira. Go look," Ashley says, her words breathless and excited. I roll my eyes at her and turn around to the mirror, which I've ignored for the entire time we've been here.

A beautiful woman stares back at me. The dress falls to her knees in dancing rivulets and layers. The top is embroidered with swirling designs like flames done in dark blue string, offset by the glimmering pink and orange beads inset in the top. I smile, and so does the woman in the mirror. Her hair falls down to her waist, even though its over her shoulder.

I turn back to Ashley, who squeals with delight and jumps up and down. "I love it I love it I love it!" she screeches, and I laughs. "It's my dress, Ash, not yours," I remind her, but she just laughs and says,"That's what you think." I laugh again, and one of the saleswomen come around to check on what all the noise is about.

She stops when she sees me. Her hand goes to her chest as she beholds me. Flame rushes up my neck and cheeks, and I look down. The woman's hand touches my chin, bringing my face up to hers. "Don't be shy, girlie. You're beautiful. I pity all the other girls who'll see you tonight," she says kindly, her gray eyes gazing into mine.

I smile shyly, my insecurities rushing into my mind. I want to run, to hide, to never come out again. But I fight myself, telling myself to stand strong and look this woman in the eyes as she compliments me. My insecurities drift back to the back of my mind, but I know that they'll creep up sooner or later, as they always did.

"So, who's the lucky guy?" the woman asks as she steps back from me, her eyes tracing my dress. Ashley pipes up, saying,"Zak Bagans." The woman turns to her, then looks at me more closely. "Ah, of course. You're Saira Collings, aren't you? And you must be Ashley Wasley," she says, looking back at Ashley, who nods.

"I'm very sorry for not recognizing you sooner. I love your show. So does my girlfriend," the woman says, and I blink. "Wow. Thanks. It's nice to meet fans. Well, sometimes," I say with a small smile. The woman laughs and asks,"So, this night out with Zak Bagans. Do you know where you're going?"