Her Forever

Rosalie

I stood outside the hotel; Jeremy had just had to make that silly comment. I looked up to the sky, and I sighed out the phrase, “Why me?” This is only going to complicate things. I had just gotten my life into a comfortable routine. My thesis turned in; I was on my way to start paying off my loans more effectively and move somewhere outside the city, and then this “thank you date” happened.

I don’t even have anything to wear! I’m stuck with either business attire, clothes for work, or very casual clothing that is not anything worth for date. Calling for backup will have to happen, and the only person for that job is none other than Amanda.

Grabbing my phone, I flipped the old thing open and dialed her number. The phone barely gives out a full ring, and Amanda was already answering. “BAAAABE!” she screeched into my now damaged ear. “I heard all about it! Get your skinny a*s to my apartment now!”

“What? You heard about what?” I was confused.

“Jeremy texted me!” I kept forgetting that those two are friends and that she keeps tabs on me. There are too many connections here; this is why I need to leave.

****

After twenty minutes of walking, I find myself at Amanda’s apartment building. It was pretty fancy; it had a doorman as well as a receptionist on the main floor. I had only been to Amanda’s apartment a handful of times though, so I knew she wouldn’t remember me. “Good afternoon; I’m here to see Amanda Clifford.” The receptionist looked down from her high desk to scout me out. She gave me a quick nod. “Name please?”

“Rosalie Pierce,” I said quickly. With another quick nod, she led me to the elevators and pressed her floor number, and let me carry on my way. I would kill to have some security like this around my place. I am pretty sure the devil himself could waltz right into my apartment building and burn the whole thing down, and no one would even bat an eye.

Once the elevator let me off, I walked on my tiptoes to the end of the hall where her apartment was. I had gotten in this horrible habit of tiptoeing everywhere. It made me silent so people couldn’t hear me, and it just became a force of habit from my earlier years. Before I could even knock on the door, Amanda threw the door open, grabbed my arm, and slung me into the apartment.

Gripping my crossbody computer bag tightly, I saw we weren’t alone in the apartment. There were several guys as well as girls sitting around watching TV and rummaging through the fridge. They must be friends from out of town for the party. “Hey, guys! This is Rosalie!” I gave a small wave, and everyone’s ears perked up and glanced over my way. Most of them dropped what they were doing to come to say hello, and I couldn’t help but back up a little.

My social meter was at an all-time high after last night at the club, and this was definitely going to break it. “Easy guys, she’s a shy one. Go back to gaming, eating, or whatever,” Amanda waved them off and dragged me to her room. I turned around and watched how they kept their eyes on me as Amanda quickly shut the door behind her.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“They find you interesting, that’s all.” Amanda went to her closet to rummage through her clothes.

“I still have your dress; I’ll get it cleaned and bring it back to you this week,” I said while putting my bag on her bed and looking through her pictures on the walls. Amanda was so flirty and bubbly; she had tons of pictures of her and her friends from back home. Most of the photos were in the woods around large bonfires, and it looks like they always did lots of drinking. No wonder she never has a hangover; she really has been prepping all her life.

I glanced over to one picture that caught my eye. She was standing between two giant Wolves––Wolves so large they were practically as big as cars. Did they live near a nuclear plant?

“Hey, Mandy, what is up with these Wolves? They are freakin’ huge!” Amanda rushed across the room to see which picture I was talking about. “Oh, those? Wolves get that big where I’m from. They are pretty tame actually,” she said, clearly a bit nervous. Her demeanor changed almost immediately though, perhaps to gloss over the subject entirely.

“Now, let’s play makeover!” She jumped excitedly.

“No, no… this is just a ‘thank you’ dinner. So nothing fancy at all. I just need an outfit that doesn’t s****m, ‘I’m obscenely poor.’” I laughed. “You know my budget is limited; I just needed a little something to borrow, that’s all.

“Well, you are getting an outfit but a makeover as well. You have never let me work my magic, and I’m famous for it back at home,” Amanda bragged. With a heavy sigh, I agreed as she squealed; she shoved me into the bathroom and pulled out her waxing products.

“HELL NO, WE AIN’T DOING THIS!” I s****m bloody murder. Amanda’s evil laugh echoed throughout the bathroom, and several men came barging into her bedroom.

“The f**k Amanda, what are you doing to her?” A man growled into the room… growled?

“I’m getting her nice and waxed for her big date with Mr. Storm!” Amanda giggled excessively. With that, she gave me a large tug and ripped my leg hair that was embedded into my soul.

“OH MY GOSH, PLEASE HELP ME!” I screamed to the man outside. I didn’t care who he was at this point; I needed someone to save my poor legs.

The man barged in; he had honey brown hair with deep brown eyes; he was muscular and kind of intimidating. Amanda laughed maniacally while the man gave her a look. “Hi, Rosalie, I’m Thomas. One of Amanda’s friends from home.” I nodded, and he grabbed Amanda’s arm. “Amanda, let’s step away from the wax for now. Baby steps with her. Baby steps.” Thomas led Amanda out of the bathroom, and I followed, putting a towel around my waist. How she was able to rip my skinny black jeans off my body that fast I’ll never know.

A quick thanks to Thomas and an almost calm Amanda, I realized that she knew who my date was with. “Wait, Mandy, how did you know I was going out with Jack Storm?” I said with confusion. Amanda looked at me and then at Thomas. Thomas gave a shrug while Amanda looked at me blankly. “Jeremy! Jeremy told me,” she smiled. “Yeah, he told me when he texted me.”

“Too many dang secrets already…” I sighed. “Something is going on, and I don’t like it.”

“Please, Lee, don’t leave,” Amanda pleaded. She took my hand in hers and pulled me into a hug.

“You never trust people and, this guy, I know he is a good guy. I want to see you happy. You are such a good person and deserve it.” Those words, it made me want to cry. I’ve always wanted happiness and to be around people, but I had been taken away, lied to, and broken. Would one more time be OK for me to try and trust someone?

“No waxing, Amanda, or I swear to all that is holy I will kill you.” Amanda’s eyes lit up, and she started squealing. “Thomas has to stand outside the door, so he will help me if you go crazy, though.” Thomas laughed and nodded his head as he left the room.

Four long hours later, which included pampering, two movies, music, food, and talking with Amanda’s friends and relatives, I was finally finished getting ready. The last thing I really needed to do was get dressed. I didn’t realize how close Amanda was to all her friends. It almost made me wonder why she would even come to the city in the first place. Why leave all that family for the cold city? People in the town were mean and only looked out for themselves.

Thirty minutes before my date, there was a knock at the door. Amanda came back to her bedroom with a white box with a black ribbon around it. It was almost too pretty to unwrap, and it was addressed to me. I’d never gotten a present delivered before. I kept asking if she was sure it was for me.

“Of course it’s for you silly; it has your name on it.” I looked up at her with tears threatening to fall from my eyes. I don’t like feeling weak, but I couldn’t really ask for a better day after today with her friends being so kind to me. A present for me was just icing on the cake. “Lee, what’s wrong? Why are you about to cry?” her voice broke.

“I’ve never gotten a present before,” I whispered as I traced the ribbon with my finger. How pathetic was I, never receiving a present at such an age. Parents and friends were supposed to give you gifts as you grew up, but I never had the chance to. With a gentle tug, I pulled the ribbon to open the box. With a small gasp, I saw the dress. It was a royal blue spaghetti strap dress that flared at the bottom. Small black beading was around the bodice of the dress and around the hem of the dress. On top of the dress was a small box as I opened it. It was a beautiful red heart single-solitaire necklace. It was small, and it was so perfect. I felt like a princess in a movie.

The small gasp left my lips, and Amanda came and hugged me from behind. “I told you he would be a keeper.” She smiled into my neck. “I can’t accept this; this is too much. I just fixed his computer; that’s is all I did,” I whispered quietly.

“Well, maybe you fixed something else?” she chided. With a slight chuckle leaving my lips, I picked up the dress. “How did he know I was here?” I turned around to question.

“I’ve been texting Jeremy,” she said. I gave her a side-eyed look and nodded my head. “Let’s go put it on.” I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Looking at the dress, it was beautiful. It was more skin than I was used to show, and I’m starting to become more afraid to wear it. What if my scars showed? I guess there was only one way to find out.

I took off my clothes and pulled the dress up from my toes to my shoulders. The zipper zipped on the side, giving it a perfectly snug fit. The dress was beautiful, but my scars were not. I silently started to cry, ruining my perfectly placed mascara. There was a knock at the door.

“Lee, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Amanda started to worry. I couldn’t even form words to make a sentence. “Let me in, Lee, open the door.” Her voice was panicked, and I didn’t want her to see me like this. I put a towel around my body to hide the scars and unlocked the door.

The dress that I had borrowed for her party and the club’s darkness hid my scars well, but this dress had more of an open back, and it was something I wasn’t going to be able to hide. Especially since we would be in a restaurant where lights would be prominent. Nowhere to hide.

“What’s happened? Why do you have a towel on?” Amanda was genuinely concerned. Should I show her? Should I open up to her? Maybe she could help me hide them? My heart just ached. I didn’t want this beautiful dress to go to waste, and here I am crying over my first present I don’t feel pretty enough to use.

“Amanda, I’ll show you.” I sniffed. “It is part of my past, and I’ve never shown it to anyone on purpose. I need you to help to hide it, make me feel pretty. Can you do that and not tell anyone what you see?”

Amanda nodded, “Of course, Lee. I would never betray you.” She grabbed my hand and held it close to her heart. I want to believe her; I want to know that she won’t run away from me. With a slow turn and her to my back, I dropped the towel.

“Oh my goddess!”