Chapter 13: Breaking Free
The dress definitely wasn’t working for me. No matter how I looked at it, no matter from what angle, under what light, it still looked ridiculous.
“My sister has the most appalling taste” Jessy stated as she came to stand next to me on the platform. We were both wearing our bridesmaids’ dresses, Jessy’s impromptu return from Italy meaning she too had to participate in this farce.
I adjusted the neckline and sighed.
“What is it about awful bridesmaid dresses? Why do women loose all motions of taste when they get married?” I said, turning around to look at myself from the back again. The dress made my bum look huge.
“Must be biological” Jessy looked just as glum. Even she looked far from fabulous in the purple monstrosity. Though with her petite figure, it gave her a certain charm. Being built along a much larger frame, I just looked absurd.
“I thought I was going to be spared the humiliation” Jessy muttered.
“Don’t you girls look lovely!” one of the smartly dressed shop assistant sailed into the dressing area, carrying several boxes, her mouth stretched into a wide smile.
“Do the dresses fit properly?” she asked, bustling around, pinching seams and adjusting hemlines.
“They fit just fine” I said. Thank heavens for small mercies.
“Not long until the big day then” the assistants in this shop seemed to be on a permanent high. This one had a smile that reached ten million watts and she whizzed about the shop at top speed.
“What’s in the boxes?” Jessy asked warily.
“Shoes, ladies, shoes. The most important part of an outfit, some say” she whipped the lids off to reveal purple high heels of an impossible height. There were purple rosettes on the toes.
“Your sister hates us, doesn’t she?” I asked Jessy. She pulled one of the shoes out of its box and stared at it in disgust.
“Looks like, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll never be able to walk in those” I gingerly picked up one of the shoes myself, as if it might bite me. “I’ll fall over in the church and kill myself”
“And let’s not forget the accessories” the assistant opened another box.
“Oh goodness” Jessy sounded faint.
“I’m so not being paid enough to wear that”
Inside the box was a large amount of bright purple flowers, made of silk. They were mounted on a headband to form a luxuriant wreath of silken greenery. I stuck my hand into the box and pulled one out in sick fascination. It was even worse when seen up close.
“Isn’t it lovely?” the assistant breathed as I placed in on my head. I stared at her, wondering if the glare of so many white dresses had rendered her blind.
“It’s brill-” I choked as I caught sight of myself. It looked doubly awful on top of my messy hair. Jessy chocked back a snort of laughter.
“I hope Nikki realises what we’re doing for her” I grumbled as Jessy and I emerged from the changing area.
“I hope she’s bloody grateful” Jessy said. “Fancy a coffee or something to brace our spirits after that ordeal?”
I hesitated for a second, thinking of the vast amount of work waiting for me at home.
“Yeah, let’s” Screw schoolwork. Annabeth was going to relax for once.
Jennifer came striding into the shop just as we were leaving. She paused for an instant when she was us, as if trying to decide what to do. Finally, she settled for a quick nod towards Jessy before disappearing into the backroom. Jennifer had decided, after weeks of silent reproach, that simply refusing to acknowledge my existence was easier.
“She looks overjoyed to be here” Jessy remarked.
“She’s not really overjoyed about the whole bridesmaid thing” I said, zipping up my jacket, trying to hide the coffee coloured stain on the front of my jumper.
“I can understand that. Nikki can be so clueless sometimes” Jessy said, checking her mobile phone.
“Hoping for a text from a certain someone?” I teased. Jessy coloured slightly.
“No, just checking the time”
“I could always ring him” I said, pulling out my own phone.
“No, don’t!” she gasped.
I laughed. It was good to see usually calm, collected Jessy blushing furiously over a boy. She was a lovely girl, but she did make me inadequate sometimes.
“Sure?” I said.
“Yes!” I slipped the phone back into my bag.
“Alright, but you just have to say the word, and he’ll come running”
“Really?” she looked away immediately, trying to hide her enthusiasm, but I wasn’t fooled in the slightest.
“Oh yeah, he’s always asking me about you”
“You love this, don’t you?” Jessy said as we turned down Main Street.
“Banish the - Shit!” I dived into a nearby shop doorway and flattened myself against the wall.
“Annabeth” Jessy looked quizzically at me. “What’s going on?”
I hurriedly shushed her, as I peered around the corner at the people passing in the street.
“Okay, we can go now” I emerged from the doorway a minute later and hurried down the street.
“What the hell was that about?” Jessy hurried after me.
“Nothing” I said, striding on ahead.
“Did you see someone you wanted to avoid?”
“Sort-of”
“Ex-boyfriend?”
“No. Well yes. It’s really, really complicated”
“Was it a certain person named Connor?”
“You know about that?!” I stood dead in the middle of the street. Jessy looked sheepish.
“Nathan might have mentioned it once or twice.”
“Since when have you and Nathan been discussing my private life?”
“He friended me on Facebook. We chat sometimes”
“Great. Bloody great”
“All I wanted to know is why you were always turning up with coffee all over your clothes. The explanation turned out to be more complicated than I had thought. Look, can we talk about this inside?”
She ushered me into the nearby café and into a booth. I crossed my arms and glared at her.
“Did you just see Connor?”
“Yes, and his girlfriend”
“He’s out and about already?”
“Oh yeah, he’s coming back to school after half-term” I turned away from Jessy and watched the people going by outside the window.
“Look, I’m really sorry I pried into your life, Annabeth. I shouldn’t have”
“You could have just asked me” I said coldly. Jessy raised her eyebrows.
“Would you have told me?”
“Probably not” I admitted.
“You see, that’s the problem. You never say anything to anyone. You keep everything so close to your chest. It can’t go on like this. It’ll suffocate you”
“It’s worked so far”
Jessy snorted.
“Oh yeah, I can see that. It works so well you’re on the brink of a nervous breakdown.”
“Don’t be ridiculous”
“How many panic attacks did you have today? Two, three?”
“Had a nice, cosy chat with Nathan about me?”
Jessy leant over the table and placed her hands over mine. I tried to pull away, but she held on tight.
“We’re worried about you. Everybody is worried about you. Nathan, me, my sister, even your sister. It’s not good to keep things bundled up like that.”
“When did you get a degree in psychology?” I tried to sneer, but my heart wasn’t in it. She was right. Of course she was right. Jessy came over and draped an arm over my shoulders.
“It’ll get better one day” she said, giving me a little shake. “You just see if it doesn’t. But you have to start letting people in.”
I sat up straight, pulling away from Jessy.
“Let’s stop the psycho-babble for now and enjoy our coffees” I said.
Jessy pursed her lips but didn’t add anything.
“What do you want? It’s my treat” I said, overly bright, dealing with things like I always dealt with things. I hide it deep and ignored it.
I went over to the counter and placed the order. I drummed my fingers on the counter, in hurry to get the drinks so we could leave. I wanted to cut the outing short. Jessy was going places I wasn’t comfortable with. I did not want to discuss my problems with anyone, especially not someone would was going to be my step-aunt in a few weeks. Also because I knew this coffee shop happened to be a favourite spot of Kathy’s. I hadn’t noticed at first, and then I wasn’t sure, as most coffee shops look the same to me, but now I had gotten a good look, I was certain it was Kathy’s favourite hangout. It was a long shot she would come here, but I didn’t trust my luck. Juts being here was tempting fate.
The spotty kid behind the counter took her time fixing up the iced coffees. It was almost as if she was doing it on purpose. When she eventually dumped them before me, I slapped the money down and turned away without waiting for my change.
“Look who we have here?”
Oh god, it was her. Annabeth Genkins’ famous luck had dumped her in it again. Kathy was standing there with one of her Kathy-clones. I quickly checked their hands, and noted to my relief they were empty.
“Two coffees, Annabeth? Here on a date? Tired of Nathan already?”
I glanced outside and saw the unmistakable figure of Connor hovering just inside, peering through the window. What was he playing at? I tried to catch his eye, but he looked away.
“What’s going on?” Jessy came up and stood behind me.
“Oh look, the black widow has found herself a girlfriend” the Kathy-clone sneered. Jessy rolled her eyes.
“Very witty. Very original” she sneered. “It must have taken you a long time to think that one up”
“Whatever” Kathy II dismissed Jessy. I recognized her as one of the most frequent coffee throwers. “Aren’t you sick of coffee yet, Annabeth?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” I said, and calmly threw the contents of one cup in her face. “And that one’s for you” I threw the other one at Kathy. They both shrieked in horror.
“Come on, Jessy. Let’s go” I grabbed her arm and towed out of the shop. She was stunned.
“I can’t believe you just did that!” she exclaimed as we frayed out way through the crowd on the street outside. “Annabeth, that was brilliant” she threw her arms around me, and for once I hugged her back. I was tingling all over from exhilaration. I couldn’t believe what I had done either.
“Of course, this means I am officially dead” I said, coming down off my high a little.
“Don’t worry about it” Jessy giggled, still hanging on to my neck. “You were wonderful!”
She tucked her arm through mine and we strode down the street together.
“See, when you unwind a bit, great things can happen!”
“You know what, Jessy, you might just be right”
As we were about to turn the corner, I glanced over my shoulder, but he had disappeared into the crowd.