Looking For You

Chapter 48 - Hang On

Chapter 48 - Hang On

[Aimee’s POV]

The next day was a breeze; I completed all my work, did other homework in class and chilled back a bit. But one thing bothered me throughout the whole day. Tibby was back at school, and she was in crutches. It killed me to see her wobbling around on one foot with two crutches to hold her up. She looked like she was in pain by the way she stood, slouching as she stood with her friends while they were laughing and enjoying their lives. Tibby looked out of place, and had been excluded a little from her group.

I wanted to go speak to her, but I feel like there is a barrier between us stopping me from talking to her; it’s like I’m not meant to talk to her now that we’ve drifted. But I still kept an eye on her when I could during breaks, watching her facial expressions change slightly due to discomfort. It hurt me even more.

So right now I am in my dorm room, treating myself with a long, hot shower filled with bubbles floating around. It’s about time I had washed my body thoroughly and treated my skin with respect; I bet it’s relieved now that I’ve smoothed it out from the rough, dry skin it had built up. I was looking through my drawers one day and found some nail polishes that were stashed away, looking lonely and surprisingly full. I was never really into painting my nails very often, but hey, why not just for fun?

Turning the tap off, I step out of the warm water, wrapping myself in a fluffy towel. I quickly dry myself off and wrap my wet hair in another towel, placing it on the top of my head where it stays put. I change into my underwear, sliding into a white bath robe my mom bought for me a couple of years ago. I never really saw the need for a bath robe back then, but now it’s an honour to just wear something soft after a hot shower.

I walk around bare feet around my dorm, searching for the nail polishes I had remembered. I dig out the three bottles of crimson red, metallic blue and pastel green. Simple colours, but effective looking. I choose the green for my fingernails and the red for my toe nails. I’m in for a treat.

Firstly, I sit down on my bed, crossing one leg over my other knee, bending forward with the red bottle in my hands. I unscrew the bottle, the smell of polish filling my senses immediately. It’s a strong smell, but I get used to it and get a decent amount of polish onto the brush.

I start stroking my big toe with the red colour, glowing with the freshness of the paint. I put a few coats on it as I go, turning it into a vibrant red colour as I examine my work. Right now, I am starting to feel like a girl again. A real girl. One that cares about her appearance as much as her grades. One that fans over hot boys she walks past in the halls. One that has a perfect life free of worries. A real girl.

But as I finish my little toe on my second foot, three knocks are heard at the door; pretty weak ones actually. My heart immediately flutters as I think it may be Christian. He didn’t text me he’d come by, but I don’t mind. Getting up awkwardly, I walk on my heels to the door, keeping my toes in the air to not stain the carpet with red nail polish — people might think it’s blood if they saw it.

Getting a giddy feeling inside of me, I open the door with such force that I nearly jump onto the person at my doorstep, thinking it’s Christian. But as I look up, I jerk myself back and connect with her all too familiar big brown eyes and tan complexion, looking a little pale. Her light brown hair is tangled in a mess right now; it gathers around her cheeks as she leans forward on her crutches. The bags under her eyes have tried to be covered up with makeup, but they still seep through the foundation. My heart immediately stops.

“T-Tibby? What a surprise.” I say with no emotion. I am left wide mouthed as I stare at Tibby in front of me. She looks worse than the last time I saw her. Her cheeks are quite hollow and her eyes droop. I can tell she hasn’t been eating properly these days; her figure looks a lot slimmer. “What brings you here?”