Dear Diary

Chapter 98

Who could possibly be here so early on a Saturday morning?

When Sophia opened the door to reveal Susan and her two daughters, she didn't know how to react so she just stood there perplexed. Why would they be here? 

Susan blinked when she took in Sophia's outfit. "Oh dear, you're not ready yet," she said slowly, almost awkwardly.

Sophia frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I thought your dad ..." Susan trailed off and shook her head, placing a smile on her lips. "Anyway, I was going to take the girls to go get something to wear for tonight. Your father said that he would like for you to join us."

Sophia's sleepy mind finally began to work and she remembered her father telling her the night before to be ready to go with them. It was what he had said on passing her to go to his room, and it was so late that Sophia was basically sleep-walking when he arrived home. 

Sophia sighed. "Oh yes, of course. I'll just be a minute," she muttered and beckoned for them to come in before making her way to her room to change.

After pulling on her usual kind of attire, she walked back to the living-room to see Ashley throwing a fit. "But I wanted to sit in front!" she screamed at her mother and Sophia couldn't help but pull a face at her behaviour, while Rachel just looked embarrassed.

"No, Ashley, you're going to sit in the back with Rachel and that's final," Susan replied sternly, causing her youngest daughter to huff and cross her arms over her chest.

"I hate her," Ashley scowled. 

Susan's eyes widened and she jumped a little when she saw Sophia standing by the doorway. Rachel stayed completely silent. A cold chill seemed to be in the air around them for a moment as Sophia stared at Susan and Ashley. Susan ever so discretely swallowed, anxiousness evident on her face, while Ashley glared at her.

Sophia inched her head towards the door. "Can we go?" she asked, pretending she didn't hear what Ashley just said.

"Y-Yes," Susan stuttered and quickly grabbed Ashley's hand and sped out the house. 

Sophia glanced at Rachel who ducked her head and quickly followed after them. Sophia took a deep breath as she locked the front-door, bracing herself for what was ahead of her. Susan was clearly petrified that what Ashley had said would hurt Sophia's feelings, but it didn't bother her at all. 

In fact, she wanted to say 'right back at you', but that obviously wouldn't have gone over very well.

The car ride was probably the most awkward encounter Sophia's ever experienced. At least she sat in the front with Susan so she didn't have to worry about 'Annoying Ashley', but the fact that she was sitting next to Susan at the same time made it very uncomfortable. She's never shared a car with a woman other than her Aunt Tess, so she didn't know how to react to the situation. So, she just stared out the window and only replied to questions when asked, and ignored the daggers being thrown at the back of her head.

The atmosphere grew a little lighter when they reached the mall and were surrounded by the bustle of the crowd, slightly drowning out the apparent awkwardness. Sophia followed behind the Pierce family silently, until Ashley invited her to walk next to her; which she stiffly complied to.

Sophia instantly felt like a sore thumb as soon as they stepped inside the first shop; her leather jacket did not compliment the many glittering gowns on display. Rachel and her mother instantly set to work, scouring through the many different racks of dresses with the ease and efficiency only someone skilled in shopping could attain.

Sophia loitered about on the sides, barely glancing at the dresses as she waited for them to find what they needed. She wasn't going to bother about buying a dress for herself; she didn't feel the need to impress anyone. Luke flashed across her mind and a small bit of heat came to her cheeks. 

No, she definitely doesn't want to impress anyone. 

Her eyes flickered in the direction of the sound of laughter and she saw Susan laughing as Rachel pulled out a hideous dress and pretended that it was the perfect dress for herself. A pang hit Sophia's chest as she watched Rachel and Ashley join in with their mother, laughing until they had tears in their eyes.

Sophia bit her lip and tore her eyes away as a lumped formed in her throat. This was why she hated going to malls. There were always mothers laughing with their daughters and it always brought up painful questions. 

What if her mom was still alive? Would Sophia end up with a little sister too? Maybe they would all go shopping? Laugh until they were blue? Sophia couldn't remember the last time she laughed - like actually laughed that she couldn't breathe. No memory of that came to mind.

"Sophia."

Sophia jumped slightly and her head whipped around to look at Susan, who was smiling warmly at her. 

"Have you found a dress you like yet?" she asked. 

Sophia instantly shook her head, hoping her face didn't give away her previous thoughts. "I don't need one," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Oh," Susan blinked, her smile dropping slightly, "but your father said ... I thought you needed one."

Sophia was shocked that her father seemed to speak often of her to Susan, but she shook the thought aside. He probably just didn't want her to embarrass him by being inadequately dressed; nothing more. 

She adamantly shook her head once more. "I don't need a new dress for every event. I'll just wear the same one I wore last year."

A small smile came to Susan's face as she walked up to Sophia. Sophia realised that Susan was actually a bit shorter than herself when she stood in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Sophia stiffened. It was the first time Susan's ever touched her. It felt odd and strangely ... motherly. She looked at Susan a little alarmed.

"My dear," Susan said, smile growing, "a girl can never have too many dresses."

Sophia, still unsettled by the touch, didn't utter another word as Susan led her to the first rack of dresses; which was only the beginning of a very, very long shopping experience.