Something Beautiful (HIATUS)

CHAPTER THREE

"This is perfect," I breathed, staring at myself in the body mirror between Carene's dresser and the windows.

"You'll crush him like a grape," Carene agreed, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Now add the pants."

When I had the trousers on, she stepped back to observe me. "Oooo, am I good, or am I good, Kris?! Check you out! But don't forget the sash." When I struggled with it, she threw her head back with a boisterous exhale. "Ugh, helpless! Let me do it then."

In seconds I was all tucked in and tied up, and all that was missing now was jewelry and shoes, both of which Carene wasted no time in rustling up.

"What do you think, the pearl or the gold?"

I pointed to the pearl earrings and matching ring she held, and she promptly surrendered them to me. As I put them on, she disappeared into the depths of her closet, prancing back shortly with pointy black kitten heels that were not at all practical for the arctic temperature outside, but they would look fantastic with the ensemble. I sat on the edge of the bed as she then instructed, and Carene strapped the shoes onto each of my feet like an old pro.

"If high school doesn't work out, you'd certainly have a bright future as a shoe fitter," I told her with a grin.

"My life's ambition," she replied. She then led me to the mirror again, showing me the complete look.

If I hadn't already known it was me, I would have thought the reflection in the mirror was of someone else ― someone prettier and more grown up and put together; definitely not a recent dumpee. I turned to my best friend, feeling my cheeks flush with excitement and gratitude.

"You're amazing, Rene. I really needed this. I can almost say I feel better about seeing Aaron now." I folded my arms around her slim shoulders, pulling her into me for a bear hug. A tear almost slid past my defenses as I asked softly, "Do you think he misses me?"

Carene gave me a reassuring squeeze that sent a fresh flood of confidence coursing through me. "Of course he does. As dumb as Aaron Arsane is acting right now, he couldn't keep himself from missing you if somebody paid him a billion dollars."

❇

"I can't believe he's not here. I look like a supermodel and he's not freaking here?"

"Hang tight, don't lose your edge. He'll be here; he's always here."

Carene's words would have been comforting, but my stomach was roiling as though full of those chattering teeth toys, and I was pretty positive nothing would change that at the moment.

We'd made it to church fifteen minutes early because Sherry had insisted we leave ourselves plenty of time to go slowly on the still-slick roads. She was willing to bet there would be a car wreck or two in our path along the way (she'd been right; we'd passed three wrecked vehicles on our way to the church, even though Carene and Sherry lived only ten miles away). Following our arrival, Carene and I had made a mad dash to the one-hole, out-of-the-way bathroom in the Education Building.

Our Sunday School classroom was on the second floor. We'd figured hiding in this particular bathroom for a while would lessen our chances of running into Aaron or his friends before class. I wanted Aaron to see me, yes, but from afar ― not in an awkward scenario that would force us to talk, even briefly.

When our time was down to three minutes before Sunday School would begin, Carene had peeked her head out of the bathroom and signaled that the coast was clear. We'd trekked up the stairs in strained silence, eyes peeled for any problematic persons. At the open doorway of our classroom, Carene had gone ahead of me to scope out seats that would be far away from Aaron.