by J. L. Ostle
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Just excited to spend some time with you.” Plus, I just walked in on my new roommate getting a blow job.
“Come on, you have to get it; it looks amazing on you.” I’m standing in front of a mirror wearing a blue, strapless dress that stops just above my knee.
I have never worn anything so revealing. I look at myself and am shocked at what I’m seeing. The material clings to me, and I hate how skinny I look compared to Lake, who is wearing a red dress that shows off curves in places I don’t have. I look like a pole compared to her.
“I like it, but I think it would look better on you. I look too skinny in it.” I go back into the dressing room and put my blouse and skirt back on.
“Hey, you look beautiful. You have a great ass. Mom starved us, so after a few more of my meals you’re going to fill out a bit more, trust me. Remember, I’ve been there. I was stick thin when I left home. Now? Now I love my body. If anyone doesn’t like it, tough shit. As long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters. You will love your body, and soon you will want to show it off,” she says in the next dressing room. I can’t remember what her body was like before she left, it was that long ago. I never paid attention but Mom made her eat like a rabbit too, so maybe she’s right. Well on the filling out part, not the showing it off part.
“I’m going to buy these cardigans though,” I say, changing the subject. The cardigans I have chosen are red, black, and blue. They’re a very thin material and are long enough to cover my ass.
“They did look cute on you. Get the jeans too. They made your ass look amazing. I wish I had your ass,” she sighs. I pull open the curtain and Lake is standing there with piles of clothes over her arm.
“What’s wrong with your ass?” I look at her body. She is perfect.
“I wish it was bigger. The weight I gained went to all the right places except there. You’ve always had a great ass.” I scoff at the idea. I can’t believe we are in the middle of a store talking about our asses.
We go to check out and Lake offers to treat me to the clothes. After, we go to a nearby diner and order cheeseburgers and shakes. I can’t help but moan when I take my first bite. If anything, I’m not going to forget these amazing tastes. I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.
“So, what do you think you’re going to do while you’re here? You can do nothing and have the life of luxury, if you want. I’m just curious.” I pause as I think about the question. What am I going to do with my life? I grew up with expectations: Marry a man that my parents think will benefit the family name, pop out babies, look after my husband and children. But I’m twenty-one, I’m still young. I don’t want my life to end yet.
“I never really thought about it. I don’t really have any passions to follow except reading.”
“I didn’t mean to rush you, I just wanted to know. I want you to do something you love, and if you want to read books all day, every day, then do it. Just do what makes you happy. I love that I manage Leon’s band; I can’t imagine doing anything else.” I can see that she is telling the truth by the way her face lights up talking about Leon and the band.
“It will come to me; I just need to think about it.” I continue eating the rest of my delicious burger.
“You can be a book reviewer. Start a blog. If you need any help, just come to me,” she offers.
“You know I will.”
The rest of the day we bounce from shop to shop. I have never seen so many clothes in my life. It was a thrill making my own decisions on what I wanted to wear. My clothes have always been picked out for me to be sure I fit the image of what the perfect daughter should look like. We have bags of clothes that I’m sure will last me for years. I notice Lake’s leg bouncing as we drive back home and my curiosity spikes, knowing she does this when she is excited about something.
We park and Leon comes out the door straight away, grabbing our bags and walking off without saying a word. That was weird. Lake loops her arm through mine and practically skips us to the door. I can hear music on the other side and when the door opens I am surrounded by strangers who yell out ‘Welcome’. I almost jump from fright.
I look at my sister who’s bouncing with excitement. She threw me a party? I see a welcome sign and balloons and people drinking from red cups. Lake walks me towards the crowd and starts introducing me to everyone. There are so many people, I know I am going to have trouble remembering their names.
I’m talking to a girl with short pink hair when I can’t help but look up at Dominic who is talking with some guys, a different girl on his arm. This one is a red head. Like the one I saw this morning, she is stunning. She is wearing tight jeans and a shirt that is high enough to show her flat stomach. So he doesn’t hang with the same woman twice?
As if he can feel me staring, he looks up and gives me a nod and continues back to his conversation. He didn’t look at me like I just watched him get a blowjob six hours ago. No disgust or cocky smirk. Hopefully he’s willing to forget it ever happened. If that is the case, I will thank my lucky stars. Some other girls come up to me, introducing themselves. Lake told them that I’m a huge fan of reading so we are discussing the books we’ve read. One even calls herself a book whore, which I blush at.
I am enthralled in our conversation, openly talking about a recent book that I read, when I see a girl out of the corner of my eye walk through the door like she owns the place. She has long blonde hair with pink tips, flawless makeup, and a leather skirt to go with her leather jacket. She screams bad girl. The kind of girl my parents warned me about. I can still hear my mom’s voice drilling in my head that anyone that wears leather is bad news. Boy or girl.
I watch her walk through the crowd, men watching her, girls whispering and pointing. Who is she? She looks familiar but I can’t put my finger on it. It isn’t until she stops by Dominic that it clicks. She’s the lead singer of the band. My sister showed me some pictures, mostly of Leon, but I remember her showing a picture of a man with his head turned and a girl posing to the camera.
“That’s Sherry, the lead singer of their band. She’s a badass. If she doesn’t get her own way though she can be a real bitch,” the girl with pink hair, Charlotte, whispers.
“My sister showed me a picture of her once, it just took a second to sink in.” We continue watching her talk to Dominic and some of the guys.
“Yeah, she thinks because she’s the lead singer she’s the boss of the band. I’m a huge fan, I go to every gig, but she is so full of herself. They only put up with her shit because they need her.”
Sherry turns her head and glares at me and I realize we are openly staring at her. I start to feel out of my element, so I look around the crowd, trying to find my sister. I’m still searching when I feel someone poke my shoulder. I turn and see Sherry; the look she is giving me isn’t welcoming.
“Excuse me, I don’t know who invited you, but can you please leave?” What? It’s more of a demand than a question.
“Umm... the thing is... this is ummm,” I stutter over myself. I look around the crowd again trying to find Lake.
“Umm, umm, umm,” she mimics me. “This is a private party. So if you can find the door, we won’t make this any more of a scene.” She takes a few steps away before turning back around. “Oh, and I don’t know what look you are going for, but the teacher-geek look won’t get you laid. F.Y.I.” What is F.Y.I? How can she just come up to me and kick me out?
“I’m not leaving. I...” I try and talk with more confidence than I have but I’m sure my voice is all shaky.
“Listen love. I know the people who live here. What I say goes. Now LEAVE!” She yells at me. I can feel the tears start falling fast.
All the memories of my parents yelling at me, telling me I’m not good enough. I need to do better. All of my insecurities are coming to the surface and I can feel everyone’s eyes on me.
“Listen you up tight bitch...”
“Shut up Charlotte. I don’t apprecia
te you bringing in riff raff. I know you want to show off your friends to the band but don’t bring in any stray dogs,” she seethes at her. Did she just call me a dog?
“What the hell is going on here?” Dominic walks towards us and Sherry loops her arm through his, batting her eyelashes up at him.
“I was telling this girl that she can’t just crash this party. I was politely telling her to leave before she refused to go. You can tell she’s an attention seeker. Look at her; look how she’s dressed.” She looks at me in disgust. I look down at my outfit and hers and I thought I looked more casual. This is how I dress. How I was taught to dress.
“Sherry, for fucks sake. This is her party. She moved in last night. When Lake hears about...
“What the FUCK?” I hear Lake shout across the room. She’s walking towards us, looking majorly pissed off. I have never been more grateful for her presence. I run to her, wrapping my arms around her as I let the tears fall. I know I’m being pathetic, but I have never had someone, a stranger, tell me how pathetic I look. “It’s okay. I will sort this,” she tries to soothe me.
“I just want to go to my room.” I try and wipe the tears away but they won’t stop coming.
“No, this is your party. YOU.” She points at Sherry. “This is my sister. This is her house. How dare you? I had to hear from someone that you tried to kick her out? Who the fuck do you think you are? You can’t come to my home and kick people out. Especially my baby sister. You have gone too far.” I’ve never seen Lake look so angry. I’m pretty sure I see a vein on her head pulse.
“My bad, okay? How was I supposed to know this was your sister? I was expecting a mini version of you. Not… this.” She swipes her hand up and down at me.
“I don’t give two shits. You don’t kick out my guests. This is my house. Now I want you to leave. You ruined my sister’s party, now leave,” she says firmly, pointing to the door.
“What? No! You aren’t kicking me out. I’m the most wanted person here. You can’t have a party without me. Dom, come on.” She points at him for backup. I can see the frustration on his face. I also notice his eye roll.
“Don’t ask him. This is my house. Mine. Now get the fuck out or I swear to God I will kick your ass out.” Sherry glares at me. I look at the ground.
“Fine. Whatever. Trust me Lake, you will pay for this.” I feel her eyes on me before I hear her walk away, then the door slams shut.
“I am so sorry about her. She thinks she is the queen of everything. She is a complete bitch.” Lake hugs me. I hear people talking again amongst themselves but I feel too embarrassed to stay any longer.
“I want to go to my room. Thank you for the party, but I want to get away. Is that okay?”
“I understand. I’m sorry again. Go lay down, I’ll be up in a bit.” I give her a hug before I walk away.
“Sky, wait.” I stop and Charlotte comes running to me. “I’m sorry about her. I’m giving your sister my number and Facebook name. I loved having another book lover to talk to. Call me whenever you want to meet up. We can swap some book boyfriends.” She gives me a smile.
“I’m sorry for not staying longer, but I would love that. Thank you.” I give her a quick hug before heading to my room.
I walk up the stairs and feel eyes on me. I look down to see Dominic standing at the bottom. He mouths sorry, and I just nod. I turn around and walk away. Sherry is in the band which means I am going to see more of her. I’m not looking forward to it. The plus side though is that I made a new friend.
I’ve been here for a few days and luckily haven’t had another run in with Sherry. I overheard my sister planning a rehearsal with the band for an upcoming gig which means I am going to see her at some point soon. I know my sister most likely had words with her, seeing as how protective she is of me. She thinks what happened is her fault but I don’t blame her. I know that I won’t be able to look Sherry in the eye again, though.
It’s two a.m. and I’m having trouble sleeping. I had a bad dream that my parents found me and took me away, taking me from Lake. I can still picture them dragging me from my new home kicking and screaming; Lake trying to get to me but never can. I quickly grab a robe that I recently purchased, so that I don’t have another embarrassing encounter in my PJ’s, and decide to head down to watch TV.
I tip toe down the hall so I don’t wake anyone and head to the kitchen first, to make myself a cup of tea, before heading to the couch and switching on the TV. I flip through the channels, making sure the volume is down low, and decide on The Vampire Diaries, a show that I have kind of gotten hooked on.
I’m watching Damon trying to find Elena and sipping on my cup of tea when I feel like someone is watching me. I’m sitting in the dark, in the middle of the night, watching a supernatural show but I can’t get rid of that feeling so I turn my head and almost scream when I see a person standing in the doorway. Dominic?
“You scared me. What are you doing hiding in the dark?” I press my hand against my chest, trying to calm my nerves.
“Sorry. I was seeing what crap you were watching.” He sits down on the end of the couch I’m sitting on, asking, “Couldn’t sleep either?” He glances over at me and I sit up, tucking my legs under me.
“Bad dream. You?” I take another sip of my tea that has now gone luke warm.
“I have trouble sleeping at night. My body is used to being awake during the night and asleep during the day. Being in a band messes with your body clock. So what has you so enthralled?” he asks, facing the TV. I turn in time to see Damon snap some guys neck.
“The Vampire Diaries. I think I’m obsessed with the show. I can’t get enough.” I chuckle. I turn and he is staring at me. I mean really staring at me.
“Hmm.” That’s all he says. I turn and face the TV again, trying to block out that he is sitting a few inches away from me. “Can I ask you a question?” he asks.
“Sure.” I pause the show so he has my full attention.
“I don’t want to pry, and you can tell me to keep my nose out, but why do you act like you’ve been on a different planet? I watch you at times and see you experience things, normal things, for the very first time. You’re what? Twenty-one? Were you brought up in the woods?” He chuckles and I give a poor attempt of one back. Lake never told him about our parents, I guess. Or how we grew up.
“Umm, it’s going to sound stupid, but our parents were kind of strict. They wanted us to eat healthy, do things that would benefit us or them. I’ve been brought up to be exactly how they wanted me to be. So yes, most things right now I am experiencing for the first time.” I look down, playing with the tie on my robe.
I feel his thumb and index finger on my chin, guiding my head back up. He lets go and pushes hair behind my ear, stroking my cheek, causing my skin to heat up. I am so glad it’s dark and he can’t see what he is doing to me.
“I didn’t mean to pry,” he says softly.
“It’s okay,” I barely manage to get out.
We sit there in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. We don’t need to say anything. After a few more minutes, he takes the remote, pressing play on my show before standing.
“Goodnight Sky.”
“Goodnight Dominic.”
I wake up to banging on my door. I didn’t get back to bed till five. I’m exhausted. I grab my pillow and put it over my head so I can ignore the sound and go back to sleep, but whoever is on the other side is persistent and they open my door and jump on my bed, causing me to groan.
“Get up sleepy head. Today you’re finally going to watch the band rehearse. I want to show you how good they are. Plus, you can’t stay in your room all day, every day. Come on.” Lake pulls my blanket off me and the cold automatically causes me to shiver.
“You hate me. It’s too early to get up,” I grumble into my pillow.
“It’s one in the afternoon. Now get up or I will drag you out just as you are. Don’t think I won’t.” I groan out loud and finally sit up to see Lake smirki
ng at me. I throw my pillow at her, causing her to laugh before leaving my room.
Great, I’m going to watch the band rehearse, which means I am going to be near Sherry. Why couldn’t my sister give me a warning so I could have forced myself to sleep more instead of watching three hours of Damon? I head to my shower and let the heat wake me up.
With a towel wrapped around me, I look through my closet, wanting to wear something that Sherry won’t put her nose up at. I know it’s pathetic. I never let anyone bug me about what I wore, not even the kids that went to my school. But the kids at my school knew who my parents were, so they were probably too scared to say anything negative about me.
I decide on a pair of black jeans, a white T-shirt, and a blue cardigan. I look in the mirror and decide I like it. It’s student-y. I put on my black flats and head downstairs to see Leon planting loads of kisses on Lakes cheeks. I cough to let them know I’m here.
“Sorry, this is his good luck charm for a good rehearsal.” Lake scrunches up her face as he lays more kisses on her. I can’t help but laugh at them.
“Okay, think I’m lucky enough. Let’s go kick ass.” Leon walks outside and we follow.
I was expecting to get in a car, but I follow them around the house to a door instead. We walk inside and I see stairs that I realize go down to a basement. I look more closely and I’m shocked at what I see. There is a mini recording studio in the corner and a stage on the other side.
“I know right.” Lake takes in my shocked look and laughs. “I didn’t want to tell you so I could see your face right now. It’s amazing right? There’s a full sound system, it’s even sound proof so no one can complain about how loud we are down here.
I watch Lake and Leon start moving things around, plugging in instruments. I sit on a chair and watch; I don’t want to break anything. I hear the door open and Dominic walks in with a guy behind him. The guy has shaggy blonde hair and large muscles. What is it with this band? Did all the guys have to be so godly? The guy with blonde hair sees me and smiles, walking towards me.