30 Days of Love

You Deserve The World

Joanna's POV 

The face and body of my mother stare back at me, as I look at myself in the large mirror plastered on the wall in front of me.

"How do you feel?" Oliva questions.

"I-I feel b-beautiful," I admit.

Unable to take my eyes off the white, lace dress, I admire every inch of me that I once hated.

Though I am still the shape of a pear, still not as perfect as the world wishes I was, I am making progress and with every time I decide to eat fruit rather than chips or a salad instead of junk, I am taking a step closer to gaining my mom's body and that goal doesn't seem as far away as it once was.

"That's because you are beautiful," Olivia says.

I grin, finally looking away from the mirror and looking at Oliva, whose body is as "imperfect" as mine.

"T-thank you, Olivia."

"You don't have to thank me, dear, I'm simply stating facts."

We laugh as we make our way to the waiting room, where Carson, Barbara, Zara, and Haven wait, sitting on the long white couch.

"Oh my goodness," Barbara gasps, covering her lips with her hands.

"Y-you're so pretty," Zara compliments.

"Thank you," I say.

"So, this dress is in the style of A-Line. It's not that long so you shouldn't trip on it and the slit on the side helps make the dress easier to walk in," Olivia explains, turning from me to everyone else.

"I think you look stunning in it," Barbara says, her hands now intertwined on her lap.

"Yeah y-you look like a princess," Haven adds.

I giggle. "Thank you, Haven."

Although, as I look at Carson, waiting for a response, he doesn't give me one. His lips are shut with his eyes merely looking at me, no expression crosses his face.

And as I open my mouth to say something, Rylie and Willa come in. Rylie's eyes are wide, her mouth dangling open like that of a fish gulping for oxygen. Yet Willa's mouth's closed and her confused face turns into numbness, with her eyes glaring at me.

The room is silent as I walk up to Willa and Rylie; to them, I'm a zoo animal outside of its cage.

I hesitate before pushing out the words, "H-hi g-guys." Their lips are sealed, neither of them says anything. "I... I know what you're thinking but I can explain."

"You're getting married?" Rylie questions.

I nod, taking a deep breath.

Just tell them. Liam's words from yesterday reminisce in my mind.

"I'm in a tradition where we have to get married at fifteen," I justify, "That's why I suddenly was with Liam, even though I never was interested in dating."

"I-I thought you were just there to buy a dress for your quinceañera, I-I never would have thought that you would get married!" Rylie mentions.

I bite back the words I want to say: Rylie, how could I possibly afford to have a quinceañera and why would I buy a dress here? However, I choose to shake my head.

"I already knew," Willa blurts.

"What?" I take the expression I thought she would have and put it on my face: my eyebrows narrow, trying to find an answer to what she said.