I was pathetic. I was Rebecca mother fucking Woods and I was lying in my bed moping because my boyfriend was a fucking moron. I was being weak. This wasn't me: I was a hot-headed, confident bitch who didn't take shit and didn't let anyone interrupt my life. How could I have even allowed Colby to stop me from living; to stop me from thriving? It was pathetic that it'd taken me days to get my shit together, but after a good night with Jake and Tara, I was finally realising how stupid I was being.
As soon as I woke up the next afternoon, I changed into a short black dress that clung to my curves for dear life. I wore a baggy button-up shirt over the top that I left completely open and tied around my waist. With a pair of black, thigh-high boots, I looked like a fucking runway model and I owned it.
When I walked out of the bathroom looking as such, I came face-to-face with Tara, whose jaw swiftly dropped. She looked me up and down once, about to say something, but the bitch was back. I wasn't interested in hearing her speak; I wasn't interested in her opinion; I certainly wasn't interested in wasting any of my time.
"I'm going down to the studio in five minutes. If you're not ready, I'll leave you behind," I told her sternly, leaving no room for argument.
I left her in the hallway to go to the living room where I found Jake on his phone. He did a double-take at me before putting two and two together and disappearing. The couple was back with me within another minute, dressed and holding hands ready to go.
"Keys," I demanded, staring at Jake. He tossed them across the space between us and I spun on my heel for the door. They didn't say anything as they followed me down to my car, both of them climbing into the backseat. My footsteps were loud but my engine was even louder. I let the baby roar before I dared to pull out of the resident's garage.
It was a relief to finally be driving again. Between being zipped around by vampires and driven around by Jake, I hadn't had a chance to drive in a little while. It felt like a crime now.
LA passed us by so fast that by the time we reached the studio, it felt like I'd been robbed of my time. I wanted to drive for longer; to get lost in my thoughts as the streets of LA flew beneath me. Unfortunately, however, I couldn't do that: I had a life to live and I wasn't letting anything stop me now.
Jake and Tara followed me silently into the studio, getting distracted by Maggie, Lewis, Helen and the newbies somewhere along the way. I left them behind to head for my office, where I knew I had plenty of productive tasks to do. Not only my own work but I had to acquaint myself with the newbies—I hardly knew their names, after all.
For the time being, I designed and I designed. I was so focused on the sketches I was doing that the world around me just shrunk into nothing; it meant nothing to me for as long as this pencil was in my hand. All I wanted to do was get lost and I'd found a way to do it. I should have been doing this since the beginning, not moping like a broken-hearted teenager. That wasn't me and never would be.
My designs varied the longer they went on. I started with the kind of style I liked such as the goth and alternative fashion, but then it slowly turned into the sexy pieces I occasionally tested out. After that, it was anything that reminded me of Tara or even Jake. I made a dress that screamed them, somehow, and I just couldn't explain how I got there or why I kept on going.
A new design came to mind towards the end of my dream-like state. This one was blood-red and long like a gown, but had two huge slits in the skirt that would show off most of the legs of the person wearing it. The dress was overly fancy, fit for some sort of big event. But it was gorgeous.
The refined sketch of that dress made me want to pull out a sewing machine and start making it myself, but I refrained. Instead, I decided to find out Maggie's number and get her downstairs. I was sitting for a short while perfecting my refined sketch before I heard her soft footsteps coming down the hallway.
I didn't look up even when she entered the room. The chair opposite me screeched as she pulled it back to sit down. Only once I was certain about this did I meet her confused gaze.
"Ms Woods," she greeted.
"I need you to do something for me," I replied sharply before sliding the design across the desk. Her eyes moved straight to it like a magnet—just my intention. "I just designed it and I like it. Any changes you would make?"
She hesitated. "Perhaps a couple up here." She pointed to the sleeves. I motioned for her to continue. "The dress shows a lot of skin, so I think it would just be held up by straps rather than sleeves," she explained and I pulled the design back to myself to make the change. She sat there in wait as I rubbed out what I'd done to replace it with something much simpler... I loved it.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"No."
"Good. I want you to find the right fabrics for this dress and make me one—you don't have to go overboard, take your time with it. I just want a physical version of this dress."
"Okay, I can do that," Maggie said with a friendly smile on her face. "Do you have any material preference?"
"No."
"Do you want it in your size?"
"Yes."
"I'll get right to it... tomorrow. Are you planning on meeting the new employees today?"
My eyes narrowed on Maggie's features. She was clearly much more comfortable with me than she'd ever been and a part of me didn't like that. I didn't want her to get cocky.
Quietly, I replied, "I am not sure."
"They'll be leaving soon, if you are. I thought I should give you a heads up."
I frowned to myself. "Thank you, Maggie."
"No problem, Ms Woods."
Something almost compelled me to tell her to call me Rebecca but I stopped myself. She was too close as it is, I didn't want to push it. I ended up sending her away very quickly after that with the intention of continuing what I was doing... only I couldn't concentrate.
It was a split-second decision to pack my things up and start for my office door. I decided I'd go and meet my newer employees then my job could be done here. I'd lived a bit of my life today, unlike the last couple. I was proud of myself... but I'd never admit it aloud.