Burning Willow

XV

By half past nine, mom arrived. The taxi guy wheeled in her suitcase and she gave him an extra tip.

"Hey, mom." I greeted.

"Hello, Kylie." She said. "My God, the flight was brutally late." She took off her sunglasses and her jacket and put them on the sofa.

She took a seat and the maid brought her a glass of water.

"How was Milan?" I asked.

"Busy." She replied. "Anyways, how are things coming along, for tonight? Have you got your dress yet?"

Shit.

The dress.

I hadn't rented anything yesterday, because Daniel had come over and then the whole thing with Chase....

"Yeah, everything's ready." I told her.

"Good." She nodded. 

Before she could enquire about anything else, I headed upstairs to my room.

I was supposed to go to the hall early to set everything up, and I really wouldn't have time to rent another dress....

Guess I would just have to work with what I had.

I opened my closet. Being the daughter of Estella Brien did have its perks sometimes.

I had a few dresses to choose from, but none really appropriate for a masquerade themed ball.

In the end, I decided on a full-length red A-line. It wasn't amazing, but it would just have to do.

I texted Maya quickly.

Me : Hey, did you pick up the masks yet?

Maya : I was just about to. Why?

Me : Could you pretty please get one for me too?

Maya : Ha. Did you forget about it? I knew you would.

Me : It totally slipped my mind.

Maya : Fine. I'll get the masks and meet you at the hall after lunch, okay?

Me : Sounds great.

The rest of the few hours whisked by. I double-checked that everything was going according to plan, and the caterer called to confirm everything. 

Mom called me down for lunch at half past one. When I arrived, she was already sitting at the table. The food had been placed, and neither of us said a single word as we ate. She was on her phone the entire time, texting and emailing clients.

Once I was done, I headed out the door, not even bothering with goodbyes. I took my car down to the dry-cleaners first for the dress.

They made sure I would get it back before tonight, clean and wrinkle-free. I paid and shoved the receipt in the back pocket of my jeans.

Next, I headed to the hall. I took the steps to the main entrance. I counted thirty, and by the time I was at the front gates, I was breathing hard. 

Yeah, I really needed to get back into shape.

I walked in. The entrance was carpeted with huge flower arrangements on either side. However, before I could actually make it to the hall, my eyes fell upon two people. Two very familiar people, standing in the middle of the passageway, arguing.

Daniel's eyes found mine, and they narrowed. "You!"

I hesitantly made my way towards them. "What's up?"