Mini Short Stories: 2020 Volume 1

Rip - Story 31

We all heard the noise and froze collectively. Me, Shelly and Mrs Honey. We then looked down together and I could feel them hold on to me. "Is that my dress?" I asked breathlessly. Mrs Honey teared up. Shelly looked me dead in my eyes and spoke the truth. "I think you might need to change it."

My dedicated acting skills convinced both Mrs Honey and Shelly that I would rather miss the graduation party than go in a replacement. Shelly suggested having dinner at Castro's on Sunday to celebrate. I was excited and we started planning everything. Mrs Honey stopped lamenting the loss of a special night, organised food and snacks for me and Shelly then left for home. "We'll have our own party," Shelly laughed. I figured that her laughter was one of the things my dad loved about her.

I'd moved in with my dad and Shelly during my exam year because my mom remarried. Shelly was thirty but looked younger and felt like a big sister. It was a challenge to dislike her, but my mother never failed to remind me that hating her was as necessary as breathing. It seemed unfair to me because Shelly had taken good care of me during the exam year by giving me pep talks and organising food for all-nighter study sessions. One day I calmly admitted that Shelly wasn't so bad since she'd helped me select a graduation dress. My mom threw a tantrum and a week later I received a new dress with orders to wear it instead. It was as green as the envy that seethed from my mother. I had hated every single moment of wearing it.

I was feeling smug as I snuggled on to the couch until Shelly asked me, "Why'd you rip it?" I tried to deny it, but she persisted until I blurted out, "She doesn't even care about me. She's just competing with you. That's why she sent that stupid dress and that's why she wants me to go back and live with her again. I don't want her at all." We didn't end up watching the movie and I ended up crying for real. My dad got involved and called a meeting with me, him, mom and their spouses. It was pointless. Mom went into full victim mode, but I refused to go back.

I'd ripped that dress and buried my wounds deeper inside. Shelly loved me enough to help me rip them back open to treat them properly. With my mom it will take some time, but since I got to stay with Dad and Shelly I'll soon find a way to keep moving forward.