Chasing Alana

14 | Click

"I think the sleeves could be a bit shorter— apparently, long arms do not run in my family."

Chuckles could be heard throughout the room as Alana turned so that she could see the back of her outfit in the mirror. Miranda, her stylist, folded the sleeves as Alana nodded.

"Definitely better," acknowledged Alana before quickly thanking Miranda. Miranda helped her out of the jacket before stepping off the raised platform to work on the sleeves.

Sometimes she felt like she was back to being the little carefree 7-year-old girl that she was in the past. Without any worries or stress on her shoulders, she missed being so innocent to the world around her. She felt like a doll playing dress-up, with her stylist and the rest of the team running around her frantically trying to put finishing touches on her outfits for a photoshoot she was doing.

From her peripheral vision, she watched as Asher, Adrian, and Marianne's mother stepped near her. With a measuring tape in her hands, Helen cautiously wrapped it around her waist, before writing down the measurement.

This was the first time since she had finally revealed her past that she had seen Mrs. Pierce. And ever since then, the older woman seemed to approach her hesitantly.

"You don't have to treat me any different from before, Mrs. Pierce," Alana said quietly when Helen was close enough to hear her. "I'm still the same Alana that you know."

Helen sucked in her breath before looking into Alana's eyes. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she thought about all the pain that Alana had to go through at such a young age, and there was a small part of her that still felt guilty for not doing something about it.

"I-" she paused before turning to look at the rest of her team of clothing designers and stylists, wanting to talk to Alana alone. "You ladies can go ahead and take an early lunch break."

After thanking their boss, one by one, they began to make their way to the door as they excitedly chattered amongst themselves.

"Should I get you two anything?" Asked Miranda, hovering around the door, glancing worriedly between the two women.

"I'm fine, thank you, dear," Helen kindly turned her down.

Alana shook her head as well, with a small smile. "We'll be fine— you go on ahead, Miranda."

Miranda's eyes narrowed at her friend and client. "If I find out you've dropped a size, we're going to have to have a serious talk, young lady. Actually, scratch that— I'll just bring back a burger or something."

Alana bit back her smile as she rolled her eyes, knowing her friend was just worried for her. "Alright, thanks, mum."

Miranda let out an exasperated sigh before closing the door behind her gently, leaving the two women alone in the studio office. Alana turned back to look at Helen who still had an unsure expression on her face.

Taking a deep breath, Helen began to speak— her voice coming out shaken. "I'm so so sorry, sweet Alana. I should've known and god, you were just a child. Your mother didn't say anything and I always thought it was odd that only you moved away so suddenly— now that I think about it, it made sense why your parents thought it was best for you to leave this town behind."

"You're like a daughter to me, Alana, and I should've seen the signs, especially when Marianne was telling us not to keep that horrible girl around," Helen continued softly. "And your mother— oh god, I'm a terrible best friend. I should've seen her pain. No parent wants to see their child hurt and when I saw those hospital records, I just can't even imagine-"

She paused her rambling, only for Alana to quickly embrace Helen in her arms, whisper that she was okay now. "I'm honestly more than okay, now. Yes, it took years of healing and I may still be healing now, but everything that happened was not your fault, Mrs. Pierce. It's no one's fault except Tiffany's, so please just treat me like the Alana that you know."