Arriving home I let out a huge sigh. This week has been super exhausting. Tomorrow was the Fields Gala and I for one wasn't too thrilled to be going. Tensions between Camila, Axial and especially Fiona was evident.
Anytime one of them tried explaining anything to me someone interrupts. It was infuriating.
"Eve!" Maverick exclaims rushing towards me clinging to my leg like a monkey to a tree.
"What's up mini me?" I ask gently patting her head.
"Let's play candy land!" The little seven year old demands while tugging at my pant leg.
"Just one round." I sternly tell her making sure she knows I was serious. I was exhausted and didn't really have the energy to do anything but to become with my bed right now.
"Okay." Maverick says cheekily.
Just one round my butt. Maverick some how convinced me with her sweet brown eyes. I was wrapped around this kid's finger and she knew it.
"I won again!" Maverick gets up and does a little victory dance. She was so cute. When she gets old enough to date I swear I will crush anyone who even glances her way. I was super protective of Maverick.
"You sure did. Time to go to bed." I yawn out glancing at my phone that read ten thirty. If mom and dad were up I would be in trouble Maverick bed time was nine.
"One more game?" Maverick asks giving me puppy dog eyes. I just give her a stern look in return. Don't cave. Don't do it. I kept repeating to myself in my head.
"Hop on my back and I'll tell you a bed time story." I bend down to her Maverick's height signaling her to get on. If I knew my little sister one thing was for sure she loved more than candy land and that was bed time stories.
"Once upon a time there was a girl named Little Red She loved to bake. One day while picking berries for a pie, she discovered a wounded wolf out in the forest."
Maverick stared at me enchanted by my made up story waiting for me to continue with her story.
"Hearing the wolf whine little red went to exam the wolf. Turned out the wolf was badly hurt. Little Red took the poor wolves leg and wrapped it up by tearing off a piece of her red cloak."
"What happens next Eve?" Maverick softly asks slowly drifting to sleep.
"Well.. the wolf looked over at Little Red with a big toothy grin on it's face. Confused Little Red let go of the supposedly injured wolves leg. The wolf gets up on all four legs even the fake bad leg and eats the little girl. The end."
"Eve! That's not a story you made up that's little red riding hood story." Maverick giggles now fully awake.
"That's not true." I gasps holding my heart like I was offended.
"Whatever Eve. Next time I'm going be the one telling the story." Maverick mumbles tucking herself back into her blanket.
"Sure thing mini me." I kiss the top of her forehead and close the bedroom door.
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Things I rather do than attend this horrifying gala. Literally anything else. I would even go shopping with my mother and let her buy me all the horrible dresses she wanted to.
Which made no sense now that I said it because today my mother insisted that we should go to the mall and try to find something for the gala.
I knew mom language. Something meant dresses. She wanted to put me in a puffy horrific dress.
"It's going be so much fun, my flower." Mom kept gushing in the car. That's right I was currently in the small vehicle with mom trying my best to pay attention to what she was saying.
All I could make out was dress this and dress that. She may call me her flower, but right now I felt more like a prickly cactus.
"Evelyn, are you even listening to me?" Mom asks little annoyed.
Uh-oh busted. "Yes mom." I mumbled out staring out the car window. Fall was approaching, the leaves were starting to fall off the trees and was changing colors from green to red and orange.
"Really what did I just say then?" She asks inquisitively.
"You were saying how you couldn't wait to put me in ug- I mean some pretty dresses." I reply with a forced smile on my face.
"Lucky guess." Mom mumbled now turning into the mall parking lot.
Now for a small town like Virginia we really didn't have much. The Central Mall was the closest think we had to anything huge.
A lot of people ended up at the mall during weekends. I was just hoping I didn't run into anyone I knew. I wasn't against hiding away somewhere from my fellow peers if I was to bump into them in public.
"You coming or am I going have to drag you out?" Mom asks with annoyance laced in her voice . I was so in my thoughts I didn't even hear her car door open.
"I'm coming." I sigh in defeat.
"That one suites you so well sweetie!" Mom squeals out like a little school girl.
I was in a pastel colored fluffed out dress. I felt like this dress had arms of it's own and was trying suffocate me.
If I tell mom I didn't like the dress it wouldn't go over so well, so instead I just give a tight fake smile.
"It's nice." I lie through my teeth. I didn't even know why we was bothering with colored dresses when I told Fiona I was wearing black and white.
"I can tell when you lie." My mother states signaling me to go back into the changing room and try on the other thousand dresses she picked out for me.
I manage to take off the strangulation device that was that dress and slipped into a more comfortable one. This dress was shimmering black. I mean this dress beat the others ones by far.
Stepping out of the changing room my mothers eyes got huge.
"Say yes to that dress." Mom exclaims with excitement in her almond eyes, rushing over to me and giving my shoulder a tight squeeze.
I had to admit I liked this dress—not that I was ever going to admit that out loud to her.
"This one will do." I genuinely smile at my mom hoping my face didn't give it away that I indeed liked the dress.
"You look gorgeous." A third voice adds looking over near mom revealed that it was Camila. What was she doing here? Shopping for clothes obviously.
Camila sported a loose pink shirt with light denim jeans and long brown boots. Usually Camila was styling and glammed out it was nice seeing her more laid back clothes.
Even though her laid back clothes made her still look intimidating.
"Oh, dear I didn't see you there. Please join us." My mother suggested patting the seat next to her.
Did my opinion even matter? Apparently not. I shoot my mother a what the heck look than looked back at Camila whose eyes seemed glued to me this whole entire time.
Camila's grey eyes travel to my face all the way down to my pasty white legs. My face begins to heat up because I felt exposed in front of her. Yeah I currently despised her but I wasn't blind. Camila is undeniably attractive.
I would react this way to any attractive female. At least that's what I kept telling myself in my head.
"As much as I would love to spend hours staring at your daughter in this dress, I really need to get going." Camila says with an undertone of what I believed was seductively.
Her eyes seemed like they didn't want to stop staring at me. Did maybe she feel guilty about everything?
Camila was like a puzzle without all the puzzle pieces. I felt like I was never going to be able to completely figure her out.
"Your at least taking my daughter to the gala right?" My mom hopefully asks. Wow mom way to play it cool.
"I'm afraid not." This time Camila broke eye contact with me and looked off to the distance.
"I'm sorry, I really need to go." Camila states more serious excusing herself and rushes off.
Following Camila's retreating figure I noticed
a well dressed man with his cellphone up to his ear. Camila interrupts his phone call standing up on her tip toes and plants a kiss on the man's cheek.
I couldn't get a real good view of this guy, but I had a bad feeling already.
Who the heck was that guy? Why did I even care?
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